Music Republic Magazine’s small but perfectly formed team just hate to see talent not get the credit it deserves.
You know the score: That age-old comment you have said yourself or heard said by others…”With a voice like that, why is he or she not famous by now?”
Case in point is Sheffield gal, now London-based, Kat Eaton. Stunning voice. Great songwriter. Gifted musician. Great look (sod the PC brigade, she’s gorgeous)…..
The late Sir Terry Wogan spotted her potential a few years ago, and was first to spin her music on national radio, on his Sunday morning BBC Radio 2 show.
Since then, the Europeans have shown her love, and she’s having some success right now in The Netherlands, particularly. Here in the UK, there are pockets of affection for Kat’s music, but nowhere near enough.
She’s just sleighed ’em at a sold out headline show in London – a venue which used to be called The Garage – when she was joined by her full seven-piece band, which featured a paint-stripping horn section and some top end session players. Our man with a camera who was there said it was one of the gigs of the year for him….and our Alex gets about a bit!
But Kat’s voice was the star. Commerical, but uber-credible. Soul-drenched and powerful. Bluesy, jazz-tinged and oozing with sheer class. The material of equal star quality…
So having been supportive of Kat’s musical gifts for a few years now, the timing is right for us to shout loudly from the rooftops about how bloody good she is; and try to help get her closer to that big break she thoroughly deserves .
Which we are sure, with the right wind behind her, would catapult Kat to the stardom she deserves, if there’s any justice.
If there’a a record label seeking fresh new talent and a voice that’s a tight fit for national and international radio in this digital age…
A switched on and well connected music manager who wants to discover “the next big thing”…
A festival who needs an exciting addition to their lineup for summer 2019…a music publisher looking for new songs to add to their catalogue, and a pair of skilful new writers to work with – Kat writes with her ace guitarist and producer husband Nick Atkinson…
Any music supervisors scouring the globe for songs to do synch’ deals on, for movies and TV soundtracks….
Then do yourselves a big favour and read on….. Give up a few of your precious minutes to cop a load of the video for Kat’s fantastic and hooky 2016 single “The Joker” ….and thank me later in crisp £50 notes!
Our big tip for success in 2019, one of Music Republic Magazine’s current favourite singer-songwriters, please allow us to introduce you all to the fabulous Ms. Kat Eaton….
Here’s the skinny on what makes Kat Eaton tick and what’s she been up to so far….
- Your name and your age?
Kat Eaton. 31.
- Where you were born and where you are based now?
Born in Cardiff, raised in Sheffield and moved to London 5 years ago this coming March (2019)
- Instruments you play?
My voice is my main instrument – but I play a bit of piano and guitar too.
- Age when you started in music? And when/where/what was your first public performance/how many saw it? How did it make you feel?
I sang in choirs when I was in junior school, because I was too painfully shy to sing solo. The first time I plucked up the courage to sing solo was in the school concert when I was 14.
I sang “The Dark End Of The Street”, and I remember the sound of the kids in my class gasping in union when I sang my first note.
They had barely heard me speak, let alone sing! My shyness started to subside after that. I still love that feeling of surprising people when I sing the first note of a gig, and the room quietens down to listen.
- What song or artist/band lit the flame inside you to want to be a musician/artist?
It all started with Janis Joplin. I was mesmerised by her, vocally and physically. Watching her sing from her head to her toes. Every part of her body was making that sound come out of her mouth – all tense and contorted. You could tell that it was pure therapy for her, just like it is for me.
- First song you wrote? At what age, what was it called and what inspired it?
I started writing music at 12. My first song was about the plague! Macabre or what?
- What music has been released so far? And what format and dates?
My first release was back in 2014 with ‘Ont Sofa Records’, which is a 5-track live recording at a studio called The Foundry in Sheffield, which Nick and I used to use for sessions and recording.
We did a Snarky Puppy style set-up, with the audience in the room. It was great! Then I released ‘Giving You Up’ as a single in 2015, which the late great Terry Wogan debuted on national radio.
Then in 2016 I released “The Joker” as a single, which was picked up and playlisted on national radio out in Holland and Belgium. We followed this up with “When You’re Not Around EP” in 2017, which included songs that were playlisted on BBC Radio London and NPO Radio 2, 5 and 1 (Holland).
This year (2018)I’ve released two singles. One called ‘Your Love’, and the other called ‘Leave Me With Nothing’, both of which have been received really well, especially in Holland where we have been touring recently.
We are releasing a brand-new single ‘Where Were We’ early next year (2019).
- How do you describe your own music style to a stranger who asks: “What kind of music do you play/sing”?
That’s always a hard question, but I guess you could say it has roots in blues, soul and country. If you like Amy Winehouse, John Mayer, Little Feat or Tedeschi Trucks, you should dig my kind of music too.
- How many gigs have you done and which/how many countries?
Too many to count. I’ve been gigging since I was16, so I guess it could be pushing into 1000 by now, but who knows? I’ve crossed the seas to play in Holland, Czech Republic, France and Ireland, and I’m planning to get over to Belgium and Germany sometime soon. And of course, I’d love to get to America and Asia, but all in good time.)
