BGS 5+5: Cat Terrones

Artist: Cat Terrones
Hometown: San Pedro, California
Latest Album: Shelter in Our Beauty

Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): Cat is the nickname my best friend as a kid gave me in junior high. It got lost in the shuffle for a while in college. I went back to Cathy, or Catherine, and for a time Ginger when I sang in blues bands. But I readopted it eventually. I thought, let’s make this simple. But also it’s just more fun and direct, and brings me back to a more essential spirit I like.

Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?

My whole life I’ve spent a lot of time around the ocean. I think the ocean teaches you to respect depth, power, mystery, and wonder. It naturally encourages curiosity, while also helping you understand there’s always more you can’t know or see. I consider myself a pearl diver — but for songs. And there’s just certain passageways, dangers, challenges you understand you’ll have to deal with, if it’s going to be anything other than an easy surface level experience. Being okay with the unknown, open and curious to see what comes next.

The ocean has somehow also taught me about time, about energy waves, sound, imagination and being able to hold whole worlds in your imagination that you may never see, building worlds, building models. Then there’s the aspect of Mother Ocean; the impermanence, the movement, the immense creative waters of the earth, getting perspective, being able to zoom in and zoom out, that natural power can be intense. The deep presence to individual life being so precious and precarious, rare but also vast. It’s rare I write a song that doesn’t at least have a water reference, whether I leave it in the lyrics or not depends on how I think the song needs to stay connected to water.

What is a genre, album, artist, musician, or song that you adore that would surprise people?

The blues. I don’t consider myself a blues singer but for a while I was trying that on and learning from local blues musicians in Southern California. I love Koko Taylor’s song, “Voodoo Woman.” Sometimes I just need to put that track on and hear her shout and own that song. The horn riff on it is so funky. Also, Memphis Minnie. I found her music and guitar playing fascinating and enigmatic, even as the songs were pretty straightforward lyrically, as per the genre. She was a real original and an originator, and I appreciated that about her.

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

Sinead O’Connor. I was thirteen when her big song with Prince came out, “Nothing Compares 2 U.” I sat on the floor, cross legged and read the liner notes, discovering that she wrote almost all the other songs. I remember very clearly thinking the words, “I want to do that.” It took until almost graduating high school before I realized I could sing and write my own songs. I wanted to do what she was doing: telling stories, being vulnerable and singing the truth telling. So she’s who I learned that songs are where we can say whatever we need to; painfully true things, fleeting things, big emotions or stunningly small yet profound emotions.

What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?

I have a song on my previous EP called Josephine, and I’d say that song was probably the toughest to navigate writing. On the one hand, the emotion was very palpable, and I think I needed to write that song (I’m sure I did) to process some aspects of grief. But it was a really heavy song for me. It tells my own story and the story of someone in my community we lost. It’s about a family who tried everything but their daughter succumbed to a tragic accidental death that was preventable. At the start, I felt compelled to write a song celebrating the beauty of these women we lost. Instead what came out was a song about the grief, survivor’s guilt, and the sense of connection that goes beyond the physical world. How it feels when tragedy cleaves into our lives and communities and changes the fabric of our experience forever. I can’t say it was comforting writing it. But now it feels somehow grounding and cathartic for me when I sing it.

What would a perfect day as an artist and creator look like to you?

In the making of this album, I had many ideal days. Sitting down with a song, being in a natural environment, like near a river or the ocean or lots of trees, playing music, singing, letting a new song come through. Then a good healthful lunch with lots of fresh veggies and tea. Then another session of working on a song before cooking dinner with friends and watching the sunset. And then a song circle with songwriters gathering around a bonfire or running off to catch fireflies.


Photo Credit: Jo Babb

MIXTAPE: Ruthie Foster’s Intro to the Blues

Just like the Mississippi River itself, the blues run wide and deep, informing so much of contemporary roots music. That’s why knowing where to start and who to study might well be a daunting deliberation. Never fear: Ruthie Foster is here. The contemporary blues guitarist has culled a dozen foundational tracks upon which the blues novice might begin to build their love of the form.

