What I have been doing...

This post is dedicated to my cute sister-in-law Stacie, who wants to see more pictures of me in my blogs and less words. :) ha ha

Toga Party at my friend Cara's house.

Yes, he kept the hat/towel on his head all night! Ha ha...

Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point

I've decided I have a thing for what I like to call "Audrey Hepburn" hats!

I know I can count on Tricia to do a good pose with me!

I think mom looks stylin in this pic!

Wicked in Boise!! Beginning of May 2011!!

(All the good pics were taken by Candice, they are on facebook if you want to see more about our trip!)

So distinguished!

The only picture I got in San Diego before my camera battery died! 

At least I got a picture of my birthday kiss in San Diego! :) May 2011

So far that is all I have to show for myself, I am sure there will be more fun to come, and I will try to document it more often! :)

Stacie! I hope you enjoyed my post today! I will try to do better posting pictures so you and the kids can see what I am up to! :) Love you!

Can I

I wonder if my creative juices freeze up during the winter time? It has been a while since I have written anything new and it was probably around last June or July that I wrote the song I am going to blog about today.  I feel like I go through song writing droughts every year and I would be willing to bet that it is the winter season every time! Just a thought... I'll have to go through my songs and check out all the dates!

Anyway, this entry is not about how often I write songs. It is about one of my newer songs that I just recorded. The recording is just the raw version with me and my guitar, but I liked how it turned out!

The song is called Can I. You can listen to it at http://www.kattingey.com/music/unreleased.html.

It all started when I was messing around with a *Travis style pick pattern. I wanted to do some kind of *hammer-on that followed the vocal line. While I was playing around with chords and hammer-on's I ended up creating a really cool little guitar solo. This gave me motivation to actually get a song written out because I wanted to use this guitar solo so badly!

As I practiced my solo over and over... and over again, I tried to think of some lyrics that would go with my chord progression and melody. I didn't want this song to be a break up song, or a love song, or a dramatic relationship song of any kind. So I started thinking about life and what else there could possibly be to write about! ha ha ha... jokes jokes... :)

We all go through times when we analyze ourselves. Asking ourselves what we want in life, how we want to be, how we want to act and/or what we want to stand up for. I wrote this song at a time when I had not stood up for some things that I wished I had of stood up for. I cared too much about what other people were thinking. Honestly, I wrote the lyrics to this song at a time when I was disappointed in myself. I started to ask myself if I could be strong...if I could stand up for the things that I believed. This prompted me to think about what I did want to stand up for and what I did believe in. It also prompted me to ask my self if I could.

We all make mistakes. We all do things or say things we wish we hadn't. Sometimes when we have made the same mistake more than once we can get down on ourselves, wondering if we will ever be able to get it right. The important thing is that we always get back up and keep trying!

These were some of my thoughts and feelings as I wrote the lyrics to this song. I was questioning myself a lot and really trying to analyze myself!

Something I have decided as my life keeps moving forward is this... I am very capable of doing hard things! I have my weak moments, but I am strong too! I have been through some tough times and I always come out on top! I will continue to get back up whenever I fall and try again, and that is something that I know I will always do! How awesome is that! :) I hope you feel inspired now...whoever is reading this! ha ha

To listen to Can I again and again...(because I know you are going to want to put it on repeat all day long!)   ;) Go to this link http://www.kattingey.com/music/unreleased.html

* Travis Picking involves playing a steady bass pattern with the thumb and filling out some syncopated rhythms with the fingers

* Hammer-on is a stringed instrument playing technique performed (especially on guitar) by sharply bringing a fretting-hand finger down on the fingerboard behind a fret, causing a note to sound.

Sometimes Love

So I played at Velour last Friday, and Sometimes Love was one of the songs that I played.  As I was practicing and getting it ready for the show I found myself remembering why I wrote it and where it came from. So here it is:

(Here is the link, if you want to hear it before you read the rest... http://www.kattingey.com/stranger/2-sometimes_love.html) (If that doesn't work go to www.kattingey.com and click on Music)

It was 2003, I wanna say August or something like that, can't quite remember...

I was dating a guy...isn't that how most songs are written? Dating and breaking up with guys? ;)

We had been dating a while and it kind of got to the point that we either get married or we break things off. This was the first real relationship that I had been in since High School (just don't bother counting how many years were in my boyfriend drout, k) and so I didn't really know what to do. So we decided to start heading in the marriage direction. Well, as things kept going I just had this bad feeling about it, but I kept moving forward anyway. We went ring shopping and talked about some stuff, I even tried on some wedding dresses with my mom! That felt really weird, when I think it should have been fun and exciting! ha ha... Looking back is really funny because I can see, so clearly, how naive I was!! (Still a bit naive, but I have learned a lot since 2003!)

