1. How old were you when you knew your life was going to be art?  I think at age 8.  My true love was singing, but I was a shy little thing and would never have dreamed I'd have the courage to sing in public.  I was always putting on plays for my family, and even staged "Cinderella", casting a tall girl from the neighborhood with a Prince Valiant haircut as the prince.  My Dad printed out tickets and treated the performance like a real production.  I was Cinderella and forgot to drop my slipper running up the basement steps when the clock struck "midnight", and when I threw the slipper down the stairs I got a big laugh.  I was hooked.

 

2. When did you start for real?  At the infamous Aus-Tex lounge, owned by Steve Dean and his mother Elaine, I'd had just enough to drink one night and some friends convinced me to sit-in with their band.  I did Jimmy Reed's "You Don't Have to Go" and Jimmy Rogers "You Told Me Baby" and got a good response.  Well, that put an end to my 2 years at UT.  Soon after I formed my first band, "The Jaguars", which someone once kindly told me had the honor of being dubbed "The Worst Band in Austin"- ha ha!  You gotta start somewhere!!

 

3. Were you single minded in this pursuit or did you train/educate for a "real" job?  Music saved my life and has been the compass that helped me dig out of a very deep chasm.  But I did go to photography school, which allowed me to get a day job managing a commercial color lab.  I also had a long career as a program specialist with the Texas Education Agency, which was very satisfying because I could help kids and it paid the bills.

 

4. School - Did it help, hinder, or immaterial?  Photography school helped.  Kindergarten through 6th grade at Fletcher Elementary School in Ypsilanti, Michigan provided an excellent foundation in English and Math.  The rest was immaterial, I learned most of what I know on the streets and from reading.

 

5. Who supported your decisions? My Dad was very supportive and always told me a woman could do any thing a man can.  My first bass player was going to take his PA System when he quit the band, and my Dad bought it from him for me.  I played many a gig with those huge Cerwin Vega speakers and Yamaha mixer.  Thanks, Dad!

 

6. Do you have family?  And where are they? I have an amazing husband, Bill Jones, who is a phenomenal musician and plays in our band.  I know it's a cliché, but he truly is the best thing that's ever happened to me and we've been together for over 30 years now.  I'm having a reunion next week with my 5 siblings and its wonderful and amazing that we are all healthy and doing well.  And I have 7 nieces and nephews, and 5 great-nieces and nephews, that are pieces of my heart out walking around in the world.  We live in Austin, Chicago, Boston, and Ohio.

 

7. What gigs stand out to you, looking back? C-Boy Parks had a legendary club called "The Rome Inn" and one night Stevie Ray Vaughan, who was best friends with my brother David, came out to my show and sat in on guitar with me for an entire set.  I believe the year was 1980 and that was cool beyond belief!  And just last weekend the gigs were amazing.  Both shows, one with the "Monarch of Austin Blues" (my moniker for him), Blues Boy Hubbard on second guitar, and then another show playing with the great Casper Rawls, were fabulous.  And Koko Taylor, Albert King, and Bobby 'Blue' Bland were incredibly kind and welcoming when I had "the pleasure of opening for them.

 

8. Who did you like performing with?  I like performing with the aforementioned Bill Jones, Blues Boy Hubbard, Casper Rawls, AND Ernie Durawa, Dick Ross, Dylan Cavaliere, Jackie Newhouse, Lynne Davis, Nina Singh, Mike Buck, Eve Monsees, Derek O'Brien, Gene Taylor, Kaz Kazanoff...man!  My cup runneth over having the opportunity to play shows with these amazing musicians.

 

9. What do you see as your best work? My original songs.  I am proud that Kate Meehan, "The Queen of Tasmanian Blues", has recorded fabulous versions of 14 of my songs.  I was awarded the Australian Blues Association "Songwriter of the Year” award for Kate's recording of my song, "Call Me Mrs. Blues".  And I believe that all 10 cuts on our most recent CD, "Relatively Blue", recorded with just me, Bill Jones, and my amazing brother David Murray, can be trusted to hold you and take you for a real nice ride.

 

10. Has your outlook on fame changed since you've achieved it? I understand the sweetness of anonymity.  Fortunately, the Roots & Blues style of music I love has a small, but very cool, niche audience, so I don’t expect fame to be much of a problem. 

 

11. Has notoriety changed you?  I was so young and immature when I started playing gigs that my first real goal was simply to be "on the road".  Hilarious, looking back!  I grew up in a turbulent home with the only really peaceful times when we kids got our own hotel room on trips.  But back to your question, no, I have not really changed.  I believe I have the same basic human qualities I’ve always had.

 

12. Do you feel satisfied with yourself? Yes. I’ve been able to keep playing my music that means the world to me.  The creative tap keeps flowing and I’m writing new songs all the time.  And, most importantly, I have mentored several wonderful children and hopefully helped them to have an easier path in life.  Life is really good and I’m grateful.

 

13. How do you want to be remembered?  As a person who was always kind to everyone and who found a way to have fun no matter how hard things got.  I ascribe to the saying that a day without laughter is a day that has been wasted! 

 

14. What are you currently working on? We have a tour of Australia in the works.  I’ll be releasing “Groovin’ with Big D” in October 2015, a recording project with the late king of the Texas blues shuffle and my friend, Doyle Bramhall, Sr., on drums.  And I have the next three CDs written and will be spending time in the recording studio!

 

15. Is it as easy as it looks?  It is so far from easy it’s not even funny.  My hat is off to anyone who has the huevos to get up on a stage and do it.  If you do it right it’s gonna be hard, because you will be putting your heart on your sleeve and you will be vulnerable.

 

16. Is it fun?  More fun than anything!  Like Keith Richards said in his autobiography, when everything’s meshing on stage you feel like you’re levitating 10 feet above the ground.

 

18. What would you say to wannabee performers?  Wood shedding to get your chops together cannot be underestimated and getting it together to a certain extent before you take it to the public arena is important.  But soon, there comes a point where you must get some gigs and play on stage to continue to grow.  You have to have the balls to make your mistakes in public, where your attention is divided and all kinds of crap is going on while you’re playing.  You must become like tempered steel where nothing can throw you off course, and the only way you do that is by playing live gigs.  And I would tell aspiring performers to spend time on designing your live show, it’s not just about playing songs, but really about creating moments for the audience to feel something to take home with them.

 

19. Do you have pets, what kind?  I’ve always had both cats and dogs, but am currently dog less due to travel (and have serious dog-envy for those that have one.)  I currently have 2 awesome cats, Evie and Bear, who are 13 year old siblings. 

 

20. What's more important - Talent or hard work?   Hmmm…well, I believe that musical talent is part of being human.  So, I’m going to say that the LOVE of music, along with hard work, would be more important than shear talent without the love.  I’d rather hear something played imperfectly from someone’s true heart than hear something technically perfect from someone who plays like their being paid by the note any day.

 

21 Xtra. What is your take on MP3 downloads? Currently musicians, even at the level of someone like the Rolling Stones, make most of their income from live shows.  That is the way of the future and we simply have to embrace it.  And along with the MP3 download phenomena, vinyl records are making a big comeback, so go figure.  As an adjunct to the “Groovin’ with Big D” CD, we will be releasing a vinyl 45 with 2 fun rockin’ Halloween songs from the same session!

 

www.kathymurrayandthekilowatts.com

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