Robert Johnson — “Last Fair Deal Gone Down”

Mississippi-born, Mr. Robert was and still remains a major influence in the blues.This song holds true to mixing the elements of blues progressions for me with how his voice rises and falls throughout the tune. It’s clear that he mixed elements of gospel in his style which stills hold true to the powerful sound of Mississippi-style blues today. 

Memphis Minnie — “Selling My Pork Chops”

Born Lizzie Douglas, Ms. Memphis Minnie didn’t shy away from covering taboo subjects in her music — starting her early career playing on Beale Street and supplementing her income by way of prostitution sometimes. So you get to hear a little bit of her life story in her music, if you’re paying attention. 

Koko Taylor — “Wang Dang Doodle”

Koko Taylor is known primarily as the Queen of the Blues and was one of the few women who succeeded in the blues world. With multiple Grammy nominations, along with over 25 Blues Music Awards (later renamed the Koko Taylor Traditional Blues award), she reigns as one of the most powerful voices in the blues.

Bobby “Blue” Bland — “Farther Up the Road”

Most would reference his version of T-Bone Walker’s “Call It Stormy Monday” as his signature song, but my song choice is a favorite from his early recordings I heard while learning about how to sing blues. In my opinion, Bobby Bland was always more of a big band, R&B singer than anything else. His melodic phrasing is what moved me to perform his material. 

T-Bone Walker — “Call It Stormy Monday”

As mentioned in reference to Bobby Bland, Mr. Aaron Thibeaux Walker was the writer of “Stormy Monday” blues. His guitar style is what set him apart from other guitar players. He fronted a big band, usually on a hollow body guitar. Being born in East Texas — and being a multi-instrumentalist — is what I believe distinguished his style and phrasing.

Son House — “Death Letter Blues”

I actually recorded and perform my own version of his “Grinnin’ in Your Face,” but I wouldn’t have found that without hearing his “Death Letter Blues” first. He had such a powerhouse voice and delivery, and it’s not difficult to acknowledge the preaching side of anything he sings. His slide guitar playing stands out just as solid and testifies to his song.

Mississippi John Hurt — “Coffee Blues” 

“Ain’t Maxwell House alright?” as quoted by John Hurt in this song, is a nod to the double entendre lyric that was commonly used in blues music. Hurt’s style of picking influenced my own playing and was very different from any other player of Piedmont blues, as well, which makes him stand out as a country-blues guitar player.

Jessie Mae Hemphill — “She-Wolf

Jessie Mae is one of my favorite women in blues because she was about groove, sweetness, and spunk both in her topics and performances. She came from a long line of performers of the fife and drum blues tradition noted in the northern Mississippi area by players such Othar Turner and Sis Hemphill, Jessie Mae’s father.

Alberta Hunter — “My Handy Man”

Known prominently as a jazz singer touring internationally in her earlier years, she wrote the Bessie Smith hit “Downhearted Blues,” then took a 20-year break before coming back to perform as a main attraction at clubs and stages all over the world. Known for her spicy stage personality and vocal styling similar to Jimmy Durante, she was a joy to watch and listen to.

Victoria Spivey — “Black Snack Blues”

I discovered Texas-born Spivey through researching blues singers who played piano and sang their own songs. Her name was mentioned a lot while when I started touring in certain regions of Texas. She was one of the few women who traveled with a mostly male troupe that toured in Europe’s American Folk Blues Festival circuit. 

Precious Bryant — “Fool Me Good”

A sensational Georgia-born Piedmont guitar player and singer, Ms. Bryant was very entertaining onstage. Her acoustic rendition of “Fever” caught my first attention and, afterward, I found everything I could in her style, and I’m still learning it!

Z.Z. Hill — “Downhome Blues”

This song always got a party started anywhere in East Texas where I grew up! His music was a staple in vinyl and still is in the blues world. The song says it all from start to finish and sets a groove and a mood to hear old-school blues. Though the song has been covered repeatedly, it’s Z. Z. Hill’s original version that sets the standard for the blues and R&B with more instrumentation such as horns, background vocals, and attitude.


Photo credit: kingrahsu via Foter.com / CC BY