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Kathryn Grimm Interview with Pat Benny
I wish to thank Kathryn for this interview.
It was freezing cold in my car and I know that she still had
much to do before she could go home. She is a savvy, educated
women with a wealth of knowledge. I hope you, the reader, will
find our chat as enlightening for you as it was for me.
PB: Well, first of all, I like to say that it's nice to finally
meet you!
KG: Hi, do you know Pete? Did you guys just meet tonight?
PB: Actually I was looking around for a good place to sit. I
always come early so that I can find a good vantage point to
watch the show. I saw they were looking for a place to sit and
not finding anything; so I said, "Hey, just sit here."
KG: That's so cool! I've known Pete for a long time. He's been
working on my cars for the last fifteen years.
PB: It was really nice; they're really nice folks. Now, if you’d
be so kind, I've got a few questions for you.
KG: Okay.
PB: Despite your degrees in Jazz and Commercial music, the bio
on your website shows that you've really paid your dues...
KG: That's just how I feel, too! (Laughs) But I don't want to
complain. This is what you do when you become a musician. You
do it because you love it. You don't go into it with any expectations,
because there are only a small amount of people who supposedly
"make it." To me, making it is to succeed at your
craft and you can't have expectations, because not everyone
is going to be famous and...known. You do it because you love
it and that's why I still do it. I've been playing music for
a long time.
PB: It's not about the money.
 KG:
No, because, think about the people that make a lot of money.
When I read in the papers about the sports guys or anyone that's
hugely successful, what would they really rather do? They'd
rather play guitar, or sing! It's like the dream that they didn't
follow.
PB: You've played with an impressive list of prominent artists.
What was that like for you?
KG: Awesome, I worked with Jeff Buckley. Actually, he played
in my band, backing me up on guitar. He was just a kid and didn't
sing back then. So, I think that what he learned from me; and
I definitely learned a lot from him, but what he learned from
me was just to open up, to come into his own and relax a little
bit. He wasn't singing then, but he was playing his guitar a
lot, so that was an amazing experience.
PB: Bo Diddley, I've heard a lot of stories about him.
KG: I was in a movie with Bo Diddley, called "Rockula."
We were on the set together for several days. He let me play
his guitar...he was just a really nice guy, really fun.
PB: Your article on your web site on songwriting was interesting.
It wasn't what I expected. I was expecting a sort of "how
to" write a song, but you have kind of a John Steinbeck
attitude about composing.
KG: Well, there are different types of songwriters. There are
some that write to be commercial and they follow a certain formula.
There's nothing wrong with that, but I'm influenced heavily
by writers like Joni Mitchell, back in the day when songwriting
was this great craft. You didn't write a song worrying about
the chorus or the bridge, you wrote a song because you had a
feeling, you had an inspiration.
PB: She wrote some good stuff!
KG: I think I learned from the best. I don't think she ever
took a songwriting class! (Laughs)
PB: You've also written an article about recording on a budget.
Alan Mirikitani, better known as BB Chung King, has similar
opinions, but he also believes that the big record companies
will eventually find a way around artists that make their own
records to sell online. How do you feel about that?
KG: Oh, let's hope not. There are things that record companies
have that are advantageous over the independent artist. They
have the massive publicity. That's hard for an artist to do
on their own. An artist can pretty much do everything, nowadays.
They can write their own songs, they can record them, they can
release them. They can get them on the Internet for the whole
world to hear. They can get a distribution deal, but it's hard
to get the massive publicity and the airplay. The airplay is
hard because of the payola. There is lot that an artist can
do on their own. If you don't worry about being hugely successful
or world famous, you can probably make more money if you just
stick with it and sell your own product.
PB: Having your own web site and selling your records there
and from other sites, like CD-Baby, are great for artists that
are professional, but they don't have that big record contract.
KG: And they're not commercial enough; they're not in a niche.
You can be totally creative, you don't have to follow any rules,
or be told what to wear. I love the freedom of that.
PB: How's it been, having Sam Ashe as a sponsor?
KG: They are amazing! I get free merchandise, which really comes
in handy. As a musician, it gets expensive to buy the guitar
strings and all of the little tiny things that add up and gets
so pricey; so they've been extremely helpful. I give them kudos
for doing this for bands who really deserve...the people who
really need the endorsements are the ones that don't have the
name. People that are huge don't need free gear. It's the little
guys that need the free gear, so I think it’s great.
