Upsidedown Cat...The Novel. Or, How I Learned About Music and Made My Own. This is LONG :) Written in 2011... |
(At the bottom of the page are pages from a Music Zine I made in 2008 which covers some of my favorite songs and thoughts about them...) |
This is really long...
Once upon a time, I had my first songwriting lesson on Feb 5, 2005. It was with my friend Todd Fadel, who you may remember from Meow Meow club days and several other things he's been involved in. Oh, I guess I should start earlier....Growing up I don't know how much I was into music. My folks listen to Baroque music, and Celtic music, and whatever is on Prairie Home Companion. I grew up with things like that, and then hymns at church, and then we had some tapes including some Disney sing-alongs (though we didn't have a TV so I hadn't really seen the movies). Also Wee Sing and Play, Psalty, Anne Murray sings for the Sesame Street Generation. (I love that one!). Another tape I loved was made by our friend Patty. It was songs she had done, and some had her friend singing on them. At a young age my sister and I started making a radio show in our living room. We called it Red Couch Talk Show because of our couch and it was on YoYo Radio which had my sister announcing the station with a fake British accent. My sister was probably pretty much in charge because I was probably 6? We had different shows, sometimes interviews, sometimes songs, and sometimes we read our favorite books aloud. Also of course on the show was the Technical Difficulties and Advertisements we made up. I hope in the future to sort through some of those tapes and have them shareable. Some of them are pretty hard to hear though. One thing fans may be interested in is that we used my grandpa's Voice of Music (VM) microphone which is from the 1950s. Later when I was making Upsidedown Cat recordings in my bedroom, I used that same microphone, and we also used it on Soon Fall Will Be Here, along with other mics.
So, growing up, the one popular record we had was Cat Stevens Greatest Hits...which I listened to sometimes. My cousin Anne also let us borrow some CDs- No Need To Argue by Cranberries, John Henry by They Might Be Giants. During this time we had an old keyboard I would sometimes play, but I just would let the drums and pre-programed stuff play pretty much.
In sixth grade I was in private school and I think influenced by my sister, liked five o'clock people, The W's, Five Iron Frenzy, Joy Electric and Silage. My first show was at my church, and it was five o'clock people. It was soo loud! I know that that is when I was really learning to like accordion. I guess I also heard about Weezer through that Windows thing where they're in a Happy Days episode. My first burned CD was Weezer in 8th grade. About that time I started taking guitar lessons from a friend's mom. The first guitar I borrowed was my uncle's vintage Epiphone. I don't know what kind it was, but it had F holes (an arch top?), and someone had carved all the note names in the frets. It was big and sounded cool. I then saved up like $75 and with my parent's help my I bought a guitar from my dad's cousin who has a music shop in The Dalles, Columbia River Music. It was a classical guitar, and more my size. I soon found out though that the fret board was not my size. Anyway, in my lessons I learned a little bit about finger picking and basic chords. I was a shy kid and basically afraid to play in front of my teacher. If I could play it at home, I couldn't really play it well at my lessons. We didn't get very far. But... I had learned some chords, and I still had some books, so occasionally I would strum or finger pick things, though mainly all I played was the intro to My Name Is Jonas by Weezer.
So, being a freshman in 2000-2001 changed some things. I was at public school...which was a hard transition, but I liked it eventually. Actually maybe I took my guitar lessons as a freshman... Anyway, I met my friends Ariel and Petra, and also Leigh Ann, and Elizabeth, and others who listened to Christian ska too. (haha, I know, right). I pretty much made it through freshman PE by singing FIF songs while running the mile. Meanwhile, my sister went of to college and she'd call and play me songs over the phone, like Baby Blue Sedan by Modest Mouse, and Else by Built to Spill. It was in the Napster days and so I also heard tracks by Stereolab, The Pixies, Imperial Teen, Quasi, Air, Radiohead, Apples in Stereo and the like. But Built to Spill's Perfect From Now On was a CD I loved and listened to very much. I guess I should say my second show was at Pine Street Theatre and it was Five Iron Frenzy. It was so amazing, and I went with 8th grade friends, and was happy to see my new high school friends there. I think I also went to an Arthur show. My sister took me to see (I think) Built To Spill for my birthday, and Modest Mouse a few months later. Both shows were at the Crystal Ballroom, and it was a whole new world, scary (I hate mosh pits), and exciting. Anyway, In high school I went to more shows. I heard about the Meow Meow, probably from friends, and went to shows with them. At the 527 SE Pine Meow Meow building, I saw Thanksgiving, The Badger King, Pedro The Lion, Cursive (?), Ester Drang, and probably other bands who