“Keep An Open Heart…” Kate Davis and Trophy
Not unlike a great deal of other people, I first heard about Kate Davis when Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox covered the Meghan Trainor hit 'All About That Bass'. Featuring Bradley on grand piano and Dave Tedeschi on drums, Kate Davis played upright bass and sang the vocal of this sparsely arranged modern classic. Released in September 2014, many thought this would be the beginning of a long association with the band of revolving talent, but Kate would only record one more song with them, and did not go on the road. Instead, she honed her talent, and five years later, surprised her fanbase with an album that was a far-cry from the jazz influenced Postmodern Jukebox.
'Trophy' was released unto the world on November 8th, 2019, featuring twelve tracks of heartfelt indie rock, it was preceded by four music videos with 'rbbts' being the first. Premiering in June 2019, rbbts has now amassed over 120 thousand views. What is immediately striking is the lyrical intimacy exposed here. The chorus reads 'Tell me what are you afraid of, why do you hide? Show me everything you feel and fear inside, 'cause I'm running, I'm running.' Such content on Trophy is not uncommon. Cloud is highlighted by spending late teen years in and out of love. Daisy is the perfect way to begin this record, a tale of building oneself back up after emotional turmoil. But it isn't all sad. I Like Myself is a beautiful love song about how good it feels to be loved and to love in return. This song features strings arranged entirely by Kate, and is devoid of the drums and driving guitar featured on the rest of the album. The title track was the last video, and the most wonderful, featuring Davis in various roles auditioning for a talent contest. These include a blonde dancing to the track, a boy eating as much cherry pie as he can, a magician double-act, and Kate performing the track as herself. Each performs their act, but all are murdered by a masked assassin from behind the scenes. All except for Kate, who wins the Trophy at the end of the video. All a coincidence of course.
Upon seeing this video and hearing the great track beneath it, I pre-ordered the album. Not long after that, I was surprised to find that a couple of tour dates were announced in the U.K. This was expanded to four consecutive shows, beginning in Glasgow on the 24th of January, going through London, Brighton and finishing in Manchester on the 27th. Unlike her American shows that were played with a band, these were done entirely solo. A week or so before the U.K. leg of the tour, the London date sold out, making this one an extra special event.
Kate pitched up on the stage of The Islington pub on Tolpuddle Street, in the wake of support act Honeyglaze, a dreamy trio with a mood similar to Trophy. Promoters Bird On The Wire did well in pairing these two up. Kate was early, and after plugging in her worn Fender electric guitar (the headstock barely had Fender written across it), tuning up, and signalling her early arrival to the sound engineer, she began her set.
The audience greeted her with cheers, and immediately fell silent to the beginning of Daisy. The music lends itself well to solo performance. It was lovely to hear Kate's specific enunciation in her lyrics that is so adored by her fans. 'Thank you so much, this is my first sold out show in London. And it's my first trip to London!' No easy task for a first visit. Kate followed by playing Open Heart. A similar theme to Daisy, she sings 'Put the pieces back together, looks like it’s been shattered by a bad love. Don’t talk shit, stick with this and next time you’ll get a better one.' I love Kate's use of swearing. Some artists use it to the point where it doesn't mean anything anymore. Here, I feel compelled not to talk shit. 'Here's a sad one...' Kate sings Burning Accidents with such passion. The audience daren't make a sound. It takes strength to sing a song about the positivity of moving on from a relationship and the optimism for the future.
'Thank you, I heard somebody cough over there, make sure you don't have the new virus. Just kidding. Waiting for somebody to write a song or something called Love In A Time of the Coronavirus.' An audience member says 'Maybe it's you.' She responds directly to the man and says 'Maybe it's me, maybe I just claimed that idea publicly.' Kate's wit is not to be underestimated. Davis introduces her fourth song of the evening, Dirty Teenager. I wondered if this was about herself in the form of a teenage boy, or maybe it was from the point of view of someone she knew. The all too familiar instant crushes that happen when boy meets girl. Though this character is insistent, 'I just wanna be your friend.' The delicacy with which Kate sings the final line is exactly the reassurance a soft and kind soul would need.
Without introduction, Davis begins playing I Like Myself, a song I had hoped to hear, but there was no guarantee the audience would hear any song over another. As I said, these songs lend themselves well to solo performance, and this one is no exception. It casts an image of the piece being created, sung in a bedroom maybe, where one's soul is most honest.
A quick tune-up, and Cloud is next. The yearning in the line of 'It could be 24 hours 'til I see you,' is the strength of teenage love written in one line, when every moment spent without their love is time wasted. 'What if I miss you at a highlight, or at a stoplight. I’ll know, I’ll know. Will I miss you at the first light, or at first sight?' Teenage love is spending time with the one you love, or thinking about spending time with the one you love.
'This is really nice, this is a great way to come to London.' Kate announced she would be playing some unrecorded tunes, maybe one, maybe a few. An audience member insisted it be the latter, to which Davis readily agreed. The audience reaction to the new music was good! I hadn't expected to hear anything brand new, but it was honestly a pleasure. 'Ok cool I get it, I shouldn't put that on the next record,' she says after whole hearted applause for one of the songs.
'I hope this doesn't sound mean spirited, but I wasn't expecting all of you to be so polite.' An audience member says 'Get the fuck on with it!' as a joke. 'There you go,' she says. Kate begins playing St. Joseph, a track from the album. To me, this is about an elderly person going into a home, having to sell their house, saying goodbye to all the memories there. But I might be wrong.
