Shows
kat330BUp To Me [w/ horns]Mar 25, 2018: Maybe this is a straightforward "he done her wrong" song. Maybe it's a wider metaphor for how our nation's no.1 confidence man has sold our national pride for personal gain and has dried up the dreams of too many, making it clear we must VOTE him GONE along with his enablers in Congress to bring back the best in US. I leave it up to you.
The familiarly marvelous piano part is provided by my absolutely favorite Nice person, who Cannes only be Damien Riba, courtesy of Mangalyan Records. Discover more Damien here:
@damien-riba
damienriba.bandcamp.com
Written, produced...2018-03-2002 min
kat330BNo MythNov 3, 2017: This hit single was a sweet swing and No Myth (she PENNed with a lisp) for Michael in 1989 and a song that charmed the socks off me at first listen. Hearing it recently shuffled up in my big mix of music motivated me to finally consider some new recording after nearly a nine-month hiatus with energies focused on resisT activities.
It occurs to me that NM could serve as a sequel to my "Shanghaied" piece [https://soundcloud.com/kat330/kat330shanghaied], with the narrator now back on shore and solid ground after her torrid fling on the high seas...2017-11-0204 min
kat330BThe Lonely Bird (El Ave Solitaria)July 7, 2017: I have not produced any new track for several months now with my energies, such as they are, directed instead to #ResistTrump efforts like writing myriad letters to Congress and attending protest rallies. Then a few days ago, unbidden and out of the blue, I thought on these two tunes from my youth and how they might mash up well, both in melody and the loneliness themes of both.
I had to search online a bit for a key match of "The Lonely Bull" to "White Bird," but once I found that, the mashing up choices I made here...2017-07-0304 min
kat330BI Disown You[Mar. 30 update: JT's surprise b'day gift for me here: https://youtu.be/tDDGKSTzBxk check it out!! xxxooo]
President's Day for US (2.20.17): Seemed most appropriate to post this freedom anthem on this particular bank holiday. My acoustic Guild is featured here in a performance of the '63 Madara & White melody, strumming aggressively through the piece twice, with one take from the R and the other from the L speaker. I also played some synth piano and the choral "Ahh" parts on my Yamaha keyboard. [You can D/L an instrumental-only and other versions in my sets: .mp3's at Free Music...2017-02-1904 min
kat330BHelp Me After You Die [kat330 mash]October 18, 2016: (Headphones! :) Serendipity strikes again. These two tracks came up one after the other in my major .mp3 shuffle program, and the similarities were immediately apparent. Not just the key, but also the overall tone, the shambling rhythm and especially the non-verbal groans that punctuate each artist's piece. Getting the drums to match up perfectly is always the #1 issue when there are unique and interesting drum parts featured prominently in both songs, so there are still some rough spots in the end result here. But I think the dueling "Moan" Osborne and Tom "Wails" section toward the end is delicious...2016-10-1804 min
kat330BBeyond the Planet of DOUGHY WHITE MIDDLE-AGED MEN Is a Major C Change in a Chord with Mother Earthhttp://kat330.tumblr.com/post/152947062479/finland-here-we-come-if-i-never-waken-from posted Nov 9, 2016
[Original notes updated August 2016] I recorded this ditty back in March 2015 in the tradition of a 20th C. protest song while having some extra fun with instrumentation and various musical allusions. At that time I could never have suspected—not even in my wildest nightmares—that a template for my initial inspiration could ever actually be nominated as the presidential candidate of a major US political party! Lumped with so many other heinously ignorant, unjust and horrific events of 2015-16, it can be understood only in the context of some virulent strain of p...2016-08-1702 min
