- Kate Jayne - News

The Pony Demos

Mon, 04 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

So at long last, there are some new songs up. This collection of demos is still in progress, so keep checking back for more. This one is my favorite. ;) Eventually you'll be able to download them all for free, currently you can just grab the ones that are done (the others have some tweaking left, either another vocal take, or a piano part or something). I'll let you know as I add more. There are couple more new songs to be recorded, as well as some old b-sides that I might throw up as well, plus I'm going to write out some explanations/notes on the songs for those of you who are far away and don't get to hear all the little tidbits disclosed at shows... lots happening here at katejayne.com!

The show at the Cat Club the other week went splendidly, although we had some last minute personnel changes (the piano player had some...issues) and it ended up being just me and my percussionist. But it was a great turnout and a whole bunch of fun - my sister took photos, and I'll have those up soon!

Stay close, and play safe....

Valentine's Day Song

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

For the holiday this year, I’m posting a love song as a gift. The Seasons of Our Discontent is my second-newest song, and my overwhelming favorite of the recent batch (which is why it got recorded first). I’m not shy to say I love this song, and I hope you will too. I wrote Seasons at the tail end of September last year. I started to get the itch, the kind that lets me know there’s a song in there somewhere wanting to come out. I was frustrated because I felt like I had already written all there was to about this story in an arc of two and a half earlier songs, but if there is one thing that is just as hard to say no to as your heart, it’s your muse. I'm sharing it for Valentine's Day because I think it's my best love song; the most honest and straightforward and well-intentioned of them all. What better time could there be? I somehow doubt that it would have any kind of resonance on St. Patrick's Day. Here's hoping we all have someone to share coats with. This recording was done pretty quickly last weekend, and as you can hear, my voice has been a bit hoarse. I’m on the fence whether I like the sound of it or if I should rerecord it – though if I do recut the song, this will end up a collector’s item! So download with abandon, share with your friends, and definitely send it to your crush (secret or otherwise). Enjoy the holiday, my doves! -Kate Jayne

The Seasons of Our Discontent can now be found slightly remixed and still available for free download here.

Holiday Show Photos

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Last month, on December 22 I played a special holiday show at the Cat Club. It was the most fun show in quite a while, possibly ever. I had my whole family there, including both my sisters, which was a first. I baked cookies and dressed in holiday colors, and borrowed an ukulele from my friend Ned for the highlight of the night: a performance of Mele Kalikimaka with a hula dance accompaniment by my sister! It was a lovely, fun crowd, with the merriment flowing - sugar highs and drinks all around. Yours truly finally remembered to bring a camera, and a friend of mine also snapped a few...enjoy!

Note: these photos, including ones with the uke and hula dancer, can now be found archived in the Live 2008 Gallery (scroll all the way to the bottom to see).

MAVRIC Award Voting

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The voting is now open at the MAVRIC Awards! I would love it if you could take the time to vote for me for Acoustic Song of the Year!

Note: Voting is only open til January 31, so vote as soon as possible!

Here are the steps:

1) Visit this link.

2) My category is second from the top, "Song of the Year: Acoustic". Select my name, then scroll to the bottom. Enter your first and last name and email address, and press the "submit" button. (Feel free to vote in other categories as well, but it's NOT necessary to select any others to place your vote for me!)

3) Check your email, and you should have a message from the MAVRIC Awards. Send an email to the address they give you as a link to INSIDE THE EMAIL (don't just click "reply") - you don't have to write anything in the email, this is just to be sure that you're a real person voting from a real address.

4) Tell your friends to vote! ;)

Thanks a million in advance, I hope we can win!! I'll keep you updated! Happy New Year!!

-Kate Jayne

MAVRIC Award Nominations

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Hey all,
I have some exciting news to share. I was recently nominated for two MAVRIC Awards, which are the independent music awards of Ventura County. Here's their website if you want to check it out: mavricawards.com. I ended up with nominations in both the "Song of the Year - Acoustic" and the "EP of the Year" categories, for Muse and The Memo EP, respectively. For now that's all there is to tell because the nominations and the (and this is the key part) online voting are not on the website yet, but when it's time to vote I'll let you know and hopefully we can win one (or both)! Stay tuned...
KJ

Photos

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

I played a show last week, at the Cat Club. It was rad, and way fun. Here, see a few pictures.

