The Amazing Katie Mae
Katie Mae
My favorite performers are those who seem to be entranced in their own hypnotic spell. They transcend deep into altered states of consciousness & invite you along for the ride. Katie Mae is one of those performers. From the moment she struck her first chord at my open mic, I was amazed with Katie Mae.
Open mics can be a great place to meet other artists & to practice their craft in front an audience. Bobby G’s Open Mic Night in Chandler (AZ) was where I met my friend & esteemed colleague Zack O’ Meara, who plays in a number of local bands & has performed with We Are Hologram. Zack & Katie went to Catholic School together, a fact I learned this past weekend. He was the one who recommended she check out the open mic I used to run at Irene’s Tap Room (now The 1227 Tap Room).
Katie’s voice is unique & she sings as if her life depends on it. Every syllable is her truth. There’s an authentic vulnerability to her lyrics. When the Arizona native & high school math teacher announced she had a solo album in the works, I felt compelled to write about it. The record, Hazy Angel, will be available October 29th as a digital release + a physical CD you can pre-order. Coincidently, that is also Zack’s birthday.
ABMR: How long have you been singing & playing guitar?
Katie Mae: I've been playing guitar since I was in middle school - I wanted to learn how to play electric guitar because I wanted to play punk songs, but I sort of hit a wall with that because I didn't know where to find other musicians to play with. Eventually I got an acoustic guitar and started messing around with writing songs. But it really wasn't until I started jamming with other people, like a decade later, that I started becoming obsessive about playing music. What kicked that off was, I was playing in a poker club while I was living in Flagstaff, somehow guitar playing came up, and one of the players invited me to this "music night" they were hosting, turns out they had a group of musicians who would get together and jam every Thursday - they were really good, and it was such a good time - I don't think I ever missed a Thursday after my first one.
ABMR: Who inspired you to sing?
Katie: I'm inspired by a lot of very different musicians but I think the commonality is authenticity with the vocals - Bob Dylan is a good example of this - He's got this weird fucking voice - I know people who would say it's bad, I don't agree with that at all. I don't know "how" to sing, but I just keep trying to sing in a way that feels natural and authentic.
Chzbrgr Picnic
Katie also fronts a psychedelic punk rock band called Chzbrgr Panic, who I just became a big fan of. Before writing this article, I had only known Katie’s solo work. I’ve been listening to their 2019 album Milk ‘Em All (a Metallica reference) while I write. Milk ‘Em All is loud & a little on the trippy side of punk. One of my favorite parts of the 7 song record is the bass solo in Safeword. Meatloaf, Vodka, Another Man’s Wife also gets the award for best song title.
You can stream Milk ‘Em All on all digital platforms
Here’s a live video of Chzbrgr Picnic from a show at The Rogue Bar
ABMR: Tell me about "The Lubrication"? Who plays on this record?
Katie: I wrote all of the songs on Hazy Angel before the Lubrication, but I knew that ultimately I wanted a bigger sound. Nick (electric guitar) is one of the guitarists in Chzbrgr, so I asked if he would want to jam on them with me and I really loved what he did. Tory (drums) plays in Chzbrgr too. I met Erika (upright bass + background vox) in January - we got together for a jam and just became fast friends. At this point I had a band, so I set up some shows and studio time. We definitely had some hang ups with the world shutting down, but because of the delays, I got the chance to meet Ronnie - the lead acoustic you hear on some of the tracks - and that was just such a sweet icing on the cake. Since they Lubed up the songs real good - that's how we got the Lubrication. I could talk about all of these people way more, I really love them.
ABMR: Where was this album recorded?
Katie: We recorded at Fivethirteen in Tempe (AZ). (I wanted to work with Dominic Armstrong again after he mixed Milk 'Em All). I think we were the last band to cut a record in there, I feel so lucky to have squeezed in - it was an awesome spot.
ABMR: Tell me about the name of the album?
Katie: Hazy Angel was the first song that I wrote for this. It's kind of my nod to Flagstaff (AZ), because Lumberyard Brewing Company made an IPA called Hazy Angel last summer, and I jokingly told our friend who worked there that it was a great name for a record. I couldn't make the idea go away so I wrote the song Hazy Angel and built the EP around it. I hope Lumberyard doesn't sue me. Actually maybe don't put this response in the write up lol.
ABMR: What are your favorite kinds of beers?
Katie: I'm not too picky when it comes to beers but I love trying new crazy ones. Tend to swing toward IPA's, and there have been a lot of really good sours I've tried lately. But now it's getting colder so I'll start moving into the darker ones. My favorite beer for this season is probably the Koffee Kolsch by Huss.
ABMR: What is it like being a teacher during the pandemic? How are the kids dealing with it?
Katie: Honestly, I feel grateful to have a job right now. Times are tough. I am not a fan of teaching online, I don't like sitting in front of a computer. I also miss the random conversations that would happen in a classroom - I worry about the lack of interaction for everyone. Most of my students miss being at school, too. But overall, they are handling it better than expected.
I still remember when Katie played Shivers for the first time at the open mic. Every week after that, I would request her to play it, and she did. Although, this track can stand on it’s own as an acoustic take, The Lubrication bring a whole other dimension to this piece. That can be said about the rest of the 5 song EP.
I don’t fancy myself a music critic. It is not my place to tell anyone what they will or will not like. My opinion of Hazy Angel is that I absolutely love it. I cannot stop listening to it. Even when I am not actually listening to it, It still plays over & over again in my head.
Katie Mae & The Lubrication broke through my armor & reminded me of a place in my heart, I’ve tried to live without. A part of me that I tried to close off a long time ago. Every one of the songs has it’s own style & every band member plays to that style. On their BandCamp page they describe their music as “purely interpretive country music”. I’d say that is pretty spot on.
At the time of writing these words the album’s third track, High & Dry, is playing on repeat in my head. Historically, I gravitate towards the sadder songs. This one is catchy & full of hope. Sweet Talkin’ is also one of my favorites. There are no skippable tracks. They all have a purpose, like pieces of a puzzle.
I would recommend you Pre-Order a copy of the CD. It’s $7, which includes shipping (US). When I get the links on Thursday to the streaming sites, I will update this article with those links.
Follow Katie on YouTube
You can now stream the album on Spotify
Follow Katie Mae & The Lubrication on Instagram
CD Duplication by Moon Valley Media Engine