'I'm flattered by all of you who have been taking videos, but no one can let my manager know I wore sneakers to this gig. That's all I ask.' I wore Converse to my sister's wedding. I understand. 'The next song is the very first single that I was able to put out. It's a song that's really special to me. It just happened to get put on a Spotify playlist that's called like "Relaxing and Chilling Out". I don't think of either of those things when I think of this song? Maybe you will? I don't know.' Kate began to tune her guitar, looking at the floor at her pedals. 'Come on, someone throw a beer bottle at my head.' Someone says 'This ain't Kansas anymore.' Have I ever watched The Wizard of Oz all the way through? 'That's what I'm trying to say!'
This was rbbts. Most of the song was performed as the rest of the songs were - Kate playing guitar and singing. Then during the instrumental section, Kate takes to a loop pedal, doubling a melodic guitar line, but it goes awry. The parts don't match up. Standing in front of her microphone with an expression that I would read as "I hate my life", she says 'The show must go on,' to laughs from the audience. Kate continues to sing over the loop, then adding a live rhythm part to the backing. The whole affair didn't affect the message of the song. Though Kate sings 'I'm running' throughout the song, the last line reads, 'I'm running out of time.' Some things only last so long. It got the biggest cheer yet.
'Well you can say you've never heard it like that before.' Davis announced she was playing another new one, but insisted when the crowd clapped, they only clapped afterwards if they liked it. Of course the audience clapped. It was great!
'Anyone know the story of Salome?' No response. 'Is anyone familiar enough with the record to know I wrote a song called Salome?' There was a resounding yes. 'Ok cool. So it's a story about a lady. It's a biblical story. I'm not sure I even know it, but I wrote a song about it.' After a brief scan of the internet, it would seem that Salome, in the Bible, was instrumental in the execution of John the Baptist. I'm sure the poor man didn't deserve it. I wonder what inspired writing this into a song? I love the note bends here. It's kind of unsettling, and now I know the story behind it, it's almost chilling.
'I got one more for you.' Kate thanked the crowd, the sound engineer Adam, Bird On The Wire, and to London for 'not making me feel like a stupid American.' It was in relation to her voice. She needn't feel self-conscious. The final song of the evening was the title track. 'And I miss you. Just wanted. To have you...' What a line to finish a gig with.
With that, Kate Davis left the stage and attended her merch stand. I'm very grateful to have seen this small, intimate gig. I'm even more grateful that I've been able to email her a few questions.
1. You were known to your earlier followers as a jazz artist, what was the driving force behind changing your sound?
I came up in an institutionalized setting and learned music through the lens of both classical and jazz music. I still had a lot of developing to do as a human and ended up going through the motions of playing certain styles. Nothing wrong with that, but when I realized I had artistic aspirations, it became clear that I needed to express myself in a way that was a musical amalgamation of all the things I loved - not just how I had been trained.
2. A distinguishing feature of Trophy is that you are the sole songwriter, were these songs inspired by a particular time in your life?
These songs were all written from 22 - 26. Prime time for young adult angst and struggle. This to me is just a record of stories from my 20s. Stories from my life and also friend’s lives.
3. Which was the first track written for the project?
Open Heart
4. Was Trophy always the title of the album, or were there working titles in the process?
The song Trophy was written further into the process - it was different and felt like it became the North Star in which everything had to follow.
5. You manage to strike the lyrical balance to be a personal, yet relatable listening endeavour, was this a conscious decision?
Sure! I think it’s important to write songs and stories that are shared experiences. My favorite way to write is to put myself in a situation that is not my own, and write about it from my perspective!
6. Were there specific influences that affected the sound of this record?
I was listening to a lot of different types of music at the time the album was recorded. It ranged from My Bloody Valentine to Brahms. There was no one influence, but I definitely was immersing myself in all of my favorite music!
7. I remember you crowdfunding your album quite some time ago, was this a positive experience? And is this an avenue you would recommend to other artists to help them fund their project?
Yes! It was a total gamble, but people proved to be extremely generous at that time, especially when most of them had no idea what I was cooking up. I would recommend it but know that I got extremely lucky.
8. Trophy is certainly a guitar orientated record. Were all the songs written on that instrument, or was this an artistic decision made later?
I started playing guitar after college and it was a great way to leave everything I had learned previously, behind. I wanted to start over after years and years of music education. It was a great way to make writing fresh and really for myself.
9. The music video for the title track is magnificent. Which character was your favourite to play and why?
Definitely the pie boy. We all have a pie boy within us. The pie was of the mediocre grocery store variety, which was crucial to the character.
10. What was your experience with touring the U.K. for the first time? Were there any misconceptions you had about the U.K.?
Having never been there I was unsure of what to expect. I enjoyed every minute of it, but particularly loved the chocolate addition to the cappuccinos.
11. And finally, what's been your favourite moment of the whole Trophy adventure so far?
I waited so long to put out this album and feel like the art was mine. It was not an easy journey but well worth it in the end considering I am now outwardly the artist I’ve always wanted to be!
Kate's remaining European dates are:
February 1st: Charlatan (Ghent, Belgium)
February 2nd: Roodkapje (Rotterdam, Netherlands)
February 3rd: Vega (Copenhagen, Denmark)
February 5th: Monarch (Berlin, Germany)
Kate will also be supporting Margaret Glaspy on tour between March and May in the U.K., U.S., Canada and Mexico. Kate returns to London at The Lexington for a headline show on the 25th of July.
