Katie Pearlman

Katie Pearlman’s third release, Girls Like Us, is a country-rock disc full of positive songs for girls of all ages. After being inspired by some of the hardships women have faced, Pearlman stepped out from behind the drum kit and took a spot center stage with an acoustic guitar to lead her band into this new direction. After being inspired by a book by Andrea Buchanan, Pearlman set out to write 12 touching songs that hopefully will act as a shoulder to lean on when times get tough.

The title track, “Girls Like Us,” opens the album with upbeat guitars and stresses the importance of being able to be oneself and hold true to the saying that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The emotional lyrics in “Give Me That Moment” shows the true potential of Pearlman’s vocal abilities. One can’t help but to admire the songwriting in “How Do I Get There”; not only are the lyrics true to Pearlman, but they can easily be applied to others. Those two tracks are the strongest and stand out most on Girls Like Us. Shaking her sweetness off for a moment, Pearlman kicks up the sass as she belts out the anti-heartbreak cut “American Heart.”

Girls Like Us may not be for everyone, especially those who don’t understand some of the struggles Katie Pearlman is singing about, but for those who have been through the thorn bush, hopefully Pearlman’s latest release will help you realize that there are others out there just like you.

- The Aquarian

October 6, 2009—Katie Pearlman has a new album. It is called “We Make This” (Mohawk Records). I believe we hear in this record Katie’s renewed commitment to songwriting. There are ten songs gathered there, all by her, all good. The cohesive band sound remains as a foundation feature, with Jeff Pearlman on keys, Joe Cesare, electric guitar, Tom Bowler, bass, and Katie on drums and some acoustic guitar.

The lyrics are centered around personal relationships and their entanglements, everyday life and its little trials and victories, and the feelings one can have in the middle of all of it. They engage.

The band sounds good, loose and Jamband like in a classic sense, with some of the ambience of the Dead. Short, incisive yet spirited solos by Jeff and Joe pepper the songs and give them leverage. Katie's drumming sparks the ensemble and gets it grooving.

Ms. Pearlman's voice is a real vehicle. There’s a soulful quality I’ve remarked on in earlier reviews, and it really puts the whole thing together. There are times I recall the old band Mother Earth in its rootedness when I listen to Katie’s music. Katie has a different sound than Tracy Nelson did in that band, but there’s a certain common feel there. On the other hand, there’s nothing really retro about her music. It’s more about timelessness.

“We Make This” is plush, wall-to-wall Katie Pearlman at her best. It nicely showcases Katie’s talent and gives plenty of listening pleasure. I hope it brings her much success.


http://www.gapplegate.com/musicalblog.html - Grego Applegate Music Blog

by Rebecca Stein

Science teacher, Jeff Pearlman, and his wife, Katie Pearlman, recently released a CD, "Dreaming Again." With Pearlman on the keyboard and his wife as the lead vocalist and drummer, the band produced a collection of songs which combine 1970's rock with 21st century country pop.

What's most refreshing about their songs, written mostly by Katie Pearlman, is their powerful and meaningful lyrics, unlike the repetitive, meaningless lyrics that seem to plague the radio and music television today. Their lyrics are like short stories composed with melodies; most of them illustrate the pains of relationships and the complications of life.

The combination of Katie Pearlman's voice and the background music produces a strong, signature sound. In the CD's first song, "Jealousy," the combination is reminiscent of sounds played by the Grateful Dead. The fifth song on the disc, "Little Demons," evokes emotions of intense disappointment and frustration.

As a whole, this album has a original sound and unique lyrics. This CD is for people who are interested in listening to a different type of music than what our generation typically listens to. - The Spectrum

Traversing country, jazz and alternative rock, singer-songwriter Katie Pearlman delivers a set of tracks on her debut Dreaming Again that demonstrate her fluency on both drums and acoustic guitar. Conveying anger, frustration, faith and love, the record is a blend of blue-eyed soul and acoustic rock, with the lyrics being an obvious reflection of the life and times of their creator.

Resembling a Joss Stone-meets-Joni Mitchell vocal style on opener “Jealousy,” Pearlman moves into her more natural range smoothly, continuing with “Listening To You,”“Holding On”and ”Reach Out,”all of which are well written, but samey. Diplomatically allowing equal instrumental highlights from the keys (played by herhusband, Jeff) and guitar, Pearlman creates a more instrumentally varied record than might be expected from a singer-songwriter.

Perhaps best seen in “Don’t Let Them Go,”Pearlman’s soulful voice effectively stands out from the backing instruments,while the music acts as a backdrop. Toward the end of the song, a guitar solo brings it to its climax before Pearlman comes back to end on a satisfying, soothing note.