Very soon after the ring shopping day I found myself visiting my parents house. I was chatting with my mom when she told me that she had shot out of bed at 4 in the morning thinking about me, and just feeling nervous, like something was wrong. Right after she told me this the words, "thats because I am getting married to a guy I don't love" casually fell out of my mouth. As soon as said it I realized how true those words were and I actually felt a little relieved after saying it out loud! That was what was wrong...I didn't love him, he wasn't going to be able to make me happy, we weren't a good match for each other! SCARY!

I went back to Logan the next day and I broke things off with him. Sad, I know...but it was the right thing to do, as hard as it was.

So a little while after all of that happened, I wrote Sometimes Love. 


In the song I talk about meeting someone that I was able to connect with, and enjoy.

Found a sweet face, and let it slip into my life
Found a safe place, where I could run away and fly...


Found a good soul, that I could share with every whisper,
Found a heart full, someone who would always be there...


(ha ha...sometimes I feel cheesy when I read, or write, my lyrics without singing them...)


Those are pieces of the first two verses and that was what it felt like! It felt so good to be find someone who was nice and sweet and he liked me! It felt so good to have someone to share experiences with, someone to rely on...ect ect.

Well, sadly, sometimes love can slip away and it can cause you pain just like I say in the song. But, I can vouch that it will be ok, and it is ok to let go sometimes if things aren't right. Hence the third verse where I talk about leaving:

Left a sweet face, and let it slip out of my life,
Left a safe place, and it was hard to say good-bye
But it's alright, yes its alright...

As the song goes on I write about how it was hard to let go and some days you feel ok, some days you feel stronger, and some days you feel weaker! Sometimes lonely and sometimes full of strength to say that sometimes love can pull you down, but sometimes it just needs to be found again. (That is my favorite line of the song, sometimes love needs to be found again.)

It is scary to let go of love, or even just a relationship where you don't love the person, you just love having someone there! It can be scary to go back to being single again, scarier than staying in a bad relationship, sadly. But I have learned from experience that we do survive. Sometimes it takes longer to get back on track again and sometimes it feels less hard than you thought it would. But I still think that it is important to go for it, no matter how many times you have been hurt, and take those chances (as scary as it may be) and let love find you again.

Hope you enjoy Sometimes Love and maybe even relate to it a little better now that you know a little more about me and about the song! :)

Here is the link again: http://www.kattingey.com/stranger/2-sometimes_love.html

Raining Autumn

I feel like writing about my song "Raining Autumn" today.

I think it was about 2001 when I wrote "Raining Autumn." I was studying Music at Utah State University in Logan and I lived in an apartment complex called Old Main View Apartments. There was a window in our kitchen that faced West and outside, in the yards around my apartment, were these really tall skinny trees that had a lot of leaves. I don't know what they were called but they were really tall.

It was fall and I was sitting at my kitchen table that was right next to the window. The wind was blowing outside and I notice that there were leaves falling past the window, like rain. I couldn't see the trees from my window so it literally looked like it was raining leaves outside! As I was enjoying the leaves falling past my window the words "Raining Autumn" popped into my head. I grabbed my guitar and notebook and started writing.

I figured out the chords and used a pretty simple pick pattern, but there was something missing in the guitar part. There was a certain note that I kept hearing in my head with the pick pattern but the note was in a weird place, hard to get a finger to while playing the rest of the chord and pick pattern. So I tuned the high E string down  to a D, and then I was able to get the note in my head into the pick pattern! This was the first time I had ever changed the tuning on any strings for one of my songs, so I was feeling pretty awesome about it. :)

Thinking about the colors of Autumn, the sky, the trees, the wind and the leaves falling past my window helped to inspire the lyrics for the song. If you would like to read the lyrics you can go to http://www.kattingey.com/raining_autumn/2-raining_autumn.html. I think the song starts playing if you are in that screen, or you can click on the title of the song on the left side of the screen and it should start playing. If you can't get the song to play there you can go to http://www.kattingey.com/music.html. Or, if none of these links are working for you just go to www.kattingey.com and click on music. Raining Autumn is the name of the Album that the song is on.

