Flower-Powered Artist - October 2006

Kate Earl

Once a resident of Chugiak, Alaska, Kate Joy Smithson aka Kate Earl decided to try her luck in the City of Los Angeles, California. Within 6 months after the move, she got signed by an independent record label called Record Collection. May 2005 saw the release of her debut album, Fate Is The Hunter.

Kate's musical ability was already apparent at an early age when she had her piano lessons, where she proved to be good at playing by ear. Her teen years were spent predominantly singing worship/gospel songs. This carried on by the time she submitted her first demo CD, a collection of Christian/Gospel music.

After meeting with several producers, Tony Berg (Aimee Mann, X, The Replacements) was brought in to produce Kate's first album. It was this time when it was suggested for Kate to write new songs based on her experiences, and this is where the record (Fate Is The Hunter) was brought into conception. Fate Is The Hunter is a very personal album, so much that it is almost a reflection... an autobiography. Her experience shows through most of the songs in her CD, from her dad dying and leaving them alone at age 15 to leaving her homeland at a relatively young age.

Top musicians gathered up to play in Kate's first effort. Musicians including: Michael Penn, David Baerwald, Tony Berg, Charles Smith, Wendy Melvoin, Patrick Warren, Jon Brion, Mitchell Froom, and most notably the members of Incubus (Mike Einziger, Ben Kenney, Jose Pasillas) - who mostly plays with Kate in her live shows. Currently, Kate is in hiatus as she prepares for her sophomore effort. KGRL is proud to present this month's birthday celebrant, Kate Earl, as October's Flower-Powered Artist.

Enjoy the exclusive NEW track provided by Kate Earl, as a sort of preview to what direction her sophomore effort is heading (including some live crappy recorded tracks from the recent Hotel Cafe performance). Also, check out the Kate Earl exclusive interview (audio/transcribed) in our interview page. Photos included in our feature were provided by Koga.

KGRL Kate Earl Interview

KGRL had a chance to go on a one on one interview with Kate Earl. The interview was held in Hotel Cafe - 07.21.06.

Listen to Kate Earl's responses in High Quality MP3 Stream using the player below:




Transcription excerpt from the interview:

KGRL: We're huge fan of the song Hero and most specially, Anything. What's your favorite song in your album?

Kate Earl: I really like Sweet Sixteen, because I think that production and singing and arrangement and every element of the song is beautiful. Every song sounds great but I can hear something wrong. Sweet Sixteen to me is the only one that I think is pretty perfect.


-> READ the full transcript along with high/low quality mp3 of the Interview by Clicking Here! <-

KGRL Exclusive Track - Bright Lion

KGRL proudly presents an exclusive intimate recording of Kate Earl's new song called, Bright Lion. The song was recorded acoustically live. You get to hear how great Kate Earl is live - and a new song too! The track is streamed on-demand. Enjoy!


Bonus Live Tracks
Recorded from Hotel Cafe 07.21.06 Performance.
Crappy Recording Alert: Please proceed at your own risk.
You have been warned!



Use the player below to stream the exclusive and live tracks:

Kate Is The Hunter
A Review Of Fate Is The Hunter

Fate is the Hunter is an autobiographical collection of songs written by Kate Earl. The first listen will immediately draw comparison to Fiona Apple - and that is because the first track, Someone To Love, sounds very much so. But that's where the comparisons end. Kate has a lot more to offer than being just another sound-alike. For one (I'm probably bound to get a beating out of this from Fiona fans), in stark contrast with Fiona, Kate has a more palatable vibrato. It's true, I'd even go and say Kate Earl has one of the best vibrato we've ever heard live - not to mention having a soft sweet voice to match the vibrato perfectly.

So, we've established about Kate being a great performer. What about the album? The opener, like stated above, sounds a LOT like what would come out of Fiona's older records. From the piano playing in the background to the way the vocals is delivered, it screams of Fiona. It is a great song, albeit it shows a little too much of the influence. The next song, When You're Older, shifts from one influence to another. The track reminds heavily of The Carpenters, and that's NOT a bad thing - the song is as classy as it gets and is wonderfully written as it is meaningful. The song is all about Kate's courage to take the necessary step in her career, moving out of her homeland and heading to LA (as the lyrics puts it "trading the forest for the city").

The next track, Officer, is probably the most pop-influenced song in the entire CD. The bassline is the hooker (great lyrics too!). Not a bad song either way, just poppy. The tracks: Silence, Cry Sometimes and Free are the 3 most jazzy-loungy tunes in the CD, world class sounding jazz/lounge tracks - mind you. There is probably a lack of appreciation of Jazz in this day and age, but if you are one of those folks into jazz/lounge tunes you'd LOVE these tracks (I SURE DO!).

Anything is nothing short of amazing. This is probably our favorite amongst the wonderful tracks in the CD. Showcasing Kate's vocal prowess and superb song-writing ability, Anything is just a song in its own level of greatness - indeed IT IS the high-point in this CD. I just have to admit that every time this song plays, it never fails to give the chills. From the piano intro to the wonderful bridge, where she puts it bluntly "all you need is LOVE;" to an unexpected climax as the song nears the end; up until the final notes that Kate sings in that wonderfully flawless stylized vibrato - it's that GOOD.

Come This Far is a fantastic acoustic track that will surely please the acoustic afficionados - great guitar playing accompanying the wonderful melody and vocals. Sweet Sixteen, is as it is titled, sweet. The intro is Kate's homage to her parent's warped wartime records she listens to. The song has a tint of Hawaiian influence in it. The vocal work carries the overall smooth relaxing softness in perfect pitch that offers a soothing feeling, making this song a joy to listen to.

The acoustic-piano based song Hero, which Kate wrote for her dad, is arguably our second best favorite in this CD. It is such a perfect closing track to end a musical journey. Wonderful melody and simplistic arrangement makes this track an effective end track. The bonus track, Surrender, is probably not worth the extra mention but in case you are wondering, is just an instrumental track - and not an outstanding one at that.

It's a rarity to find an album these days with no fillers. I'm proud to say that Kate's Fate Is The Hunter falls under that category, sans the hidden instrumental track.

Fate Is The Hunter - Buy It Now (Click Here)!

Tracklist:

Someone To Love
When You're Older
Officer
Silence
Cry Sometimes
Anything
Free
Come This Far
Sweet Sixteen
Hero
Surrender (Hidden Track - Instrumental)

Kate Earl Photos - Hotel Cafe 07.21.06

Play Slideshow!