opened. I loved Thanksgiving's music and bought his album. I know I also saw BTS and MM more times in high school at the Crystal Ballroom, and Quasi, The Flaming Lips, and Cursive, and probably other bands. In 2002 I started going to The Bridge some. The Bridge met at the Meow Meow. I went with my high school friends. We'd sit at the art table and draw or do homework sometimes, and listen to what was going on. Coming from a Baptist church it was Very different. I wasn't sure what to think at first. It was loud, dark, and people were relaxed and real with what was going on in their lives. It was sort of unorganized, but it was a refreshing change. The songs were new to me, and different from the ones I'd grown up with. After church we had something called Breakfast Club where my friends and I went to vegan $3 breakfast at a place called Fast Forward. After a while my friends stopped going, so I made the bus trip by myself. It took almost an hour, and parts of it were scary (waiting to transfer buses, or walking over the Burnside bridge. Industrial-ish Portland isn't always great on a Sunday morning, streets are emptier.) Anyway, I started listening to the words of the song, and singing along to the ones I knew. They would get stuck in my head during the week, so sometimes I'd take my notebook and copy them down from the overhead projector. There's a lot more I could say, but basically I kept going, and slowly began talking to people there (remember, I was still shy) and taking pictures and developing them in the darkroom at school. Todd was also making these Meow Meow compilations of local bands, I played them a lot and that's how I learned about certain bands like Alan Singley. At school I also met a friend who introduced me to ELO and sold me an old guitar of his for $7. He was only at our school for a few months, but I feel like I learned a lot about music from him. This is getting out of order, but through my friend Ariel I heard some punk, hardcore (which I didn't like) and stuff like Danielson Famile (which I also thought was weird til a lot later). I also went to Tomfest in 2002 with my friends and heard some bands there like Joy Electric and stuff.
The Meow Meow moved and The Bridge went with it to a building on SE 2nd Ave, and about that time I was getting to know my friend Abbi. She knew Todd and Angie well. I guess I remember at this time, going to The Bridge, saying hi to the few friends I knew there, and then kind of just heading home. Breakfast Club was sort of over...at least for a few years. Sometime in 2005 the Meow Meow ended... and Todd mentioned he was going to start teaching music lessons. Abbi was going to take them too, and so something in my heart said "Yes, now is the time to learn accordion!!" hahaha. Anyway, I guess at that time I was a little afraid of Todd, I didn't know him too well though I saw him every Sunday. So I called him up, and we planned to start lessons, and he told me to bring a notebook. Let's just say at the first lessons, I was scared. I was 19 at the time, but still shy and felt bad at trying new things. I knew Todd was a good singer and piano player, and so I was setting myself up for failure by feeling like I had to do things perfectly. And I couldn't, in fact, I was often too scared and stubborn to sing, or experiment or play anything. Sigh. I'm thankful for how patient Todd was as a teacher, because I would have easily given up after those first weeks. So we decided it would help if Abbi joined in for a few lessons. Todd's way of teaching was to teach songwriting skills. Basic piano, and tricks to capture melodies and words you like and then after a while, start editing those things into a song. I bought a tape recorder for like $30, and pulled my old Casio MT45 out of it's cardboard box. I thought it was a dumb keyboard and was a little ashamed of it, but when Todd saw it, I realized Casios were cool...haha.
Anyway, Abbi joined us at a lesson and we recorded some improv songs, taking turns singing and playing stuff. It was fun and not so scary. Some highlights were the songs Priscilla the Kitty, I Never Wanted It, George's Haircut and Grandma Ethel. Anyway, I took lessons for about 3 years, and began to love them. Everytime I felt in my comfort zone, Todd would challenge me a little more. I learned to use recording as a way to document parts of songs I was writing, and then listen back to those recordings and find the notes on the piano. After I had those notes, I would find possible chords to go with them, and then start putting the song together by figuring out the music for the verse, chorus, and extra parts. Then I would work on lyrics...often recording several versions of each song in different ways and different lyrical variations. Through lessons with Todd I also learned about amazing artists- Dear Nora, Damien Jurado, and Mates of State. While I was taking lessons, I began wondering who else was out there like me, as most girl musicians I had heard were country-ish, riot grrl, or like trying to be pop musicians like Britney Spears. I began searching for other girl songwriters that I liked. I've found that yes, they are out there! And I'm sure more will be around soon as the Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls girls grow up, haha.
