We were lucky to catch up with Kadi Bortle recently and have shared our conversation below.
Kadi, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
I like this topic. When I ask myself how I learned to write songs and tell stories, my answer is different than it probably would have been a few years ago. I do a lot less critiquing and re-writing. We have enough of that going on in the world. I think creatives are meant to channel thoughts and messages. We have special gifts to pick up a guitar or a piano and let coherent and incoherent thoughts escape us. The resistance comes when we think too much and try to make the incoherent pieces coherent. I’ve been digging through my journals and finding my “reject” songs. I’m going to release every single one – I’m determined to do so and suggest other creatives to do the same. All the weird metaphors, songs with only one verse, and all the cryptic stories – they mean something to someone. I’ve done a lot of unlearning to answer your question…and I wish now that I didn’t speed up the “learning” of my craft. The beauty of writing comes when the words flow from head or heart to paper. I think what’s standing in the way for many creatives is the popular perception – will people like this song? Will I make money from this song? Will I be popular? Will I be famous? Combining gifts with rewards is dangerous. When we create without the subconscious fear of acceptance or abundance, we’ll realize that we had it all along…within us.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I grew up in Athens, Georgia home to R.E.M., the B52’s, Widespread Panic, and Pylon. In middle school, I began singing in the church choir and it was a bit funny, actually. I would belt out church hymns and our priest, at the time, would ask me to sing more “reverently”, ha.
I credit most of my music taste to my Dad who was often belting out Rush or Boston in the mornings before school. In this world of material obsession, he’s always reminded me to focus on my gifts. I couldn’t ask for more from a parent. In middle school, when others were playing sports, I auditioned for my first rock band, “the Friday Knights”. That’s where I first found a home for my rock voice! We played the main stage at the Athens summer music festival “Athfest” in 2011. There’s a cute video of me singing “Heartbreaker” by Pat Benatar from that same day.
In high school, I moved on to my second band “Zenith Blue”. They needed a lead singer and the bassist Jacob, who was in my first band, recommended me! I took a more prominent role and began performing songs that I had written. I thought they were just cheesy songs but my Dad actually claims that some of his favorites are from that band! I’m actually working on putting them into an album, ha! I guess I did have a gift at a young age of expressing emotions. My cousin, Casey, passed away around that time and I turned that experience of losing someone into a song called “Chapters” that expresses the beginning and ending of chapters in our lives.
We were young in that band “Zenith Blue”. All about 15 years old, we became known around town to cover the greats, namely Led Zeppelin and The Who. There are some videos still on Youtube from that time. They crack me up. We played festivals like Athfest, cool venues like the 40 Watt, and participated in an album called “Players of the Lyre” benefitting the American Cancer Society in 2016. At the same time, I was playing the oboe in my high school band. My high school band director, Dr. Lawrence, was a bright light in my life. He really pushed me to be the best I could be. He taught me a lot about the fabric of music that still inspires me today. I think he’d be proud to know that I’m adding oboe to a song on my album.
I’m a bit of a nerd so school distracted me from music, temporarily. I went to college at the University of Georgia and studied International Affairs. I was fluent in Spanish and Portuguese at the time and wanted to learn more languages, so I minored in Russian and Arabic. I took a few Mandarin classes, too. I’ve never met a stranger and love forming deep connections with people I meet so I combined music with my language skills and wrote a song in Portuguese called “Serial Lover”. I later created the band “Kadillak”, after my name, with local Athens friends. I was working part-time at a burger shop in college. I looked at one of the line cooks (now my friend, Carson) and said “hey, do you play guitar?” He answered yes and we started Kadillak! We had a blast in that band. Those players are insanely talented – Carson, Sam, Vic, and Cubby! I love those songs we wrote. We played around Athens and Atlanta and even sold-out Smith’s Olde Bar! Kadillak recorded two EPs and 1, available on all streaming platforms. The first album, released in 2021, was recorded by David Barbe, producer of Drive-By Truckers, long-time musician, and Director of Music Business at the University of Georgia. The second and final Kadillak EP was recorded in a basement on tape!
