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11/11/07:
It's Autumn, and we've had a stretch of mild and beautiful days, but are getting ready for Winter winds... I'll be playing at a great community event on Friday the 17th of November, a benefit for local nurse, and friend, Marilyn Ceiszykowski. Many people have come together, and are contributing their skills gratis, and we hope to have a great turn-out! Been inspiring during the process of organizing the event, to meet and interact with so many great folks in the four corners community. Here's the poster for the event.
This place continues to surprise and delight. We are still loving the newness, and exploring its many different faces. Mountains, canyons, mesas... farmland, towns...we're in the heartland!
Happy Holidays, y'all!
Thanks for visiting!
Katya
7/26/07:
Summer in the SW! I've had some great gigs in and around Cortez/SW Colorado so far. All the shows so far have been festivals, outside, with kids dancing barefoot in front of the stage, local microbrews flowing and many other great acts sharing the bills. Response to the music has been fantastic, and it feels great to be performing down here in my new home.
Several months ago, I had the good fortune to be introduced to a fabulous guitar player, Doug Allee, and we have been playing together ever since. There is new fuel for the fires, much to my surprise, after leaving my band in Seattle. Doug is a great listener, and likes to rock out. His playing is fleshing out many of the songs and giving them a new groove that I love. Creating a sound that has appeal to the cowboys and hippies and everyone in between that make up this little corner of the world. We call it Folky-Tonk. I've gotten a Fender Deluxe Hot Rod Amp, and the sound is bigger and beefier and heck - more Colorado-an. Scheming about recording and contemplating next moves... Check out the tour dates page and come and check us out in concert soon!
Katya and Doug, at the Zetroc Music Festival 7/14/07
Katya
2/28/07:
Greetings from blustery and snowy SW Colorado, friends!
It has been an incredible few months, as we slowly get to know this new community based in the Four Corners. While we miss our friends in the NW, and do hope to return for a visit (and gigs) soon, we have settled into new jobs (John), and new schools (AJ). I have been spending my time meeting with local music and culture hounds and researching local area venues, festivals and events. I've taken a hiatus from performing for the winter, but am planning lots of gigs for summer. Keep checking the tour-dates page for updates to the schedule. Trying to get out skiing as often as possible to counteract the pizza and beer we have been enjoying at the Dolores River Brewing Co., the local brew pub, which, in addition to Annaluna's pre-school, has become the center of our social lives. Thoroughly enjoying the pace of life here. The scenery is truly awe-inspiring, and we live within view of the prow of beautiful Mesa Verde National Park. Cowboys and Indians abound. Weather patterns and livestock reports are the heart of local news. A small but determined group of folks are getting out local music and culture through local public radio, and community events. If anyone wants to come and play music down here, let me know! I am getting involved with the creation of a new Center for the Performing Arts here in town. A very exciting development indeed. Sending best wishes to all! Stay in touch, and here's to spring!
Katya
10/4/06:
BIG NEWS! After living in Washington nearly 16 years, my husband John and I, and our little girl Annaluna (now 3 ˝) are about to make a BIG CHANGE! John was offered a very exciting job opportunity to work for a company in southwest Colorado, and we've decided to GO FOR IT! The company, located in Cortez, CO, is called Osprey, and they make backpacks and travel gear. It will be a big change, especially being in a smaller community. Located in the Four Corners, an hour from Durango, and about the same to Telluride, Cortez is also the closest town to Mesa Verde National Park. The Four Corners is perhaps one of the most beautiful, sacred, and unique places in the country. As many of you know, the Southwest holds a special place in our hearts (you may recall the cover art for Off the Map; that song and several others I've written over the years have been inspired by that magical part of the world). If anyone knows about great venues to play, or cool people that we should meet down there, PLEASE let me know!!!! Colorado is a fantastic place for acoustic music, with many venues and festivals yet to be discovered. I am DEFINITELY planning to continue to play and perform when we relocate, and will plan on touring through the Northwest again, as soon as this is feasible! Sign up on the mailing list by sending a note to info@katyachorover.com and we'll keep you posted!
