When I was thinking about this interview, I was looking for someone
who knew so much Kim Bullard, including from a personal point of view, and also someone who could excited my honored guest. So I thought
about the fabulous Katy Rose, his daughter. She is someone who could be so
interesting for you, eltonites. Born on 27th January, 1987, Kathryn Rosemary
Bullard was born to a night club and back-up singer, Cecelia Gisiger, and, as I
said, musician father, Kim Bullard. The music has been always present in her
life: "My grandmother, his (Kim's) mother, was always very
musically inclined. She was a harp dealer and made sure each one of her kids
made music a top priority", said Katy to allsongslist in 2009.
Katy is one of those singers who doesn't leave
you indifferent. Her music styles vary from indie rock, electro pop, grunge,
pop, lounge music and even techno, and also, she's an actress. Kim Bullard was
precisely the producer and engineer of Katy's debut 2004 album "Because I
can", a collection of songs about a teenage wasteland. Sometimes funny,
sometimes sarcastic, "I am such an open book" she explained. The
album was a huge success not only in the States, but the rest of the world,
entering in music charts from France, South Africa, Japan and New Zealand. We find
there treasures like "Lemon", "Overdrive" of course; but
also "Catch my fall", with lines like: "I'll cry just a little
bit longer / And I'll stay two seconds more / And I'll try to be stronger / And
I'll see if you catch my fall or " or "I keep on dreamin because I
can even though my eyes don't close / I keep on trippin because its free to a
place I only know", from "Because I Can". Eltonites, Billy
Trudel was backing vocalist there, along with Timothy B. Schmit. Her second album, "Candy Eyed",
2007, it was released more than three years after her debut album, and on an
independent record label River Jones Music. Katy also appeared on two
successful movie soundtracks: Mean Girls ("Overdrive") and Thirteen
("Lemon").
"My career has been crazy and he has been with me every step of the
way" argumented Katy. Some tried to compare with Avril Lavigne,
but she's Katy Rose in big letters, without comparison.So, today is dedicated
to her, to the greatest Katy Rose.
Katy, welcome to the week of Kim Bullard. And also welcome to the Katy Rose
Day, your day. Well, let's start. I've always love to began asking for my guest
childhood. Everybody likes to explain a bit about their childhood and it's nice
to do. In your case, how it was to grow up in California and how hard was the
experience of being always on the road, for your parents jobs?
Hello, Miguel! Oh, wow,
good question…where do i begin? Well, when you’re a child, you really don’t
know anything is different about your life or family because you haven’t yet
had the chance to cultivate that point of reference. I don’t think it’s really
until you become a young teenager that you start to compare yourself to others.
I definitely never felt cooler or more special than my friends and classmates.
I missed my parents tremendously when they were on the road and I was in
school, but I did get to travel extensively because of their jobs, and because
they believed in travel as education. Growing up in Los Angeles, a
family like mine was completely normal. To me, because of the way I grew
up and where, celebrities and artists were just normal people. For example, my
best friends growing up were best friends with the Olsen Twins. I used to
come home from school and find people like Alanis Morissette, Eddie Money,
Olivia Newton John and Weird Al Yankovik in my kitchen. I mean, I didn’t have
the experience of growing up anywhere but Los Angeles, or with a different
family… so it was very normal to me! I feel very lucky to have grown up around
creative people and to have had parents that nurtured us in an artistic
environment. Many creative people don’t give themselves permission to be
artists because they never had the kind of support my sister and I have had.
Since you brought it up, looking back with a
more rounded perspective, I can see that my childhood was unusual. While most
kids in America were going to the lake or the beach on vacation, I was going on
the road with The Grateful Dead and Crosby, Stills, and Nash on their stadium tour.
One of the ways I got to play as a kid was to get on stage and sing “Teach Your
Children” with Graham Nash and sing “Feeling Groovy” with Art Garfunkel.
If I had to sum it up, I would say we had a normal childhood… but with
some very different experiences!
I read one of your childhood dreams was being a ballerina and because of an accident, you
injured your leg in three parts, you had to quit. That led you into depression.
Some dark lyrics of "Because I Can" shows that experience. "I
Like", from the album, demonstrates this point, as the simplistic opening
line of "I wanna live before I die". Where do you found the energy to
go ahead?
