Kate Klim

Vol. 2 Issue 15 | April 12, 2004


FEATURED ARTIST: Kate Klim

Bio:
A musical inheritance and a Michael J. Fox movie inspired Kate Klim to become a professional singer/songwriter.

Klim was five years old when her family came into possession of a piano. She started taking lessons on the instrument four years later, but didn't really consider music as anything other than a hobby. Klim wanted to become a famous movie star. But that goal changed after an unsuccessful audition for the film, "Life with Mikey."

Klim attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and honed her skills as a performer. Her song, "Heaven Help Me," which she penned for a songwriting master class, was featured on the 2003 "Best of Boston" singer-songwriter compilation CD.

Influenced by musicians like Carole King, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, John Lennon, Patty Griffin and Jonatha Brooke, Klim developed her own folk/pop style. She released her debut album this year, which has received airplay on WERS and WMFO in Boston, and on CreativeRadio's Internet folk show. She's also appeared on the Boston area cable show "Roots Rock Live."

Although she's only 21, Klim has toured in numerous east coast venues. She recently opened for Jeffrey Gaines at Philadelphia's North by Northwest.

Review:
Kate Klim's angelic voice harnesses purity. Delicate, flowing and lush, it portrays an incisive, emotional honesty. She engages audiences with flowing pop/folk rhythms and captures melodies inside her energetic piano playing. A talented songwriter, Klim has the inherent ability to craft an entire world within a single song.


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The Siren Six:

What inspires you?

Kate Klim: I find nothing more inspiring than other musicians. Whenever I go to a really great live show, ideas are buzzing in my head as soon as I walk out the door. I want to make other people feel like that particular artist just made me.

What was the first album you bought? The first concert you attended?

I'm not that old, but I definitely remember having the Bangles "Everything" on vinyl. My first concert was Lollapalooza when I was 12. I was convinced that the Channel 6 news was going to interview me about how I could be so young, yet so cool. I went with my dad.

Do you prefer to perform live or in the studio? Why?

Both are great. I guess you can never really match the feeling of connecting with an audience. But there are always off nights, new settings and things like that. Those nights I would probably say studio.

Why do you offer MP3s of your music on the Web?

My favorite day is free sample day at the supermarket. If you like it enough, you end up buying it. And I love that someone could be listening to me now, and wouldn't even know it.

What's the best advice you've ever received?

I have a friend who told me not to measure my success (or lack thereof) against the successes of others. I think that's beyond important when you're a performer.

Was there ever a moment when you contemplated giving up music?

About 15 minutes ago. And twice yesterday. I've talked with other musicians about this. The nature of being an artist is that some days you feel so proud of what you do and some days you feel absolutely terrible. I've never seriously wanted to give it up. I couldn't if I tried.

Web:
http://www.kateklim.com
http://www.folkweb.com/kateklim/

- Siren Song Magazine

"Pianist-singer-songwriter Klim is an angel-voiced balladeer and a best bet for folk-pop stardom"
-January, 2007 - Boston Herald

ARTIST: KATE KLIM
SONG: HEAVEN HELP ME
GENRE: POP / FOLK
SIMILAR: JANN ARDEN

What can I say, as a keyboard player, I’m a sucker for a good pianist.

Kate Klim has a winning sound here. “Heaven Help Me” has all of my favorite things – a catchy hook line, intelligent lyrics, solid musicianship, great production and a female vocalist that’s “easy on the ears”.

I love the piano intro (on a baby grand, no less!), and the whispery vocal. Perfectly complementary back up vocals. Great drummer. Nice balance with the acoustic guitar and the piano – not always easy to achieve. The only minor criticism I have of this recording is at 5 minutes and 6 seconds (with the fade) it’s a bit long. But, heck, it’s a “good” kind of long.

Hey Kate, “Heaven” did help you. You have been blessed with a lot of talent.

- Gods of Music.com

"Kate Klim might be the new Carole King.

"There I said it. Not just because she writes and performs her songs on the piano, but because her songs show wisdom beyond their years, drawing on experiences from her personal life, but expanding those lessons to include a broader view on the meaning of relationships and people in our lives. They're not just about her, they're about all of us, and one has to wonder, how does this kind of insight come to someone so young? Carole Kings songs have been around or years. I'm betting Kates will be too."

-Crit Harmon, Producer (Martin Sexton, Mary Gauthier, Lori McKenna) - Crit Harmon, Producer

"A poignant songstress hinged on the synergy of Klim's vocals and piano. No doubt a true pianist, Klim imbues a quiet, soulful radiance that is steadfast in her chilling soprano and tight arrangement. And just when Klim cajoles listeners with her crippling fragility, she is able to shatter it, sweep the pieces under her piano bench, and crown it with a rascally wink."

Aaron Jenkins - The Mercury (Pottsville, PA)
- The Mercury

"Kate Klim has been striving for success all her life it seems. In her younger years, it was movie stardom she aspired towards, but an unfortunate audition for the forgettable Michael J. Fox comedy Life with Mikey at age 11 seemed to put the validity of Kate’s desires into question. Poor, young, downtrodden Kate Klim had to seriously rethink those dreams, and the result was a brutal realization that they may not be the best course of action.

