I learned about Kath during the Artists Retreat in June 2006 when she and Liz Kendrick performed. Later in the year when Kath got her first CD made and emailed everybody, I took this opportunity to buy her CD, and to ask her if she would please perform once during lunch time at my exhibit in January/February 2007 for free. I figured, a venue for her to perform in the middle of town, and a non-textile attraction to get people into my exhibit would be mutually beneficial.
We talked a few times, and she performed three times, during lunch, every Thursday, at my exhibit, for free, and I got her started on blogging and uploaded her songs on My Space before she went on to have a professionally-designed web page.
We got started in our prospective "art" about the same time, so I wrote before that I feel we were two babies born around the same time in the same maternity ward, under the watchful eyes of Doctor Martin Rodgers. Kath, as a kids' song writer, in due Zilk with Liz, and more recently, in the foursome The Nancies, have become fabulously popular around here. Kath is going on a couple of tours around New Zealand visiting schools, her second kids' songs CD out mid-year, and The Nancies are planning to get their first CD out later this year also. Kath has written a number of school songs for the schools in the region, and it appears a North Island school may get one written by her as well.
Before and after my exhibit, we met at least once a week, usually amidst all the mess in my living room. On my birthday last year, I went to one of her school gigs to take pictures. But then I got involved in a few exhibitions, and she started to get more gigs, and try as we did to attempt to get together, we often couldn't, or in fact, not much at all.
I love Kath as a singer and song-writer; her lyrics are catchy, but in many of her songs, there are words, phrases and concepts that just stick and won't let go. and she's a terrificly positive, bubbly person. But what I appreciate is the camaraderie we share in making our ways in the paths we've chosen; this is a relationship I have with nobody else I know. Yesterday, while we compared our schedules for 2008, we also B!+©^ed and moaned about being poor. And laughed a lot together.
I haven't been able to get to her gigs lately for one reason or another, and we don't read each others' blogs much any more, but I must remedy what Liz calls my "slack fan-ness".
The Nancies were among the groups that opened the recent Opera in the Park. (Kath would like to say they opened for Dame Kiri.) Kath is in red on far right, then Liz, then petite Katrina in black disappearing into the background, and Jane, who was my ukulele teacher.*****
Kath Bee Links: Songs4Kids website, her Kids Songs blog, her blog for children, The Nancies blog and Kath's MySpace.
2 comments:
Meg, you are lovely.....I found this because I was egotistically searching my name on Google!! hahahaha.
When will I see you again....??
I'll email you now! =)
Aren't I, just? I've heard of a few people googling themselves lately, but then in your business, it's part of work, I reckon... Beloved does it once in a while, too - he gets embarrassed when I catch him out.
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