 Already a fixture on the NYC music scene, and legendary for
grabbing her career by the horns, Katrina Chester's newest vocal explorations
have everyone doing a double-take. Fusing blues roots with R&B groove and soul
force, Katrina Chester has invented her own brand of smooth, capturing a loyal
following at The Cutting Room, NYC's hottest new nightspot. The road to this
moment was winding, but somehow it all makes perfect sense.
"I still can't believe it, as I look back, at some of the
people that had been very normally at my home when I was a kid: Jim Croce, Patti
LaBelle, Burt Bacarach," Katrina Chester remembers, "Some of the great R&B and
soul legends were my father's colleagues and personal friends. My dad was my
first teacher and he groomed me with the likes of Etta James and Billie Holiday
from the very beginning." Naturally, for the daughter of one of the most
influential session drummers of the late 60's and early 70's, Katrina Chester
was in her first band at 12, ruled the NYC cover band circuit in her teens, and
unleashed her original music when most kids were worried about passing their
driver's test.
With all-original music, Katrina Chester's tornado-like
intensity and their agent's hard work booked the band Luxx into 300 dates a year
for three years across the USA and even overseas.
Katrina Chester's powerful voice drove Luxx's hard rock
sound, garnering them opening slots for Godsmack, 3 Doors Down, Fuel, and
Saliva. Luxx also co-headlined the Boston Locabazooka festival in front of
18,000 people. As the frontwoman for Luxx, Katrina Chester dove headfirst into
the business side of the music industry, directing a multi-state Street Team
that packed clubs with advance PR and radio saturation, managing the band when
it went independent, drumming up PR and radio support, and building an enviable
fan base. Her activities prompted many to dub her, "the hardest working woman in
music."
That work ethic and a unique vocal sound garnered Katrina
Chester guest spots on many platinum albums, including Godsmack's Awake
(Universal/Republic), and two double-platinum, Trans-Siberian Orchestra albums
(Atlantic Records), as well as two of their national tours.
In early 2002, Katrina auditioned for and won the lead role
in "Love, Janis", the smash musical about the life of Janis Joplin. Ian Hatton
(Bonham, Paul Rodgers, The Honeydrippers/Robert Plant), Katrina's writing
partner, remembers her opening night, "She blew me through the back of the
theater. I had seen her sing hundreds of times. But never like that." Katrina
concurs, "Singing the blues woke up something in me that I'd forgotten I had."
Everyone noticed. Katrina Chester won rave reviews. Within
two months, she had gotten more press for "Love, Janis" than any "name talent"
who had previously performed in the role. Katrina appeared on The Howard Stern
Show, WB Morning News, and Q 104.3. The "Love, Janis" producers even decided to
give Katrina her own "Saturday Night late show," with creative freedom. Katrina
Chester closed "Love, Janis" run on its final night in January 2003.
In many ways, "Janis" brought Katrina Chester home. "I was
five years old again," Katrina says, "I remembered everything I had forgotten. I
would leave the show so inspired, I just kept writing!" In many ways, Katrina
Chester has rediscovered herself by returning to where she began. "The Janis
show just brought me back to my roots, and it did the same for Ian--that blues
infusion and funky groove, which were the roots of my singing as well. It just
came so naturally once I got the chance to bite into those songs."
Katrina Chester honed her acting chops during her long run in
Love, Janis, and has parlayed that experience into other acting roles, most
recently on season 6 of the HBO smash Sex and the City.
Early in Katrina Chester's run in "Love, Janis", Ian Hatton
contacted Marty Fredrickson (writer/producer with Aerosmith, Faith Hill, and
many more) and the three penned Katrina Chester's first solo song "Who's Loving
You." The work, and its unique sound, grew into Katrina's first solo project,
co-written with Ian Hatton, whose work has sold over 1,000,000 albums. The team
has begun writing Katrina's as-yet-untitled solo album, slated for release in
2004. This is Katrina Chester!
Contact Grabow for more information or to book Katrina
Chester for your next corporate or private event.
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