No matter. Kate may have given up on those marquee idol dreams at that tender age, but lucky for her (and the WERS audience at large), she turned to music to achieve the success she has always wanted. The title of her new album—her first professionally produced, self-released unit of work—seems to reflect this sense of resilience in Kate: Up and Down and Up Again.

The fact that the album is beautifully produced and soulfully performed by Ms. Klim is worth noting—Kate’s piano in particular sounds like its singing its own vocal line—but it’s essentially beside the point. What is more important is the fact that these 11 songs certainly represent something to the artist, and they most definitely represent something to the people who hear them. Kate’s easy-going combination of modern folk and soulful pop has been turning heads for the past several years. Phrases like “new face�, “rising star�, and even the title “Best of Boston� have been thrown around since Kate decided to pour her heart out on record instead of film.

She was surrounded by music all her life: At the age of five (virtual light years before that aforementioned audition), Kate’s family got a piano, and she began receiving lessons soon after. Her family relocated a few times, from the Midwest to the East Coast, Kate relying all the while on a steady diet of Carole King, Paul Simon, and later on, contemporaries like Patty Griffin, Jonatha Brooke, and Sarah Maclachlan.

This reliance on music certainly paid off for Kate. Up and Down and Up Again contains the heartfelt, infectious melodies reminiscent of Kate’s predecessors, combined with the artist’s own story. Her voice, vulnerable but strong in its conviction, combines with the soft melodies created by her spare backing band. It culminates into a primal, earnest cry for the basic resilience of the human spirit. And it’s catchier than anything you’re liable to hear anywhere else. Kate Klim has found the success she has strived for since childhood, and now only in her mid-20’s, she still has plenty more to offer."

-WERS 88.9FM, Boston
- WERS.org

Q & A: Kate Klim, Singer/songwriter and Pianist

by Bruce Bressack

She was 23rd on the list, it was already late and there were still several performers ahead of her at the Tupelo open mike.

Kate Klim was tired and the thought of getting up early the next day for work weighed heavily. It would have been easy for her to say, “Bag it, it’s not a paying gig. I’ll come back some other time� but the artist and performer in her won out and she waited her turn.

Finally, her name was called and this wisp of a young woman sauntered onto the stage. What happened next will surely become part of Tupelo legend.

Klim started to play and sing and the jaws of every musician in the room simultaneously dropped. If you happened to be walking, you stopped and turned to the stage. If you were talking, the last words spoken froze in the air.

That’s how good singer/songwriter Klim is. Just 23, and a graduate of the Berklee College of Music, Klim makes music and lyrics that are sophisticated and mature beyond her years. Her song “Heaven Help Me,� from her first CD, led off the 2003 “Best of Boston� singer-songwriter compilation CD, accompanied by such notable up-and-comers as Jake Armerding, Meg Hutchinson and Rachel McCartney.

Tupelo Music Hall, at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16, will host an album fundraiser concert for Klim. Every cent raised at the show will go to Klim to help fund her new CD. Scott Hayward, Tupelo owner, believes in Klim’s talent so much that he has offered a challenge for this show — If you don’t like the music, he will refund your money. Tickets are $12.50.

What inspired you to become a songwriter & performer?

I’m not sure if it’s because I’m the middle of five children or if I was just born this way, but I’ve always been a performer. My mom has told me that there was a phase when I was four when I didn’t speak, I just sang everything (from “hi mom� to “when’s dinner�) So I don’t really feel like I ever decided to “become� a performer. For a long time I wanted to be an actress, but then the little songs I had been writing all my life started growing into big songs, and I just knew I had to go with it. I sang a song I wrote for a big audience for the first time when I was 15. I knew right then and didn’t look back that this would be my life’s work.

Where did you get your musical training, and how long have you been playing professionally?

They wheeled a piano from my neighbor’s basement down the street and into our house when I was five. By third grade I was taking lessons and took them until the beginning of junior high. After that I played by ear. I came to Boston to go to Berklee College of Music in 2000 and studied voice — although my piano chops got a makeover, too. I remember my first real “gig� was freshman year. I got all my friends to come out and I was terrified to be playing for a whole 45 minutes. Now I can play for two hours comfortably.

How would you describe your musical style, and who are your favorite performers?

My general answer to that is “piano-folk-pop.� I think the fact that I play piano rather than guitar has a huge influence on the sound. My favorite artists are people like Jonatha Brooke, Lori McKenna, Paul Simon and Carole King. And lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Randy Newman. I’ll be playing one of his songs at Tupelo.

What do you hope that people will “take away� from your music and your live shows, and could you talk a bit about the genesis of your songs ‘Heaven Help Me’, ‘Jacob’, and ‘Happy’ from your first CD Heaven Help Me?

