GRIT, fronted by singer/songwriter Kat Meoz, has found a truly solid combination of quick guitars, devil-may-care bass grooves, and thrilling drum-work which holds on and doesn’t let go.
In this interview, we chat with Kat about music, influences, the new project, and more.
Q&A, links, and the video for New Car below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pxb_wI7Ni40
Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?
I started buying garage rock in the 7th grade. I’ve always been a sensitive soul, so the combination of loud drums, guitar, and smartly written lyrics at the volume of “nearly deafening” in my headphones, was the first thing to drowned out my insecurities and help me escape any day to day torture I endured at school or from my older brother.
What led you into this journey with music? And further, what drives you to push it out to the public?
So nerdy, but my ma says I always hummed before speaking. I came into this body, to earth, with songs already forming in my head. Everything that followed was as depressing and inspiring as it needed to be to drive me into the perfect butterfly effect that led me to finally pick up an electric guitar and put accompaniment to my words and melodies. I now live in Los Angeles alone, doing what I’ve always dreamed of. I instinctively yearn for people to have the opportunity to decide for themselves if they like my music or not.
Who or what influences your creativity? Have your tastes in music changed over time?
Frustration has influenced me the most, whether it be with myself or the souls I encounter. I wouldn’t say my taste has changed so much as I would say that I keep expanding on my personal brain-music library. Finding new genres, checking out artists I never got into, taking recommendations always.
Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?
I wanted the production quality of this EP to be outstanding, I brought in my favorite mixing engineer, Eric Weaver, to put his perfect dirty spin on the songs…HE SLAYED. I was reaching for something unforgettable. Is it possible to create an original sound these days, I wondered? I built on classic garage rock, incorporating hints of the blues with a pop writing structure and got as angry as I could with my vocals during the peaks and as clear as I could on the valleys. I wanted the hooks to be super catchy, and I insisted on blending a vintage Silvertone amp with a fairly new Vox AC15, and played a low-end hollow body Gretsch electromatic throughout the whole EP.
What was the last song you listened to?
My own (eesh, pulls on neckline of shirt) but in my defense, I’m currently writing this from my family reunion in Aruba and my 11 year old second cousin, Alexandra, wanted to listen to my music. She’s real cute, and uh, I couldn’t say no.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
Not gonna lie, it’s a ball buster that as my first EP is about to go global CDs have become somewhat obsolete, on the other hand vinyl is back with a vengeance. I recently hooked up to Led Zeppelin 1 on vinyl and knowing I was hooking up to vinyl made it that much better. I never thought I’d be releasing a 7 inch vinyl first instead of a CD. Kinda dreamy really. I think that mp3s are dope because they are so accessible.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
No preference I have 2/3 of those bad boys on my phone, but if you’re streaming music on Bandcamp you’re a flippin’ pioneer and I salute you.
Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what is the biggest challenge you face when trying to connect with or find new fans?
On the subject of connecting, boundaries I guess. I wanna engage but not over engage. I witnessed Pat Wilson being terrified by some of his bigger fans on the Weezer Cruise. I let them into his after party and I thought he was gonna kill me. Oops.
On finding, I’m doing what I can to play cool concerts with other musicians I admire. That’s a challenge in itself because GRIT is fairly new but I’m so excited to play at the Chinatown Moon Festival in LA on September 17th. The line up is killer and it’s a free show. I feel it’ll be a great outreach.
Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more music?
Great question, I’m on day 3 of a “media cleanse” currently. I decided when leaving America for the first time in years that I was gonna go 1999 on this bitch and turn my cell phone off completely. Seriously tho I’m having withdrawal because I’m in love with Instagram, especially since they ripped off el snapchato with that riveting new story feature. I am ga-ga for stories, can we please all follow @Nasa? Their stories rule and we’re going to Mars soon. ROYAL WE. Hmm, I just used a question about how to connect with GRIT to plug @Nasa, didn’t I? Yikes. Some people working with me will frown at that, but if there’s anything I believe it’s that there’s enough success to go around in the world. We can all win. I update the GRIT instagram and Facebook with links to live performances and shows constantly, would be jolly to start a dialogue with whomeva @gritnoise.
Anything else you’d like to add before signing off?
Nothing is out of reach. Go for it. Have fun each day.