Note: photos are archived in the Live 2008 Photo Gallery, scroll down to November.

Updates, etc

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Why hello, folks, long time no see. Well, actually, I'm sure there's a bit of overlap between here and whoever's reading my blog and myspace, so it's not that I've been out of touch. I always felt funny using this site as a platform for something other than music, and I never want my general ramblings and immeasurable neuroses to make it hard to find the more important stuff like info on songs, photos, and updates. So, come here for music and visit the blog for everything else.

Two weeks ago I came back from another trip to Italy, which was gorgeous and amazing as always - you can check out dispatches on that blog - and now I'm getting back into the swing of things here. I have a bunch of new songs that need to get recorded, so I'm going to be doing some demos in the very near future and offering them for free so you can download them, put them on your ipod, and enjoy them if you like. I'm so happy with them.

Oh! Also, I played my first gig in Europe while I was in Florence! It was so much fun, it was in a gorgeous little bookstore just by the Duomo, called The Paperback Exchange. It was intimate, all-acoustic, and lovely. It was also a real treat for me to play an hour set since most places in LA only give you thirty minutes.

Since I've been home I already had a gig, last weekend at Tangier. For me, it was awesome because I was able to recycle my wig from Halloween (which was the night before) - a photo can be found in the Live 2008 Photo Gallery (scroll down to November).

Here is a video of "Tango," one of the new songs, from that night, it's a bit dark and the room was quite loud (there was another band playing in a different room that unfortunately you could really hear (I couldn't hear myself at all) - but still fun:

Going back in time to a few days before I left for Italy, here are some photos from an all-girls show I did in Redondo Beach, dressed in uncharacteristic bright colors (they're a bit blurry):

Note: these photos are now archived in the Live 2008 Gallery, scroll down to September to see them.

Going back a week prior, I performed a freewheeling and super-fun set at the Viento y Agua Coffeehouse in Long Beach, a photo of which is also in the Live 2008 Gallery (scroll down!).

Stay tuned for new songs, and stay cool...

Photos from June Cat Club Show

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

I played at the Cat Club on June 25, and my friend Norman took these photos for me. He sent them to me a long time ago....I didn't know how to open the file, and then I kind of forgot about them til now. Thanks Norman!

Note: these photos are now found here, in the Live 2008 Photo Gallery once you scroll down a little.

New Song "Northeast"

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

(this is just a demo, full of mistakes...)

NORTHEAST

two hours northeast of boston
the summer night is too hot to sleep
all the world is softly resting and you're three thousand miles away
so ghosts are all the company i keep

out behind the flicker of the fireflies
my first dog is buried in the ground
inside my echo chamber focus there are thoughts screaming out
bloody murder but they never make a sound

lately i've been dreaming that i kiss you
i wake with my heart pounding like a drum
because i play for more than money
i put my heart on the line
i've bet all i have before the game's begun

here i swim in the lake of my childhood
pushing slow lazy strokes through memories
some i can hardly remember but feel heavy in my bones
like a hand or a hip held blatantly from reach

lately i've been wishing i was with you
nervous as someone living on the run
because the longer that the days grow
you slip more and more away
the knots that tied us together coming undone

Camera Cinque

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

That's where I told my Italian class I was playing on Friday, "Camera Cinque". Of course, in English it is the lovely venue known as Room 5 Lounge. I played with my very good friend Norman Kim; I started the night off with a set followed by one by Norman, and we stuck in two duets as well (Gillian Welch's "Orphan Girl" and Ryan Adams' "Come Pick Me Up"). It was awesome. I loved playing and singing with Norman (my first time singing a duet with a pal), we'll have to work some more songs out soon.

If you haven't been before, Room 5 is a beautiful room above Amalfi Restaurant, on La Brea Ave. They have great sound, a long full bar, and gorgeous ambience. It was my first time playing and definitely is already one of my favorite places to play in LA. Many thanks to everyone who came out!

Also, at my Cat Club show on June 25, a friend of mine taped my last song of the set, "The Heartbreakers". Check it out below!