Katya
4/13/06:
I've had a great time playing a few more shows lately, and settling in with my band. After being a solo artist for so long, working with these incredibly talented players is breathing new life into me, and the music. They're keeping me on my toes, and keeping the music growing in fantastic and liberating ways. In case you haven't been to a show lately you really do need to come out and get a sense of this magic and fun. These guys are all individually phenomenal, having each recorded their own solo stuff as well as recording with and clocking endless road miles with many notable luminaries in the music world. On bass, Andy Stoller, (Tracy Chapman's tours and recordings), Zak Borden on mandolin and back-up vocals (Casey Neill Trio, The Lizzies. Zak's renowned throughout the NW as a fast pickin' bluesified mandolin whiz. He's been my buddy for many long years both on and off the stage. You owe it to yourself to check out his stuff at www.zakborden.com) and lastly, the glue, the vibe master, Dan Tyack on pedal steel, lap steel guitars and dobro. Dan's career spans more than 30 years as a road warrior and pedal steel guru and teacher. We're looking forward to our show on Bainbridge this month, and are planning several more shows around the region for the upcoming months. Stay tuned.
Katya
3/22/06:
Happy spring! We seem to have survived biblical proportions of winter rains here in the Northwest, and now, the winds have grown a bit warmer, and we are seeing the emergence of crocuses and cherry blossoms! The weather and global politicalconditions being what they are, it seems like a great time to get out and support local live music! I've been writing, and have some new songs to share, so hope you can come on out to one of these most varied of venues to see me and my incredibly talented mates play! Were going into the studio soon, so I will be comin at you with a plea for pre-orders in the next few months! Yes, you too can be a part of creating a CD, from the first page of cover art to the last twanging notes... Stay tuned.
Katya
8/29/05:
Greetings! The summer is rapidly winding on, and as fall approaches I am busy writing and getting started on pre-production work for a new recording project! My next show is scheduled at the Phinney Center on October 15th, sponsored by the Seattle Folklore Society. Joining me for the show will be Zak Borden on mandolin and vocals, and Andy Stoller (toured and recorded with Tracy Chapman for over a dozen years) on bass. Hope to see you there!
Katya
10/17/04:
Hello folks! Its a lovely Autumn day here in the Northwest. Mount St. Helens has been blowing off a bit of ash and steam in the past few days, and I'm taking a cue from the mighty mountain that the time has come to get out and play some music! I have a few gigs this month, a houseconcert in a co-housing community, a show in a flower shop-turned cafe in Tacoma, and I'll be opening for one of my favorite contemporary songwriters, Eliza Gilkyson, in Portland Oregon. We are settled again in Seattle, enjoying our new lives as parents to little Annaluna Josephine. At 18 months, she is a joyful, playful, musical little gal, always singing, dancing, turning up in a new hat, or with a scarf wrapped dramatically around her neck. She keeps us laughing, and in tune with what is really important in life: humor, play, and lots of hugs and kisses.
Hope to see you and your loved ones (or at least you and several of your best friends/drinking buddies) at one of the upcoming shows!
Don't forget to get out there and let your voice be heard on November 2nd. There is so much at stake for all of us this election!
Katya
6/7/03:
A special note from Katya
Greetings! My husband John and I welcomed our daughter Annaluna Josephine into the world on March 19th 2003. As some of you may recall, this was the first day of bombing in the war in Iraq. As future leader of the peace brigade, she apparently knew when to make her entrance. She also waited until the full moon to start labor (though she decided to wait a couple of days to actually come out!). Her name is a combination of my grandmother's (Anna, which means grace, or graceful) and Luna (moon).
She is a joyful, mellow babe, who seems to love music! We are all enjoying this new life together. I've decided to take a hiatus from performing for the time being, to be with Anna full time, in her first months of life. But, please, stay tuned to the website for changes, and future gigs!
If you'd like to sign up on my mailing list, to be informed when I do get back to performing, just zap me an email, at info@katyachorover.com and I'll add you to the list!
Thanks and all the best!
Katya
10/26/02:
Greetings and happy Autumn.
It has been such a beautiful Fall in the Northwest. Truly my favorite time of year in this region. So much has happened in the past months and the summer flew by! There were some incredible highlights personally and professionally, that I'm eager to share... Here's a few:
- Played several gigs around the region with my pal, pedal steel guitarist/dobro player Dan Tyack throughout the summer. We had a blast, and have really got a great sound together. He and I are thinking about making a duo album soon. I'll keep you posted! Dan has been making waves in Seattle lately with several monthly gigs at the Tractor Tavern billed as the "Unsanctified Gospel Revival Revue" With local musical luminaries Keith Lowe, Mike Stone, Thaddeous Turner, Orville Johnson and many others. If you can catch this show... DO!! You'll thank me. You might even get saved. Check out the upcoming shows page for future dates with Dan.
