We were lucky to catch up with Cat Rian recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Cat thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?
I’m really grateful to have grown up in such an entertainment-centric place, Las Vegas. When I was 17 I got my first residency at a Las Vegas hotel: singing one-two nights a week as the lead singer of the resident band at The Delano. I was the youngest and only female member of my band, so landing this gig was both super scary and an amazing learning opportunity. I quickly learned that “technical difficulties” happen during almost every set. Most thing will go wrong during a performance, but that’s part of what makes it so exciting. From distracting an audience with bad jokes while the sound gets fixed, or singing really loudly when a mic doesn’t work, I learned that a big part of being a good performer is being good at handling mishaps. As a recovering perfectionist, this was a really life-changing lesson for me to learn. It’s even influenced other areas of my life and taught me how to be quick on my feet and get better at adjusting when things don’t go as expected.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Hi, I’m Cat! I like to wear pink cowboy boots and cry (a lot). I’m a 24-year-old Country Pop artist, songwriter, and producer from Las Vegas, Nevada, and I’m currently in the process of relocating to Nashville, Tennessee. I’ve been singing and performing for almost my entire life (my mom likes to say I started singing in the womb), and I started focusing on songwriting while I was an undergrad at Stanford. I recently graduated from Berklee College of Music, where I received a masters degree in Songwriting & Production.
I’ve always had really strong emotions. While I used to try to hide it, I’ve come to learn that being in touch with your emotions is something that should be celebrated. Crying in public should be encouraged!!
Studying computer science at Stanford, life felt very logical and planned out. There was a rational way to make everything make sense – except the way things and people made us feel. There was never a way to explain emotions, and I loved that. I started to pay more attention to the way I felt at a given moment, and, once I arrived at Berklee, I realized that I wanted to write songs about the specific emotions I’ve felt in different situations – from the anxiety I feel about aging to the little heartbreak I experienced when someone preferred to turn the music up in the car rather than talk to me.
I don’t write the big heartbreak songs. I write the little ones. I write about the little heartbreaks and emotions we feel every day, and I hope that, in doing so, people who relate to my music can work out their smaller emotions so they don’t have to turn into bigger, more painful ones.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
I like to think of my music career as a family business. My ultimate goal is for my family members to be able to quit their jobs and go on tour with me. I was blessed with the best family in the entire world, and their support is what gets me through the tough moments. Working with them every day and doing what I love would be my utopia.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is connecting with other people. The relationships I have with my collaborators and the relationship I have with people who listen to my music are all very special to me. Being able to write and sing songs with people who have felt similarly to me is one of the greatest gifts of my life. I have never experienced another process that has made me feel so seen and at peace, and if someone who listens to my music can feel understood by even just one word, then I’ve done my job. Music is so powerful, and I am so grateful to love something that unites so many different people in so many different place & stages of life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.catrianmusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meowimcatrian/
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meowimcatrian Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5PuoYStUwWRsTsXqDqqOVe?si=MPCCQKpLRaCDQcyv41uWYQ Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/cat-rian/916527931
Image Credits
Rachel Bard & Liam Read