Hi my name is Katey Brooks.
I thought it was about time I wrote a proper 'about me'...so put the kettle on, this could be a long one given my tendency to ramble......
I'm a singer/songwriter from Bristol, UK. I was singing before i
could talk, and my family always told me that they could never shut
me up! I grew up listening to people like Elvis, John Lennon, and
any kind of world music that my mum was into at the time.
I wrote my first song when i was 10-years-old, though naturally it
wasn't my best work...! But the seed was planted, and I quickly learnt
that writing was a way in which I could express what was going on
for me at any point in my life.
I learnt to play the piano, clarinet and drums, all of which i
loved, and still love to play when i get the chance. However, one
day my mum came home with a clapped out old spanish guitar she'd
picked up at a car boot sale. She had intended to learn it herself,
but she soon grew tired of it, leaving me with a free reign! At
first I only really played the odd chord, but eventually, i saw it
as something i could use to help me to write songs.
I started writing properly at about 16, and wrote 'All I Ask'; which I later went on to have produced by Nick Van Eede, frontman of Grammy Award Nominees 'Cutting Crew'.
Nearing the end of my school years, I got offered a place at the BRIT School in London, to study music. Although it was an amazing opportunity, at the time I was happy being in Bristol, so attended Access To Music College, where I studied Contemporary Popular Music. Being the 16 year old that I was, I was far more interested in going out with my friends and drinking, than I was in my career. So I spent the two years on the course, and a couple after that, lacking in commitment to the music, and without any real vision of where I wanted to go.
In January 2005 I joined a blues band, which is where I re-discovered my passion for singing. It felt like these were the type of songs I had been longing to sing my whole life but had never known it. It was also at this time that I found my lower register; which I previously hadn't even realised existed! After playing just one gig I was totally inspired, and was raring to make a go of the music properly. Following this, my sister Bonny introduced me to a friend of hers, Patrick Duff (Strangelove), who ran a songwriters' group, and said it'd be an ideal place for me to go to nurture my craft. I went along and it made a huge impact on me, and my music. At the group I received constructive feedback and encouragement from the other members; which helped me to build confidence in my writing and playing.
In the summer of 2005 I decided it was time to launch myself as a proper (whatever that means!) singer/songwriter. It was suggested I put on a night at the Bristol Folk House. Somewhat hesitant at first, I went for it, and it turned out to be a great success; which just added to my enthusiasm.
From then on I've had a lot of fun; I supported Keith James on his 'Songs of Nick Drake' tour in Autumn '06, as well as the folk legend that is Martin Simpson. I also recorded my first EP 'Give Me The Words'; which I released in January '06.
In March '06 I was on the front cover of Venue Magazine, which was then followed by a busy summer of playing folk houses and festivals like Orange Ashton Court Festival, the Bristol Harbourside, and the GWR FM's 'Best of Bristol' stage at the International Balloon Fiesta.
In October 2006 I supported Lou Rhodes (Lamb) at St. George's Brandon Hill Concert Hall in Bristol, along with Jim Moray, as part of the Oxjam Festival, as well as supporting the new acoustic sensation Newton Faulkner at the Louisiana in Bristol at the end of 2006. In April 2007 I was honoured to support Grammy Award Nominees 'Cutting Crew', on the last night of their British tour, at a sold-out Brighton Komedia.
As well as performing, radio play has really helped me to get established on the UK acoustic music scene. I have played several sessions on BBC Radio Bristol; which lead to my track 'Give Me The Words' being featured on BBC Radio 1's Jo Whiley Show, at the end of 2006. We also bombed all the way over to Norwich earlier this year (2007), to play a session on the international online radio chart show Pulse Rated. I really enjoyed playing the session, and it was great to get my music played all around the globe. The show proved to be a big success, as following that, two of my tracks 'Hunger' and 'True Speaker' reached the number one spot on the Pulse Rated Chart!
Most recently I have started receiving invites to play in Europe, and in June of this year I went out to France to joint headline the Bordeaux River Festival. That was a great experience, one I'll remember for a long time.
Throughout this period, I have largely played on my own. For a while I was intent on getting a band together, but didn't really know where to start, and hadn't yet developed a vision of what I wanted. After many failed attempts I decided to give up the search, and just allow the process to happen organically. Well it's like they say, when you give up the attachment to something, that's when you get it....because literally days after this decision, I received a phonecall from a friend of mine, asking if I was looking for a violinist. I hadn't been, in fact the idea of violin on my music hadn't really cropped up, but when she said she had a friend called Graham, who was an amazing violinist, I jumped at the chance to get his number. I called him straight away, and asked him if he'd be interested in playing on a couple of tracks I was recording, (at this point I was in the middle of making my second EP 'True Speaker'). Anyway he said yes, and came in to record some violin that same week. The recording was great, and I was thrilled to have such an inspiring new dimension to my music. And he's been playing with me ever since. I later found out that Graham played in top 70's bands Van Der Graaf Generator, and String Driven Thing. It's wonderful to have such a true pro playing with me, and a gent at that!
We launched the new EP 'True Speaker' in May of this year, and after much public demand, I am recording and due to release a new single 'You Will Be Free' later this year. To date it's been an exciting adventure, and I can't wait for more!Check out the 'Wears The Trousers' Magazine review of Katey's latest EP 'True Speaker' at -http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&
friendID=25279834&blogID=301376275PLEASE CONTINUE TO VOTE FOR KATEY ON PULSE RATED BY CLICKING THE LINK BELOW!