kat330BDon't Dust Up Our Love [kat330 Mash-up]July 19, 2016:
I happened to catch Parquet Courts' track "Dust" on local radio recently and immediately was reminded of Richard & Linda Thompson's "Don't Renege on Our Love" from their "Shoot Out the Lights" album. With some editing and a slight tempo change of "Dust," this mash-up was born. I hope you find the end result interesting, and please check out the artists' tracks individually, too! xxxooo
https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Renege-On-Our-Love/dp/B001RYSNOI
https://www.amazon.com/Dust/dp/B01BFVFJIU2016-07-1904 min
kat330Bkat330's Lighten UpJuly 1, 2016: (Strap on headphones to fully plug into the Kat 3:30 ride here! :) Amused by this LIGO post [apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160615.html] and by my husband's recent dream of us up in a spaceship, I was inspired to create this song of merging black hole G-waves, G-forces and thrust. It isn't rocket science, but it has everything to do with physical science and a sound map where G marks the spot. It's rather 11th hour slapdash in order to release it Friday as a surprise (Happy Birthday, Baby! ♥). Hopefully the multilayered fugue that builds makes it interesting, if a so...2016-07-0103 min
kat330BTurn Off Your Phone (Ion & Kathleen)[May 24, 2016: Dedicated to our true heroes—classroom educators—and to parents around the globe!] Ion Bodi's wonderful guitar instrumental inspired me to write a set of lyrics based on his very relatable title. When I sent them to him, he asked if possibly we could make it a pop piece together. So here is its earliest incarnation. I'm battling a wonky microphone situation and an even noisier recording environment than usual, but Ion has worked some magic with his mix here. He has mentioned adding other elements to this, perhaps his own music students, whenever he can find the time. I su...2016-05-2403 min
kat330BThing Called Love w/ Finn & Gary[April 26, 2016, a global collaboration that's indeed a thing called love—of music!] So honored to have worked on this Hiatt à la Raitt cover with these greatly talented folk (and even greater souls)!
Finn Bårdsen (Autopilot Club): https://soundcloud.com/finn-slide-guitarist/tracks Slide guitar lead and rhythm
Gary Reeves (Mountain Songs): https://soundcloud.com/mountain-songs/tracks Percussion
Martin Lucas (Return to Normal): https://soundcloud.com/mlucas/tracks for his wonderful working version Logic X drum programming (plus his keen ears and being an all-round Hoosier mensch :)
JT Lindroos: Cover design https://www.facebook.com/people/JT-Lindroos/100003643716049 and http://jtlindroos.tumblr.com...2016-04-2604 min
kat330Bkat330 LOVE REIGNED remasterMarch 30, 2016: (headphones please :)
A remaster of LR was in the works for a while, but it seems now is the right time to post this given recent world events. A birthday wish of mine is for everyone on the planet to have a "rocky shore experience" ultimately allowing love to reign over all hate. The original release of this—my first fully realized singer-songwriter original—was in July 2013, just prior to JT's gift of a Yamaha keyboard synth. So the instruments performed here include 2 intertwining vibraphone parts on Korg keyboard, a bongo beat throughout, Epiphone drones for the "bass" end, 2 inte...2016-03-3004 min
kat330BMichael from MountainsMarch 14, 2016
This is my remaster of a track posted originally on October 24, 2013: https://soundcloud.com/kat330/michael-from-mountains Headphones always recommended as my production tweaks are usually on the subtle side.