PB: Do you think that the refinement of Rap, Hip-hop and what
is referred to now as R&B will merge into the Blues genre?
KG: Well, I think they are already influenced by the Blues.
I think that pretty much everyone you’re hearing right
now is influenced by the Blues. The Stones, Led Zeppelin, all
the bands that everybody’s copying; all the bands that
I listened to when I was young, that inspired me. Stevie Ray
Vaughn, my favorite guitar player, all of their roots are in
the Blues. That’s how I feel; I started with the Blues,
then I got into Jazz. I went back to school and studied strenuously
for years, and what did I do? I end up coming back to the Blues.
So let’s hope so. The Blues is a really beautiful, simple
art form...
PB: That everybody can enjoy.
KG: Yes, it’s soulful!
PB: What I meant by the refinement of Hip-hop and Rap is that
I’m starting to see actual musicians on stage with these
guys that are stomping around and talking about their bling-bling
and their SUVs. I’m seeing more guitars and horns, rather
than a guy in the back turning dials.
KG: Okay, I think it’s because all the styles are kind
of merging, which is nice. It means that people are accepting
and embracing  all
the different styles. When Hip-hop came out, a lot of people
weren’t really digging that, because it wasn’t really
melodic. People were saying that it was just rhyming. These
people are artists that go out there and rhyme (snaps her fingers)
just like that, on the spot. Any style of music has got something
good about it. There are plenty of artists out there that aren’t
talking about bling-bling and aren’t talking about beating
their woman. There’s some that are really talented, that
just rap and rhyme. It’s very hard to rhyme spontaneously.
Did you ever see the Eminem movie? It showed a taste of what
Rap is about, it’s about going out their and spontaneously
rapping on the spot and rhyming. It’s really very good.
It’s a gift. I like the fact that real musicians are joining
them. Maybe they’ll calm them down a little bit (laughs)
and take their art even further. Sometimes, the technology can
work against you. It’s kind of homogenous and not very
soulful.
PB: I’ve always believed that nothing changes music more
than technology. That’s the difference between Robert
Johnson and Elmore James. Elmore James plugged in and Robert
Johnson died. If he hadn’t died, he’d have plugged
in and his music would have changed dramatically, because electrically,
you can sustain a note. I remember when the Moog Synthesizer
came out and people thought: oh no, it’s going to put
every musician out of work. What’s happened, though, is
the synthesizer is still in use, but now it’s used to
enhance, rather than take over.
KG: That’s nice, because when it came out, it was really
overbearing. It was on all the records...
PB: It was the birth of Disco! (Laughs) So, how do you like
doing these jam sessions?
KG: This is what I really love, I love putting these musicians
together! I don’t get paid a lot for doing this, but I’m
a teacher, too. That’s how I make my living. I think that
I just love spreading music and making people happy. I invite
a lot of my students down to perform. I’ve been doing
this for a while and I love the camaraderie of musicians and
there isn’t a lot of this going on, like in the old days.
When I was first learning to play guitar, we would all get together
with acoustic guitars and learn new songs. It was a good way
to learn and I wish we could all experience that. It’s
a good way to communicate and bring people together.
PB: I really enjoyed this tonight. I wish they’d shut
down the pool table while the jam was on, because it was really
distracting, but it was still one of the best jams I’ve
been to in a long time. I want to thank you for spending this
time with me and also for a great show...
KG: You surprised me! I thought you weren’t coming down.
PB: I fooled you! But I really enjoyed meeting you and Pete
and Betty, as well.
KG: There are some really cool people that hang out here. It’s
a neighborhood bar. It’s not flashy or anything, it’s
comfortable, like a living room.
PB: I like comfortable. Places like this are disappearing and
I get a little tired of chrome and glass...
KG: And you can’t beat the no cover charge, either.
PB: Well, Kathryn, thank you so much and we’ll see each
other soon!
KG: All right. Thank you!
http://kathryngrimm.com
--Pat Benny
Also Read Pat's CD
and Live Review of
Kathryn Grimm in this issue only |