In the beginning of this entry I mention that I was studying music at Utah State. I was in the Guitar Program studying under Michael Christiansen. In 2005 I had to do my senior recital where I played several songs that I learned throughout the years in the guitar program. As Mike and I were choosing songs for the recital he let me put a few of my own songs in. I chose Raining Autumns as one of my originals. My lessons that semester consisted of playing through and tweaking the songs that were on the recital. When I played Raining Autumn for him he liked it, but he felt like something needed to be added to the climax of the song to make it, well,  more of a climax. :) It was good advice and I took it! So I changed a little part at the end of the song to make it a little more climactic, and I really like the way it turned out. Nothing to big and crazy, I just made one part a little more intense so you could feel the climax better.

Sadly I made this change after I recorded the song and put it on my CD. So the version that is available is the old version, which I still think is good, however, if you get the chance to see me play Raining Autumn live, then you will get to hear the small changes that I made because of a good critique from my Guitar Professor at Utah State. :)

When

I want to start writing about my music! I would like to share with you the writing, creating and recording processes of my songs. And as I record new songs I will be posting the step by step process that I go through. (For example right now I have guitar and vocals recorded for this particular song. I plan on doing more to the song and as I do I will let you know what was added so you can listen and hear the difference from the beginning to the end.)

The first song I am going to write about is the most recent song I have been working on. It is called When. It can be found at http://www.kattingey.com/music/unreleased.html so you can listen to it before or after you learn about it! :)
(If for some reason that link doesn't take you to the right place go to www.kattingey.com, click on music, then click on unreleased tracks, and that should take you to the right place!)

Writing and Creating of When
When I was writing this song, I had a particular progression of chords that I had been messing around with and I really wanted to use them in a song. I was trying a lot of different strumming and picking patterns and in the midst of messing around ended up making up my own pick pattern. Fancy! I know! :)

I had the pick pattern and strum patterns that I wanted but didn't know what to sing about. Here is a secret for you...I have a hard time writing lyrics to songs! I am not much of a poet...I don't think...but sometimes I swear it is just a moment of inspiration and then it is gone! It is amazing! And sometimes I am really surprised at the lyrics that come out.

When figuring out what I want to sing about I will often think of other peoples experiences I have watched or heard about, or I will make up a fictional experience that I am sure has happened to someone or I imagine happening to someone (if that makes any sense at all), OR...yes I know this is crazy!...I will write from my own personal experiences!

On this particular song, I wrote from my personal experience combined with some fictional feelings that are maybe a little more dramatic than what I would generally feel. In other words...sometimes my songs come out more dramatic than what I am really feeling... :)

I met someone kind of unexpectedly once and a relationship began to blossom pretty quickly. It had been a while since I had felt the feelings you get when you start a new relationship. So the song portrays someone who has been lonely and someone else comes in and takes that loneliness away kind of by surprise. So you get the lyrics, 'when did the sun shine again, when did the clouds part and penetrate my heart? When did I smile again?'

I find that being single for a long time makes a person put up more walls, or doubt the possibility of a relationship lasting. I don't mean to sound negative, but the reality is (in my opinion)...the longer you are single, the more times you get to deal with heartache! The reason I tell you this is to explain the part of the song that says, 'when will someone else be replacing me.' And there is another part where it says, 'can I let this happen again, can I open my heart and let you do your part? Dare I face the fear that love is? Can I?'

If you ask me, it is scary to open the relationship doors again and again! Especially when you have been hurt before. But...it is something we have to do, and we have to do it confidently or those doors can close again really fast merely because of your lack of willingness to try, your insecurities or fears.

In case you can't tell, I really do think a lot when I write lyrics to my songs. They all have deep meanings to me. I will try to keep up on posting new songs and old songs, including the reasons why I wrote them and their particular process of recording. Which brings us to our next subject!

Recording When


I record with Ryan Tilby and I like recording with him because he is fast and does a great job! He is great at editing while we go along, and I have found myself to be kind of an impatient recorder! ha ha!  I want things moving and done quickly but I want them done well too!

For this song I recorded the guitar part alone and then recorded the vocal track on top of that. I like doing the  parts separately because then you have a lot more control over the different parts. So if there is a spot where the guitar track needs to be softer then it doesn't effect the vocal part when you lower the volume on the guitar part. Stuff like that...if you know what I mean! :)

Once we have a rough recording Ryan gives it to me to listen to so I can pick at it. I usually find a few places that I want to fix, whether it is a spot where the guitar sounds funny, my vocal sounds funny or flat (I hate being flat!) or if I don't like the way I said a word...that happens sometimes...etc... Another thing I like to do is figure out if I am going to do back up vocals and where I am going to put them in the song. We decided that this particular song needed a lot of back up vocals so I listened to it a lot and came up with a lot of different ideas to try out.

