I will admit that I can be pretty tough on pop artists. Its not that I do not like pop music, I just don’t like when it sounds forced & manufactured. That being said, some of my favorite songs have come from the pop genre for their authentic & genuine sound. My guest today, Kat McGivern, is a pop artist from Boston who released her newest EP ‘My Kamikaze Heart’ and it is packed with songs that are catchy & show her potential to reach the masses. Just listen to her song “Label Me.” Join us as Kat talks about living in Boston, what is a kamikaze heart, working with Anthony Resta, and much more!
Stoli: Where are we talking from today and are you excited for spring in Boston?
Kat Mcgivern: Today I am writing you from old folks home recording where I am working on my next record. I can’t tell you how excited I am for spring! It has been one snowy winter in Boston! So I am looking forward to some sunshine and the summer release of my next ep.
Stoli: Are you from Boston and if not how did you end up in this wonderful city?
Kat Mcgivern: I moved here from Texas with my family when I was three. My mother’s family is all from Texas and my father’s family is primarily in Boston. It was a really cool place to grow up there is always a lot of music going on in the city.
Stoli: What are two favorite music venues that you play & attend in Boston?
Kat Mcgivern: I recently had a CD release party at the Magic Room in Brighton which is a really awesome one of a kind venue. I’m also a really big fan of TT The Bears and the Middle East in Cambridge.
Stoli: What does the title of your EP ‘My Kamikaze Heart’ as the EP title & song, mean?
Kat Mcgivern: I quit playing music between this album and my last one. My life just got too complicated and I felt like it made more sense to try and carve out a “normal” existence. I got the 9-5 job, went back to school, and was miserable. My kamikaze heart is about my inability to walk away from something I truly love. It’s about that internal conflict with what you really want and what’s best for you. At the end of the day the heart wants what the heart wants.
“Kamikaze Heart” MP3:
Stoli: What did you want to show fans new & old with this EP about what Kat is all about musically?
Kat Mcgivern: To me music has always been about story telling and it still is. But with this ep I really got to experiment with new sounds, it was a great experience.
Stoli: What song on the EP is most personal and was written based on your real life?
Kat Mcgivern: All of the songs on this ep are based on my real life but, I would have to say decorated is probably the most personal. I went through a traumatic event and my friends did their absolute best to be there for me. Every night we would all go out and they would freeze up and not know what to say to me. It’s like my best friends thought I was a different person. Around that time alot of people we knew started to come back from Iraq and I noticed that their friends gave them the same weird treatment. I really wanted to shake my friends and tell them that I am the same person. In the military when someone sees action they become “decorated” these experiences make them stronger. Decorated is about surviving life’s battles and being stronger for it hence the line “we’re not damaged we’re only decorated”.
Stoli: How was working with Anthony Resta and how did he enhance your sound & vision?
Kat Mcgivern: Working with Anthony was amazing!!! I learned so much from him and I will never look at music the same way again. Anthony’s studio, Bopnique musique has every cool, strange synth or instrument you can imagine. When we worked on the album we spent the days on the floor playing with toy pianos and omnichords until the sonic landscape was just right.
Stoli: Do you work a regular job and where would you like to be in five years?
Kat Mcgivern: Right now I don’t have a regular job I just graduated from Full Sail where I’ve been a full time student for the last 2 years. In five years, I would like to be still playing music. My life goal is to win a Grammy, hopefully some day I will!
Stoli: The world is so crazy right now. How do you stay upbeat and make such positive & high energy music?
Kat Mcgivern: The world is really what you make of it and I choose to believe that I can make it a better place.
Stoli: Do you get concerned the industry will make you corrupt your morals as a sexy female pop star?
Kat Mcgivern: What morals? Just kidding! I think I have a strong enough sense of who I am and where I stand so not much can change me.
Stoli: What is coming up for you & where are you online?
Kat Mcgivern: Right now I am trying to get plans together to get out on the road. My next ep is coming out in the early summer and it’s called KAndy pop. KAndy pop is a really poppy danceable project that I wrote with my good friend Andy Tats. You can get all the information you want about me at www.katmcgivern.com. Thank you so very much form having me!