I’m now in Nashville, Tennessee, pursuing a solo career, but it’s never really solo, you know. I’ve found some awesome people to write with and we’ve got some of my favorite tunes coming out on my debut album. I’m also going with the flow. I’ll write in just about any genre and I find that’s my gift. Since moving here in 2022, I’ve released 10 singles (2 from my album!) Some are folky, others rockin’, and a few with a soulful influence. I had an incredible team help me film a music video called “Yonah”, after my song, on top of Yonah mountain in Georgia. That was an awesome experience. That video won Best Music Video in NYC’s International Film Festival and has since won 6 other film festival awards. It’s on Youtube if you want to check it out. “Echo5” is another project you can hear my voice in. We were a short-lived garage-punk band in Nashville that released a 3-song EP in 2023. I’ve actually got 2 albums in the works! My debut album, set to release early next year has been my baby. I’m so lucky to have Jack Holliday in my life. He’s my boyfriend and co-writer. You can hear his lovely voice on a few songs on the album that is being produced by my great friend, Andrew McFarlane. We’ve put our heart and soul into these songs. I can’t wait to resonate with the world in the range of emotions showcased in the album. It’s much more than love; I sing about coming of age, trials and tribulations, deep dark holes, and shiny highs. I’ll share more on that when the full album’s out!
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
This topic has been on my mind lately. I’ve been in my “hermit mode” as I call it. I actually spent the winter writing a fantasy novel. It’s amazing what your mind can do when given the time to leisurely digest which is unfortunately rare this day and time. I often feel misunderstood by even close friends and family, and I appreciate this question so I can give a PSA, ha. I read a book recently that I highly recommend called Wired to Create by Scott Barry Kaufman and Carolyn Gregoire. If you’re struggling to understand a creative’s mindset, I highly recommend reading it. You see, we creatives are channels. We’re observing the world around us, taking it in, then spitting it back out. For me, when I’m observing the world around me, I’m social. I want to interact, I want to learn from others. My friends know me as someone that is always asking questions. I want to know what everyone thinks then…I digest. In my digestion period, I am a hermit. I like to be in my alone space (I call it my cave, crediting human design). Even when I leave the digestion period and I begin “spitting it back out”, I could take a few hours and knock out a song or I could take a few weeks and write a book (as I did this past winter). We creatives become anti-social during these periods. We’re almost controlled by the stories flowing through us, until they’ve fully escaped us. I’d compare this process to boiling water for cooking. If you constantly meddle or take the pot off the stove (take the creative out of the flow), the water is not going to boil as quickly as it should. Think of the best artists, writers, inventors (Georgia O’Keeffe, Emily Dickinson, Albert Einstein, for example). Look up their stories…they spent a lot of time ALONE to create their art. In short, if you know a creative, don’t be offended if they’re late or don’t show up. They’re busy digesting to make the art of the world! The world is so much more beautiful when we give creatives the chance to create.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
This is an interesting question because I feel that my journey is both interpersonal and transpersonal. I’ve been blessed with a gift to creatively channel – to observe the world, digest it, then put it into song. Unfortunately, I myself got caught up in worrying about perception and the “likeability” of my songs and I’ve put far too many songs on the backburner. As I picked the songs for my debut album (that’s nearly complete!), I found so many treasures in my journals, torn pieces of paper, even napkins. So many raw words, thoughts, and feelings that I channeled, but for some reason thought “eh, nobody is going to get what I mean”. I am in the process of unlearning those negative beliefs. I feel I’m on a mission to uncover the masks of myself and others. I think creatives should think less and do more. In this modern era of “music”, we put a lid on our creative flow and focus on branding, imaging, photoshoots, makeup, clothes, social media, blah blah blah. Yes, I believe those things can contribute to success, but the creatives need to create, without bounds. As I begin to release my raw thoughts in both music and writing, I hope I can inspire other creatives to do the same. We are born with gifts and gifts must be given.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kadibeth.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kadibeth_/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@KadiBeth
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/kadi-beth
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0czugiO3JZROmvCWbGyYE6?si=QJ9RbDGyQimv1dfBNCKiZA&nd=1&dlsi=bc89f3bd039141a2
Image Credits
Mike Jeffries