Kate Reid

"[Kate's] lyrical edge is sharp as a samurai, slicing away any of the mush that makes much roots/folk writing smell like cow patties." -Stuart Derdeyn, Vancouver Province, August 2007
Kate Reid is a whip smart wordsmith with a knack for candid story-telling and songwriting that is charged with humour and social-political commentary. A straight shooter but definitely not straight, she is as charming as she is in-your-face and is one of the most original, incisive and entertaining songwriters to appear on the scene in a long time.
Raised on a farm in south central Ontario, Kate taught herself to play guitar when she was a teenager, using a chord book by The Eagles that was lying around the house and she learned harmonica by listening to Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold”. Other earlier influences included Bob Dylan and John Denver. Later on, she discovered Joni Mitchell’s album, ‘Blue’: “That album taught me how to use my voice. I think I listened to that album almost non-stop for a year when I was 22.” About the same time, she was discovering neo-folk activists/singer-songwriters Tracy Chapman, Ani DiFranco, Indigo Girls and Ferron when something woke up inside of her. That was the music she had been waiting to hear her whole life. Kate recalls, “I couldn’t believe someone could sing a song like “Blood in the Boardroom” or “Girl on a Road” and I remember thinking ‘I want to do that.’”
Kate sings sometimes almost in spoken word style, musings about identity, love and queer life with an irreverent, often self-deprecating sense of humour. But best of all, you don’t have to be queer to get it. What makes her stand out from other confessional writers is that Kate turns personal experience and insight into songs that strike a universal chord in her listeners. The sold out crowds that are already standard fare in Kate’s hometown of Vancouver laugh and cheer mid-song in response to particularly choice lyrics and shout out to her between songs. Reviewer for Canadian folk magazine, Penguin Eggs, Tim Readman describes Kate as “A welcome island of wit and charm in a sea of whining, introspective cack!" Whether she’s singing about shaving her legs to avoid being shot for wildlife by a redneck hunter in a small town or eagerly blurting out her phone number to a co-op cashier who is actually asking for her membership number, her material is as original and hysterically funny as can be. Be it garden variety insecurity, the fear of not fitting in or the insane things we sometime do for love and acceptance, Kate courageously unpacks the baggage most of us are too embarrassed to admit we have and leaves us laughing and rejoicing in our collective vulnerability, relieved that we are not the only one who feels this way.
Kate’s debut CD, Comin’ Alive, showcases the songs that have already made her a favourite of the Vancouver women’s music scene, earned her praise in the pages of various magazines, including the American lesbian glossy Curve, and garnered her a performance slot at the world-renowned Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival. Highlights include “Small Town,” a queer country chart chomper about life in Midway, BC; “Co-op Girlz,” a torturous tale of unrequited love at a health food store in Nelson, BC; “I’d Go Straight for Ridley Bent,” a homo hymn about impossible love or at least, lust, for a local alt-country artist and “Starving Artist” where she laments, “How will I get on the radio when I cuss and swear and sing about loving women?”
Kate Reid is much more than a musical comedienne, however. Her music speaks to the soul. A survivor of a dysfunctional home, she writes songs that celebrate self-empowerment and healing. Yet she does so in a manner gloriously free of clichés, approaching these themes with the same disarming directness and lack of sentimentality with which she treats her humourous material. “Crone Woman,” speaks of aspiring to share the wisdom and self-assurance of a spiritual elder; “Bright Out Here” is an ode to awakening to possibility while “Heal Myself” is a bold piece about the struggle to heal oneself in the face of adversity and hardship. Like a lifeline, her lyrics touch the human spirit and remind her audience that they are not alone. For her, it does the same thing: “Music saved my life. It’s kind of ironic because I was going through a very dark period in my life when everything was falling apart. Then, I discovered this thing inside of me: the ability to write music. It felt like it was from another source. And then, I reached a place where I had no choice but to follow my heart and do music for a living. It was like I owed it to myself and to others to just go for it. And now, music and performing are still the things that lift me up when my life is challenging. When I perform, it is one of the times I feel truly alive.”
Kate’s upcoming cd and current performance repertoire include “My Way”, a powerful piece on her reaction to the murder of the women of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside; “The Only Dyke at the Open Mic,” the story of an outing to an open mic night that goes hilariously awry; “Ex-Junkie Boyfriend,” in which a chance encounter at an intersection sets off an uproarious trip down memory lane; “Rise Up”, a somber ballad that recounts a journey of self-reflection after turning down an invite to collaborate with a musical mentor and “Uncharted Territory”, a response to feedback she received saying she sings too much about being a lesbian.
Kate’s songs cut across boundaries bringing her audience to a place of common ground. Taken together with her charismatic stage presence and comical banter between songs, she puts on a show that leaves audience members shedding tears of recognition one minute and rolling in the aisles with laughter the next. Says Kate, “People often tell me that my songs move them to tears and laughter and that’s when I know this is exactly what I am supposed to be doing.”