The album closes with “Dear Daddy,”a tenderly constructed acoustic track, which,although sad, is a perfect closer, rounding out the album. Though suffering from some ubiquity in her songwriting, Dreaming Again is an admirable effort by an aspiring musical artist.

In A Word:Promising
Grade:B
by Melanie Wolfson - The Acquarian

By Bob Smith

Nassau County musician Katie Pearlman is a true rarity in the area music scene for a variety of reasons. She's a multi-instrumentalist who primarily plays drums, but also is adept at guitar; she sings with melodic soulful ease as she keeps the beat; and performs electric as well as acoustic shows. After the release of her new album, Dreaming Again, she's more than likely soon to be known as the leader of one of the area's best indie/jam bands as well.

Pearlman's new album proves her to be a smooth vocalist and a fine songwriter. Instead of the usual Island-bred hot licks and screaming singing, Pearlman's naturally soft vocals are naturally more emotive than the area's usual array of banshee wails and phony white soul grunts. Songs such as album opener "jealousy" and "Aint Nobody" are emotional yet accessible, as well as tuneful and tasteful enough to be included on radio in any format.

Katie is an exceptional talent, yet Pearlman reached out to some of the area's top industry professionals for assistance on her album. Her band on the disc, which includes bassist Tom Bowler, keyboardist (and husband) Jeff Pearlman, and guitarist and engineer Ken Teich, is first-rate. Pearlman also enlisted the talents of George Fullan's General Studios in Douglaston and Scott Hull Mastering in New York City to get the album as close to Minute Rice perfection as possible.

"I love General Studios and George Fullan, the engineer there," Pearlman reported. "He's an amazing guy who really loves music, and he's been very supportive of my music. He does awesome work. This was my second CD that I did with him because I like working with him so much. I'm very happy with Scott Hull and their mastering of our CD. I actually was not present during the mastering and never even stepped foot in their studio! George Fullan recommended Scott Hull and I went with George's word, and I could not be happier with the result."

Area music fans are sure to be happy with the new album as well - not to mention her live show, which she'll bring to DJ Rider's Rhythm and Brews in Oceanside on Friday, February 1 for a CD release party along with Scarecrow Collection. Getting to such a CD celebration was a long time coming for this youthful yet veteran musician.

Pearlman began playing drums at age 10, and it wasn't long before she was playing in a band. At age 18, Katie was enrolled at William Paterson University, playing percussion in the orchestra for two semesters at the same time she took up hand drumming and percussion. Soon, she joined a band called Vibe Theory, which later morphed into the popular One-Eyed Jack. She began songwriting, which eventually led to many of the compositions on Dreaming Again. Already, the musical multi-tasking Pearlman is looking for new worlds to conquer.

"This year, I'd like to record a second album and/or record an acoustic album with grand piano and acoustic guitar," said Pearlman. "I recently heard the latest James Taylor, which uses that instrumentation and that inspired me - also because my partner, Jeff, and I do a lot of acoustic shows with this instrumentation."

"I also want to write more songs! It's important to me that I'm able to find the space and time to be creative amidst doing all the promotion for the band. Songwriting is very important to me and is hugely rewarding. I need to come back to that."

As for now, Katie and her band are looking to replace the talented but Vermont-bound Teich, gain more radio airplay, and build their promotions and management team. However, with the pure musicality and talent displayed by Katie Pearlman, Jeff Pearlman, and their friends, all of these aspirations will surely be fulffilled within moments - this is pop music of depth, truth, and beauty. IF those sentiments sound "old school," give Pearlma's innovative music a listen and see if you don't agree.

Katie Pearlman's CD release party will be Friday, February 1 at DJ Rider's Rhythm & Brews in Oceanside; Scarecrow Collection is also on the bill. For more information, log on to myspace.com/katiepearlmanmusic.

- Good Times Magazine

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Katie Pearlman - Dreaming Again Review
Category: Music

Reviewed by Michael Meade

Katie Pearlman gets four out of five skulls for her debut solo album "Dreaming Again".
Katie's lyrics are straightforward and waste no time getting to the heart of any situation, whether its keeping dreams alive or reaching out to a parent; "Dreaming Again" plays like a road map of Katie's life. Every Singer/Songwriter should aim for that and Ms. Pearlman has hit the target dead center.

Standout tracks that held my ear just a little longer include "Listening To You", "Little Demons", Holding On", and "Don't Let Them Go". The honesty of the songs pull you in and take you back through your own life experiences with a new appreciation.
And Katie's band keeps the sound rolling without a hitting a bump, Katie on vocals, drums, and acoustic guitar; husband Jeff on keys and backing vocals; Tom Bowler on bass; and Ken Teich on electric guitar make quite a team.