- Yakima Valley Folklife Fest...though the heat was ON (nearly 100 degrees every day) this festival was a cool blast. Felt like old home days with many of my favorite NW musical friends, including several fellow Seattle Performing Songwriters Kathryn Mostow, Marjorie Richards, Reggie Garrett, Scott Katz and many others.
- Tumbleweed Music Fest in Richland WA... My song "War of the Day" placed second in their annual songwriting contest!
- Performed on the Mainstage at The Rolling Thunder Down Home Democracy Tour (read all about it at www.rollingthundertour.org)... an incredible event, part music festival, part political rally. Shared the stage with the diverse line-up of luminaries such as Holly Near, Zap Mama and Fishbone among many others! Jim Hightower, the event organizer and Rolling Thunder creator declared after my set "What a wealth of talent here... Such a beautiful voice and a beautiful message!" A highlight of the day was listening to 93 year old Doris Hadock, also known as "Granny D". Her story is amazing and you've just GOT to check out her website: www.grannyd.com. Be sure to read the fact sheet about her life and accomplishments. Her words at Rolling Thunder were eloquent, moving and utterly riveting. Read her speech at http://www.grannyd.com/speech20020824.htm
- Restoring our Roots, A Celebration for Healthy Forests, sponsored by the NW Old Growth Campaign (check them out... better yet - get involved, at www.nwoldgrowth.org) Shared the stage with many local musical acts including Jill Cohn and none other than Dave Matthews (yep THAT Dave Matthews, who is also now a local, along with his wife Ashley and two twin baby girls Grace and Stella) who did an incredible solo acoustic set. Check out a great slide show about the event at http://home.attbi.com/~atchesond/rally092902/rorslide1.htm "I will die a tree-hugger," Matthews said, guitar in hand. "Chopping 'em down for toilet paper seems somehow sacrilegious."
Now... on a very personal note... John and I found out in mid July that we are pregnant! This is our first child, and now, as I am fully into my second trimester, I feel thrilled and excited to share this news. The due date is March 12th. We'll certainly keep y'all posted!
I will continue to play and tour as much as I can in the months ahead. I know this will change EVERY thing, but I do hope to continue on this musical journey for the rest of my breathing life. I'm sure this will bring new inspirations and challenges, and I will have to slow down some, in order to enjoy this new role as Mama. Having said that, though, if you want to help me come and play in your home town (or house, for that matter) please get in touch with me, and we'll see if we can schedule something before the baby comes, or in the summer or fall of '03.
Thanks, as always, for keeping in touch, coming to the shows, and supporting independent music. Please consider buying multiple copies of Off the Map and The Clearing to give as holiday gifts this year. We'll put all the money into the kid's college fund (ok, maybe the diaper fund, one step at a time)....
Many blessings of safety, and peace, to everyone in these wild and rocky days of the world.
Katya
7/25/02:
Welcome to the newly redesigned look of www.katyachorover.com!!
I hope you'll enjoy the new feeling and features of the site! Bob Meador, the whiz behind the design, has worked with me patiently and creatively to craft a site that we hope you'll find user friendly and zen-like in its simplicity. Bob has been tremendous through this process. His fine work also graces the CD booklet designs of both The Clearing and Off the Map. THANK YOU BOB!!!!
In addition to the new look, the website has two new features. First, folks can now order CDs and Tapes directly from me, with their credit cards, through our secure (and we mean SECURE!) shopping cart feature, powered by Platinum Cart. Second, members of the press and folks interested in potentially booking a gig, can look at the ONLINE PRESS KIT, which has all of the features of the paper version I send out in the mail. Our hope is that this will help minimize the need for expensive paper waste.
Check it out, and let us know what you think!
Hope everyone is enjoying the summer so far! Be sure to check out the tourdates page for latest gig info!
Peace~
Katya
5/19/02:
Greetings and happy spring!
Just returned from a wonderful short tour through Montana and Idaho, where tha landscapes were inspiring, the venues were wonderful, and the people were more than kind. Saw a herd of buffalo on the edge of Yellowstone national park with their new babes, feeding of fresh spring grass, saw my first coyote, up close, and many eagles, hawks and even a couple of falcons. The gigs were wondeful, highlighted by a show at the most wonderful retaurant in the west: Miso Hungry, in Driggs Idaho. Be sure and stop there if you ever get the chance. Awesome food, cooked with love. Fabulous harp (harmonica, that is) player Jeff Newsom (from Tony Furtado Band and others) sat in with me and I'd say we rocked the house.
