Kathryn Grimm is a guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, producer as well as a vocal and guitar instructor. She‘s originally from Seattle but now live in Hollywood California.

Ch.L.: Kathryn what style of music are you playing?

Kathryn: I recently released a Contemporary Electric Blues CD titled "Grimm Again". This is my third solo CD following "Kitchen Sink", a very eclectic combination of all styles from country to classical and my all jazz CD, "Jazz According to Grimm." The new CD is very guitar oriented with strong vocals. Think of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Hendrix meets Etta James and Patsy Cline with a little Eva Cassidy thrown in. I recorded the basic tracks at my friend Dennis Moody's studio in Los Angeles (Babyface, etc.), and finished the rest in my own home studio. The CD is getting airplay on many blues radio programs around the world. There are some slamming tracks - "Can't Stop the Train" is a ten bar blues, "Who'da Thunk" has some great gospel backups featuring singer Marcy Levy who co-wrote Eric Claptons "Lay Down Sally", "Wishing Well" has some of my best guitar work to date and "Fallen Angel" is a production masterpiece with the best vocals ever.

Ch.L.: Kathryn being both, a singer and a songwriter, what do you enjoy more, singing or song writing?

Kathryn: That is a tough question! I love both so much I couldn't possibly choose. That is like choosing between an arm and a leg! I do write for other artists so I don't sing everything I write. Writing with other people is lot's of fun. At this point I don't need anyone to help me finish a song but the interaction with another creative mind makes me write something I wouldn't ordinarily write by myself. I also love singing with other people. I am a harmony freak! I taught myself to sing listening to old Joni Mitchell albums in my sister's record collection and I can damn near harmonize anything.

Ch.L.: Did you write some of the songs of your latest album yourself?

Kathryn: I wrote all the songs, except for two written by my favorite (unknown) songwriters, Mark Frere and Marvin McDaniels and one I co wrote with my songwriting buddy Alexandria Seeley.

Ch.L.: What are the stories behind these songs?

Kathryn: The songs talk about love, about staying positive, about being down and out...basically about all the things that can happen to anyone in life.

Ch.L.: Do the songs you write talk about your own experiences?

Kathryn: Mostly, yes. "Going Back" for example is such a song. It is a relationship song, about realizing that things were better when this certain person wasn't in your life and wanting to go back to the way things were before they were there. I've had a few revelations like that when trying to make the impossible work. Sometimes it's better to be alone than be with someone that requires so much sacrifice. "Fallen Angel" was inspired by a book I read called "The Jungle" that floored me. I read the last page and five minutes later that song was written. "Saviour" is about my fiancé, "You're my saviour, you're my song, in my world you belong...". "Running All Over Town" that I wrote with Alex is fictitious and fun. Another done-somebody-wrong song. "Who'da Thunk," another song I wrote for my fiancé, is a simple rockin' blues, "who'da thunk you'd still be hanging around, who'da thunk you'd still be loving me..."

Ch.L: Who are some of your influences?

Kathryn: Do we have enough room for that answer? There are so many I owe thanks to. I'll try this in chronological order: Joni Mitchell, Chaka Kahn, Patti Smith, The Pretenders, Jimi Hendrix, George Benson, Paul Rogers, Patsy Cline, John Coltrane, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Hartman, Nancy Wilson (jazz), Eva Cassidy, Dolly Parton, Hank Williams Jr., Carlos Santana, Rage Against the Machine, Cecelia Bartolli, Johnny Mercer...Lately I listen to various radio stations from country to classic rock to jazz.

Ch.L: Tell us about your engineering/producing experience?

Kathryn: My set up is pretty basic. I'm a PC girl using Cakewalk Sonar 2. I have a tiny Beringer board and an Alesis QS8 keyboard. That is pretty much it. People can't believe I get the sound I do out of this. These days you don't need much equipment to make a great recording. You do, however, need skills and I have definitely put my time in. I have a Master's Degree in Commercial Music from California State University Los Angeles where I began learning digital recording. Most of my learning though has been right here in my living room, just putting the hours in. I have recorded all my CD's here. I have also recorded several demos/CD's for clients and students.

Ch.L: Do you perform live?

Kathryn. Yes. Constantly. I do many shows solo, just me and my guitar and many shows with my band "KGB" (The Kathryn Grimm Band). I also host a monthly blues jam at a great neighborhood bar called "The Big Fish." I have had some great players come down from metal guitar king, Tracy G. (of DIO) to awesome alternative Country singer, Eileen Carey. I also work occasionally as a freelance freelance musician though my own projects keep me pretty busy.

Ch.L.: Where can people that are interested in Blues Music and your music get in touch with you?

Kathryn: The easiest way is to visit my website at www.kathryngrimm.com. I also have music samples from all my albums at www.cdbaby.com. Aside from "Grimm Again", I highly recommend purchasing "Kitchen Sink" to hear my country hit "Only God Loves Girls Who Play Guitar." I just re-recorded that song featuring Peter Tork (ex Monkee member) on banjo that I plan to release as a single very soon. If you want to read a LOT about me, you can do a search on google.com and come up with several pages of who I've played with (Jeff Buckley, the wild all-female country/punk band "The Screamin' Sirens, Bo Diddley, etc).

Ch.L.: In Germany a new project called "My country disc.com" was started - did you hear something about this project?

Kathryn: No, but it sounds very exciting and I would like to know more about it. It may be a platform where I could present my songs to the German audience as well.

Ch.L.: I will send you more information about it an thank you for the time you have taken for this interview.

Christian Lamitschka ( Ch.Lamitschka@t-online.de )