I am about to embark on a concert tour that was tested last spring at the Palace Theater in Crossville, TN and at the Lee College of Arts Auditorium in Paris, TN. My next "run-through" will be onstage at the Marco National Festival of the Arts on both Saturday and Sunday, February 28th and 29th. The first "large" venue will be the Belle Mehus City Auditorium in Bismarck, ND on April 2nd.
My formal press release may soon appear (with luck) on my website, but if you want a copy please email me and I'll send a pdf to you. Due to the tight economy, I will not be accompanied this year by a full orchestra, but by my core band. There has also been a "bump" in my lineup, as Dennis Bryon (of the Bee Gees) cannot tour right now due to a family emergency.
A recording/publishing entity has stepped up to the plate to fill the void left by Dennis' absence (they shall go unnamed for now) so I will be bringing an even finer lineup than ever before to the tour. I also will be performing songs by the top writers in Nashville, thanks to this benefactor. Great things are on the horizon! Stay tuned.....
Influences
My latest inspiration is Leslie Mills, whose upcoming album and tour includes songs written by her and her writing partner Chris Pelcer. She will be on the upcoming "Voices" tour with Yanni. Please support her and buy her music---I love her single "Theory Of Everything (Is Nothing Without Love)". It blows Enya off the charts and should FINALLY give Leslie the fame she deserves.
Sounds Like
They (the audience and critics) liken me to Carly Simon and Karen Carpenter and Carole King but I am so humbled by these performers-----I just want to be me.
Kayte Strong knew at a very young age she wanted to write, sing and play piano, but it was the advent of electronic keyboards that really grabbed her passion in the late 70's... She moved to Los Angeles, California as soon as she graduated from the University of Oregon with a (fortuitous) degree in Computer Science. Little did she know how lucky she was to have chosen this field, as the future of all music production would end up on computers.
Once in LA, Kayte worked as a computer programmer in the aerospace industry, saving every dime to purchase top-notch keyboards and audition for bands. She slept on a friend's couch and lived out of cardboard boxes to save every dime so she could quit being a "code monkey" and at the same time rehearsed and played around LA until wee hours of the morning, only to have to report (albeit tired and often late) to work each day. She performed for a short while with a British Band ("Dafne and The Tenderspots") that had experienced modest chart success in the UK in the late 70's, but was unable to get signed in the US. After playing in clubs in the famed Sunset Strip area, Kayte joined an all-girl band "TRC". In that band she met one of her best and today perhaps her oldest friend in the industry, Lisa Lynne. (Lisa went on to become a famous Windham Hill artist.)
Kayte's interest in synths led her to enroll in the Dick Grove School of Music, an intense music academy with emphasis in Jazz and Big Band arranging. She was a straight -A student, never missing a class. She majored in piano and keyboard, but it was her singing voice that earned her a solid reputation among the other musicians. She sang on student recording sessions until the faculty banned her from doing that (as she wasn't enrolled in the vocal program).
Once she graduated Kayte began a crash course in doing music for a living. She played in a duo, then joined a seven piece Jazz/Funk ensemble that at played every hotel (Every Hotel) in LA.
Kayte also performed as a vocalist or keyboardist in several movies and hit television series ("Eye on Hollywood", "Cagney and Lacey", "Widow's Kiss"--an HBO movie of the week). She was the singing voice on an ad that played relentlessly on radio and TV for ACB Bank. She was also a bi-weekly fixture on public access television throughout Los Angeles as the music director for the Center For Positive Living.
She then reinvented herself as a solo vocaslist/pianist. Night after night she performed at thousands of private events and clubs around the Los Angeles area. Her longest stint was at a honky-tonk in Simi Valley, CA for over three years, four nights a week called "Maverick's". It was on that funky old upright piano that she developed her boogie woogie and country chops, which are still her favorite bar room styles to play.
With her new confidence, Kayte toured behind over fourty hit acts such as Peaches and Herb, The Delphonics, Mel Carter, Brenton Wood, and Chris Montez as a musician with Pacific Concert Group (ITC Records) before striking out on her own in 1995 with her first release "Wolf Dreams". Since then she has released fifteen albums, with one making the new age charts at position 96 in 2003.
In 2001 Kayte reinvented herself again as the "Queen of 70's Retro Pop". The combination of Dennis Bryon's drumming (best known for his work with the Bee Gees) and Kayte's introspective lyrics and strong melodies resulted in records that sold well enough to make this their full-time work from 2001 through 2005. Kayte started the record label "Artfest Records" in 2002 as a nod to the thousands of fine art and craft festivals where they have been one of the entertainers; she sold over two hundred thousand CD's from these venues and from websites such as itunes and cdbaby.com.
The changing emphasis from CD's to MP3's as the predominant mode of exchanging music has Kayte changing her direction once again as she enters the business side of music, sharing her experience with the new generation of stars.
This is not to say that Kayte is through with performing live! Kayte will perform in front of 800 concert-goers on April 2nd, 2009 in Bismarck, North Dakota in the classy Belle Mahus Theater with a small orchestra in an all-acoustic setting. Kayte's final performance dates on the Art Festival Circuit (that has blessed her so well) will be in March, 2009.
Kayte attributes all of her success to her faith in God, the Loving Being that is the entire source of her creativity. Kayte writes directly from Spirit and from Gratitude that she was spared her life for a greater purpose. You can hear hints of her journey in every song she writes.
"Nothing Is Larger Than Love"
Hello Kayte! Was just thinking of you and thought I'd pop in to wish you a Merry Christmas wherever you may be! I hope 2010 is a fantastic year for you!
Hi kayte strong ... here is my new Shaman Strings video 'Beautiful Plateau.' It was created & recorded live at the March 29th concert in Trier Germany.
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Hey kayte strong!
I think you are one of my HOTTEST FRIENDS, so I nominated you for my Hot Friends list. But are you really HOT enough to be on Hotties for Sale? Find out!
Hi kayte strong ... from Scot... Gatewhey has just changed to Shaman Strings. http://www. myspace. com/ShamanStrings Please enjoy a starting Video, "Ground." (see in HD)
Sounds like some exciting stuff on the horizon for you. Yes, keep in touch and let me know what we can do to help promote you out here! Take care of you now! :)
Hello Kayte, I would like to extend a personal invitation to you and your friends to my upcoming show in Franklin. I'm giving away FREE music to anyone who shows up from myspace!
Hope you can make it! Rebecca
Rebecca Correia is performing @
The Good Cup 2181 Hillsboro Road Franklin, TN
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20th, 2009 7pm No Cover - FREE!! FREE!! FREE!! All Ages Also featuring performances by Guy-Michael Grande, LandSlyde and Matt Ridenour!! www. thegoodcup. com
FREE MUSIC GIVEAWAY!! I'll be giving out FREE music to anyone who shows up to the show from myspace!! Just find me at The Good Cup show and ask for FREE Rebecca Correia music. I'll send FREE Rebecca Correia music to your email!! : )
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