A sad thing happened in the middle of the trip, though, which was that my dear grandmother, Ann Chorover, just shy of her 101st birthday (!!), passed away on May 3rd. She, as many of you know, was a huge inspiration in my life, as well as the lives of everyone who knew her. She passed in her sleep, comfortably at home, with her body and mind in wonderful health. We feel blessed to have had her with us all these many years. She was the first person in my family to really "get" what I was trying to do with my life, being a musician. She was a huge music fan.
Anyway, in her honor, I mention this, and let you know what she would always say to me, as she smacked kisses into the phone, or onto my cheeks, upon our goodbyes... "Remember-WHATEVER you do, ENJOY IT!"
SO, on that note, hope you can come out and enjoy some great musical events in the next months... Keep an eye on the tourdates page for lots of upcoming summer fun. Dan Tyack will be playing with me (pedal and lap steel guitars) for several dates this season, as well as other folks. There are several not-to-be-missed line-ups in Seattle in May and June, including a benefit for the Wilderness Volunteer Corps, a fabulous group working to empower and mentor inner-city young people in wilderness settings in summer, and in the community during the school year. If you cant make the event, consider sending them a donation anyway! Contact wvc@wawild.org, or call 206-633-1992 ext.101 and talk to Cynthia for more info.
Hope to see you at some point!
11/11/01:
Greetings! My husband, John and I have just returned to Seattle, after spending nearly eight weeks on the road. My fall 2001 tour began on Sept. 9th. We travelled for the next two months, and I performed gigs in WA, ID, MT, WY, CO, UT, Austin TX, Northern CA, and OR, in the wake of the tragic events of Sept 11th. It was an incredible time to be travelling through America. The places we travelled were far from ground zero, but everywhere we went, people were unified in their grief and shock, and in the need to come together as a community.
In the weeks since the attack, many people have expressed their desire to get down to "what really matters", recognizing that life is fragile and precious. We have slowly found our collective voices through music, poetry and art, and a flowering of bittersweet beauty has grown up from the rubble. Art really does save lives.
Overall, the tour was incredibly successful, and people responded strongly to the music... a "powerful salve for a weary world" as one DJ recently said. A huge and hearty thank you to all the angels who helped in any and all ways to make this tour the success that it was... Those of you who hosted us, fed us, put up posters, got me on your local radio stations, came to the shows, signed the mailing list etc etc. THANK YOU!!!
Meanwhile, the bombing has been ongoing for the last few weeks, and word on the ground confirms that many innocents are being caught in the middle, as Winter fast descends. It is controversial to advocate for peace in a time of war. Yet not to do so, I believe, turns a blind eye to their suffering. Many are contemplating just what it means to be patriotic at this moment in history. We need to stay awake. We need to stay active, and educate ourselves about the world we inhabit. We do not live in a vaccuum. We are all connected, and the actions and in-actions of our lives effect the world in subtle and not so subtle ways.
"It is compassion that removes the heavy bar, opens the door to freedom, makes the narrow heart wide as the world." -Nyanaponika Thera
The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's live's may be
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with the forethought of grief.
I come into the presence of the day-blind stars waiting with their light
For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free
I wish everyone, in the words of my 100 year old grandma:
"A safe and healthy holiday season... in a world at peace"
7/2/01:
I enjoyed these pictures from the CD Release Party back in February, I hope you will too:
6/11/01:
Hot off the presses!
The JUNE issue of The Victory Review, the Northwest's Acoustic Music Monthly, has a feature article and cover story on Katya, and her new CD, Off the Map! Pick up your complementary copy at Dusty Strings, and other fine music stores through out the Puget Sound. Better yet, to subscribe, send an email to: victory@nwlink.com !
3/9/01:
Katya's CD release party show at the Tractor Tavern on February 27th was a smash success! So much so, it seemed to spawn a 6.8 earthquake the very next day! The event played to a packed house, and featured an ALL STAR backing band : Cary Black on basses, Dan Tyack (see www.tyacktunes.com, Dan will be touring more with Katya at select shows in the future) on pedal steel guitar/dobro/ pedabro, Zak Borden (www.zakborden.com) on mandolin, Dave Heath on drums, Hanz Araki on flute and shakuhachi, and Damien Aitken on saxophone. Watch this space for photos from the event (photography by Jay Dotson, www.jaydotson.com)!