I first heard this sweet and cheery song where I found so many other gems I performed long ago: Judy Collins' treasured "Wildflowers" album. Likewise I adapted the keyboard part (Korg in harpsichord mode) from her superb "Songbook" of the period. Cello, oboe, harp and flute parts are produced on my Yamaha synth. The artwork is JT's deft actualization of an image I had in my head as I recorded...2016-03-1403 min
kat330BSt. TeresaLeap Day 2016
I always "Relish"ed this song the most from Joan Osborne's breakthrough album. It's the music that pulled me in since I can't resist a waltz tempo, especially in a minor key. The lyrics, just vague and mysterious enough to be out of easy reach, were secondary to my enjoyment. I picked up on obvious drug references, but I needed to create a different back story in order to cover the song with any personal meaning. And while most of the lyrical content describes a shabby urban backdrop, the music itself suggested to me a rural Appalachian setting...2016-02-2904 min
kat330BDownton Files [kat330 Mash-up]While most of US tuned into that ball-maul Bowl Sunday eve, JT and I caught up with Scully & Mulder's latest reincarnation followed by the newest Abbey episode. If not for this viewing serendipity, quite possibly my keen ear would never have connected the dots—dots as ♪♪ in this case—to produce this brand new Kat Mash. And yes, those are my own "la-la-las" at the end. It's a seamless quickie both in length and in time taken to turn it out. I encourage you to visit my other similarly seamless mashup involving serendipity here: https://soundcloud.com/kat330/rogue-world
Also inspired...2016-02-0701 min
kat330Bkat330's Nice to Be Naughty[see full LYRICS below and hear joerxworx's wonderful saxophone addition here: http://kat330.bandcamp.com/track/nice-to-be-naughty-featuring-joerxworx-on-saxophone ]
Kim of My Hot Air Balloon challenged me to do Eartha Kitt's "I Wanna Be Evil." As much as I enjoy Kitt's delightful performance here https://youtu.be/SS02GeKuWQ4, the lyrics didn't speak to me enough to cover it. Instead I wrote a nice vs naughty piece of my own and deliver it atop Earle Hagen's own composition duality: His song of innocence being the Andy Griffith Show Theme (on which Earle whistles as well), followed by a most sultry song of...2016-01-2103 min
kat330BGetting Real[Originally uploaded @kat330 in 2014 during the Polar Vortex hitting US. Deleted there for more account time and remastered here November 11, 2015] These are my original production notes.
While playful Kat's warming up outside in the cold distance, a wild Kat did growl: This prose poem was written in a rush of despair the morning of the autumnal equinox, September 23, 2010, after hearing a weather report the temperature could reach 100-degrees in the Louisville, KY, metro area that day. It is an Owed to Earth screed about unbridled greed, my enviro-rant venting rage over the decades of senseless waste now creating great haste...2015-11-1202 min
kat330BE St Louis Blues (feat Damien on piano)Here is yet a new mix, this time removing my lame melodica track so Damien Riba's marvelous piano is showcased far better.
Damien, merci beaucoup for making my fantasy of being part of a combo come to life! Your piano contribution is so lovely and fits like a glove here! And love your artwork, too! ♥
Hear his sounds https://soundcloud.com/love-suites and https://soundcloud.com/mishugina-1899 and https://soundcloud.com/mangalyan-records2015-10-1602 min
kat330BGregorian ChanceOctober 7, 2015 [Lyrics below and headphones strongly recommended]
'Tis the creepy season of Halloween chills and, to mark the centennial of its publication, here is my sonic version of Franz Kafka's notorious tale of hapless Gregor Samsa in "Metamorphosis," greatly abbreviated here in my words and music. The narrator (guess who?!:) describes only the earliest moments of Samsa's transformation, and then I spin it in the end with an upbeat twist. Maybe it will pique your curiosity to read the original story, and I encourage you to do so.
I'm fairly pleased with how it turned out all in all but...2015-10-0703 min
kat330BCandy Man (remaster)Please see original production notes here: https://soundcloud.com/kat330/candy-man-dave-van-ronk Cover Design by JT Lindroos: http://pinterest.com/jtlindroos2015-09-1702 min
kat330BEast St Louis Blues (remaster)Please see original production notes here: https://soundcloud.com/kat330/east-st-louis-blues-1