Yes. That’s true. My
dream always was to be a ballerina. Now my sister is actually a beautiful
dancer, though! I don’t think the fact that I have absolutely struggled with
depression should be a secret. Far too many people suffer in silence and are
ashamed. I’ve been fortunate in that I have always had music as an outlet for
the darker times. Even so, I still had to go through them. I do hope, though,
that in taking risks with honesty through my lyric writing, I have become the
type of artist people can relate to. The only thing that makes art ART is the
action of evoking emotion in someone else. Even if through my lyrics I have
helped one person be honest with themselves and not be ashamed by their dark
parts, then I have done my job. We all have light and dark. I don’t think that
it’s healthy to deny that. After all, you cannot appreciate the light times
without acknowledging the dark. As far dancing is concerned, I do still dance!
I dance every chance I can get, and I’ve also channeled that drive to move
emotion through my body in my yoga practice.
When was the moment you finally felt like
you'd really made it as a singer?
I don't know that I’ve
had that moment yet!! I mean, the music business (especially today) is so hard.
We are all it because we love it, so even getting the smallest amount of
recognition is “making it as a singer” to me. What I think you are
referring to was the time period where I was on MTV a lot, and was hearing
myself on the radio quite a bit. I’ll never forget how uncomfortable I was
seeing a huge building in Roppongi, Japan that had my picture plastered to the
side of it. It was exciting and nauseating at the same time, but seeing
it gave me a feeling that maybe I had made some kind of mark.
The simple fact that
after 11 years people are still listening to my music and following my career
is a sign to me that I am making it. I hope to still “make it” for many more
years.
Katy, how your songwriting process works?
My songwriting process
differs every time. Generally speaking, I seem to always have a plethora
of lyrics lying around. I write some things 100% on my own (on guitar or
keyboard), but I do prefer to collaborate with people. It’s just more fun that
way! It’s nice to have an extra perspective when creating something. I love the
collaborative process. I learn so much from other writers. Everyone has their
own process. Most people make their friends at school or work. You could say
that about songwriting for me… that’s my work, and most of my friends have come
this way. For example, after my first record was released, a sweet and
amazingly talented girl named Skylar Grey approached me to do a co-write. She
became a close friend and we made a lot of great songs together that I should
release one day. It’s been an enormous pleasure for me to watch her career
explode as a writer. This business is so insane. Just a few years ago,
she was couch surfing in my living room and then one month later she had a
number one hit with Eminem. I mean, that’s really a perfect example
of how volatile this business is.
About like you to ask about your music
influences and inspiration when it came to mind an interview you did with Kiya
on rockpulse website when you said "I am the biggest music snob you will
ever meet" what makes me smile. You was explaining you captured everything
since music to films. Is that so?
I suppose I am music
snob. I definitely do not mean that in bad way! I just have never been someone
who likes a song just because a radio station is telling me I’m supposed to. I
am and always have been a true music fan. Music drives my life. I am always on
the hunt for new music and interesting new artists. I used to spend hours
at used record stores, searching for new artists to inspire me. I think a lot
of people either don’t care that much or are just lazy when it comes to
listening to music. They’ll just listen to whatever is on the radio, and
they’ll like it because it’s catchy or has a driving kick drum. I’m not saying
that’s wrong, and I totally get that. I’m just saying that there’s so much more
out there. It’s so much easier today to listen to and find good music, so there
is no excuse. Also, it blows my mind when younger producers or artists
I’ve worked with don’t have any idea about “older” music. To me, we are
creating art. Even if you aren’t a fan of neoclassical painting, you should still
be well versed on some of the driving pioneers in the older styles of painting
if you are trying to be a visual artist. The same should be for music too. In
regards to my influences, mine are vast! I am influenced and inspired by every
bit of life… the broken and the glorious! My musical influences run the
spectrum from DeBussy to The Velvet Underground and Nico to Leonard Cohen to
Kate Bush to Patti Smith to PJ Harvey and even Robyn. A huge influence to me in
my early days of writing was Fiona Apple. When she was already a huge star and
I was just getting signed, she used to sit in and sing at Largo in Hollywood. I
met her there and we became fast friends, having a lot in common. She seemed to
intuitively know me, as we were cut from the same cloth in many ways. One
night I was totally melting down and called her, feeling that she was the only
one who would probably understand. Within moments, she had left her own
recording session, drove out to my house, sat with me in my studio, and just
listened to music with me. I was so moved by that gesture, how she really
showed up and was there for me. I’ll never forget that. She’ll always be one of
my greatest influences and favorite people.