You may have heard of Ink Brethren, but it's a small group of people that changed my life and how I wrote songs. We met about every three weeks on Sunday afternoons and evenings for over a year. We had instruments -everything from piano, banjo and guitar to harmonica, shakers and toys that made sounds. We'd sit in a circle, packed into Todd and Angie's living room or basement, and start yelling out song titles, off the tops of our heads. Someone would write them down. When we had 30 or 50 or so, someone would pick the first song title they wanted to use, and then pick who should start singing, and what instruments would be in it and what the style or emotion of the song would be. Then we'd hit the record button on Todd's trusty boombox and start the song. Whatever was recorded during that time was our song, including mistakes, awkward humming and extra talking. It took me a few months to feel comfortable enough to sing along on the chorus parts we came up with. I also didn't really know how to play any of the instruments there. But no one was really a musician, or if they were, they were often handed an instrument they never had played before. Basically, Ink Brethren was a safe place to have fun, experiment, and learn to think on your feet and yell out whatever comes to mind. Abbi and I started singing silly duets, and I started feeling more and more comfortable and singing more. We have some really funny songs, perhaps, the most funny. Oh I'm forgetting to finish telling how to play the game... so After the first song is done, you go in a circle, and the next person picks the next song and you record that one. when everyone has had a turn (or if you have like 5 people, 2 turns) you play back the tape. It is so amazing. Stuff you never heard while you were recording is there, and perfectly timed. And by the end in like 1hour or so, you've made like 15 songs... and then you put it online!
About this time Breakfast Club started back up, I took lessons still, and then one day in 2006 I think, Abbi and I sang for the first time at The Bridge. It was so scary, singing in front of people, but we did it and started singing on a regular schedule. By this time we were meeting at The Mississippi Ballroom. After a while I started singing on a team with Drew Grow and Kelli Schaefer. I think that singing with them taught me a lot. I was feeling more comfortable, and it was fun though I still got nervous sometimes. I've always thought it was amusing that I sang with Drew because he was in five o'clock people, and at the first show I went to in 6th grade or something. The first time I saw Kelli play music I was inspired and amazed. Drew and Kelli both know how to sing from their hearts, from a space and perspective that it's taken me years to be comfortable sharing out loud. I really admire them and love their label, Amigo/Amiga. I think they will go far, and I'm thankful for being able to have them as inspiration and musical friends.
I hope you're not bored, but this is really how Upsidedown Cat happened. It's been a long time coming, especially since I never thought I'd be a musician or that it was even possible. I know I'm leaving a lot out and I hope this write up doesn't sound like "I'm the best musician and I only care about me, blah blah blah" because I'm far from the best musician, and I care a lot about those who have influenced me and encouraged me, and been at my few shows and been kind when I forget the words or am nervous. I'm amazed that I'm even a musician and that I have two albums because some of it feel almost like it happened by accident.
Let's continue.
My first Upsidedown Cat show was at a cafe called Urban Grind. It was October 2007 and I was opening for some favorite bands: The Beauty, Kelli Schaefer, Half-Handed Cloud and LAKE (I didn't know they were my favorite band yet, but they soon became it). Meanwhile sometime earlier that year, Agents of Future (music from the Bridge) had played a show at The Artistery where we did AoF songs and then one song by Upsidedown Cat, one song by Kelli Schaefer, one song by my friend Mick, etc. At that show were several of my future friends I hadn't met yet including Jonathan Moore. Jon and I had both been at the Danielson Famile movie showing at the art museum earlier that year but didn't know it, and later my friend Missi introduced us, and later Todd mentioned Jonathan's Casio band called Masters of The Tuniverse. So at that Artistery show, Jonathan talked to me, and mentioned that he liked my songs and wanted to help get them recorded. We myspaced a lot about music and casios in those days, and Jonathan talked about his future plans to have a musical collective. He kept talking about his friend Mike, who I met later and who was recording Jonathan's music. I guess I probably don't remember everything chronologically. But I think 2007 was also when Jonathan's Imaginary Airship CD came out. I went to their release show at the Artistery in July and again there were future good friends I hadn't really met yet. Jonathan and Abbi and I would meet up at The Artistery to see Dear Nora (a top favorite musician of mine), Alan Singley, and The Online Romance, etc. The point is, Jonathan and I were musical friends, and he saw something in my music, and played it for his friend Mike Alston. They were just demos I had done in my bedroom, homework for my songwriting lessons. Some were done on Fruity Loops and some were on audacity. Despite their hissy and imperfect qualities, they were catchy, and with the thanks from Todd's lessons, the lyrics were pretty good, and (I've always felt), let the listener see pictures and imagine the stories in their head.