(cowbell layer removed per request of JT/ "Philo" https://soundcloud.com/philo-gristle :)
Cover Design by JT Lindroos http://pinterest.com/jtlindroos2015-09-1602 min
kat330BFrankie's Blues (remaster)Please see original production notes here: https://soundcloud.com/kat330/frankiesblues
(NOTE: at 1:09-1:15, you'll still hear the truck on wet pavement passing by our living room--just pretend it's ambient barroom noise. :)
Cover Design by JT "Philo Gristle" Lindroos http://pinterest.com/jtlindroos and https://soundcloud.com/philo-gristle2015-09-1603 min
kat330BFixin' (remaster)[Originally posted February 2013 @kat330 / deleted there for upload time / retained listener comments below]
While noodling on a newer toy (Epiphone Special II) in my musical instrument array, I decided to record myself back in early February 2013 strumming a rendition of "Fixin' to Die." The year had begun on a roll, but there was a sad blindside to the soul before I got around to recording any vocals for it. Well then, Dylan's / Bukka White's lyrics felt too dark for the place I was pushed aside to, so I set about writing new words in a very different direction, adding acoustic...2015-09-0403 min
kat330BBusted Rhymes: A Nhyming Narrative (must read notes!)August 18, 2015: Hope you enjoy this word puzzle I constructed as a challenge to myself. Squeezed into the 19 couplets below are fully 39 pairs of words that are spelled as if they should be rhymes but are pronounced differently, sometimes even quite so (like "tamale" and "pale" :). If there is a term for this English language quirk, I could not find it, so please inform me? In my search, I came across this site: http://people.sc.fsu.edu/~jburkardt/fun/wordplay/unrhymes.html
While obviously every couplet ends in "eye-rhymes," several lines also contain within them two to three additional words...2015-08-1802 min
kat330BEl Preso Numero NuevePlease see original production notes here: https://soundcloud.com/kat330/el-preso-numero-nueve
It was used on PBS here: http://www.pbs.org/food/original-fare/season-3-episode-2-childhood-search-puerto-ricos-lost-pepper
(Muppets have left, but Kat crawled in ;)
What you'll hear missing compared with the first recording is a pan-effect that Mr. Gristle had done on my track using Garage Band software. If people really want that back in on this remaster, let me know and I'll put Philo on it! ☼
If you care to hear a *really* lo-fi, effed up version, there is always this: https://soundcloud.com/kat330/el-preso-redux-1998-tape :) xxxooo2015-08-0403 min
kat330BAfter the Gold Rush (remaster)Please read original production notes here: https://soundcloud.com/kat330/after-the-gold-rush
☼2015-08-0404 min
kat330BCatch the WindFind original production notes here: https://soundcloud.com/kat330/catch-the-wind
An early track benefiting from my mixing and production learning curve, separation in vocals, etc.2015-08-0103 min
kat330BSince You've Asked (remaster)Find original production notes here: https://soundcloud.com/kat330/since-youve-asked-judy-collins2015-08-0102 min
kat330BColoursFind original production notes here: https://soundcloud.com/kat330/colours-donovan
See Mr. Gristle's video backdrop (to the original version) here: https://youtu.be/dDqkUJq4HJw
Much better separation on this remaster, and D/Ling can now resume anew! :)2015-08-0103 min
kat330BMajor Melon Farmer[Find lyrics and production notes at:https://soundcloud.com/kat330repost/major-melon-farmer2015-08-0103 min
kat330BBipolar Vortex BoogiePlease check out this droll dude's podcast, "Ragbag," which intersperses quirky music with snarky observations on e-human behavior:
https://soundcloud.com/frank-burton-912417543/ep2-triangle-house
Find lyrics and production notes at:https://soundcloud.com/kat330/bipolar-vortex-boogie-drrrama ]2015-08-0102 min
kat330BPlayer v Player (remaster)[Find lyrics and production notes at https://soundcloud.com/kat330/player-vs-player ]2015-08-0103 min
kat330BRichland Woman Blues (remaster)July 28, 2015: Another in my remaster series, Original production notes here: https://soundcloud.com/kat330/richland-woman-blues
A Mississippi John Hurt cover as I learned from Maria Muldaur's version. I tweaked a lyric in verse 3 -- just made sense. The rooster artwork is by Tony "Doc" Shiels. We're fortunate to have a couple of original pieces by him. xxxooo2015-07-2802 min
kat330BSomeday Soon (remaster)Cool original artwork of her abusive, halfway house biker by JT Lindroos [kiitos, Kulta!]
