Catie Curtis
Encyclopedia
Catie Curtis is an American
singer-songwriter
. Her music has been categorized in several genres, including pop
, rock
, alternative country
, indie and folk
. She has recorded 11 CDs. The most recent, Stretch Limousine On Fire, will be released in August 2011 on Compass Records.
. At age 15, she played drums professionally for a local theater company. In her late teens she was chosen to perform with Journey
on their hit song "I Want to Know What Love Is." She graduated from Brown University
in Providence, Rhode Island
with a degree in history and moved to Boston, Massachusetts for the thriving folk rock
circuit.
in NYC and promptly signed to EMI
/Guardian Records. Her debut, Truth From Lies, was released in 1996. She has gone on to release 11 CDs and tour internationally, headlining clubs and theaters and appearing on stage with Mary Chapin Carpenter
, Dar Williams
, Patty Griffin
and Melissa Ferrick
among others.
Her songs have been featured in Alias, Dawson's Creek, Felicity and Chicago Hope, as well as in several independent films. She won the Best Album Award from the Gay and Lesbian American Music Awards for her self-titled 1997 album. In 2005, she and Mark Erelli
won the Grand Prize in the International Songwriting Competition for their song People Look Around, a song written in response to the Hurricane Katrina
disaster.
Curtis, who's been dubbed a "folk-rock goddess" by The New Yorker, continues to push at her own musical boundaries and explore "the difficult edges of passing events" in life, harsh realities that are tempered with moments of fleeting beauty. Her sound, like the subject matter, tends toward authentic, raw, warm. "There's a lot of texture to my music that makes you feel like you're really close to it," she explains.
In 2009, Curtis performed at the HRC Equality Ball in celebration of President Barack Obama
’s inauguration, along with Cyndi Lauper
, Melissa Etheridge
, Rufus Wainwright
and Thelma Houston
. In 2010, she performed at the White House.
Through this initiative, Catie has raised tens of thousands of dollars directly through her fan base, bestowing guitars to many aspiring musicians, as an unexpected gift, to convey the confidence that comes from someone believing in them. By equipping these underprivileged youth with the right tools, it is Catie’s goal that they will learn to make music and find the way to a better life.
Curtis became ordained to officiate weddings in 2010.
— All Music Guide
“Seventeen caught up with singer/songwriter Catie Curtis, whose songs have been featured on TV shows including Desperate Housewives and Alias, as she gets ready to release her ninth album, Sweet Life. She's also in the midst of the launch of her new charity initiative, "Aspire to Inspire"!”
— Seventeen Magazine
“There's a sophisticated simplicity about Curtis's singing and songwriting that brings to mind Suzanne Vega.”
— Rhythms Magazine (Australia)
“Curtis's songs are beautifully and deceptively well crafted, her production tastefully understated, and her singing so heartbreakingly pure, pained, and devoid of artifice as to suggest she knows not only your secrets, but your soul.”
— Alanna Nash, Amazon.com
“Any fool can write a love-gone wrong song; it takes a real genius to write a love-gone-right one. No urban songwriter does that better than Curtis." - BOSTON GLOBE”
— Scott Alarik, Boston Globe
“With a clear, deceptively gentle voice, she can turn on a dime and thrill the listener with unforeseen power and emotion.”
— RollingStone.com
“Folk-rock goddess”
— The New Yorker
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
. Her music has been categorized in several genres, including pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, alternative country
Alternative country
Alternative country is a loosely defined sub-genre of country music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop country music...
, indie and folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
. She has recorded 11 CDs. The most recent, Stretch Limousine On Fire, will be released in August 2011 on Compass Records.
Early life
Catie Curtis was raised in the small city of Saco, MaineSaco, Maine
Saco is a city in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 18,482 at the 2010 census. It is home to Ferry Beach State Park, Funtown Splashtown USA, Thornton Academy, as well as General Dynamics Armament Systems , a subsidiary of the defense contractor General Dynamics...
. At age 15, she played drums professionally for a local theater company. In her late teens she was chosen to perform with Journey
Journey (band)
Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between the 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded...
on their hit song "I Want to Know What Love Is." She graduated from Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
in Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
with a degree in history and moved to Boston, Massachusetts for the thriving folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
circuit.
Career
Curtis was discovered performing at the Bottom LineBottom Line
The Bottom Line was a music venue at 15 West Fourth Street between Mercer Street and Greene Street in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City...
in NYC and promptly signed to EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
/Guardian Records. Her debut, Truth From Lies, was released in 1996. She has gone on to release 11 CDs and tour internationally, headlining clubs and theaters and appearing on stage with Mary Chapin Carpenter
Mary Chapin Carpenter
Mary Chapin Carpenter is an American folk and country music artist. Carpenter spent several years singing in Washington, D.C. clubs before signing in the late 1980s with Columbia Records, who marketed her as a country singer...
, Dar Williams
Dar Williams
Dar Williams is an American singer-songwriter specializing in pop folk.She is a frequent performer at folk festivals and has toured with such artists as Mary Chapin Carpenter, Patty Griffin, Ani DiFranco, The Nields, Shawn Colvin, Girlyman, Joan Baez, and Catie Curtis.-Biography:Williams was born...
, Patty Griffin
Patty Griffin
Patty Griffin, born Patricia Jean Griffin, March 16, 1964, is an American Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter and musician. She is especially known for her down-home crafting of songs and her connection to musicians including Emmylou Harris, Ellis Paul, and the Dixie Chicks, who have played with...
and Melissa Ferrick
Melissa Ferrick
-Early life:Ferrick was raised in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Herfather John was a well-liked public school teacher who managed several free-jazz bands on the side. As a child, Ferrick would often accompany her father to clubs on Boston's North Shore to watch the bands play. She began taking...
among others.