Back in the studio we fixed all the little things that were bothering me, and then we started recording the back ups. Back ups are one of my favorite things to record!  I love harmonizing! I love coming up with new lines and melodies! And let me just tell you...sometimes miracles happen in the studio. Harmonies you never thought of...guitar parts that you have never played but accidentally come out and sound awesome, so you keep them! I love it! In this particular case, we ended up layering a lot of harmonies on top of each other and you may not realize it but there are a few parts where there are four different parts being sung at the same time! It is awesome!!

Whew! I hope you made it through all that! If not, I hope you at least listened to the song! :) Now...if you haven't already listened...you should definitely go listen now! Especially if you took the time to read my giant entry!... here is the link again! http://www.kattingey.com/music/unreleased.html

I hope I helped you understand my song a little better!!

Can you believe it is Fall!

Ok ok ok...so...I apologize that my blog has been stuck on July on it FOREVER! I have a feeling my blogging is going to come and go in phases! Just like everything else in my life...I swear, I live my life in phases.  Maybe I should write a song about that or something!  Ha!

Well, the summer has been great! I have been doing so much stuff and I haven't been telling you a thing about it! So sorry! I have made new awesome friends, played lots of shows and gone on lots of motorcycle rides (when I can talk my neighbor Kraig into taking me! hee hee)...I also learned to ride a dirt bike all by myself...I may have actually blogged about that already...can't remember...so here is what I am going to do...I am going to go through my pictures and give you a quick re-cap on my summer adventures!

Dirt Biking

Learned how to dirt bike! I drove up the mountain all by myself! Woohoo!!

My face got really dirty and I look stupid in this pic but I though it was funny...

Stadium of Fire Firework show (on the outside looking in!)

Trip up A.F. Canyon with Richard

we got really high...in fact almost to the top of the mountain!

This is Richard

Richard told me that we were going to look at some cabin property...he didn't say we were going to bushwack through 3' high jungle grass and mud! I wore short sleeves and flip flops!

Hanging with John

We played at the park...

Boating!!

I have the best dad in the world!  He drove the boat to Provo to take us out on Utah Lake!

I win...

Kristen & Branton - it looks like he's trying to do break dancing moves...ha ha

Boys...who knows what they are thinking!

Look! Mindy came!

Boating Again!!! (With Richards friends)

Kraig is not as little as he thinks he is I guess!

First time ever wakeboarding!

Woohoo! Not so bad for a newbee!

Look I even jumped!!...

JUST KIDDING! Thats Kraig....

Kristins Cabin in Fairview!!

I'm in that ranger...just so you know...

After the puddle...I look scary in this pic! Kind of like the devil! Eak!

Toys at the cabin, games at the cabin, guitars at the cabin! It was sooooo much fun! I think it was my favorite trip this whole summer!!

This is called the paperbag game...as you can see, the paper bag is pretty much gone...you aren't aloud to touch the floor with your hands or legs and you have to pick up the paperbag with your mouth and rip off the piece you touched with your mouth...it was way harder than I thought it was going to be!!

Outside Movie Night

Visit to Britts house to meet Indi

She is soooooo cute!!! And yep! She smiled just for me!!

Shakespeare Festival with the girls 

I even got a little Shakespeare action! He was just so smooth! Ha ha!! no pun intended!!

St George with Friends to see Tarzan!

We stayed at my parents house, it was super fun!

Bear Lake

Sadly these are the only two pics I have of this trip, but we had a fun group of people and my Dad took us out on the boat again!  I told you he was awesome! :) 

Hiking Stewart Falls

me and Kristin at the beginning of the hike. This was just last Saturday Sept, 18th...

I just liked this picture...ha ha its funny...

Me, Katie & Kristin...cuuuuute!! But seriously! Aren't the leaves beautiful!!!

Katie took "Senior Pictures" of Kristen and I, this was mine...obviously!... funny...

By the waterfall...Good times...

So there you have it...a patched up re-cap of some of the things I should have blogged about this summer!

I've played quite a few gigs this summer including the Weber County Fair and the Utah State Fair. I think my favorite was the concert I did for Mike Murphy at the Park in Bountiful...I really enjoyed playing there for some reason!

Well, it has taken quite a while to put all this together and it is now way past my bedtime so I am going to go to bed. Good Night!