July 28, 2015: Another in my remaster series, still with the sarcastically cynical lyric changes as sung by an older (yet not at all wiser) woman. Original production notes here: https://soundcloud.com/kat330/cynical-sarcastic-someday-soon
This is the earliest recording still on my kat330 site that I have never tweaked until this remaster. I think it benefits the most from my learning curve. :) xxxooo2015-07-2802 min
kat330BHard Lovin' Loser (remaster)July 28, 2015: Another in my remaster series. Original production notes here: https://soundcloud.com/kat330/hard-lovin-loser-richard-fari and Mr. Gristle's YouTube edited cartoon visual here: https://youtu.be/nc1BuhBxY6E
No getting rid of the Korg's "buzz" when it was plugged into my laptop and in normal piano mode, but maybe there's more clarity elsewhere in this version. xxxooo2015-07-2803 min
kat330BWaltz to a Wood Thrush (Lyrics+Lisa Lilts)[see a video using this track here: https://youtu.be/UlJGyvCFRkc ]
July 27, 2015: OK, the 4th and final variation on a thrush theme, whew! This is my vocal version with the lovely lilts of Lisa West (Faerytale on SoundCloud) https://soundcloud.com/faerytale/tracks and here: www.cdbaby.com/Artist/Faerytale
Lisa indicated she recorded her vocalization against my lyrics version, and so I feel it fits together even better than her with my instrumental version. To see lyrics, go to production notes here: https://soundcloud.com/kat330/waltz-to-a-wood-thrush2015-07-2703 min
kat330BSisters of Mercy (remaster)Nov 11, 2016: Leonard Cohen, R.I.P. ♥
July 23, 2015: [headphones suggested] Here's the 5th in my "remastered for downloading anew" project. You'll also find a few DL-maxed tracks at freemusicarchive.org/music/Kathleen_Martin (excluding my covers of active artists). Somehow I had mastered my initial recording of "SoM" with an especially soft volume, so boosting that is the primary improvement here. I feel this is one of my finest vocals overall, coming after I'd learned a bit more about Reaper and before I'd beat up my best mic by badly securing it to and often dropping it from a telescope tripod fo...2015-07-2302 min
kat330BWaltz to a Wood Thrush (inst. w/liltings of Faerytale)This instrumental variation includes the lovely lilting of Lisa West (Faerytale on SoundCloud) https://soundcloud.com/faerytale/tracks and here: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/Faerytale
Thank you for adding your pure vocal instrument to my composition, Lisa! xxxooo2015-07-2103 min
kat330BWaltz to a Wood Thrush (instrumental)July 16, 2015: How appropriate that my probable "swan song" over at kat330 was inspired by a bird a couple of weeks ago, a talented wood thrush to be specific! From his 6-note song, I heard a waltz melody in my head and began writing lyrics to fit. It was an unexpected yet joyous journey getting into the guise of a male songbird courting a mate for this narrative.
But this is an instrumental version only, recommended I upload by JT. Would be so lovely if someone choreographed a waltz piece to it or used it for some pastoral video. My Guild...2015-07-1603 min
kat330BLa Chanson des Vieux AmantsJune 23, 2015: [headphones suggested and, please, no need to ♥ / repost / comment again!] Another in my "remastered for downloading anew" project. You'll also find a few DL-maxed tracks at freemusicarchive.org/music/Kathleen_Martin (excluding my covers of active artists). I tightened up the melodica track a bit and used new master settings to hopefully improve and increase the overall sound. A simple trio of sounds here: my voice, my Korg in harpsichord mode and my melodica (in dark corridor FX). Please read production notes at my initial version posted here: https://soundcloud.com/kat330/la-chanson-des-vieux-amants2015-06-2303 min
kat330BBlack Crow Blues (Remaster)[see JT's Betty Boop visuals for this track here: youtu.be/BezN4R-WZRI]
June 20, 2015 [remaster]: I tightened this up a bit, esp. in the "Hit it, gals!" instrumental section, and used new master settings to hopefully improve and increase the overall sound. Here are my original production notes:
When I came across this title within my old set lists, I remembered actually that it—and not Mitchell's "Last Time I Saw Richard"—was the very first song I pecked out the piano part by ear as a teen, note by note, from my vinyl of "Another Side." Never tried to tran...2015-06-2003 min
kat330BI Shall Be ReleasedJune 18, 2015 [remaster]:I haven't tweaked this significantly, but I did tighten it up and used new master settings to hopefully improve and increase the overall sound. Here are my original production notes:
Sisters and brothers, saints and sinners in the congregation of the Everlasting Light of Hope, please open your hymnals to p. 330 and join me in making a joyful, hopeful noise! ☼
First time I heard this song as rendered by The Band on "Music from Big Pink," it hit me like a hymn, and that's how I've always interpreted it. Here I've changed up the rhythm and added several ke...2015-06-1803 min
kat330BBrass in Pocket (remastered)June 15, 2015: [headphones suggested!] Please, no need to ♥ / repost / comment again. I posted this to offer resumed downloading because after "El Preso" (which still can be downloaded at freemusicarchive.org/music/Kathleen_Martin ), "Brass in Pocket" was my most downloaded SC track prior to October 2014 when I reverted to a non-pro account with DLs limited to 100. I haven't tweaked it a great deal, but I redid a smidgen of harmony and used new master settings to hopefully improve and increase the overall sound. My original release is still here: https://soundcloud.com/kat330/brass-in-pocket-pretenders More to come!