- Bullet points of your main music career/achievements to-date?
Loads of great times to pick from, but here’s three:
* Hearing my music on BBC Radio 2 for the first time.
* Supporting Marc Broussard in Holland to sold out crowds.
* Performing with a brass section last Tuesday at my headline gig in London.
- Strangest or worst gig you have done?
I’ve done some weird old gigs in my time! One that comes to mind is when Nick and I were starting out, and we played a sports bar in a rough area in Sheffield.
We were put in the corner, right in front of the TV, which was hanging on the wall behind us. A load of scary looking dudes started staring at us, then started shouting and punching their fists.
When I turned round, I realised they were watching the boxing on the TV! Then the police came in for their nightly drugs check and we scarpered before anything kicked off!
- A: X Factor?, B: The Voice? C: Britain’s Got Talent? D: Gouge your own eyes out with a rusty spoon?
I’ve been scouted for them, but I’m just not sure you, know. These shows came in once I’d already started gigging, so I was already in the thick of it and I never considered it.
I think it would be different if I were younger but I just don’t think the “overnight sensation” thing is healthy for anyone. I’ve worked with a few acts from X Factor and The Voice, and they said it was really tough.
It can be an amazing platform for new artists, but the record deals they offer aren’t great and I don’t like the thought of anyone exploiting anyone else’s talent.
Also, being an artist doesn’t just involve playing and singing. You need to hustle and be your own PR company, manager, label and booking agent. If you don’t learn those things, you can’t properly understand the other musicians you’re working with.
I think maintaining great relationships with those people is integral to your success as a performing artist. Simply put, you can’t expect to do a good show if half your band are pissed off with you!
- Day jobs you have done…………………?
Never had a day job! I babysat once for a boiled egg… not even joking! I think they had a good laugh about it though!
I was 13 and it was for an hour for a neighbour’s kid! She didn’t have any cash, but she did have a boiled egg! And we did this thing in school, where we made little characters with boiled eggs and drew faces on them, and stuck a moustache and tutu’s on them.
So naturally I was buzzing with my payment! ha! You can’t do that with a fiver! This was before the X-Box!
- Funniest or most dramatic thing that has ever happened to you?
This is not funny at all, but it is dramatic! We were getting to the end of a gig and we did a cover of ‘Mercy’ by Duffy, and the crowd were all dancing. Then someone came up to us and signalled us to stop playing.
“I think someone is having a heart attack!” We stopped playing mid-chorus and they carried the man to the side of the dance floor. They called the paramedics, he was checked over and was totally fine.
We carried on playing while he carried on dancing! The show must go on!
- Guilty secret?
I wind down after a gig by watching anything by Disney or Pixar! Not cool!
- What two recordings could you not live without if you were stuck on a desert island?
The theme to Jurassic Park by John Williams and ‘Wild Night’ by Martha Reeves. I’ve no idea why, but whenever I’m feeling blue, both these songs pick me right up.]
- Your main influences?
Janis, Joe Cocker, Tom Waits, Bonnie Raitt, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Lake Street Dive and Little Feat. And for writing: Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell and John Mayer.
- If you believed in reincarnation; who or what would you want to come back as?
A Raptor, of course!
19. Pet ‘hate’? Apart from these questions!!!
When you go backstage and the only food on the rider is dry ham sandwiches! Not enough spread on the bread and one whole piece of ham! Try eating one of those with a slight wheat intolerance and an overbite. Nightmare!20.
20. Plans for rest of this year and next year?
I’m writing a lot in December, and in the new year I’m going to start thinking about releasing a full-length LP! I’m very excited about 2019 – It should be a goodun!
- Please provide a personal message to our readers, as to why they should listen to your music and go see you live…
I have been co-writing with my guitarist, husband and all-round good lad Nick Atkinson, since we were 16! Whenever we write together, in our little flat in London, it’s because we feel compelled to write.
We talk for hours about something that’s bothering us and when we can’t think of a solution, we start writing. It’s definitely a form of therapy for the both of us, and aside from sometimes having artistic differences (and without trying to sound cheesy), we bring the best out in each other.
I think the reason we are both still in this business is because we can remind each other of how far we have come to get to this point. Remembering those miniature wins, and how we have evolved into better writers and musicians, can make the difference when you’re stuck in limbo.
We were both there when we were having a shit day and wrote that song in our front room, and both there when we performed that same song live on national radio. Whenever we record or perform live, we both think of the history of each song, and then we play it like we did when we first wrote it. With all the raw emotion we felt at the time.
I love watching musicians and singers relinquish their inhibitions and just let a song flow through them, as if there body is a vessel for something much more important. Whenever I sing, I try to do the very same; because I know how good it feels to watch someone let go.
“Kat, your voice is a gift! Just WOW!” – Matt Cardle
“Kat’s singing is so versatile, its wonderful!” – Ruby Turner
“Kat’s voice is like sexy toffee. Just gorgeous!” – Gaby Roslin
All photos: Alex Asprey (Except top pic with blue sunglasses – supplied by artist)