So, you have two albums out, the celebrated
"Because I Can" (2004) and "Candy Eyed" (2007). It was said
to release an album in 2009 titled "Tangled But True". Both albums
came in such difficult moments of your life, as we explained before. How do you
value the experience on the recording of those albums, it was a kind of therapy
for you?
Yes. Of course. I have a
lot of existential anxiety, and music certainly soothes that. Music is therapy!
Writing has always been the most healing action I take. Artists generally
feel things very intensely and use their work to bring those heavy emotions and
aching sensations into something tangible and relatable. All that makes art art
is the triggering of some kind of emotion in another person. Therefore, you
need a hefty amount of emotion back-logged to create said art in the first
place. I’ve never been wanting for intense feelings!! haha. Most of the time
(fortunately or unfortunately... however you look at it) the work I'm most
proud of comes from what I've felt were my greatest tragedies.
I saw pictures that showed you on the red
carpet at the movie premier for Mean Girls, and that you and your band
performed at the party while Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Amanda Seyfried,
and Lizzie Caplan were all dancing. There was probably a lot of
things happening at this time for you.. but did you know that it was a special
night? or was this just another show for you?
That question brings up a
lot of thoughts… When things are heated up around your career, and you are
really young, it's a lot to handle. There are a lot of things pulling at
you. It is intoxicating, and you rely on people around you to not be
intoxicated with it so you can have balance. It’s a big problem if the parent
who is looking after you is also very intoxicated with the whole thing. It can
easily spin out-of-control. I don’t really know what happened on the inside
world of Lindsay Lohan, but it seems like that’s what happened. Her parents
were as intoxicated as Lindsay was with her career. Then, they forgot to be
parents. Maybe that sounds harsh, but you see that scenario happen in LA all
the time.
When you have a song on the charts and you're on MTV and so on, there are a lot
of hangers on that want a piece of it too. I never cared too much at all about
going to the hip places, but other people certainly did. The way that they got
in would be to bring me along as their entree into cool clubs. I thought it was
all really boring and vapid, but I was also really young and naive and was
maybe desperate for friends ( having lived a slightly different life that left
me feeling sort of isolated). I would see Lindsey out and about and we
would say hello to each other. She was going in a million different directions,
so we did not really develop a tight friendship. I have not thought of
that night in a long time… lets see, Amanda Seigfried was also at the
"Mean Girls" premiere, of course. She is good friends with my friend
Nikki Reed. She was there with her mother and is a super nice girl. I've
really enjoyed watching her career take off because she's a good person. Rachel
McAdams was, naturally, also there. She is probably about 5 years older than
me, and I remember being in awe of her beauty. I love her work! Jason Mraz was
randomly there, and since we were friends from doing TRL together, we both went
out with some people afterwards and did karaoke. Talk about the best karaoke
singer ever! seriously… he is amazing. I didn't hang with Lizzie Kaplan
much that night, but she was a kid from LA as well. I love watching her on
"Masters of Sex" now. She is such a good actress. These kids
were a little bit older than I was, but I kind of felt like it was just a bunch
of LA kids making a movie and having fun. I don't think any of us expected it
to be such a cult classic! That whole event was fun, and we all
laughed until we cried watching the movie for the first time. It’s
hard not to love Tina Fey! I think we all wanted to be a part of "Mean
Girls" just so we could be a part of something Tina Fey touched.
Yeah, looking back it was a special night… thanks for reminding me of that!
"I've been a Katy Rose fan since I was a
kid, it is kinda surreal that I'm playing music with her now. I'm always
interested in how Katy Rose sees the world. She is and will forever be one of
the fresh voices of music". Those words are from my first guest on the interview, Fiona Grey, who's second EP
"Belladonna" impressed me so much for its quality. She became an ASCAP member at age seven and joined you on
some recent shows. So next question is from her to you, Katy:
How your music has evolved in the past 10
years? And how your growing up has inspired your music?