2/6/01:
RAVE REVIEWS for KATYA'S NEW ALBUM OFF THE MAP!
"Seattle singer-songwriter Katya Chorover's third release shines with passionate performances, excellent musicianship and thoughtful, evocative writing. The sound is lush, green, and soulful, like the natural world where she finds much of her inspiration, weaving together strands of contemporary acoustic pop, country, blues, and gospel. Chorover is a top notch singer and she's at the top of her game here, showcasing her vocal command and rich, bittersweet tone on a set that spans a wide expressive range. Just on the first three cuts, theres a rousing celtic-flavored opener, "Unspoken", the country waltz of "Off the Map", and "Radio Song" a gently driving, multi-layered folk-pop song inspired by activist Julia Butterfly's two-year tree-sit atop an ancient redwood. She's particularly powerful in country settings, singing with an ease and authenticity that would turn heads in the clubs of Nashville. Chorover's songs celebrate life and love with subtle, insightful imagery, infused with genuine moral urgency yet possessing an inner sense of peace. She also turns in a sensitive rendition of Townes Van Zandt's "No Place to Fall". All of the arrangements are perfectly attuned to each song, with wonderful contributions by the backing musicians, including Cary Black on bass, Zak Borden on mandolin, Jessica Lurie on sax, and Don Pawlak on pedal steel. The result is a gently stirring album that fulfill's Katya Chorover's growing reputation for intellegent, heartfelt music and outstanding performances - highly recommended."
-Victory Review, Feb. 2001
"Long a favorite of the folkie-lovin' NW environmental movement, Seattle's Chorover proves with her new release Off the Map that she also has much to offer to music fans who don't live in trees. Stylistically speaking, "All Over the Map" might've been more apropriate, as the record ranges from the surprisingly straight country of the title cut and others (including a confident reading of Townes Van Zandt's "No Place to Fall") to the gospellized acapella of the closing "Someday We'll Meet". The most ambitious track on the album, "Blue Moonlight" uses sinuous sax to snakecharm mid-70s Joni Mitchell out of the ether. While Chorover's lyrics may linger at times in familiar folkie pieties, asking questions too big for them to answer, her strong, warm voice and the immediate emotional connection it acheives are most often answer enough".
-The Willamette Week, Portland, OR., Jan 27, 2001
1/8/01:
After a few months of long days and nights in a room underground (i.e. David Lange Studios, in Fife, WA), I have birthed a new baby, so to speak, and I want you to be the first to know about it. My new CD is called Off the Map. It's Self- produced, and I was fortunate to be able to bring together some of the finest talent in the NW to record it. Everyone added just the right elements, and it was truly a collaborative effort, resulting in a wide range of musical vibes from slow country songs to foot stompin and pickin'; from full band, to stripped down acoustic. I finally recorded Someday We'll Meet, (acapella, it ends the record) and re-recorded Over the Mountains and Long Way (both were on my first tape, How This Feels). The rest of the songs are newer, written over the last two years: Unspoken, Radio Song, Blue Moonlight (Galileo) and others. I also included one by Townes Van Zandt, No Place to Fall.
In terms of the production, going into this project, I wanted to highlight the lyrics and songs by creating a textured sound, a groovin rhythm section, and lots of low end. This album stretches the limits of what I thought I could do, and sho ws the beauty of living in one of the richest veins of musical talent in the country. Joining me on the recording are: Cary Black - Basses (Laurie Lewis and Grant Street,); Paul Benoit - Slide and acoustic leads (Hanuman); Zak Borden - Mandolin and vocals (Casey Neill Trio); Jessica Lurie - Sax (Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet, the Living Daylights); Hanz Araki -flute and shakuhachi (Casey Neill Trio, and former Paperboy); Don Pawlak - Pedal Steel Guitar (the Souvenirs); Dave Heath- Drums; Tim Miller -Percussion; Joe Trump - Drums and percussion (Susan McKeown & Chanting House, Hitting Birth) and David Lange- Accordion. The project was mastered by Ross Nyberg at Studio X.
There's something for everyone on this record, and I think it will appeal to a very wide audience. Help me spread the word by ordering the music, playing it for your friends and family, hosting a houseconcert or show in your area, and by sending me links to radio stations that would play my music!
Thank you all for over ten years of support of this ongoing pilgrimage... coming to the shows, keeping the word out there, playing the music in your car or on your radio show, hosting shows, and for generally staying in touch. I wish you all peace and joy in the New Year and beyond...
Katya
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