Katrina Parker

**2006 Southern California Music Award nominee for "Best Female" **Showcasing artist and panelist at 2006 Millenium Music Conference (Harrisburg, PA) **Semi-Finalist in 2006 Independent Music World Series **Showcasing artist at 2006 Diversafest (Tulsa, OK) **Songs played on KCRW Broadband, L.A.'s 104.7 Indie IRadio, and RadioioACOUSTIC among others ...Only Dreaming is an EP that incorporates a dreamy intimacy into adult pop music, reminding the listener of Madeline Peyroux, Imogen Heap, or some of Feist's works...These six songs contain romance, hopefulness, wistful longing, and a search for faith. The first listen hit me hard enough that I had to give it a few more tries so as not to go overboard on this one. If Katrina Parker has more songs in her, Only Dreaming may be the start of something very, very big. - Phantom Tollbooth, Brian A. Smith Only Dreaming is an absolutely stunning EP that puts the focus squarely where it should be, on [Katrina] Parker's obviously trained vocal and piano and work. Parker is probably the best non-major label vocalist I have ever heard. Her voice is sultry and commanding and inviting without even the slightest hint of pretentiousness...This is an amazing EP that fans of singer/songwriter, jazz, blues/lounge, and pretty much any other style of music can appreciate and enjoy. - Coffeehousetour.com, Mark Fisher These are just some of the things people have to say about Katrina Parker's current EP "Only Dreaming." Six songs recorded over a one year period in Los Angeles, CA and co-produced by award-winning composer Shaun Drew, "Only Dreaming" explores the myriad of mixed emotions associated with relationships between friends and lovers. The music is dreamy and intimate Alternative Pop; the voice is warm and inviting. Some of it's unabashedly romantic, some bittersweet, and some nostalgic. Currently you will find Katrina performing in the L.A. area at venues such as Genghis Cohen, The Viper Room Acoustic Lounge, Karma Coffeehouse, Room 5, and Masquer's Cabaret, connecting with her audience on a personal level with songs about love, loss, and life. In 2006 Katrina was nominated for a Southern California Music Award and showcased at the Millenium Music Conference in Harrisburg, PA and Diversafest in Tulsa, OK. Songs from "Only Dreaming" have been played on KCRW Broadband, L.A.s 104.7 FM iRadio, Radio Crystal BlueRadioioACOUSTIC, The Feminine Groove, and Hawaii radio show The Time Machine. In August of 2006, Katrina is adding programming/additional instrumentation to select live shows to bring even more energy and variety to her already stunning live performances (in the vein of Portishead, Jem, Imogene Heap, etc...). Go to www.katrinaparker.com for more...

From North Carolina to Nashville to LA, Katrina Parker has always had a gift for connecting to people with her voice and music. She began her career at a young age, singing and accompanying the choir at her family church in Holly Ridge, NC. Later, in high school, music became a tool for survival. I lived and breathed music. It was the only thing that helped me survive the Hell thats being a teenager. I remember spending hours playing and singing at home, creating my own world, trying to find some kind of peace for myself. During her college years in Nashville, TN, Katrina explored band life as a rock singer/songwriter, playing with an assorted group of musicians at local venues such as the Gibson Cafe, the End, 3rd & Lindsley, and the Ryman. Despite a rapidly growing fan base, she became quickly discontented with the Nashville scene. "I loved my time in Nashville and have a lot of appreciation for that experience, but eventually the boys club, small town mentality began to wear on me. I didnt know if I was coming or going and knew I needed a drastic change." Relocating to LA after completing her music degree in the Fall of 2000, Katrina found some much needed direction and inspiration. "During my college career, Id always pushed myself to do rock, something I considered to be largely anti-establishment, but the shoe just didnt fitAt one point in LA, a good friend introduced me to the music of Billie Holliday, and I found myself becoming more and more obsessed with standards... Frank, Ella , and of course Billie - the songs, the performances. There was a sincerity and lack of self-consciousness in those recordings I admired. They had an ability to interpret a song with style and grace, an idealism but also this underlying edge. It blew me away." Katrina's current sound is a direct result of her interest in the standards that so inspired her. "These songs are fairly mellow with no pretensions of being cool, which I think of as a badge of honor in today's ingenuous music climate. I wouldn't have been caught dead writing or playing like this years ago, but I've learned to embrace my softer side and give up trying to be all hip and angry and punk rock. After all, uncool is the new cool right?"

I'm currently playing acoustic shows and some solo shows with additional programming in the Southern CA area, and I'm hitting more of the West Coast in the next few months. I love playing live. It's pure catharsis and connection, a wonderful thing.

Billie Holiday, Hank Williams, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Edith Piaf, Dolly Parton, Etta James, Patty Griffin, Beth Orton, Jeff Buckley, Ed Harcourt, Jonatha Brooke, Over the Rhine, Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, Patsy Cline, Kenny Rogers, traditional hymns sung by my old church choir, Stacy Jagger (good friend and great artist), really good fucking movies, friendships, rainy nights, vodka gimlets (yes, sometimes being under the influence is its own brand of influence), my dad (more gusto than skill but the sheer power of that voice...), all the musicals I grew up watching - Annie, Funny Girl, the Sound of Music, Singing in the Rain...life in general...

Kurzweil SP88

Thanks for checking out my page and supporting independent music! Please see www.katrinaparker.com for more updates and links to purchase my current EP!