Kate likewise refuses to compartmentalize her life from her art, her spirituality from her humanity, or the calling of God from her identity. As such, her music possesses a raw emotional transparency that crosses all demographic boundaries and cuts deftly to the listeners heart. Kate is “…someone who can move you and soothe you in equal measure.” wrote Chris Willman of the L.A. Times. Kate began singing publicly at the age of four when she performed a duet at her local church. As she got older, she was asked to perform at other area congregations and soon was singing all around her hometown of San Diego, California. Kate sang her first television commercial at approximately ten years of age and went on to work in a variety of other regional commercials. At twenty-one, shortly after she moved to Los Angeles and began working in local clubs, Kate landed her first recording deal, with Word Records, and an impressive co-publishing/development deal with Sony Music Publishing. Kate has sung with Tonio K, Pierce Pettis, Christopher Williams, Michelle Pillar, Randy Stonehill, Mark Heard, The Choir, and FunderburkMiner. In 1992, she was named Female Acoustic Artist of the Year by the National Academy of Songwriters. She met lyricist Judie Lawson in 1994, and their friendship led to collaboration on a number of songs which became standards at their church, the Malibu Vineyard. Their song RESURRECT MY EYES was recorded by another early Malibu Vineyard duo, FunderburkMiner, on the ground-breaking “THE DWELLING PLACE” project. Kate then recorded her own album, “SACRED” in 1995 marking her entrance into the field of worship records. Three of the songs from “SACRED” were picked up the following year by Christian recording artist Kim Hill and included on her release “THE FIRE AGAIN,” two of which were released simultaneously as singles. By 1997, Kate found herself at a dramatic career crossroad. While the road to further music business success and celebrity stretched ahead and was seemingly hers for the taking, she couldn’t help noticing that her involvement with the music at church was becoming more meaningful and gratifying than anything represented by Hollywood. Her friend, and manager at the time, Susan Munao, sensing Kate’s growing tension, issued a challenge to her to make a decision about the vision for her career. Kate acknowledged that God was pointing toward a specific purpose for the talent He’d given her, and though nearly reluctant at first, she would ultimately refer to this new career focus as “the reason I was born.” Since that time, and in her inimitable style, she goes at it with everything she’s got, with no apologies, and no looking back. It had been while Kate and her husband, David, were serving for a few years as music directors for the Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Malibu in California, with the encouragement of pastor Dave Owen, that she was given the opportunity to pursue what would ultimately blend the whole of her artistic passion, and formidable musical gifts into the service of God’s purpose for modern worship music. The result has been nothing less than explosive, said by many to be like nothing they have ever experienced. 1999 would be a year of both triumph and tragedy for Kate. She would produce two very significant albums in the same year, but she’d also lose her mother to brain cancer. Upon learning of her mother’s terminal prognosis, Kate wanted to comfort her by recording a tape of herself singing her mom’s favorite hymns. But, as they discovered mom’s health was deteriorating more rapidly than predicted, it was also learned that countless doctor bills were falling through the cracks of the insurance system, threatening to leave her Dad not only devastated by loss, but also strapped with enormous unpaid medical bills. Kate immediately went on the offensive and pulled several music biz friends together to instead produce a full fledged CD, “Old Hymns My Mom Loves.” She finished it in time for her mom to hear it round the clock during her final days. Then in the months after she passed away, sales from the CD produced enough money to pay off the entire outstanding balance of medical bills. As a benevolence project, it was a complete success, but it also serves as a loving tribute to her mother and the legacy of spiritual foundation she passed to her kids. Just two short months later, Kate began preproduction on what would become her most passionate and definitive worship recording to date, “Live From the Sunset Strip.” Recorded completely live at the Roxy Theater in Hollywood, it quickly became a landmark worship album with acclaim that was nearly unprecedented in its unanimous praise by critics and fans alike. From this record, a groundswell began. Kate’s song, “Jesus You Are Holy”, was picked up by Worship Leader Magazine (January 2000) for their Song Discovery CD. Then again, their February issue featured “We Believe”. While “Carry Me” and “Jesus, You Are Holy” are fast becoming favorites with churches around the country, worship recording artists like Rita Springer and others are including songs from “Live” on their own CDs. In September of 2001, she independently released a collection of tracks recorded between 1989 to 1999, all previously unreleased, that chronicle her career trek thus far. She calls it, “the journey that led to ‘Live’” and wittily entitled it “These Could’ve Been My Greatest Hits.” Kate is a front runner in worship leading and is especially excited as the number of female worship leaders continues to grow around the world. With a nod of respect to the interesting and unusual road she’s traveled, she remains focused on being a wife, a mother, and an artist. In it all, she is surrendered, faithful and passionate. |
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