I definitely feel more
fulfilled by the music I’m making now. I think that comes from growing up,
doing work, and understanding who am much more than I did ten years ago. I am
much more secure and feel so much stronger in who I am spiritually and
emotionally, that I think i can put a lot more of myself into my music and feel
proud of it. With age, too, comes a myriad of experience that you can’t buy or
make up. It makes my songwriting more authentic. I do think young people
sometimes make some of the most raw art because they haven’t yet gotten a grip
on managing their impulsivity and intense emotion. I think with getting older,
too, we start to get less fearless with that expression. We start to understand
our own mortality and get stuck on how much there is to lose. I know when I was
a teenager, I felt like I had nothing to lose and could do or say whatever I
wanted. There is something kind of strangely beautiful in that youthful,
reckless abandon. I am a different person than I was ten years ago, but i am
also the same person… if that makes any sense. I’d like to think there’s still
pieces of my teenage self with a bit more depth and polish in my music today.
Thanks Fiona, I appreciated so much your
collaboration. Fiona Grey, a nineteen year old indie pop artist currently
living in Los Angeles. She has been performing and writing music for over 10
years. In March, 2013, she released her first EP,“Striped Heart," a six
song set of original songs which reflects both the edgy modern rock side of her
music as well as her introspective lyrics and playful melodies. She also
worked with a band “KITTEN” and toured on their North American tour for 6
weeks. Performing with artists such as Charli XCX, Foals and Liz.
Well, Jack Rabbit, go on with your interview:
Yes, music industry changes so much today. Radio doesn't play rock songs so
much, it seems all is very pop and dance. Digital age changes everything.
That's so difficult to move in this world and to get your products out. What's
your experience? How do you manage to do that?
Yes. The music industry
has changed so much, but- honestly- it’s always been really hard to get your
music out. I’m examining ways right now to get my new music out. I don’t
necessarily think it's any harder, I think it’s more about understanding this
new format. Music continually evolves. That is why it is always so interesting.
I mean, the Beatles evolved from what was essentially a boy band, into arguably
the most influential band in history, and they did in about 5 years. Its
mind-blowing to think about the evolution of pop music during that time period.
Yes, it is too bad that radio is still so powerful, and that to get the
widest audience, you need to be on the radio. No matter what any artist says,
they want to reach as many people as possible. But there are a lot of smaller
niche artists that do well outside of radio. They find their audience
somehow. Like I said before, success to me is just reaching one
person.
Kim Bullard was so important in composing and
producing your albums. And he's my guest on the Week Of... Kim Bullard.
"Being his daughter has definetly molded me into the artist I am
today". So no one like you to explain us how's Kim Bullard as a musician
and his importance in your music career?
Making music together was
a way that we hung out as father and daughter when I was growing up… he would
play stuff on the keyboard, and I would be on a mic in the studio making up
songs. Therefore, us “working’ together as we do now,
is just an extension of what we have always done. Of course
things got more serious when a tape of some of my songs ended up getting passed
around, and there was a couple of record deals on the table. As much as he
tried to keep it fun and playful, things definitely heated up.
You asked me to specifically talk about KB as a musician. Well, he definitely
works hard… maybe too hard. He spreads himself thin, and really puts a
lot into whatever project he is working on. He does too many jobs, but I
kind of think that's admirable at the same time. He gets really obsessive and
kind of lost in his work when he is producing something. If you walk in while
he is working he jumps like he saw a ghost! It’s pretty funny, actually. We all
laugh about it.
What could you share about Kim Bullard's work
being an Elton John band member, now?
You probably know more
about my dad’s work with Elton than I do! I never see him because he’s on the
road with Elton all the time!
Have you ever been an Elton fan? Remember the first time you heard
Elton’s music and what moves you to buy his music, in that case?
Well, I used to be
obsessed with the film, “Almost Famous.” In high school, people called me
Penny Lane ( probably because of my hair. haha. ). “Tiny Dancer” was
basically the theme song of that movie, so - like every other girl ever- I felt
like “Tiny Dancer” was my song. I don’t think kids of my generation
are even aware of the FIRST time they hear Elton’s songs because they have
heard them their whole life.. His songs are woven into the fabric of
their very being. Even though we didn’t even know it was Elton John, you know
the songs, because they are played everywhere… in restaurants, in TV shows, on
oldies stations. Its like Elton John songs are not something we discovered,
it is music we have always known.
