by Randy Wayne Belt (aka: Barley Station)
Previously Published as the Artist Spotlight in Starlight Music Chronicles
There’s no question that Katie Belle is someone with passionate songwriting vision. She knows how to bring the song right home and make you feel what she is feeling as if you were there listening in her own backyard in the U.S. state of Georgia. The song “Georgia Moon”, will potently make you drift off and make time stand still as you feel you are watching the world disappear just as in the lyrics: “All time stands still when your with me here – I’ll watch the world disappear – with you – under a Georgia Moon.” That part of the song will be stuck in your head forever, as well as the powerful lyric: “and the stars align when our hearts collide – in the clouds feels so right – with you – under a Georgia Moon.”
(To Hear it and buy it on iTunes click Here) and/or (To Hear the full version of Georgia Moon on YouTube Click Here)
The song will draw you in by its pure passionate believability. It is, in fact, about a direct experience, in the form of a much hoped for date/romance that ended up not coming to pass. But we’ll find out more about that in the interview. When you hear it, there will be no question that the artists truest emotions went into the writing and production of the song. “Georgia Moon” gives you a down home country feel as well, and stays relatively acoustical until the chorus… then a pulsing bass drum kicks in driving the song home.
Then the snare drum works its way in on the downbeat further driving the song home around the two minute mark. And shortly thereafter, a violin solo ( or fiddle solo, as we call it here in the country) smoothly rolls its way in – it a perfect fit, adding an extra romantic mood to the song in almost serenade fashion and providing the song with the perfect bridge.
The dynamics of this song make it, what I call, “a stayer”. It is something you could listen to again and again, and the more you listen, the more you like it and the more you feel it.
It is something that if it had the opportunity to go onto charts like Billboard’s Top 100, would find a nice comfortable place and just stay there inching it’s way up until it’s peak and then staying there a long time in that area.
Showing a musical maturity well beyond her years, it is clear that Katie Belle Akin will be around in the music industry for some time to come.
All she needs to do is never give up. If I could personally pass the country music torch of Taylor Swift to a new recipient, based on integrity, humility, likeablity, and pure talent, it goes to Katie Belle Akin.
Her consistency in good songwriting is verified by her other songs, particularly for me, her single, “Fallin For You” which is a very powerful melodic piece, and shows her flexibility in songwriting and vocal delivery. (Click here to listen to “Fallin For You” on YouTube)
Katie now holds the title of Miss US Nation Teen Georgia, and many kudos to her for using this as an opportunity to bring awareness to an important social issue, and one which is a topic that needs to be discussed more. Now, I normally don’t like to pull much from other interviews, but I feel this is a very important message, and before I go into my own interview with her, I am going to quote from Katie’s interview at the beginning of August on A.V.A. Live Radio where she talks about her participation in the Teen Nation Tour (TNT).
Katie writes: “Teen Tour…I have traveled and co-headlined with the Teen Nation Tour ( TNT) this is an anti-bully message tour which travels through out the US to mainly Middle schools and High Schools. I performed with this tour for 16 weeks between late 2012 to late 2014. I have been bullied in school , it started in kindergarten and continued on and off while I was in both private and public school. I suffered from depression and even contemplated suicide.
“I don’t try to hide these things because I feel it is important for others in similar situations to know its possible to overcome these hardships. Teen Nation Tour is a platform for sharing with teens and performing music , it was an incredible experience in many many ways. I have made some wonderful fans through this and am very grateful for having the opportunity.” (To Hear Katie on AVA Live Radio Click Here)
As you might guess, Katie is a very busy young lady and balances a very intense schedule, so catching up with her isn’t always easy, but I managed to catch up with her recently and I suppose since I’m on the topic of tours here, I guess I’ll start my first question in relation to touring!
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Interview
Randy: If you could tour with any other artist or group, what would your top 5 picks be?
Katie: Keith Urban, Sam Hunt, Hunter Hayes, Miranda Lambert, Zac Brown
Randy: Fantastic choices! And what artists/bands were you exposed to growing up and how did that impact the music you have been making and will make?
