By Scott Pam
Katie Cathcart started on plastic drums when she was 4; Santa brought her a more realistic set when she was 6. “I knew that all I wanted to do was drum even when I was a kid,” said Cathcart in her band’s custom built rehearsal space in Bermuda Dunes.
Watching her hit the skins for one of the demo songs for her new band, one is reminded of the drumming greats that helped make their bands famous.
While some are no longer with us, like Keith Moon, many still remain to lead the way for drummers like Cathcart. She has the speed and accuracy of Neil Pert and the heavy hitting of John Bonham.
Bridger, Katie’s latest musical project, clearly traces its roots back to punk, heavy metal and more melodic rock while staking out its unique sound in the massive genre of “rock”. The riffs from the bass are followed by Cathcart in a very unique and distinct method. They are both super fast players, never missing a note while they match each other’s riffs through the songs.
“I hope that people are waiting for this sound,” said Cathcart when asked to describe the musical combinations that can be heard in the sound of this new band. The sound reflects the roots that her parents gave her. “Mom gave me the background in Black Sabbath and Dad gave me the background in Led Zeppelin.” While those roots are the basis for many bands, Bridger also gets a major chunk of its influences from punk. You can’t miss it.
Her brother, Jim Cathcart, plays guitar and is lead vocalist and writes lyrics for some of the songs they are recording. “Real Deal”, one of the songs demoed in her studio, has these lines, No time to make it right, Headed toward the light, Life slipping through my fingeerrrrrrss, as he describes not having regrets and wondering if the afterlife is real through the rest of the song.
Katie and Jim started their first band, Jekkel, when she was just 15 and the band has been going for 13 years. The band’s only official music video was shot here in the valley. Jekkel’s sound hearkens back to the days of CBGB’s, Max’s Kansas City, Heat and the other clubs in NYC when bands like The Plasmatics, Wayne County and the Electric Charis and other bands took the stage – power, speed, raw emotion and energy, and PUNK with capital letters.
Bridger is taking that energy and sound to a new level and adding some melodic rock to the mix. Bridger stakes out a new genre that is unique and fresh to the rock scene.
In 2010, Katie graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s in Music Business from USC and is working on her Master of Arts in Education. She says that working with kids is her second passion. “I hope to be teaching soon and will go where they need me. I must say however, I am impartial to elementary school. The students make you feel like a rock star and it is incredibly rewarding when they accomplish a learning goal and feel that way themselves.”
Currently Cathcart has one drum student, Cat S., a 7th grader who according to Katie, is a drummer to watch for ‘as she will be going places’.
Bridger is:
Jim Cathcart- Vocals and Guitar
Dan Wheat- Vocals and Bass Guitar,
Jacob Miller- Backup Vox and Lead Guitar
Katie Cathcart- Backup Vox and Drums
Look for the premier of Bridger in December with a location to be determined shortly.
