Today we’d like to introduce you to Kate Kirby
Hi Kate, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was raised in Garland, TX and lived on the same street as my husband, Andrew. He was a grade ahead of me. We actually played on the same piano recital together in grade school. We were in band together in Jr. High and then he went to Dallas Christian and I stayed in public school finishing at Berkner High School. So we really had no contact until later in our adult lives. I received my BofA in Music Education from Texas Tech University and settled in North Dallas teaching some private lessons, but I wasn’t mature enough to teach full time. I got a day job outside the music industry, but still played music in my off hours. I visited a major music retail store in North Dallas where I got reacquainted with my partner in life and music, Andrew. That was 1997 and we have been making music together ever since. Our band is simply called by our last name – The Kirbys. We perform as a duo or add members to our band depending on the venue and budget. I think I started singing before I could talk. I would make up songs all the time. My parents were very musical and the arts were encouraged in my upbringing. I studied piano and French Horn in grade school, continuing French Horn through college. I started performing professionally in college, playing in various symphonies around west Texas and New Mexico. I started singing professionally in Dallas in the late 1990’s. I did backup singing with large party bands, and fronted a band called Kansas City and the Fastback Horns. We played the Velvet Elvis and various clubs in Deep Ellum, Downtown and off Lower Greenville Ave. Andrew and I moved to Orange County, California in 2000, after the world did not end and all the Y2K scare was over. We were there for about 12 years. We were named best acoustic duo in the OC Music Awards, and we formed a progressive Rock trio with Skip Hahn that was called Ravages of Time. We moved back to Texas to be closer to family in 2012. Currently we reside in an old church building in Big Sandy, Texas which is about 2 hours East of Dallas. We started hosting shows in that building in 2016, and gained a little notoriety with a Pink Floyd tribute project called Floyd Void. We also started performing original music at festivals and venues around North East Texas. Covid shut everything down in 2019. We went to online streaming to be able to survive. We streamed live every Thursday Friday and Saturday nights at 5pm through 2021. When things started opening back up, we reduced our streaming show to Thursday nights at 7pm and called it TNL (Thursday Night Live). We are getting ready for our 3rd season of TNL to start in October. We feature guest artists from North East Texas on that show. It’s live on Facebook and then we post on YouTube later. We started hosting concerts in our home again last year. Those will also start up again in October. We call it the Big Sandy Music Hall. We teach lessons there and do various programs, but it is primarily our home and our home studio. Our mission is to spread joy through music. We play often in the DFW area and we consider that our home market. Anything within 2 hours of Big Sandy is ‘local’ to us. We also tour Colorado, California and other areas, especially in the heat of the Texas summer. People in other areas of the US love Texas music! We are very well- received everywhere we go!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There have always been challenges. Primarily being taken seriously as a woman in the music business, but my husband is a great champion for me. He doesn’t hold back when we work together. If I play something incorrectly, he treats me like any other musician, and I love that! I feel like I’m a true part of the meat of the sound and not a decoration. Sometimes our banter can make our band mates uncomfortable, but we know our working relationship and we know how to deal with each other. We are a very tight team. I think this is a great time for women in the music industry. We are being accepted in the boys club more and more. Of course, people take you at your own reckoning. If you expect to be treated the same, then you will be. It’s important to realize that the substance of your craft is so important. I used to hear, you are pretty good at bass for a girl. Now, it’s just you’re a good bass player. That makes me smile. It shouldn’t matter your sex. If you’re good, you’re good as a human. I am really into human made music, not AI. But that’s a whole different rabbit hole!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am known for vocals. I play guitar to accompany my vocals and I’m a pretty good bass player. I love to play drums, but that’s probably my weakest area right now. I love writing songs and performing my versions of cover songs. I really work to make my covers unique. My husband and I sing harmonies very well and I think that’s part of what makes us unique. Our music has been described as Americana Indie Red Dirt Folk Rock. We have a new sound that we are working on using electronic sounds and synths. I am very excited to produce a record with this new sound and hope to get that released next year. I guess what I’m most proud of is the broad range of music we produce. It makes choosing a genre very challenging, but people all over the country where we tour and play music seem to love our different sounds. They love music from Texas! It’s great. In 2022 our single ‘Cry’ was featured in Relix Magazine and on their playlist along side Tidescki Trucks Band and St. Paul and the Broken Bones. That was awesome! I haven’t been submitting music much lately. It’s not that I’m not proud of my music, I’m just trying to develop a new sound and when I feel it’s ready, we’ll record and go for more awards. Right now, we are focussed on getting it out there in front of people at local venues. Venues are hurting right now and we gotta get out there and support those places that support live music! We can’t just stay at home listening on our tiny phones. We need the experience of live music and human interaction.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
Most importantly, we need real human interaction. I think we all got a little comfortable at home reaching out through social media, which is actually anything but ‘social’. It lies to you and makes you feel a part of something bigger when it actually isolates you and makes you lonely and needy. Looking for likes and trolling for love is no match for talking to a fellow human out in the world. Now social media is such a huge part of music marketing. I do it, but I am very careful to make sure I put my phone down and go visit with people in person. I think it has adversely affected attendance at live music events. I’d like to see better attendance at smaller venues. I’m hoping it continues to grow and people continue to realize how much they need true contact. In fact right now we are working with some folks in the North East Texas music community to create a hub for live local music. We have a weekly music news podcast and a huge concert calendar to help encourage folks to get out there and experience some live local music. You can find out more at ETX-live.com
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thekirbysmusic.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekirbysmusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/3KfyqLtgXvqE16TZ/?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@thekirbysmusic?si=DmKZxqeDnsk4LtMH
Image Credits
Bobby Cole
Dena Putnam
Bri Gibson
