Traci Kunath profile picture

Traci Kunath

Pulling my heart out through my feet in song

About Me

Music – especially the piano – has always been an important part of Traci Kunath’s life. “No matter what was happening, I was always able to escape in the piano and forget whatever problems I was having.” Now the piano is the place where Traci faces her emotions head on. Full of love, pain, regret and hope, Traci’s songs draw in the listener with intense emotion and often brutal honesty.Since childhood, Traci has played the piano and sang, but it wasn’t until a few years ago when she began to write her own songs that the pieces of how music fit into her life came together. “I was at a point in my life where I knew I needed a different direction, I just didn’t know what that was. Music was a passion I always wanted to pursue, but it never felt right performing other people’s material. As soon as I started writing my own songs, everything became clear.” And she wasn’t stopping with songwriting. Listening to musicians like Jeff Buckley and Ryan Adams inspired her to pick up the guitar. “I love the piano, but I wanted the versatility of knowing another instrument. It’s opened up a completely different aspect of music that I wasn’t tapping into before.”Drawing on influences like Tori Amos, Traci’s music travels easily through harmony and melody, providing an accessible backdrop to lyrics that are often more than meets the eye. Pulling heavily from her own personal experiences, her music often admits to disappointments while conveying a strong sense of perseverance no matter what the struggle.Most important to Traci is the ability to connect. “I make myself pretty vulnerable in my music, but if that helps create a connection between people, it's worthwhile.”Traci recently graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a degree in Music Composition and currently works for Nelsen Productions in Chicago.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 9/5/2005
Band Members: Just me, Traci "C is for Captain Morgan" Kunath
Influences: Tori Amos, Jeff Buckley, Elliott Smith, Wilco, Sarah McLachlan, Coldplay, Ryan Adams, Travis, Badly Drawn Boy, Creedence Clearwater, The Beatles, Elvis (to a degree), John Denver and the Muppets Christmas Album, early Disney movie music like Robin Hood and such. Erik Satie, really loving Chopin these days. Early influences would be Bruce Springsteen (I am after all, from New Jersey) and Billy Joel. I have my brother to thank for both of those. Lately I've gotten into Lisa Loeb, and all those "new" bands with that "new" sound that Zach Braff has made so popular through Scrubs (which I LOVE) and his wonderful movies. Totally diggin the Fray and Snow Patrol, Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie, the list goes on and on. Check out Matthew Kerstein and his band Brighton, MA. LOVE IT. What an amazing songwriter and a hell of a model American. Gustavo Santaolalla - if I ever get to write film music, I aspire to this man's music from The Motorcycle Diaries. Perfect. I love Morrissey, the Smiths, BLUR!! Thank you Jeff Kreml for introducing me to Blur! And who doesn't love the Goo Goo Dolls? Honestly. Everyone's gotta have a little ear candy
Sounds Like: Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan, Jewel
Type of Label: None

My Blog

My spankin' logo

I've gotten several inquiries as to the derivation of my logo posted here. Well, let all questions be answered! This logo was designed for me by my good friend Ed Gershon, a talented graphic designer,...
Posted by Traci Kunath on Mon, 19 Mar 2007 02:15:00 PST

Grandmother, thy name is Dixon

Two days ago my grandmother passed away at the ripe old age of 90. She wasn't an ordinary grandmother, she was THE grandmother. If I had been given the chance to create the perfect image for this figu...
Posted by Traci Kunath on Sun, 25 Feb 2007 10:24:00 PST

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone has had a safe and happy holiday season!
Posted by Traci Kunath on Tue, 26 Dec 2006 06:45:00 PST

Chopin makes me randy, part 2

Nocturne No. 1 in B-flat minorOh, Frédéric, you are a dirty little tease but you never fail to satisfy me.
Posted by Traci Kunath on Sat, 16 Dec 2006 04:11:00 PST

Read this book

Not only is this book laugh-out-loud funny, it supports my claim that Travis is a better band than Coldplay. 'Nough said.
Posted by Traci Kunath on Thu, 07 Dec 2006 07:29:00 PST

Chopin makes me randy

Okay, so I was listening to Chopin's Prelude No. 15, affectionately referred to as the "raindrop" prelude and this piece of music is just sexy. When the middle section moves the melody line to the bas...
Posted by Traci Kunath on Thu, 30 Nov 2006 10:05:00 PST

Quixotic

so I looked up quixotic and as it turns out, I am quite often quixotic. Especially when it comes to relationships. Learn something new every day I guess.
Posted by Traci Kunath on Sun, 05 Nov 2006 10:18:00 PST

Oops

There are too many fucking choices for my mood. Who the fuck is ever "quixotic" anyway? I don't even know what that means. Where's my Websters?Anyway...I had a good set at The Fixx on Friday but blank...
Posted by Traci Kunath on Sun, 05 Nov 2006 12:10:00 PST

"this is cooling, faster than I can..."

I guess I'm just in one of those moods. For years now my favorite song has been "Cooling" by Tori Amos (duh, who'd you think?). I've been trying to incorporate this into my set as a cover for a while ...
Posted by Traci Kunath on Mon, 23 Oct 2006 03:14:00 PST

Woo hoo! Circle hits 300 plays!

Hey everybody.Thanks listening and for making Circle my most popular song! It's so flattering that everyone out there is listening to this song so much. I hope that means I'm connecting a little.
Posted by Traci Kunath on Sat, 08 Jul 2006 09:34:00 PST