Well, when I personally go to live shows, my favorite songs are the ones that seem like they were written for me, and somehow express exactly what I’m feeling at that moment. I have a number of songs about heartbreak and about family, so I hope that sometimes I can give people that feeling. “Heaven Help Me� was the first song I wrote when I came to college. It will always have a special place in my heart. I sang it again and again until my neighbors knew it. “Jacob� was written soon after, about my best friend Laura, my older brother and his best friend. We were all inseparable and I had lost touch with Brad (my brother’s friend). It’s funny though, because now we’re back in touch, and he loves that there’s a song about him. “Happy� was a song I wrote in one sitting. Since I was in my early phases of Berklee, the whole song was based around this chord that I couldn’t identify but liked the sound of. Sometimes I still walk down the street in my old neighborhood where I wrote the chorus. I love moments like that.

I understand you’re planning to record a new CD. What do you hope to accomplish with this CD, and what song are you most excited about recording?

I’m so excited about recording all of them. Right now, I’m especially excited about the song “Blue Sky Love.� I think it’s the best s - Hippo Press, New Hampshire

Q & A: Kate Klim, Singer/songwriter and Pianist

by Bruce Bressack

She was 23rd on the list, it was already late and there were still several performers ahead of her at the Tupelo open mike.

Kate Klim was tired and the thought of getting up early the next day for work weighed heavily. It would have been easy for her to say, “Bag it, it’s not a paying gig. I’ll come back some other time� but the artist and performer in her won out and she waited her turn.

Finally, her name was called and this wisp of a young woman sauntered onto the stage. What happened next will surely become part of Tupelo legend.

Klim started to play and sing and the jaws of every musician in the room simultaneously dropped. If you happened to be walking, you stopped and turned to the stage. If you were talking, the last words spoken froze in the air.

That’s how good singer/songwriter Klim is. Just 23, and a graduate of the Berklee College of Music, Klim makes music and lyrics that are sophisticated and mature beyond her years. Her song “Heaven Help Me,� from her first CD, led off the 2003 “Best of Boston� singer-songwriter compilation CD, accompanied by such notable up-and-comers as Jake Armerding, Meg Hutchinson and Rachel McCartney.

Tupelo Music Hall, at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16, will host an album fundraiser concert for Klim. Every cent raised at the show will go to Klim to help fund her new CD. Scott Hayward, Tupelo owner, believes in Klim’s talent so much that he has offered a challenge for this show — If you don’t like the music, he will refund your money. Tickets are $12.50.

What inspired you to become a songwriter & performer?

I’m not sure if it’s because I’m the middle of five children or if I was just born this way, but I’ve always been a performer. My mom has told me that there was a phase when I was four when I didn’t speak, I just sang everything (from “hi mom� to “when’s dinner�) So I don’t really feel like I ever decided to “become� a performer. For a long time I wanted to be an actress, but then the little songs I had been writing all my life started growing into big songs, and I just knew I had to go with it. I sang a song I wrote for a big audience for the first time when I was 15. I knew right then and didn’t look back that this would be my life’s work.

Where did you get your musical training, and how long have you been playing professionally?

They wheeled a piano from my neighbor’s basement down the street and into our house when I was five. By third grade I was taking lessons and took them until the beginning of junior high. After that I played by ear. I came to Boston to go to Berklee College of Music in 2000 and studied voice — although my piano chops got a makeover, too. I remember my first real “gig� was freshman year. I got all my friends to come out and I was terrified to be playing for a whole 45 minutes. Now I can play for two hours comfortably.

How would you describe your musical style, and who are your favorite performers?

My general answer to that is “piano-folk-pop.� I think the fact that I play piano rather than guitar has a huge influence on the sound. My favorite artists are people like Jonatha Brooke, Lori McKenna, Paul Simon and Carole King. And lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Randy Newman. I’ll be playing one of his songs at Tupelo.

What do you hope that people will “take away� from your music and your live shows, and could you talk a bit about the genesis of your songs ‘Heaven Help Me’, ‘Jacob’, and ‘Happy’ from your first CD Heaven Help Me?

Well, when I personally go to live shows, my favorite songs are the ones that seem like they were written for me, and somehow express exactly what I’m feeling at that moment. I have a number of songs about heartbreak and about family, so I hope that sometimes I can give people that feeling. “Heaven Help Me� was the first song I wrote when I came to college. It will always have a special place in my heart. I sang it again and again until my neighbors knew it. “Jacob� was written soon after, about my best friend Laura, my older brother and his best friend. We were all inseparable and I had lost touch with Brad (my brother’s friend). It’s funny though, because now we’re back in touch, and he loves that there’s a song about him. “Happy� was a song I wrote in one sitting. Since I was in my early phases of Berklee, the whole song was based around this chord that I couldn’t identify but liked the sound of. Sometimes I still walk down the street in my old neighborhood where I wrote the chorus. I love moments like that.

I understand you’re planning to record a new CD. What do you hope to accomplish with this CD, and what song are you most excited about recording?

I’m so excited about recording all of them. Right now, I’m especially excited about the song “Blue Sky Love.� I think it’s the best s - Hippo Press, New Hampshire