Katie: My parents are always listening to music; classic rock, jazz and pop rock and country. Music is associated with “setting a mood”, “feel good moments”, “memory making”… when I am songwriting I visualize the reaction my listeners may have, will it make them happy, will it evoke a memory…. This is the type of impact I strive for with my music.
Randy: Do you come from a musical family then? Anyone else involved in music in any way? I always ask this, if you don’t mind.
Katie: My family is artistic but not necessarily completely oriented toward music. My Aunt and Great Uncle are both artists, my mother has a very strong alto voice, my grandma and her grandfather were concert pianist… I am the first to be a singer/songwriter/performer..
Randy: That all counts. Is there a moment for you where you just KNEW you wanted to do music for a living? Tell me about that moment.
Katie: I have been enthralled with performing since I was in elementary school. I took dance from age 3 up through the 6th grade. In middle school I had to make my first major decisions on what to persue… it was either dance or my music. I had known in my heart for a few years music was a passion for me. I had my first songwriting session when I was 12 and literally fell in love with songwriting and the entire process of bringing a song alive through performance and recording.
Randy: Your song “Fallin For You” is one of my personal favorites – I am such a melody driven person. I love a great melody! When you look back on that song, how do you feel about it now?
Katie: “Fallin For You” was a venture in pulling in some R&B influences and producing it with a country influenced sound. I love this song and have it in my set list for most of my performances. My music originates from real life events and you know…. When a cute boy walks by…. What pops in your head??
Randy: I know what its like to hear your own song a million times and get sick of it, but after a break from it, it can give a refreshing view on it once again. Do you still like that song? Have you gone back and heard it again with a fresh perspective?
Katie: I still love this song, and if time allows it is always my set list!! As far as a fresh perspective, girls are always checkin’ out boys and it’s fun to have a song that speaks to those feelings you get when you are around someone you think is cute, sweet and makes your heart race.
Randy: What projects are you working on right now? I’ve heard rumors of a new EP possibly?
Katie: Since the release of my last EP “ Next Thing in Tennessee” in spring of 2014, I have been writing new music. I released “Georgia Moon” in April of 2015 as a single and this song has done real well. Plans for 2015/16 do include an EP or maybe a full album. Myself and my main co-writer in Nashville are still focused on composing additional songs for consideration for these projects. Also, I am always looking at TOP 40 hits to do re-mixes on and release as singles to give my fans fresh material. My team and I are working on a webisode series to incorporate the cover song LIVE sessions and song requests.. looking forward to getting that under way.
Randy: That sounds fascinating and engaging for sure! So, what song – out of the ones you already released/written, means the most to you? And why?
Katie: The song that means the most to me at this point in time is “Georgia Moon”. I wrote this about a summer romance that really never came to be. I had met a really nice guy at spring break in Florida. He is a Georgia boy but lived about 1 ½ hours from me. We talked and planned our first date, we were going to go fishing in the evening and stay out till the stars came out… well as the summer wore on I realized this was just not going to happen because our phones got farther and farther apart and he stopped calling me. The date never happened and that was the inspiration behind writing Georgia Moon.
Randy: That song is has such a romantic vibe to it, so I kind of wondered if that one would be the one that meant a lot when you wrote it. Are you planning any collaborations or duets?
Katie: I would love to do some collaborations/duets. I have been approached by several different male artists but the timing just haven’t worked out. Also, I am kind of picky about song choices and styles and branding awareness…so just haven’t met the right peoples to collab with
Randy: Yeah, people need to be aware of what style(s) that would work best. That’s great forethought! Now tell me, what has been the defining achievement of your musical career so far?
Katie: Every year I can reflect and choose something that in hindsight reveals itself as an achievement in my 4 ½- 5 years I have been dedicated to developing my music. This year I would say I am doing more shows where I am being compensated than “exposure” shows which generally offer no compensation. That has been great, but a bigger achievement has been the success of “Georgia Moon”. The song has received several nominations in a couple different awards shows as Song of The Year, Modern Country Song of The Year, and for me: Songwriter of The Year.
