Katie Rice

Katie is a singer, songwriter, and composer based in Portland, Oregon. Her soon to be released song, "Speak to Me," was recently chosen by Gap Inc. (Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, etc.) for use in an international video campaign highlighting Gap's corporate culture of service and the community-building projects its employees are engaged in all over the world. "Speak to Me" is sure to move your heart as much as your body. It's an inspiring, upbeat, and repeat-worthy song that captures the universal longing to live a life of purpose and meaning.

In November 2009, Katie released her original Christmas single "Sweet Night," one of those rare Christmas singles that brims with originality, both lyrically and melodically. Katie’s lyrics intentionally create an intimate space where listeners from any faith background can experience the wonder and tenderness of that first Christmas night in a fresh way.

Katie’s debut album, "Ready Now" is a collection of original songs that will capture your heart with their compelling depth and beauty. Her songs manage to get stuck in your head almost immediately while somehow avoiding the clichés that can often plague pop music.

In addition to writing catchy and meaningful lyrics and melodies, Katie is also a gifted composer. Her instrumental pieces bring to mind powerful cinematic landscapes well suited for commercial or independent film and video. (Visit Katie's website, www.katierice.com, for examples of her instrumental pieces).

Part of Katie’s ability to gracefully combine raw emotion with ear-pleasing melodies comes from her own story, which is as surprisingly unique as her music.

Katie started writing songs at the age of two. Her parents say she spent hours picking out notes to new songs she would create. As she got a little older however, she started hiding her desire to sing, play, and write songs. When no one else was home, she would lock the doors, sit at the piano and play, absorbed in the music. She doesn’t remember exactly why she started hiding her love for making music, but songwriting became her secret.

It wasn't until after college, while living at an orphanage in rural South Africa, that Katie picked up her first guitar. During her time at the orphanage Katie was both falling in love with her future husband as well as having her heart broken on a daily basis by the suffering around her. Music was her refuge.

Everyday after working in the hospice, she would take her guitar and hike to the edge of the property, a secluded area where her only companions were grazing cows. She would spend hours playing and writing songs, daydreaming of a time when she would let others in on her secret.

After moving back to the United States it was some time before she told anyone about her dream. In fact, she was married for a year before finally sharing her secret with her husband. The first song she sang for him is the title track of the album, Ready Now. The theme draws directly from Katie’s experience of confronting her fears, embracing her dream, and bravely stepping into the spotlight to share that dream with others.

It seems that all of Katie’s waiting in secret has paid off with a collection of songs that sparkle with unusual depth and clarity. Drawing from experiences like South Africa or earning a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology at Santa Clara University, Katie is able to combine the depth of human strength and frailty she’s encountered and weave them into gripping musical stories that draw the listener in again and again.