Her songs have been featured in Alias, Dawson's Creek, Felicity and Chicago Hope, as well as in several independent films. She won the Best Album Award from the Gay and Lesbian American Music Awards for her self-titled 1997 album. In 2005, she and Mark Erelli
Mark Erelli
Mark Erelli is an American folk singer/songwriter from Reading, Massachusetts. He currently resides in Massachusetts. Erelli is a 1996 graduate of Bates College, where he majored in Biology, and holds a Master's Degree in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Massachusetts...
won the Grand Prize in the International Songwriting Competition for their song People Look Around, a song written in response to the Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
disaster.
Curtis, who's been dubbed a "folk-rock goddess" by The New Yorker, continues to push at her own musical boundaries and explore "the difficult edges of passing events" in life, harsh realities that are tempered with moments of fleeting beauty. Her sound, like the subject matter, tends toward authentic, raw, warm. "There's a lot of texture to my music that makes you feel like you're really close to it," she explains.
In 2009, Curtis performed at the HRC Equality Ball in celebration of President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
’s inauguration, along with Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
, Melissa Etheridge
Melissa Etheridge
Melissa Lou Etheridge is an American rock singer-songwriter and musician.Etheridge is known for her mixture of confessional lyrics, pop-based folk-rock, and raspy, smoky vocals...
, Rufus Wainwright
Rufus Wainwright
Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...
and Thelma Houston
Thelma Houston
Thelma Houston is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She scored a number-one hit in 1976 with her cover version of the song "Don't Leave Me This Way", which won the 1978 Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.-Early life & career:Houston is the daughter of a cotton picking mother...
. In 2010, she performed at the White House.
Philanthropy
At the age of 15, Catie was given the gift of a used guitar on the premise that she promise to learn to play it. Through this act of generosity and the lesson Catie learned about “paying it forward,” she since has launched the “Aspire to Inspire” guitar initiative to provide continuous, ongoing funding for the ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) Foundation so that guitars can be given to budding young musicians who cannot afford to buy their own.Through this initiative, Catie has raised tens of thousands of dollars directly through her fan base, bestowing guitars to many aspiring musicians, as an unexpected gift, to convey the confidence that comes from someone believing in them. By equipping these underprivileged youth with the right tools, it is Catie’s goal that they will learn to make music and find the way to a better life.
Personal life
Catie Curtis is married to Liz Marshall. They live in Newton, Massachusetts, with their two daughters Lucy and Celia, and a 10 year old pug named Sam. Inspired by a commitment to marriage equalityMarriage Equality
Marriage Equality USA is an organization working for marriage equality for all non-heterosexual couples. The group works by doing public education and outreach, media campaigns and holding visibility events. Marriage Equality, Inc...
Curtis became ordained to officiate weddings in 2010.
Reviews
“Singer-songwriter Catie Curtis is one of those rare talents: someone who can spin compelling, interesting and engaging music out of domestic happiness.... Highly recommended.”— All Music Guide
“Seventeen caught up with singer/songwriter Catie Curtis, whose songs have been featured on TV shows including Desperate Housewives and Alias, as she gets ready to release her ninth album, Sweet Life. She's also in the midst of the launch of her new charity initiative, "Aspire to Inspire"!”
— Seventeen Magazine
“There's a sophisticated simplicity about Curtis's singing and songwriting that brings to mind Suzanne Vega.”
— Rhythms Magazine (Australia)
“Curtis's songs are beautifully and deceptively well crafted, her production tastefully understated, and her singing so heartbreakingly pure, pained, and devoid of artifice as to suggest she knows not only your secrets, but your soul.”
— Alanna Nash, Amazon.com
“Any fool can write a love-gone wrong song; it takes a real genius to write a love-gone-right one. No urban songwriter does that better than Curtis." - BOSTON GLOBE”
— Scott Alarik, Boston Globe
“With a clear, deceptively gentle voice, she can turn on a dime and thrill the listener with unforeseen power and emotion.”
— RollingStone.com
“Folk-rock goddess”
— The New Yorker
Discography
- Truth From Lies (1995)
- Catie Curtis (1997)
- A Crash Course In RosesA Crash Course in Roses- Personnel :* Catie Curtis – Vocals, producer, Wurlitzer, acoustic guitar, piano* Michael Maxwell – gut string guitar* Hugh McCracken – harmonica* Sammy Merendino – tambourine, drum programming* Catherine Russell – gut string guitar...
(1999) - My Shirt Looks Good On You (2001)
- Acoustic Valentine (2003)
- From Years to Hours ... The Early Recordings (2003)
- Dreaming in Romance Languages (2004)
- Long Night Moon (2006)
- Sweet Life (2008)
- Hello, Stranger (2009)
- Stretch Limousine on Fire (2011)
Awards
- 1997 Album of the Year, Gay and Lesbian American Music Awards for Catie Curtis CD
- 2002 Boston Music Award, Song of the Year on Indie Label for Kiss that Counted
- 2008 Sweet Life named one of Top Ten CDs of the year by WUMB Radio
- 2006 Grand Prize, International Songwriting CompetitionInternational Songwriting CompetitionThe International Songwriting Competition is an annual song contest based in Nashville, TN, whose mission is to provide the opportunity for both aspiring and established songwriters to have their songs heard in a professional, international arena. ISC is designed to nurture the musical talent of...
for People Look Around