I didn’t think much about Kate Reid at first. Someone had put her CD into my mailbox at CJSR, probably based solely on the fact that her short-haired, tank topped appearance in the press release had given a good indication of the music it would carry. I was more than bored with lesbian acoustic folk by then. I pawned the album onto another volunteer instead, asking them to take a listen and report back if it was even remotely worth playing. I just couldn’t take any more angry hippie women.My expectations were wrong. The volunteer came back with a bunch of tracks written down, saying the album was awesome and funny and I totally needed to check it out. I was blown away by the new spin Reid had brought to the genre. Casual but intensely hilarious storytelling in every song, sometimes with the occasional heartbreaking bit of poeticism. I was immediately made a fan.A few months later Reid came to town to play a show at the Blue Chair Café. Outside the restaurant, in her rental car in the parking lot, I had one of the most enjoyable interview experiences I’ve done so far. She was insightful, hilarious and wholly accommodating. It helped, I’m sure, that it was my birthday and Reid gave me lots of cool presents like a CD, poster and a dedicated song.Kate Reid will be returning to town again, this time as part of the Women in the Round ... On the Road tour of Western Canada. Joining her will be Sarah MacDougall and Joanna Chapman-Smith. I have to admit to not yet being familiar with the work of these fine ladies, but after checking out their myspaces, I’m already a big fan.Billed as a “rollicking, estrogen-injected evening of powerhouse women in folk music,” the first stop in Edmonton is at the Blue Chair Café on Thu, Apr 17 and then Prism Bar and Grill on Fri, Apr 18. -Tam Gorzalka, The Vue Weekly, Edmonton AB, April 2008

"It would be easy to write Kate Reid off as just another lesbian folk singer. After all, she sings about her sexual orientation and women’s issues with just her acoustic guitar as back-up. But listening to Kate’s music is somewhere between watching a stand-up comedian and finding someone’s secret journal. Her songs are raw and honest but with an amazing dose of wit, all delivered in a casual yet earnest tone. There isn’t a lot of cryptic poetry in her lyrics, just matter-of-fact stories told with a musical style similar to Melissa Ferrick or Ani DiFranco." -Tamara Gorzalka, The Vue Weekly, Edmonton, AB, January 2008

"This faux-hawked folkie asks: 'How will I get on the radio when I cuss and swear and sing about loving women?' Well, writing songs this honest, smart and often gut-splittingly funny can't hurt. An orignal talent waiting to be discovered. And after you spin her sassy, honest songs, you'll understand where that sparkle in her eyes comes from. This kind of precocious is precious and altogether rare." -Stuart Derdeyn, Vancouver Province, November 2006

“One woman, one guitar, damn sexy on stage. A punky lesbian-feminist singer-songwriter who doesn’t mind the moniker, this Vancouver singer is so suave with her instrument, she looks like she’s been playing Whiskey A Go-Go for years.” -Curve Magazine, July 2007

”Kate Reid is one of the best songwriters I've heard in years. I'd put her on a stage any time, anywhere."
-Gary Cristall, Founder and Former Artistic Director-Vancouver Folk Music Festival-Vancouver, BC, November, 2006

”Punky, yet wise beyond her years, Kate Reid is a breath of fresh air on the Vancouver music scene. She is quirky, in-your-face and charming at the same time, and most of all, a superb entertainer and songwriter. And... she's hilarious!” -Pat Hogan, Sounds and Furies Productions-Vancouver, BC, September, 2006

"Vancouver-based singer-songwriter Kate Reid is one witty chick. She nails the lesbian experience with songs like “Everyone’s Fucked But Me,” with its references to uptight straight women trying fit in at women’s events, two-year relationships and going to therapy to support local women in business. Whether she’s singing about having crushes on “Co-op Girlz,” or living in a town midway to nowhere on “Small Town,” Reid is uncompromisingly queer. Reid’s guitar style—basic pop-folk— provides a nice accompaniment for her truly impressive voice. Produced by former Mollies’ Revenge frontwoman Yvette Narlock, “Comin’ Alive” sounds great. The vocals are exactly where they need to be—forefront and centre. In the song “Starving Artist,” she asks: “How will I get on the radio when I cuss and swear and sing about women?” Tongue-in-cheek, she knows that the price for play outside the confines of co-op radio, or maybe CBC on a good day, would be integrity. Reid doesn’t sound like she’s up for the compromise." -Cindy Filipenko, Herizons Magazine, Spring 2007

"...very impressive. Heal Myself, Bright Out Here, and Identity are introspective and universal numbers with marvellous harmonies. Kori Miyanishi adds some expert banjo and fiddle tracks, and a rhythm section allows Kate to rock out like she should. Everyone’s Fucked But Me, Small Town, and Co-op Girlz are just clever and twisted enough to draw chuckles. In the epic Crone Woman, she muses on becoming elderly and wise. Great lyrics there, and her voice is always in tune, maybe sometimes even a bit Rae Spoon-esque. - Mary-Beth Carty, Penguin Eggs Magazine, July 2007