Abbi and I were very good friends, but with neither of us being very strong musicians, it was hard to play music together. We tried it, and sometimes pulled it off (with help from Todd). But after a few shows that left us stressed out, we realized it wasn't very good for our friendship to be in a band. In fact, there were times where I wondered if we'd ever be as close of friends again. (It was sad times, but I'm thankful to say we're good friends now). Meanwhile around 2008 sometime I realized I couldn't really continue with my lessons. School was taking up more of my time and money... But also in 2008 at my rollerskating birthday party in June, Jonathan came, bringing Mike and their friend Chris Bruhn who I had never met. I'd seen Mike around at a few shows, but still didn't really know him. Jonathan and Mike had still been talking about recording my music. After rollerskating, a group of our friends went to their house, and I saw Sound Ghost Studios for the first time and also met my friend Ben. That night a group of us recorded some improv songs, similar to the idea of Ink Brethren, but a little different. We had fun, and recorded it all. In August we started really talking about things. I hung out with Mike and Ben at the studio and we talked more about music and how we could start recording it. I also joined their tradition of going out for burritos and watching movies.
On August 16th 2008 we started recording songs for Soon Fall Will Be Here. The songs came to the studio as Casio demos, chords and lyrics with a few extra bits. I knew very little about rhythm and bass and anything besides what was in my little Casio world. We recorded on Saturdays, and I was thankful to have Mike and Jonathan who knew so much more about music helping me. Somehow I thought we'd record the whole album in a month before I started school again. Little did I know about recording, especially when you're reworking songs in the studio and all have school and jobs and lives. Anyway, I'm happy with how we recorded the album, I think it wouldn't have been as good if we had rushed it. Through recording with Mike and Jonathan, I learned a lot about music, recording, caught up on 80s and 90s movies I'd missed out on growing up, and gained true friends. Through Mike and Jonathan I met a whole new community of creative friends that had all known each other for about 8 years (though some less than that). Having a group of friends who also did music and art was awesome and encouraging. We talked about the collective we wanted to have someday, and looking back now I realize it was already taking shape at that point. Mike had been recording his own music since high school, and Jonathan had also been doing music since he was 13 or something, so they had a lot of experience. Mike's studio had moved, and changed shape over the years. They had recorded Imaginary Airship's debut album Where Dreams Take Flight, and invested a lot in recording gear. When I came along with my kitty cat songs they were ready to help make it the best album they could.
There's still more to the story, but I think I'll stop here for now. The point is, Sound Ghost Musical Collective was taking shape and I was excited and honored to be a part of it. I'm so thankful for my friends, and I feel like it's just going to keep getting better, the more we work on things. I have so much more to learn about music and recording, and performing, and the business end of music. I'm thankful for all my favorite bands, and for my teachers, and people who let me be myself with my music and didn't give up on me. I'm thankful to my fans, who are my friends, and those who have found my music randomly online. It's so awesome to have fans I haven't even met. I hope by my effort to share my stories and voice that others will also be inspired and encouraged to try something new and not listen to voices inside of them (or friends/family/too-cool-for-school bands/whoever) that say they're not good enough at something. Because it's never too late to start something, and if you have a few friends who believe in you and help you, you can do much more than on your own. I would be a very different person without the friends who have encouraged me about music and just life. I feel like learning to sing and write music has changed me in so many ways, and I hope it will always be a part of my life.
So... Thanks for reading if you made it all the way down here. And I still hope to learn accordion someday...
-Laura Cat January 2011
Once upon a time, I had my first songwriting lesson on Feb 5, 2005. It was with my friend Todd Fadel, who you may remember from Meow Meow club days and several other things he's been involved in. Oh, I guess I should start earlier....Growing up I don't know how much I was into music. My folks listen to Baroque music, and Celtic music, and whatever is on Prairie Home Companion. I grew up with things like that, and then hymns at church, and then we had some tapes including some Disney sing-alongs (though we didn't have a TV so I hadn't really seen the movies). Also Wee Sing and Play, Psalty, Anne Murray sings for the Sesame Street Generation. (I love that one!). Another tape I loved was made by our friend Patty. It was songs she had done, and some had her friend singing on them. At a young age my sister and I started making a radio show in our living room. We called it Red Couch Talk Show because of our couch and it was on YoYo Radio which had my sister announcing the station with a fake British accent. My sister was probably pretty much in charge because I was probably 6? We had different shows, sometimes interviews, sometimes songs, and sometimes we read our favorite books aloud. Also of course on the show was the Technical Difficulties and Advertisements we made up. I hope in the future to sort through some of those tapes and have them shareable. Some of them are pretty hard to hear though. One thing fans may be interested in is that we used my grandpa's Voice of Music (VM) microphone which is from the 1950s. Later when I was making Upsidedown Cat recordings in my bedroom, I used that same microphone, and we also used it on Soon Fall Will Be Here, along with other mics.
