in the mid 90's there was a burgeoning "original and unsigned" music scene in NYC. One of the few bands to actually make a living at it was 'Choosy Mothers'.
With an infectious amalgamation of styles subtly blended through song craft and improvisation, 'The Mothers' packed houses at venues like Wetlands, New Music Cafe, and Tramps while holding down a 3 set weekly residency at Greenwich Villages Mondo Cane. The band averaged over 2 gigs per week in Manhattan alone during its 6-year tour of duty.
Sharing the stage with artists like Dave Matthew's Band, Third Eye Blind, Jeff Buckley, and Ziggy Marley helped to enable Choosy Mothers to sell over 15,000 recordings of thier music 'off the stage' with no marketing or label support.
get Choosy Mothers' CD 'Headstorms' at:
CDbaby.com
or download it from:
When Choosy Mothers ultimately disbanded in 1997 James took a break from performing, and dove head first into the art of audio production. [more on the other mothers soon] Pro-Tools (the industry standard recording/editing/mixing system) had recently hit the market, and James was all about it. Over the next few years, he produced and engineered albums and tracks for numerous artists, while further honing his skills as a producer/engineer.
Getting experience on several sides of the creative process gave James an opportunity to reevaluate his own path and the musical genres that shaped him as a musician. The experience helped him begin the long awaited process of stylistic reinvention. The result is a fresh new sound that covers a lot of ground and yet remains cohesive and unmistakably James Katz .
