Kate has been singing live from the age of 17, which gives her about a decade of experience and she lists her top 5 bands as U2, Portishead, Divinyls, Eurythmics and Eskimo Joe. In her own words, Kate described that she wanted to pursue music because 'It was something that grew naturally. I became drawn to it as a way of expressing feelings I couldn't verbalise...it became very therapeutic to sing and create songs. I used to spend hours at night lying in bed, miming the words to a song pretending I WAS that performer and I was expressing THOSE feelings.' This seems to be a feeling that many musicians could relate to. When it comes to writing music, inspiration for Kate comes predominantly from a sense of frustration. She says that 'negative things tend to make me put pen to paper and pick up a guitar. The sad songs and chords are the ones that move me most.'
This is certainly reflected in the music of Razorlily, although Kate does not dominate the song writing process. When asked if the band all contributed to the writing of the songs, Kate had the following to say: 'We do. Generally Greig will play a riff and we'll build around that. Sometimes I bring in a completed song and everyone adds their parts. It's a brilliant and rewarding process when you're all in the zone...or if there's what I call 'the ring of fire'. When you write a song and everyone is on the same wavelength it's like you're connected and alive through being creative. When we're not feeling it however, it can be hard. You can't force a song out. You can push a little but it won't be forced if it's a good song.'
Despite all the positive aspects of being in an original band, there are of course also the negatives. For Kate, this comes in the form of the seemingly male dominated music business in Perth. Due to the fact that Kate also acts as the manager of Razorlily, she has encountered men who are put off by a strong woman who is going for what she wants in the industry. The message for these men however is 'get over it', since inevitably they are the ones with the problems.
Like most musicians, Kate aspires to make a comfortable living from creating music, but she states that 'the reality is to continue having fun doing what we love and not get my knickers in a twist.' This is an attitude that must be admired, especially since Kate says that the band 'are doing this with integrity and staying true to ourselves and not succumbing to a current fad'. It's not easy to always get gigs, but Razorlily are never going to stray from being who they really are.
For all you girls who aspire to be musicians, Kate has a message for you, and that is: 'Practise. Play some open mike nights to build your confidence. Then tear it up live. I'd say that women will always be desired. You don't need to flaunt yourself to make it. Less is more.' Kate says that at the live shows 'there's something to wake up your heart and shake your arse to', which is something everyone needs every now and then. Kate sees going on tour as an adventure, so be sure to catch her performing on stage. Check out the Razorlily myspace profile to hear their tunes.: http://www.myspace.com/razorlily
Article written by Sally Kingsley
***this interview was conducted in 2007, the band is no longer together
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