So, growing up, the one popular record we had was Cat Stevens Greatest Hits...which I listened to sometimes. My cousin Anne also let us borrow some CDs- No Need To Argue by Cranberries, John Henry by They Might Be Giants. During this time we had an old keyboard I would sometimes play, but I just would let the drums and pre-programed stuff play pretty much.
In sixth grade I was in private school and I think influenced by my sister, liked five o'clock people, The W's, Five Iron Frenzy, Joy Electric and Silage. My first show was at my church, and it was five o'clock people. It was soo loud! I know that that is when I was really learning to like accordion. I guess I also heard about Weezer through that Windows thing where they're in a Happy Days episode. My first burned CD was Weezer in 8th grade. About that time I started taking guitar lessons from a friend's mom. The first guitar I borrowed was my uncle's vintage Epiphone. I don't know what kind it was, but it had F holes (an arch top?), and someone had carved all the note names in the frets. It was big and sounded cool. I then saved up like $75 and with my parent's help my I bought a guitar from my dad's cousin who has a music shop in The Dalles, Columbia River Music. It was a classical guitar, and more my size. I soon found out though that the fret board was not my size. Anyway, in my lessons I learned a little bit about finger picking and basic chords. I was a shy kid and basically afraid to play in front of my teacher. If I could play it at home, I couldn't really play it well at my lessons. We didn't get very far. But... I had learned some chords, and I still had some books, so occasionally I would strum or finger pick things, though mainly all I played was the intro to My Name Is Jonas by Weezer.
So, being a freshman in 2000-2001 changed some things. I was at public school...which was a hard transition, but I liked it eventually. Actually maybe I took my guitar lessons as a freshman... Anyway, I met my friends Ariel and Petra, and also Leigh Ann, and Elizabeth, and others who listened to Christian ska too. (haha, I know, right). I pretty much made it through freshman PE by singing FIF songs while running the mile. Meanwhile, my sister went of to college and she'd call and play me songs over the phone, like Baby Blue Sedan by Modest Mouse, and Else by Built to Spill. It was in the Napster days and so I also heard tracks by Stereolab, The Pixies, Imperial Teen, Quasi, Air, Radiohead, Apples in Stereo and the like. But Built to Spill's Perfect From Now On was a CD I loved and listened to very much. I guess I should say my second show was at Pine Street Theatre and it was Five Iron Frenzy. It was so amazing, and I went with 8th grade friends, and was happy to see my new high school friends there. I think I also went to an Arthur show. My sister took me to see (I think) Built To Spill for my birthday, and Modest Mouse a few months later. Both shows were at the Crystal Ballroom, and it was a whole new world, scary (I hate mosh pits), and exciting. Anyway, In high school I went to more shows. I heard about the Meow Meow, probably from friends, and went to shows with them. At the 527 SE Pine Meow Meow building, I saw Thanksgiving, The Badger King, Pedro The Lion, Cursive (?), Ester Drang, and probably other bands who opened. I loved Thanksgiving's music and bought his album. I know I also saw BTS and MM more times in high school at the Crystal Ballroom, and Quasi, The Flaming Lips, and Cursive, and probably other bands. In 2002 I started going to The Bridge some. The Bridge met at the Meow Meow. I went with my high school friends. We'd sit at the art table and draw or do homework sometimes, and listen to what was going on. Coming from a Baptist church it was Very different. I wasn't sure what to think at first. It was loud, dark, and people were relaxed and real with what was going on in their lives. It was sort of unorganized, but it was a refreshing change. The songs were new to me, and different from the ones I'd grown up with. After church we had something called Breakfast Club where my friends and I went to vegan $3 breakfast at a place called Fast Forward. After a while my friends stopped going, so I made the bus trip by myself. It took almost an hour, and parts of it were scary (waiting to transfer buses, or walking over the Burnside bridge. Industrial-ish Portland isn't always great on a Sunday morning, streets are emptier.) Anyway, I started listening to the words of the song, and singing along to the ones I knew. They would get stuck in my head during the week, so sometimes I'd take my notebook and copy them down from the overhead projector. There's a lot more I could say, but basically I kept going, and slowly began talking to people there (remember, I was still shy) and taking pictures and developing them in the darkroom at school. Todd was also making these Meow Meow compilations of local bands, I played them a lot and that's how I learned about certain bands like Alan Singley. At school I also met a friend who introduced me to ELO and sold me an old guitar of his for $7. He was only at our school for a few months, but I feel like I learned a lot about music from him. This is getting out of order, but through my friend Ariel I heard some punk, hardcore (which I didn't like) and stuff like Danielson Famile (which I also thought was weird til a lot later). I also went to Tomfest in 2002 with my friends and heard some bands there like Joy Electric and stuff.