Randy: I saw and that’s great! So happy for you! As a recording artist myself, I always have to ask this question: What is the writing process like for you? What do you come up with first? Does it vary? Chords, a melodic progression, lyrics, etc.?
Katie: The writing process is not a “scheduled” thing, I always am writing down one liners, adjectives, chord ideas etc…. every day or sometimes just once a week. I rely on all these notes to get things flowing when in my “official” songwriting sessions which I mainly do in Nashville.
Randy: And when you write, do you write on guitar or piano? Or what? How does it work for you?
Katie: I am not a huge guitar player, I prefer keyboards so I work out my chords there first. I typically record to my phone to preserve the idea or my ipad.
Randy: Yeah the phone recorder comes in handy for sure. So speaking of phones and ipads, what’s in rotation on your own ipad… what music are you listening to right now? (like in the past few weeks or so)
Katie: I listen to everything! Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Lorde, T Swift, J Cole, Beyonce, Keith Urban, Classic Rock, Lana de Ray… the list goes on… if I hear a song I like I BUY IT!!
Randy: What do you consider the best album’s (as a whole) in the past 10 years?
Katie: I am a singles person: meaning I mainly purchase singles off of albums, so a few of my top favorites are: Zac Brown, Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, Eric Church, Dierks Bently, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood , Kayce Musgraves, Taylor Swift, Lorde, One Direction, Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks, Christina Aguilar, One Republic, ColdPlay, Ed Sheeran…
Randy: Well, I guess I’m an old school album guy but those are good choices and so varied. If you could play at any venue you wanted at least once in the entire world, where would it be?
Katie: My own hometown, a sold out show at Phillips Arena, and all my solid fans getting the best seats and box seats.
Randy: What words of advice or inspiration would you like to give to anyone who may have a dream to be a recording artist, or be a singer, or dancer, or really anything that is a dream to them?
Katie: If you get the bug-sting young like I did, get involved in musical theater, acting, dance and musical instrument, go to your local songwriter nites and sit in and absorb everything you can. Start songwriting….don’t be shy, get out there and around others who have gone before you. This is a long term thing if you want a career in the music industry…everyday do something… for adults who have that yearning to jump in I would think a lot of the same things apply.
Randy: Tell me about your best and/or worst most memorable live performance
Katie: My best performance: I traveled with Teen Nation Tour in 2012/13/14. I remember one Friday afternoon we were in Evansville Indiana and their first football game of the season was that night so the students were ready to be out of school for the day. I gave my talk about “self-worth” and started in on my original INVINCIBLE ( this song has a really good beat and the lyrics are empowering ) the students picked up on the beat and were clapping and stomping their feet , We all started dancing …my second song was 22 by T Swift and that just took them over the top,,,it was magical to have 2500+ students dancing, clapping, screaming etc…. My worst performance: there really isn’t one, I am a very positive person, “worst” is not in my vocabulary…. I try to learn from all my experiences… and love my audience whether its 5 people or hundreds of people.
Randy: That’s such a great attitude! The top 5 most important things in life to you are?
Katie: God , Family, Education ( including music ), Friends and Health ( I need to stay physically fit with my schedule )
Randy: Do you have any upcoming shows or events you’d like to tell about?
Katie: I am excited about 3 upcoming Red Carpet/Awards Shows: Women in RadioAtlanta, The Josie Radio Show Awards, Nashville and The International Music and Theater Awards, Atlanta. I am nominated along with my single “Georgia Moon” in multiple categories, several local shows are booked and my complete show schedule can be found on my Reverb Nation page.
Randy: What are you most appreciative of for all your successes thus far?
Katie: I am so appreciative of the help and support from my parents and I would not be in this stage of my music if it wasn’t for them. I hold in high honor their love and guidance along with the wisdom and love I receive from my relationship and prayer with God.
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Katie’s Social Links:
Website: www.katiebelleakin.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/katiebelleakin
Facebook: www.facebook.com/katiebelleakin
Twitter: www.twitter.com/katiebelleakin
You Tube: www.youtube.com/katiebelleakin
Reverbnation: https://www.reverbnation.com/musician/katiebelleakin
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