Katy Mae



THE LIGHTNING AND THE SUN

Starring Phil Doucet, Mark Levy, and Brad Hill

“Setting fire to the traditions that have become mundane and commonplace within the canon of contemporary music.” …A Manifesto!!? Swimming through the cracks of unison and discord, you can’t tell Katy Mae that they don’t resemble their archetypes; Buddy Holly, the Byrds, Guzzard, or the Who. Call it alt-country, roots rock, songwriter centered, or whatever the most convenient term of the day is, but don’t pigeonhole Katy Mae exclusively to any one. Borrowing their name from the Lightin’ Hopkins song “Katie Mae Blues”, Katy Mae encompasses all the elements and diversity essential to any great band. As such, it is difficult to reduce this band to a verbal sales pitch when the whole is grounded in fearlessness and honesty, and a singular desire to create and perform their own brand of powerful music. The 6 song EP, The Lightning and the Sun, recorded at Tarquin Studios by Peter Katis (Interpol, Guster, and The Get Up Kids), showcases the solid and diverse songwriting skills of a band obviously in love with the art and tradition of American Rock and Roll. From the subtle melancholy of “Six Ways Down” to the full on rave up of “Safe and Sound”, there is an intangible sense of purpose and the unlimited possibilities of a great band in the beginning stages of flight. Birthed from two-thirds (Phil and Mark) of the dust of the now defunct band Stanley and a bass player who honed his picking skills in the hills of San Francisco, Katy Mae is like Whiskeytown meets REM with a dash of Social Distortion rock-a-billy, mixed with some Clash and Wilco. Which makes it quite original when you think about it, and you will.

Katy Mae, living up to their claim "New American Traditionalists."