The Meow Meow moved and The Bridge went with it to a building on SE 2nd Ave, and about that time I was getting to know my friend Abbi. She knew Todd and Angie well. I guess I remember at this time, going to The Bridge, saying hi to the few friends I knew there, and then kind of just heading home. Breakfast Club was sort of over...at least for a few years. Sometime in 2005 the Meow Meow ended... and Todd mentioned he was going to start teaching music lessons. Abbi was going to take them too, and so something in my heart said "Yes, now is the time to learn accordion!!" hahaha. Anyway, I guess at that time I was a little afraid of Todd, I didn't know him too well though I saw him every Sunday. So I called him up, and we planned to start lessons, and he told me to bring a notebook. Let's just say at the first lessons, I was scared. I was 19 at the time, but still shy and felt bad at trying new things. I knew Todd was a good singer and piano player, and so I was setting myself up for failure by feeling like I had to do things perfectly. And I couldn't, in fact, I was often too scared and stubborn to sing, or experiment or play anything. Sigh. I'm thankful for how patient Todd was as a teacher, because I would have easily given up after those first weeks. So we decided it would help if Abbi joined in for a few lessons. Todd's way of teaching was to teach songwriting skills. Basic piano, and tricks to capture melodies and words you like and then after a while, start editing those things into a song. I bought a tape recorder for like $30, and pulled my old Casio MT45 out of it's cardboard box. I thought it was a dumb keyboard and was a little ashamed of it, but when Todd saw it, I realized Casios were cool...haha.
Anyway, Abbi joined us at a lesson and we recorded some improv songs, taking turns singing and playing stuff. It was fun and not so scary. Some highlights were the songs Priscilla the Kitty, I Never Wanted It, George's Haircut and Grandma Ethel. Anyway, I took lessons for about 3 years, and began to love them. Everytime I felt in my comfort zone, Todd would challenge me a little more. I learned to use recording as a way to document parts of songs I was writing, and then listen back to those recordings and find the notes on the piano. After I had those notes, I would find possible chords to go with them, and then start putting the song together by figuring out the music for the verse, chorus, and extra parts. Then I would work on lyrics...often recording several versions of each song in different ways and different lyrical variations. Through lessons with Todd I also learned about amazing artists- Dear Nora, Damien Jurado, and Mates of State. While I was taking lessons, I began wondering who else was out there like me, as most girl musicians I had heard were country-ish, riot grrl, or like trying to be pop musicians like Britney Spears. I began searching for other girl songwriters that I liked. I've found that yes, they are out there! And I'm sure more will be around soon as the Rock 'n' Roll Camp for Girls girls grow up, haha.
You may have heard of Ink Brethren, but it's a small group of people that changed my life and how I wrote songs. We met about every three weeks on Sunday afternoons and evenings for over a year. We had instruments -everything from piano, banjo and guitar to harmonica, shakers and toys that made sounds. We'd sit in a circle, packed into Todd and Angie's living room or basement, and start yelling out song titles, off the tops of our heads. Someone would write them down. When we had 30 or 50 or so, someone would pick the first song title they wanted to use, and then pick who should start singing, and what instruments would be in it and what the style or emotion of the song would be. Then we'd hit the record button on Todd's trusty boombox and start the song. Whatever was recorded during that time was our song, including mistakes, awkward humming and extra talking. It took me a few months to feel comfortable enough to sing along on the chorus parts we came up with. I also didn't really know how to play any of the instruments there. But no one was really a musician, or if they were, they were often handed an instrument they never had played before. Basically, Ink Brethren was a safe place to have fun, experiment, and learn to think on your feet and yell out whatever comes to mind. Abbi and I started singing silly duets, and I started feeling more and more comfortable and singing more. We have some really funny songs, perhaps, the most funny. Oh I'm forgetting to finish telling how to play the game... so After the first song is done, you go in a circle, and the next person picks the next song and you record that one. when everyone has had a turn (or if you have like 5 people, 2 turns) you play back the tape. It is so amazing. Stuff you never heard while you were recording is there, and perfectly timed. And by the end in like 1hour or so, you've made like 15 songs... and then you put it online!
