sneak peek pics, medicine update, & 5 things i wanna share !

...updates about the album, things on the internet you may be into, and some usual kath chat....

Jun 13, 2023

hi my sweet bbs -

Well…..hello!!

I just read a brilliant essay by Alix Harrow (linked below) about myth, and it inspired me, and instead of sending work emails, I decided to write you!!

In this Love Blast:

FIVE THINGS - I’m always discovering *so * much * cool * stuff * ALL THE TIME, I want to share it with you. I foresee that 5 Things will likely run the gamut—podcasts, songs, essays, books I’m digging and think you might be into; TV shows, movies, podcasts, audiobooks I’ve been music supervising or producing lately (through my company); books, various whatever that has changed my life and you might dig…. !
M E D I C I N E update - record update! sneak peek from our photo shoot in March, including some behind-the-scenes snaps!
Freak Flag, the pod: we have some fun episodes coming up! soon! (this particular note isn’t below because that’s the literal entire update!)

okay. that’s the haps for now.

I LOVE YOU!

I HOPE YOU’RE TENDING YOUR HEART, and MAKING YOUR ART!

kath

FIVE THINGS

this essay - Alix Harrow on the Anaïs Mitchell / Ani Difranco concept album and resulting play and broadway show Hadestown. but really, this essay is about myth. I am listening to the album right now as a result of reading this essay. Um, also, Justin Vernon (i.e. Bon Iver) is on the album. !!!!!!!!
The Once and Future Witches - while we’re on the topic of Alix Harrow, do you know about this book??? (She wrote it.) I’ve read it three times in the past year. I wish every book I read captured me so deeply. Witches. Magic. Revolution. !!!!!
Algiers, America: The Relentless Pursuit - A documentary series for Hulu that I recently music supervised (through my company Pink Jumpsuit Music!), along with my super talented pal Laura Webb. This is the story of a remarkable high school football coach in the center of one of New Orleans’ oldest (and most violent) neighborhoods, & the community fighting together there for hope and survival. Coach Brice Brown wants to win football games, yes, but he’ll tell you his bigger priority is “the relentless pursuit of saving a child.” In a community where nearly every coach and player has lost a family member or close friend to gun violence (including a teammate in April, 2021), this is no small feat. I am *super* proud to have been part of telling this story, especially at a time when guns are now the leading cause of death among children in the US.
this song by Selena Gomez (“boyfriend”) and this one by Lane 8 (“survive”) - I have a real hankering and love for straight up good pop and EDM. these two have been scratching the itch of late. While we’re at it, here’s a playlist I made of my current obsessions of that ilk.
Trixie & Katya Live - This is another project for which I handled the music clearances & some supervision! I was *beyond psyched* to get to work on some *drag*, especially in these times. !!!! It’s a zany, camp musical spectacular comedic drama (say that 3x fast) starring the inimitable drag queens Trixie Mattel & Katya Zamolodchikova, plus Kelly Mantle (all RuPaul’s Drag Race “graduates!”). Can Trixie and Katya deliver all that’s required of them by their new corporate overlords, or will they take a permanent - and deadly - hit? *This one is time-sensitive—it’s only available until this Wednesday (6.14.23) evening!*

oh also, have to do one quick bonus one this week! I won’t always, PROMISE (says the queen of too much….lol…..)

Winona Forever - my sweetie wrote and produced this graphic novel, which is brilliantly illustrated by Elijah Henry. Think Goonies meets Stranger Things meets Da Vinci code. It’s *delightful.* It’s great for anyone who loves magic, and innocence, and adventure (ages 7 and up!). We are going to Chicago in about 10 days, where he will have a table at the big conference of American Librarians, and hopefully a few of the 20,000 librarians who go (!) will maybe want a copy or two! If you happen to know any librarians who are going, lmk!

M E D I C I N E : the album, update, photo shoot

okay…where to start!?

I told you it comes out officially on OCTOBER 10, 2023.

Yes?

Soon-ish, there will a pre-order for the vinyl. We’re doing a very special limited edition, *super* limited run. I’ll tell you more when I have more to tell on this point!

Regarding the audio itself, I approved final masters last Thursday—YES, WAHOO, the audio is *finito*. Final masters, in case you are not familiar with musician/recording artist lingo, are the final audio tracks.

A magical human named Amy Dragon mastered this album, and between her and my dear buddy Paul Redel, who mixed all but one song (which was mixed by my old pal Paul Tavenner), this album literally sounds more beautiful than I could have ever imagined.

I mean, when I started (back in 2016, if you remember…), I was just trying to figure out how to use my AKG-C414 and Logic Pro, trying to be brave and remind myself it didn’t have to be perfect, only true.

Today, eight years after I wrote the first song (Beloved) for this album, I have a record that sounds like…well, like MY HEART.

And, thanks to the talents of a brilliant team of visual artists {and our recent-ish photo shoot in LA}, it’s going to also look like…you guessed it, MY HEART!

Or, at least, what I imagine my heart looks like. ;-)

In another Love Blast, I’ll give you the whole down ‘n dirty about the biggest photo shoot I’ve ever done (magic! stress! no sleep! rented clothes & lights! etc.!), but for this missive I’ll keep it to slightly simpler fare: the list of our talented team, a couple day-of selects, and a few behind-the-scenes peeks.

The Team
1. photographer Reese Muntean - Reese has shot most of my artist photos for the past 10+ years, and she shot our wedding. Creating with her is one of my favorite things ever.
2. stylist Kimmy Erin - I’ve known Kimmy since college or shortly thereafter…! She is a brilliant stylist to the stars, and when I got the vision for this shoot, I reached out to her. I’ve never hired a stylist before, but the magic of stylists is that they have access to fashion we regular ol’ folks don’t, and this was worth every penny, at least twice over. She’s stuck with me forever now. {She also does some personal styling for folks who need an incisive eye for a closet refresh! hint hint if you’re in need!}
3. art director Anna Lobell - Anna is one of my besties, and we have been daydreaming ways to work together for years. She is an interior designer by trade and a visual genius.
4. hair stylist Jaime Maloney - this was a reco from Kimmy, and my first time working with her. Now Jaime is stuck with me, forever.
5. makeup artist Alex Perrone - also a reco from Kimmy, and our first time together. Also stuck with me 4EVA.
6. assistant Mary Dolan - Mary works on Song Exploder with me, and when I asked Hrishikesh (creator/producer of Song Exploder) about anyone who might be able to shoot BTS (behind-the-scenes), he suggested Mary. She not only shot BTS, but assisted for *everything*. She was truly invaluable.
7. Erik Kertes & Paul Redel each let me borrow two of their colored guitars for this shoot!!!!
8. Mason Robison, my pal & pottery teacher, gave me a pink skull back in December as a studio-warming gift. I’m obsessed with it—it sits on my white piano in the clubhouse—and we used it in the shoot. It’s going to be part of the main album art!

9 people, not including me.