Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kat King. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Kat, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

For the first 13-14 years of my life my parents were pastors of a church that my dad helped build in a small Kansas town. My mom led music at the church which meant that my friends and I had access to the stage and the instruments whenever they were working (outside of Sunday morning of course). In probably second or third grade I had formed a rock band with my two best friends called “Run to You.” Mind you, none of us actually knew how to play the instruments yet. I had already been songwriting in my notebooks during school and I somehow managed to make up chords on the guitar that fit the melodies close enough. I was also “teaching” my friend Caroline how to play the drums and teaching my cousin the lyrics and melodies. With 3-4 songs under our belts, we (more likely I) were itching to perform them. My mom was a huge encourager of our band and was gracious enough to set up our first show, which would be held after a Sunday morning service. We were ecstatic and started prepping, which included buying plain white t-shirts, decorating them in permanent markers with drawings of us and “Run to You” front and center. On top of that, we even cut off the sleeves of the shirts and stretched them out to fit on our heads for exclusive Run to You hats (a merch idea that I should bring back to my current band). Finally, the day came for our first show. My mom and dad had invited the congregation to stay after the service for our debut and nobody left their seats after the closing prayer. We were waiting outside of the church which had three entry doors doing cheers together and planning our grand entrance. Once we got the queue, we each entered through one of the doors and sprinted down the aisles while the congregation applauded. Once we were on stage the nerves kicked in and we played our set, the entire time staring at each other smiling because we were too nervous to look out at the “crowd.” The adrenaline from that show never died and THAT was the first time I knew I wanted to pursue this career professionally.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m Kat, a songwriter, musician and performer. I grew up learning classical piano, and am self-taught on guitar and drums. I’m the front-person of my indie pop/rock band Kat King and we perform all over Kansas City (and soon regionally) and are currently working on an EP after a year of releasing singles. “Kat King” has always been my passion project and you can stream us anywhere that you stream your music and find our upcoming shows at katbking.com. We would love to meet you at a show! Not only do I play in my band but I’ve been hired to play in others as a backup guitarist, keyboardist and vocalist, currently with Katy Guillen & the Drive. Outside of performing I’ve been hired to do voiceovers and wedding songs, and to write podcast theme songs and jingles – if you’ve heard the Blue Beetle Pest Control jingle, that’s me!

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I think a lot of people don’t understand the amount of work and money that goes into every aspect of being an independent artist/band. We are responsible for managing our social media, paying other creatives to design promotional material and merch, covering merch upfront, booking our own shows, practicing to be performance ready which is incredibly time consuming, paying for recording, etc. etc. etc. Often times performing musicians also have day jobs too so to manage all of this can be incredibly draining and often causes burn out. Give your appreciation to the artists if you’re a local music lover by sharing their music, buying their merch, tipping the tip jar, and if you ever complain about a cover charge, don’t!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

To follow that up, being an artist is also so rewarding. There is no better feeling than to see a crowd singing along to a song you wrote, getting to meet other musicians from around the world, exploring venues, collaborating with other songwriters, and all of the random stories that happen along the way. Hearing the positive impact that a show or a song had on someone is incredibly motivating and fuels the challenge on how to keep reaching people in a meaningful way.

Contact Info:

• Website: katbking.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katbking/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katbkingmusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@katkingmusic
• Other: https://katking.bandcamp.com/

Image Credits
Kim Korber, Doug Bybee, Mattea Jones, Zachary Kanzler, James Montero