About this time Breakfast Club started back up, I took lessons still, and then one day in 2006 I think, Abbi and I sang for the first time at The Bridge. It was so scary, singing in front of people, but we did it and started singing on a regular schedule. By this time we were meeting at The Mississippi Ballroom. After a while I started singing on a team with Drew Grow and Kelli Schaefer. I think that singing with them taught me a lot. I was feeling more comfortable, and it was fun though I still got nervous sometimes. I've always thought it was amusing that I sang with Drew because he was in five o'clock people, and at the first show I went to in 6th grade or something. The first time I saw Kelli play music I was inspired and amazed. Drew and Kelli both know how to sing from their hearts, from a space and perspective that it's taken me years to be comfortable sharing out loud. I really admire them and love their label, Amigo/Amiga. I think they will go far, and I'm thankful for being able to have them as inspiration and musical friends.
I hope you're not bored, but this is really how Upsidedown Cat happened. It's been a long time coming, especially since I never thought I'd be a musician or that it was even possible. I know I'm leaving a lot out and I hope this write up doesn't sound like "I'm the best musician and I only care about me, blah blah blah" because I'm far from the best musician, and I care a lot about those who have influenced me and encouraged me, and been at my few shows and been kind when I forget the words or am nervous. I'm amazed that I'm even a musician and that I have two albums because some of it feel almost like it happened by accident.
Let's continue.
My first Upsidedown Cat show was at a cafe called Urban Grind. It was October 2007 and I was opening for some favorite bands: The Beauty, Kelli Schaefer, Half-Handed Cloud and LAKE (I didn't know they were my favorite band yet, but they soon became it). Meanwhile sometime earlier that year, Agents of Future (music from the Bridge) had played a show at The Artistery where we did AoF songs and then one song by Upsidedown Cat, one song by Kelli Schaefer, one song by my friend Mick, etc. At that show were several of my future friends I hadn't met yet including Jonathan Moore. Jon and I had both been at the Danielson Famile movie showing at the art museum earlier that year but didn't know it, and later my friend Missi introduced us, and later Todd mentioned Jonathan's Casio band called Masters of The Tuniverse. So at that Artistery show, Jonathan talked to me, and mentioned that he liked my songs and wanted to help get them recorded. We myspaced a lot about music and casios in those days, and Jonathan talked about his future plans to have a musical collective. He kept talking about his friend Mike, who I met later and who was recording Jonathan's music. I guess I probably don't remember everything chronologically. But I think 2007 was also when Jonathan's Imaginary Airship CD came out. I went to their release show at the Artistery in July and again there were future good friends I hadn't really met yet. Jonathan and Abbi and I would meet up at The Artistery to see Dear Nora (a top favorite musician of mine), Alan Singley, and The Online Romance, etc. The point is, Jonathan and I were musical friends, and he saw something in my music, and played it for his friend Mike Alston. They were just demos I had done in my bedroom, homework for my songwriting lessons. Some were done on Fruity Loops and some were on audacity. Despite their hissy and imperfect qualities, they were catchy, and with the thanks from Todd's lessons, the lyrics were pretty good, and (I've always felt), let the listener see pictures and imagine the stories in their head.
Abbi and I were very good friends, but with neither of us being very strong musicians, it was hard to play music together. We tried it, and sometimes pulled it off (with help from Todd). But after a few shows that left us stressed out, we realized it wasn't very good for our friendship to be in a band. In fact, there were times where I wondered if we'd ever be as close of friends again. (It was sad times, but I'm thankful to say we're good friends now). Meanwhile around 2008 sometime I realized I couldn't really continue with my lessons. School was taking up more of my time and money... But also in 2008 at my rollerskating birthday party in June, Jonathan came, bringing Mike and their friend Chris Bruhn who I had never met. I'd seen Mike around at a few shows, but still didn't really know him. Jonathan and Mike had still been talking about recording my music. After rollerskating, a group of our friends went to their house, and I saw Sound Ghost Studios for the first time and also met my friend Ben. That night a group of us recorded some improv songs, similar to the idea of Ink Brethren, but a little different. We had fun, and recorded it all. In August we started really talking about things. I hung out with Mike and Ben at the studio and we talked more about music and how we could start recording it. I also joined their tradition of going out for burritos and watching movies.
On August 16th 2008 we started recording songs for Soon Fall Will Be Here. The songs came to the studio as Casio demos, chords and lyrics with a few extra bits. I knew very little about rhythm and bass and anything besides what was in my little Casio world. We recorded on Saturdays, and I was thankful to have Mike and Jonathan who knew so much more about music helping me. Somehow I thought we'd record the whole album in a month before I started school again. Little did I know about recording, especially when you're reworking songs in the studio and all have school and jobs and lives. Anyway, I'm happy with how we recorded the album, I think it wouldn't have been as good if we had rushed it. Through recording with Mike and Jonathan, I learned a lot about music, recording, caught up on 80s and 90s movies I'd missed out on growing up, and gained true friends. Through Mike and Jonathan I met a whole new community of creative friends that had all known each other for about 8 years (though some less than that). Having a group of friends who also did music and art was awesome and encouraging. We talked about the collective we wanted to have someday, and looking back now I realize it was already taking shape at that point. Mike had been recording his own music since high school, and Jonathan had also been doing music since he was 13 or something, so they had a lot of experience. Mike's studio had moved, and changed shape over the years. They had recorded Imaginary Airship's debut album Where Dreams Take Flight, and invested a lot in recording gear. When I came along with my kitty cat songs they were ready to help make it the best album they could.
