FIRST CHILD
Questions asked by Jon Wilde, added to Rock Realms 25th February 2010.
First Child is a German rock/alternative band formed and led by bass player/singer 'Cat The Cat'. Latest album Queen Of Hearts, the band's 2nd, was recently reviewed on Rock Realms.
We caught up with Cat for a little chat about this and that...
Hi Cat, thanks for taking a moment to answer these questions. Hope you are well?
Cat: Yeah!! And thank you too...
How and when did you first get into singing and bass playing?
Cat: My parents encouraged me. I took keyboard lessons when I was very young. When I was 7 years old I was booked as a singer for a commercial spot for a big toy company. At the age of 12 I started playing guitar but then I found out that playing bass and singing was what I wanted - and it was a lot of fun!
Do you come from a musical family?
Cat: Yes, my father is a musician, composer, arranger and producer.
Who were your early singing heroes and inspirations?
Cat: David Coverdale, Ronni James Dio and I listened a lot to the early Queen Songs - 'Sheer Heart Attack' and 'A Night at the Opera'.
Same with the bass: who inspired your playing style?
Cat: The main focus in music for me was the voice and I wanted to play guitar or bass while singing. I was inspired by guys like Glenn Hughes and Doug Pinnick (Kings X).
What bass do you normally play, or do you have a number of different makes and models?
Cat: I normally play a Rickenbacker 4012 and Fender Amp. I am faithful to this set-up.
Do you play any other instruments?
Cat: Yes I play guitar, mostly acoustic guitar and a little bit of piano. I use the piano for songwriting.
How and when did First Child begin?
Cat: We started the project in 2003 and had our first release in February 2006 with the album "Souvenirs". In 2009 "Queen of Hearts" was released.
Were you tempted to just be a solo artist, or was there a good reason to front an actual band?
Cat: I'm a team player and I love to be on the road with a band. The studio production and the live production are different line ups. We work with drum programming in the studio and Buddy S. and Stephan Preussner play the shows live on stage.
Have you performed in any other bands we may have heard of?
Cat: No. I've always been the First Child.
Where did the name First Child come from?
Cat: I'm the first born in our family...
On the same note, how did you end up being called Cat The Cat?
Cat: It's just a nickname. Cat is a short form of my birth name…but that's still a little secret.
Guitarist Buddy S looks very similar to musical UK comedian Bill Bailey. Are they secretly related? ;)
Cat: No, they are not. But being on tour with Buddy is a blast. When he's not making music he's talking... telling jokes and stories. It never gets boring with him.
There’s a lot of strong imagery, both in the title and cover art of latest album Queen Of Hearts. Is there a concept behind the lyrics too, or are the tracks on the album standalone songs?
Cat: Yes we had the idea of this gambling thing. I was completely fascinated when Mary had the song idea of “Queen of Hearts”. I knew this had to be the name of the album. I love this phrase “I've been with Jacks and Kings if you know what I mean”. To me it contains a lot of rock 'n' roll.
How long did the album take to create from first discussions to the finished product?
Cat: It took about 1 year.
How does the creative process work, both in terms of writing and studio work? Do you do most of the work yourself or is everyone involved?
Cat: The band lineup and the studio production are completely different. There's the songwriter team. It's Mary Susan Applegate, Clark Philipps and me, Cat. We don't physically write together. Everyone brings in their song ideas and then we figure out which idea works. I come with my guitar into the studio and present my ideas and Clark produces his ideas and then we see what we like and don’t.
How does the sound and song quality on Queen Of Hearts compare with your other releases?
Cat: Unlike Souvenirs, Queen of Hearts was produced in 24 bit. We were able to use a few more tube amps, more VOX AC 30 and a FENDER mit 4 Jensen Speakers as well as the Marshall. Also a GIBSON-Acoustic and, in addition to the Rickenbacker 330 and Les Paul, a nice Fender Tele and a Strat. But we didn't use the Jackson, which was on Souvenirs We used a NEUMANN M149 as well as a NEVE-Filter and the legendary 1176-Compressor for the vocals.
Taking in all of these factors the whole impression was more vintage than it was with Souvenirs. And that was the goal - more end of 60's and early 70's. That's what we had in mind when we started writing for it.
Do you have any favourite moments on the album? Ours would have to be ’What We Are Fighting For’.
Cat: 'What We Are Fighting For’ is one my favourites too. I love the lyrics and I think its production is very detailed. I also love 'Every Bullet' and 'Rock This Town'. Every song has an atmosphere and I need every song for all my moods. They are not like babies to me, they are like mirrors. Every face has its own Face in the Mirror.
You really mix the styles up a lot on Queen Of Hearts. Compare the title track with, say, ‘When I Dream’ and they have vastly different approaches. Is that variety important for you?
Cat: Definitely! As far as the songs went, we picked up where Souvenirs left off, We had a follow up number for every track on Souvenirs as well as few bonus tracks, because we really liked all of the songs and didn't want to leave any of them out. And this time we didn't include any remakes. But a lot of people didn't get the idea of the variety, which really doesn't concern me because, as an artist, I have to be able to show what I can do. That's passion. And I think it brought my vocals up a few notches.
The background vocals are a lot more detailed on Queen of Hearts as well. I worked closer with Mary this time and was able to incorporate my ideas even more. That applies to the composing of the songs too. All in all, both albums are well-balanced and round, despite the never-ending process of learning and developing...
Do you like to have no limits in what you do, or is it still important to have boundaries when you’re making an album?
Cat: I love trying new styles and having new vocal goals. I mean doing 10 albums with the same vocal style just because the people are familiar with it makes no sense to me. So we decided to do some hard rocking stuff and check out some new tunes and styles.
Do you do a lot of touring and playing live? If so, any chance we’ll see you play the UK?
Cat: Yes we are planning a European tour and are still looking for partners who want to rock with us. But we are on tour a lot this year in Germany and Austria...similar to last year.
What is a First Child gig like? What should fans expect from the band’s performance?
Cat: We party and its not black or white. Its like a rainbow. Its because of the different influences and song styles and we have manifold different moments…
Do you get many male groupies, or are they all too shy? :)
Cat: A lot are shy but a few are very committed. They give us overwhelming support and we appreciate them every time they're there. We have a lot of female fans that love rock music!
Does being an attractive female vocalist/bassist make life easier or harder in the rock industry?
Cat: I don’t know. I can see only my viewpoint in this case because I can't change the way I look. But I don't think it makes a big difference because in the end it's all about money to the industry and that doesn't interest me. I make music for the audience and the people who like our stuff. I'm not a Cat on a catwalk. I'm a musician.
Do you live the Rock ‘n’ Roll lifestyle?
Cat: Sometimes...
Anything else you would like to mention?
Cat: I can't wait to come to the UK on tour - and I want to thank all of our UK fans!!
Thanks again to Cat for her time. You can check out the Rock Realms review of First Child's latest album Queen Of Hearts here.
http://www.myspace.com/firstchildbassrock