Definately some of indie/folk's finest!

If Katie and her band keep their sound as tight live as in the studio then I truly look forward to seeing them play out.

For a listen stop over to The Katie Pearlman Band myspace page: www.myspace.com/katiepearlmanmusic.

- Tastes Like Rock Magazine

Local group hopes to revive the Jam sound

by Dana Williams

At the Malverne Merchant's Fair and Classic Car Show on Sept. 23, you could find people shopping at vendor stands, eating cotton candy and posing for pictures next to classic vehicles such as a 1958 Chevrolet Impala. While enjoying the annual event, attendees also crowded together to listen to the acoustic music performances by the Katie Pearlman Band.

Named after its lead singer West Hempstead resident Katie Pearlman, the Katie Pearlman Band features the music talents of Jeff Pearlman, Tom Bowler and Ken Teich. Since officially forming in November 2006, the band has been working overtime to get its eclectic sound heard by music fans all over the country. You could find the band performing not only at fairs, but also at coffee-houses, clubs, radio statoins and concerts in the tri-state area.

The Herald recently chatted with the lead singer Katie Pearlman in a phone interview to learn more about the Katie Pearlman Band and its future projects and here's what she said:

Q: How did the band get started?
A: We're all basically friends and we've been playing music for a long time now. I started writing the music about a year and a half ago, and this whole project started out as an experiment really. We wanted to see if I could play the drums and sing lead on all the songs, and to see what Ken could do with the songs.

Q: So you just grew from there?
A: Yeah, and we started to do acoustic shows and we started to get a really good response from our friends and people at the shows. It just continued from there.

Q: Describe the band's sound?
A: Our genre is basically Rock music but our sound is also Folk. When we get together as a full four-piece band, we're more of like a Rock and Jam Band.

Q: What do you do during a Jam Band performance?
A: All it means is that when we play with a full band, we will have lengthy and improvisationsal sections. That's what a Jam Band is.

Q: How does the band break down, like who does what?
A: I'm the lead singer and I play the drums and acoustic guitar. Jeff does the background vocals and he plays the keys. Tom plays the bass and Ken is our lead guitarist.

Q: We heard people at the fair in Malverne saying this is great Long Island talent, besides you, who else is from Long Island?
A: Jeff is originally from Lynbrook, but he lives in West Hempstead, Ken is from Island Park, and Tom is originally from Hicksville.

Q: Does the band do a lot of acoustic shows?
A: Lately, we have been doing a lot of acoustic shows and a lot of two-piece acoustic shows with Jeff and I. We're doing a lot of other shows too like live performances in NYC, Philadelphia and New Jersey. Our goal is to be touring nationally.

Q: What are your songs about?
A: Our music is about different things like not letting go of your dreams and some songs are about love. We try to keep a variety going. Music is all about expression and being able to express concepts and thoughts. We're all about that.

Q: Your songs are for music fans of all ages?
A: Yeah, our demographic is really people of all ages. Some of our songs are more 'Folky' and that appeals to an older crowd, and some songs are all Rock and the young people like that. We definitely try to mix it up.

Q: Do you have an album coming out?
A: Yes, it's an independent album and it's going to be coming out really soon. It's going to be our first release as a band. We're writing and recording a lot of music. We're working hard to make this album a success. We have a lot of songs, but we still have to pick a title.

Q: What has the response been at your shows?
A: The shows are getting us a lot of exposure. We have had a lot of positive responses from people of all ages and that's really our goal. We want our music to speak to people in a positive way.

Q: Do you have any shows coming up?
A: Yes, we have a show coming up at the Bitter End in New York City on Nov. 24 at 10pm, and that's going to be a big show for us.

Q: Where can our readers learn about the Katie Pearlman Band?
A: They can visit our MySpace page at www.myspace.com/katiepearlmanmusic. - Long Island Herald

Saturday, August 9, 2008
BY ALFA GARCIA

Ramsey native Katie Pearlman has a unique sound that she has developed in the 17 years she's been playing music.
Live, however, the road runs parallel to Karen Carpenter, the famed alto vocalist who simultaneously played the drums. While Carpenter was eventually forced away from them for television audiences, Pearlman's drum set is always front and center, set near a mic while she leads her four-piece band.

"It's very different, [but] I still get to connect with the people out front, so it works pretty well," the 27-year-old Ramsey native said.

For Pearlman, who now lives in West Hempstead, N.Y., that personal connection has driven everything from her first few acoustic gigs, which steadily grew her fanbase, to her ultimate goal of touring nationwide as the Katie Pearlman Band, which includes husband Jeff Pearlman ..s, Tom Bowler on bass and Joe Cesare on guitar.