There's still more to the story, but I think I'll stop here for now. The point is, Sound Ghost Musical Collective was taking shape and I was excited and honored to be a part of it. I'm so thankful for my friends, and I feel like it's just going to keep getting better, the more we work on things. I have so much more to learn about music and recording, and performing, and the business end of music. I'm thankful for all my favorite bands, and for my teachers, and people who let me be myself with my music and didn't give up on me. I'm thankful to my fans, who are my friends, and those who have found my music randomly online. It's so awesome to have fans I haven't even met. I hope by my effort to share my stories and voice that others will also be inspired and encouraged to try something new and not listen to voices inside of them (or friends/family/too-cool-for-school bands/whoever) that say they're not good enough at something. Because it's never too late to start something, and if you have a few friends who believe in you and help you, you can do much more than on your own. I would be a very different person without the friends who have encouraged me about music and just life. I feel like learning to sing and write music has changed me in so many ways, and I hope it will always be a part of my life.
So... Thanks for reading if you made it all the way down here. And I still hope to learn accordion someday...
-Laura Cat January 2011
Here's a mix I made for Upsidedown Cat fans, pretend it's on cassette tape with typewritten notes and stickers, as if we were real music penpals back in the day :) If you go to my videos page on this website I also have a video podcast showing the record covers and chatting about the songs!
Old News :) ...Sometimes things take a while to get re-started after a long break!)
2022:
November: Working on getting It's Winter ready for streaming online! Mike is remixing it a bit! Designing some prints for other bands in Sound Ghost Musical Collective, took a break from songwriting but I will get back at it, plus maybe some collaborations/covers of friends!
May: Yay, CD covers are printed and will be up for sale on Bandcamp soon! So So So exciting! Stay tuned for more merch and fun stuff eventually.
January: Writing slowly, snippets at a time, life is busy and feels like not a lot of time for creating!
How are you? Hoping to finally print SFWBH covers this year, do a few more Show & Tell videos on Youtube, clean up and update some online stuff for Sound Ghost Musical Collective and of course always making arts and crafts!!
2021:
Soon Fall Will Be Here is now on Spotify!
I am working on some new song starts, practicing piano a bit. Slow going but grateful to be working on some new stuff! Stay tuned! Maybe even a bit of guitar!
Upsidedown Cat is a member of Sound Ghost Musical Collective. Check out SGMC’s new site for music by my good friends!! (Sometimes I get to sing back up vocals! More to come as it gets recorded!)
2020:
I started working on a song from 2011. Excited about that but working on it slowly because life is busy with two kiddos. I recently got interested in music again. For a long time I did not look for new bands or artists and did not even listen to much music. Well, we often put records on at home, but most are pre ‘60s.
2022:
November: Working on getting It's Winter ready for streaming online! Mike is remixing it a bit! Designing some prints for other bands in Sound Ghost Musical Collective, took a break from songwriting but I will get back at it, plus maybe some collaborations/covers of friends!
May: Yay, CD covers are printed and will be up for sale on Bandcamp soon! So So So exciting! Stay tuned for more merch and fun stuff eventually.
January: Writing slowly, snippets at a time, life is busy and feels like not a lot of time for creating!
How are you? Hoping to finally print SFWBH covers this year, do a few more Show & Tell videos on Youtube, clean up and update some online stuff for Sound Ghost Musical Collective and of course always making arts and crafts!!
2021:
Soon Fall Will Be Here is now on Spotify!
I am working on some new song starts, practicing piano a bit. Slow going but grateful to be working on some new stuff! Stay tuned! Maybe even a bit of guitar!
Upsidedown Cat is a member of Sound Ghost Musical Collective. Check out SGMC’s new site for music by my good friends!! (Sometimes I get to sing back up vocals! More to come as it gets recorded!)
2020:
I started working on a song from 2011. Excited about that but working on it slowly because life is busy with two kiddos. I recently got interested in music again. For a long time I did not look for new bands or artists and did not even listen to much music. Well, we often put records on at home, but most are pre ‘60s.