Infected Brain

Present yourself to the readers

My name is Kat Riggins. I’m a blues singer and songwriter from Miami, Florida.

What’s the story for In the boys’club ?

“In the Boys Club” is a collage of all things blues.. From traditional blues tracks like “Cheat Or Lose” or “Kitty Won’t Scratch” to the hard driving blues-rock sounds of “Fistful O’ Water” and Johnnie Walker, I tried to encompass everything I love about this ever flowering genre.
This release is meant to be a bold representation of the female presence in this “man’s world”.
All twelve songs were penned by yours truly and arranged together by my band and I to highlight a woman’s strength, humility, resilience, ambition, passion and compassion.
I am always inspired by life, directly and indirectly. It usually starts with a thought. Someone might say something that immediately hits my ear as a song. I might see something that presents itself to me as music… from there the song starts to write itself.

Why did you choose this style of music ?

The blues chose me ! I have always loved all styles of music. However, my voice identifies best with the blues. I love its rawness…its realness… its grit. I LOVE the power behind it.

Are you day or night ?

I’m both. I’m business by day and stage by night ! My job is more than what people see. As an indie artist I do a lot during the day to insure that I have a stage to sing on at night. I guess you can say that I survive by day so that I can thrive by night.

Why this career choice ?

THIS is what I am supposed to be doing. Whenever I tried to do something else in the past, I felt aimless and unfulfilled. Regardless of how easy or lucrative that other thing might have been, something inside me knew that I needed to be on stage. I have been blessed with a passion that is my purpose. I’m meant to be a vessel of joy, love, hope, strength, and courage through song. There is nothing else that I’d rather be doing !

What are your personal musical tastes and your influences ?

All music has a place in my world. I like listening to gospel when I’m getting ready for a show. I enjoy jazz when I need to unwind. I even like old school hip hop when I am on road trips!
My musical influences are voices like, Koko Taylor, Tina Turner, Janis Joplin, Bonnie Rait, Beth Hart, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, James Brown, Johnny Lang and many more! I love those voices that are truly distinguishable.

What’s your top 5 albums of all time ?

That is a tough one! My top 5 are always changing depending on what I need from music at the time. Let’s see… right now I keep these 5 on constant rotation in my CD player…
1. John Primer and Friends-Muddy 100
2. Nikki Hill- Heavy Hearts Hard Fists
3. Beth Hart- Fire On the Floor
4. Janelle Monae- Electric Lady
5. Lizz Wright- Fellowship

In the shower or in the bath, do you sing ? If yes, your songs or those of others ?

I do ! Lol. I usually WRITE songs in the shower.

What's your best live memory ? And why ?

I remember getting off stage once in Beijing for a break, and a deaf woman in the audience pulled me aside to show me her phone. On it she had written about how much the show moved her. It is a powerful and emotional feeling when you realize that even those who can’t hear can FEEL what you put into a performance. I’ll never forget that.

In studio, what was the ambiance for the album IN THE BOYS’CLUB ?...etc.…

The ambiance in the studio for any project is always zen. I like low lights, just the necessary people and my Johnnie Walker. I’m not someone who brings all of my friends to the studio. For me, it’s a time to create life through music. That is a very intimate thing… That’s actually a perfect description of the ambience… INTIMATE.

How does it work for the design of the CD ? and why this title ?

The images for this album were photographed by my good friend and an awesome artist, Sebastian Santiago. He is the best at what he does ! Then those images were passed on to another good friend and fantastic harmonica player, Clay Goldstein. He did the layout and graphics to tie it all together.
I chose the title, In the Boys’ Club because I knew that I wanted this album to be a sort of declaration that women in blues are a force to be reckoned with !

What are your projects ?

I am constanly working on new things and ways to better promote the blues. I will be doing a few small tours this summer to promote the In the Boys’ Club album. I have already begun writing my next CD. Also, I will be going back out on the Keeping the Blues Alive theater tour with dutch tv personality, Johan Derksen. It’s gonna be a busy year !

Would you like to work with an artist ? If so who ?

There is so much extraordinary talent in blues today that it’s difficult to choose ! I’d LOVE to work with Buddy Guy, Beth Hart, Valerie June, John Primer, Ruthie Foster, Bonnie Rait, Keb Mo, Taj Mahal… MAN there are too many to name ! I’d even like to work with a few artists outside of the genre like, JayZ and Common ! That could be a cool way to bring the blues to bigger and younger audiences !

What would you have chosen as a job outside of music ?

There is no backup plan. This is it.

What’s your biggest regret ?

I’d like to say that I have no regrets, but honestly I just wish I had started this music thing sooner.

What's your motto ?

I saw this somewhere and adopte dit as my motto…

Website to remember

WWW.KATRIGGINS.COM
www.instagram.com/katriggins
www.twitter.com/katriggins
www.facebook.com/bluesrevivalmovement

What would you like to say to the readers ?

I’d like to thank everyone for supporting the blues. It’s that support that will save the blues from extinction. I would also like to encourage everyone to go out and support LIVE music often. Go see your local bands. Go enjoy the live show at your local venues. It is the least we can do to make sure that musicians have places to share their art outside of YouTube alone.

What question, I did not ask you and would you like me to ask you ?

You have been very thorough actually. Lol. I have really enjoyed this. Thank you !