Arranged, performed and produced by...2015-06-1503 min
kat330BMajor Melon Farmer (in Jersey City)June 14, 2015: Serve a dish cold? Fahgeddaboudit! Nothing beats a brand new hot creation for venting one's veritable vexation.
Listeners of a certain age will immediately recognize the "Ad Lib"ing vehicle, but I take this parody out for a very different spin here. My arrangement / performance is 100% original; my lyrics are 180-degrees in an opposite direction and across the Hudson River. While their cute NYC boy was "the most" from coast to coast, this clueless dude in Joizy is the least of the least from west to east.
Been a while since I've produced so many layers for a piece...2015-06-1403 min
kat330BSwamp Guinea [Remaster]This is a remaster of the original Sept. 19, 2013 release. Please see original info here: https://soundcloud.com/kat330/swamp-guinea There's a kantele driven break in the middle, and please listen all the way for the surprise at the end. :)2015-05-2803 min
kat330BKat's paJAMasHaven't done such a lo-fi, raw test track since 2012, but felt I had to post this while still my birthday. The photo is of my morning gift from my husband: a cigar-box guitar he made himself for me! [Kiitos, Hunaja!] This recorded tryout of the instrument has plenty of sketchy moments, but it's a start. I may add some vocal to it [July 1, 2015 update: https://soundcloud.com/kat330repost/loving-you-ah ] or expand on it, or toss it out altogether; but here is what it is, fresh upon delivery, along with tambourine and harmonica tracks.
[Composed, performed, recorded and produced by...2015-03-3002 min
kat330BBeyond the Planet of DOUGHY WHITE MIDDLE-AGED MEN Is a Major C Change in a Chord with Mother Earth[Original notes updated August 2016] I recorded this ditty back in March 2015 in the tradition of a 20th C. protest song while having some extra fun with instrumentation and various musical allusions. At that time I could never have suspected—not even in my wildest nightmares—that a template for my initial inspiration could ever actually be nominated as the presidential candidate of a major US political party! Lumped with so many other heinously ignorant, unjust and horrific events of 2015-16, it can be understood only in the context of some virulent strain of planet insanity.
My lyrics are not at all...2015-03-1002 min
kat330BPlenty Of PA (A To Z)March 1, 2015
February 2015 was brutal locally beginning midway through, but colorful seed catalogs put me in a reverie of spring planting and summer's bounty. And whenever I think of homegrown vegetables, my mind returns to a ditty I performed at age nine in Knob Knee high school's production of "Plain and Fancy." [http://kat330.tumblr.com/post/18854920150/first-stage] "Plenty of Pennsylvania" is the musical number in which this minute solo occurs and, as you might figure out on your own, I'm singing out vegetables in alphabetical order, A to Z. There's some fudging on "U" (un-ions) and "X" (x-plant for eggplant...2015-03-0101 min
kat330BTransistor Sister (remastered)Many thanks to Alfonso Llorente Sardi for offering to make TS "sound big" and for doing so! My initial lower-fi, shorter version is here https://soundcloud.com/kat330/transistor-sister and check out Alfonso's sounds here https://soundcloud.com/abogllm
Also a free .wav download of this longer version available here: http://kat330.bandcamp.com/track/transistor-sister2014-12-0505 min