It was the same connection that got the ball rolling on her debut album, "Dreaming Again," when guitarist/engineer Ken Teich approached Pearlman at a show, eager to play on her songs. Recorded between Teich's studio in Long Island and in Vermont, the 11-song record was mixed in Queens and mastered in Manhattan.

Though Pearlman had recorded with various bands since she began playing 17 years ago, "Dreaming Again" was her first go at a solo album, and her first chance to take charge of her sound.

"I learned a lot of communication skills and got the guts to say 'I disagree and I really would like it to sound like this' and the end result was what I wanted it to be," she said. "This time I didn't have to compromise anything."

Pearlman, who plans to start work on a second record, cites Aretha Franklin, Joan Osborne and Lee Ann Womack among vocal influences, but her band's sound also has traces of Phish, the Grateful Dead, Fleetwood Mac and the Band, with many songs featuring keys and electric guitar solos. The lyrics are strikingly honest, something Pearlman promises she "didn't do on purpose."

"It's really about fitting the words to the melody at first, and I realize now it turned out to be really emotional," she said. "This is my first album, and it was my way of finding a way to express feelings."

Pearlman's next performance will be at Mexicali Live in Teaneck, a place she considers one of her "all-time favorite music venues," and virtually the only place in Pearlman's native North Jersey that her band plays.

"Last time we went there, there were a couple people I hadn't seen since I graduated," she said. "It's kind of a reunion of sorts."
- The Record

By Tad Dickens

Young artists have always had plenty of stage time at FloydFest. This year, the festival has a niche for them, in its Emerging Artist Series.

The series will feature a few acts from the Roanoke and New River valleys -- fest veteran Kat Mills, Jordan Harmon Band, Kristi Emmons, My Radio, and Alliens (from Asheville, N.C., by way of Floyd). Onetime Radford resident Stephanie Rooker, now of New York City, is on the bill, too.

Many of the acts will be busy from Wednesday on, playing showcases at Martin's Downtown Bar & Grill in Roanoke (see schedule, Page 4), then heading back to FloydFest for shows there. WROV-FM and Martin's are co-sponsoring the series.

Following is an interview with Katie Pearlman, who fronts her own band from behind a drum set. Pearlman, 27, writes the songs, sings them and slaps the skins when she's not playing a guitar during her band's acoustic sets.
Like the other emerging artists, she submitted her band's material to festival organizers. She wound up hitting it off with FloydFest co-founder Kris Hodges, who is also a drummer.

Pearlman, from Long Island, N.Y., and Hodges are likely to meet for the first time at the festival.
"That's the digital age for ya," Pearlman said in an e-mail exchange last week.

Q: How old were you when you began drumming?

I started drumming at age 10. My mom signed me up for drum lessons ... how cool is that? My mom is a musician and has always encouraged me to pursue music, and I feel very fortunate for that. She even liked it when I practiced in the house, making all that noise!

Q: Did you quickly find that you could sing and play drums at the same time, or is it something that developed over time?

It's developed over time. ... It's fun playing drums, and it's gotten more and more comfortable to sing over time. It's cool to do something different.

Q: You wrote music and lyrics for all but one of the songs on your CD, "Dreaming Again," and you co-wrote that song. Do you write on guitar, or do you find the ideas coming to you while you're playing or practicing drums?

I write all of my songs on acoustic guitar. Sometimes I start with a melody and come up with the chords to go with it and other times I start writing while playing my guitar.

Q: Do you feel limited as a frontwoman behind the kit? Or more secure back there?

I don't think it's limiting. We put the drum set up front so that I'm not hidden and I also play a small kit so that I'm not buried behind drums and stands. I play guitar for our acoustic shows.

We've thought about having a drummer sit in on a couple numbers and me coming out from behind the kit, but it hasn't happened, yet. Playing drums for me is like being in the driver's seat and I like that.

Q: You're married to your keyboard player, Jeff Pearlman, and his B3 stylings are all over your record, "Dreaming Again." How easy is it, or how hard, to be in a band with your husband?

Mostly, it's pretty easy because we work well together. I think Jeff is easy to work with, and easy to live with for that matter. We have a unique relationship. When we're not playing with our band, we're playing duets, or with other bands and playing situations. We love playing music!
Jeff wanted to book a gig on our honeymoon. I was like, "We're in Hawaii, I want to go to the beach." I'd love to go back and play Hawaii though!

Q: You have at least four festival or street-stage performances on your itinerary. What's your favorite thing about festival shows?

The vibe. I love being outdoors and playing outdoors. It sounds different and feels different. There are tons of people there to listen to music and have a good time because they're on vacation so everyone's happy and chilled out. Plus, we get to meet and play with some great bands that I probably wouldn't have met otherwise.
- Roanoke Times