I can’t say that I remember the exact moment when I decided I wanted to sing, I just remember always wanting to. Well, sort of. I can remember a distinct moment when I DIDN’T want to sing. When I was about 8 years old, my first recital. I got up to sing my song, looked at all the people quietly waiting for me to start, and promptly burst into tears and ran to my mom. I told her there was NO WAY I was going to do that again. But I also remember a moment about 45 minutes later, when I had a change of heart. I decided maybe I should go up in front of all those people and try again. And I did.
It was somewhere around that fateful night at the recital that I found my passion for music. I knew then that I wanted to put my passion into action. My first self taught step was to never say no. I sang on buckets in barns, for friends in the living room, in competitions at festivals, you name it. When I graduated high school, I knew it was wise to go to College, so I studied as a Music Major.
After college, I figured it was time to take the next step in my career. It was time to leave the Alberta farm I grew up on behind. Time to say goodbye to the cattle and horses, and hello to sky scrapers and traffic. I chose Vancouver - not too far from home in case I ever felt those tears welling up again.
I tried my hand at song writing when I was 18 or 19. Shortly after that, I began my singer songwriter career under the name Katie Rox, a college nick name. Before I knew it, opportunity started knocking at my door. It came in the form of an industrial rock band. I had been taught by an amazing professor that luck was simply Labor Under Correct Knowledge. Knowing LUCK when I saw it, I jumped at the opportunity with a very enthusiastic YES.
Jakalope took me on a whirlwind adventure of videos, red carpets, and foreign countries. I grew as a songwriter, a performer, an artist, and learned many a valuable lesson. Somewhere along the way, while I was busy saying yes, my heart started telling me no. I got a bit lost in the music, the small town country girl wasn't there. So, in the spring of 2007, I listened to my heart, and I left the band.
The summer of ‘07 was spent finding myself, collecting the pieces that fell to the side in the whirlwind. Some I have yet to find, some I have yet to grow, but I recognize my reflection in the mirror, and that is a very good start.
Luckily, I found one of the most important pieces of myself: my passion for music.
What I’m creating now is a long ways from where I’ve been, but it’s also where I started. If you listen closely, I think you’ll hear my reflection.
..
..
