Kate Voegele is the greatest thing to come out of Ohio since... well she might be the greatest thing. This new young singer/songwriter is quickly emerging with the debut of her first EP entitled The Other Side with a sound blending acoustic guitar with upbeat rhythms/melodies and absolutely amazing lyrics which is comparable to recent Grammy winner Michelle Branch. Or would it be more correct to say Michelle Branch is comparable to Kate? "...The five songs on the CD are all my own and they're all pretty much just better versions of what my dad and I had put together at home on his 16 track; although the project engineer/producer, Michael Seifert, did so much for the music. He brought in all kinds of sophisticated instrumentation and made really helpful suggestions. It took about 3 months to put together..." Kate says about The Other Side.
Kate got her start at a very young age starting her singing and song writing as a freshman in high school. Her father initiated her interest in the talents she holds:
"I've always been into music since i was a little kid. My dad has played guitar since he was in high school and has been writing and doing coffee houses since college, so he was always teaching us stuff about music and writing crazy songs about how we needed to clean up our rooms or something... when i was like 10 he bought me a little ovation guitar which I played every once in awhile..." Kate says about how she got her start. "Over spring break of 02 my dad bought himself a baby taylor on vacation and I picked it up and started messing around. He taught me how to play a lot of the new music i was into and I just got hooked. I got home and we went out and got a cheap guitar for me and I kind of went from there."
Only a year later she released The Other Side at the Hard Rock Café Cleveland. Not too shabby for someone just starting out, eh? Soon following the release of her EP, she shared the stage with some of her big influences, and big names such as Patty Griffin, John Mayer, and Amie Mann. On March 27th, you can even see her at the Women In Rock show in Austin, TX.
"Live shows are so important - mostly for experience, but also because they really show you for what you sound like once all the hi-tech recording equipment is stripped away. I think the biggest point artists have to get across is that they're real and not just studio manufactured..."
And she definitely proves that she's not manufactured, playing as many shows as she can while still going to high school. She is a regular at Hard Rock Café's, is in an a cappella choir at her school, and she was recently nominated best female singer/songwriter by a local newspaper. Her music is also in the works to appear on MTV's The Real World. Those are some huge achievements for someone just starting out, but you can't just look past raw talent when it comes around.
"I'm kind of taking everything as it comes - one day at a time. I don't want to be dead set on going one specific place with it, because I think that would really limit my opportunities. I'm kind of just going wherever it ends up taking me, although I'd really love to make a career out of it."
There's no doubt opportunities are going to flock to this young woman. At the rate she's going, you will be sure to hear her name everywhere within the next few years. To listen to samples of her songs, or find out what shows she has coming up, visit www.katevoegele.com. You won't be disappointed.
by: Chad Malone
Kate Voegele is the greatest thing to come out of Ohio since... well she might be the greatest thing. This new young singer/songwriter is quickly emerging with the debut of her first EP entitled The Other Side with a sound blending acoustic guitar with upbeat rhythms/melodies and absolutely amazing lyrics which is comparable to recent Grammy winner Michelle Branch. Or would it be more correct to say Michelle Branch is comparable to Kate? 