Apart from music, which are your interests? What
do you like to do in your free time?
As a former dancer, i
love to move my body. I love to go out dancing, and I love a good spin class. I
am also 500 hour certified in yoga, so I’m obviously very interested in
yoga and the healing arts. I love health food and raw juicing. I am a huge
history nerd, so I am never without a historical fiction book in hand. I like
supporting my musician friends in Los Angeles and seeing their shows. I enjoy
hiking in the California canyons. I love photography and visual art and want to
take more classes. Mostly, I love traveling. If I could just play live shows,
make music, and travel every day for the rest of my life, I would be so happy!
Could you
explain a little bit about your future projects, please, Katy? And what would
you like the future to have in store for you? So excited to see a new album by
you out very soon.
I am so excited about releasing a new album
this year. I’ve been back and forth from LA to Scandinavia for a couple
years now, and cannot wait to share what I’ve been up to! This is an exciting
time!
Would you want to add some observation or suggestion, or something you
want to say to the eltonites?
I hear from all the guys
in the Elton band that the Elton fans are just the sweetest and kindest
people. If any of you Elton fans see my dad out there, tell him to call me!
haha.
Hahahaha I will, sure!!! Well Katy, I am
absolutely delighted to have you here on the Katy Rose Day, and on the Kim
Bullard Week. I am sure eltonites and your father enjoyed your touching and
amazing interview you delivered. You are a very interesting artist and a
wonderful and marvellous person. Coulndt wait to buy you cd when comes out. Thanks
so much for being there. You are one of a kind. Oh, before you go, please,
there's some other people you know that want to tell you something:
"Well first of all I have known and been
friends with Kim way longer then anyone else in the band. And I have known Katy
since she was a little girl bouncing on her daddies knee while we were in the
studio recording. I was so excited to see her grow from a young little girl to
this amazing songwriter and singer. It made me very happy, when I was asked to
sing the backing vocals on her record. It felt like passing the torch from one
generation to the next. I have a lot of love for the Bullard's, Kim Cece, Maddy
and Katy!!!! Big hugs to all of you". (Bill Trudel, singer, songwriter, producer. He was part of the Elton John Band as his primary backup vocalist in 1997 until 2000.Writer and producer of new talents, he co-owns a few on-line companies e-appointcards.com and Smaktones.com. )
"When I first met Katy Rose, she caught me off
guard. Through the warmth of her smile and her sweet Aquarian eyes, I got an
immediate sense of her strength. The same is true of her music. It may look,
sound and act like pop, but there is a beautiful jeering quality about it, a
kind of clever sincerity. You can hear this in her voice and lyrics, that
unavoidable finger-pointing clarity. She's so immediate and personal with her
delivery that it transcends all the hallmarks of popular music, it even cracks
open the imagery she uses in her songs. When she says she's
"California," you absolutely believe her. I am so blessed to know her
as a friend and performer and I can hardly wait to hear what she's got in store
for us next". (MRK, Madison René Knapp is MRK, an experimental alternative dream pop rock band. Her tunes use electronic
palates to create indie-rock influenced, bombastic theatrical anthems that sing
with levity and creativity while always keeping sinister undertones simmering
in the undertow. Her debut video, for
"River of Blood," captures what she's all about - The ugly and the
beautiful all in one, harmonizing in a cacophony that will not be ignored.)
Thanks to all of you, Bill, MRK. I really
appreciate you have been here to Katy Rose Day.
Pictures courtesy of Katy Rose
Videos by Katy Rose:
Overdrive
I Like
Because I Can
Videos by Fiona Grey:
Beauty Queen
Videos by Bill Trudel:
Crimes Of Passion
Videos by MRK:
River Of Blood
And which Elton item in your collection do you treasure the most — either because it was difficult to obtain or because of the happiness it brought you?
Your YouTube series Music Speaks has become a space for very honest and heartfelt conversations. How did this project begin?
How important do you think the fan community is in preserving musical legacies?
When you look back at your own journey — from fan to interviewer — what would you say to someone who dreams of starting a project of their own within the music world?
After all these experiences, what does being an “Eltonite” mean to you today?
