Interview: Kate Voegele

We had the honor of recently interviewing Kate Voegele on the Verizon VIP Tour. We joined her tour bus to ask a few questions about her singing career, her fashion tastes, and of course her role on One Tree Hill. Here’s what she had to say:

Do you have any plans yet for your next single? And do you know if there will be a video for it?

I’m sure we’ll end up releasing another single and doing another video. At this point, I’m not really sure. The video for “Only Fooling Myself” just came out a couple weeks ago, the song definitely still has legs, and we’re trying to make it our song of the summer. But I’m sure soon enough we’ll all sit down and talk about what makes sense as the next single. That’s what is fun about it, you never have everything mapped out, what opportunities are going to come, or what song you’re going to write. So I’m looking forward to figuring it out, but it’s kind of a day at a time thing.

What is the craziest fan experience that you’ve had?

People are so awesome! It’s the coolest thing in the world for someone to be like, “I made you this!” People get so creative, and I get so many colorful, decorative letters and cool stuff. It’s awesome to know that people care, and that they’re inspired by your music enough to do that.

Crazy fan stuff though… I mean my fans are awesome, but my little sister did say she saw a fan lick the bus. Which that was… I mean I got to say, the outside of the bus, like any car or moving vehicle, you don’t want to lick it. It’s just not something you want to put your mouth on.

How has touring with Natasha Bedingfield been different than touring with Hanson?

They’ve both been such amazing experiences. It’s just great being on the road with people who are genuine, and Hanson… those guys are just some of the most real, cool guys you’ll ever meet. Natasha and The Veronicas are the same way… super down to earth and just so much fun.

It’s cool though because this tour has been like totally girl power with 3 female acts. Even though they’re are both girls and guys in the crowd, I think it’s cool for the girls to see young women pursuing their dreams and making it happen. It’s cool to have a tour with 3 strong female acts rocking it every night. Everyone is different enough musically, but it still works well together. It all flows well.

Definitely! Do you have any plans for any of your old EP’s to be available on iTunes?

You know, what’s funny about the old EP’s is I made them for the main purpose of showcasing for record labels in high school. I just wanted to get the right record deal and make a record that would be nationally released and distributed. I kind of cut my teeth in the spotlight in a lot of ways. I learned how to open up for a major act, by opening up for a major act. I didn’t practice very much playing coffee houses. I fell into all of this very early, and I gave my demos to everyone around Cleveland. My dad helped me put them together, and they just fell into the right hands. And then I was getting side-stage gigs with Counting Crows. But I’d never really played live before, so it freaked me out.

So yeah, I had all of these EP’s that got a lot of national attention, but they weren’t really intended to be released nationally. A lot of them are the same songs that are on my record, but it’s kind of a fun thing for those that were there from the beginning. I did sell them at my first shows. It’s cool for those fans to be like, “Hey I got the first version of Kate’s single!” And it’s really cool when fans come to the show, and they bring that EP. I’m like, “WHOA, you’ve been around forever!” Either that or they went on eBay [laughs].

I’m sure I’ll end up releasing a lot more music in my life, some old EP’s that weren’t on this album, maybe I’ll redo them and release them with the next album. I don’t know, but not the existing songs probably.

Yeah, a lot of people love “Where The Sidewalk Cracks”.

Yeah, that’s like an example. Maybe for my next album, I’ll decide that’s one of my stronger songs, and I’ll bust it out again, reproduce it, re-sing it… because I was 15 then, I sound like chipmunk on there [laughs]. It’s so funny. But yeah, it’s a definite possibility. It may be 15 years down the road. You never know.

Now do you have any plans for a second album yet, are you still completely focused on this one?

I definitely have plans for one. I’ve been writing like crazy. I’m never not writing. For me, writing comes from experiences and everyday life. And I’m having such an interesting everyday life right now that I can’t not be inspired. So I definitely have plans, but considering this one was just released this year it will probably be a little ways down the road before I go into the studio again. I’m pretty pumped about being on the road and touring and everything at this point.

How long have you know the members in your band? It seems like you’re pretty tight with them.

Oh yea. They rock. They’re like my brothers and sister. Sam, who is my lead guitar player, played on my first EP I did in Cleveland with a local producer who happened to play in a band with Sam, so that’s how I met him. We became really good friends, we grew up like 15 minutes away from each other, so we knew a lot of the same people.

Mark, my bass player, went to high school and church with me, so we’ve known each other for a long time too, but we had never really gotten to hang out because he was 3 or 4 years older than me in high school. After high school, you can be 20 and hang out with someone who is 30, and it just seems like you’re the same age. But in high school, it’s very much like “I’m a freshman, and these are my freshman friends!” So we just started playing music together, maybe 2 years ago.

Justin, my drummer, and I had been on tour together since the fall, he was playing with the Carry Brothers when we were on the Matt Nathanson tour and then the Ben Lee tour. He wasn’t playing with me, but we were all on the same bus together, so we got to be good friends. I got him to come be my drummer, and it rocks! And he was good friends with Jen, who is my keyboard player. I had always wondered what it would be like to have a girl in the band, because I’m a guy’s girl. So I was unsure, but Jen is the coolest chick in the world. She rocks, and it’s great to have the female backing vocals too. We had just met in March, but it’s been awesome. I feel like the whole band has really come together, and everything really vibes together.

What kind of music do you listen to?

Oh, my tastes are all over the map. I’m a huge fan of a lot of Alt-Country. I love Patty Griffin. She’s probably been my biggest influence. She’s just unbelievably talented. Ryan Adams, Wilco… I also loved Arcade Fire’s new album, and Stars.. I love Indie music. I love the new Against Me record, which is like totally different from all of that stuff. I just picked up the MGMT record, which is really cool… MIA… I’m like addicted to that MIA song right now. That crazy paper plane song! It’s crazy, but it’s so good!

I’m all over the map, but I think that creative people like to have a lot of different inspirations. If you just listen to the same genre and the same type of songs all the time, you’re going to get into a rut. I like for my inspiration to come from everywhere.

You always wear the coolest outfits.

Awe. Thank you!

You’re welcome! So I have to ask where do you shop?

I shop everywhere! This whole district is so cool (referring to Little Five Points in Atlanta, Georgia). We were walking around, and I was like, “Alright, I can’t spend any money.” In Atlanta, it’s great. In some cities that we go to there’s nothing around. So I can go a little shop crazy [laughs]. I don’t spend a lot of money on clothes, because at this point it’s kind of dumb. I love vintage clothes, thrift stores, and eclectic things that everyone else isn’t going to have. I also really love American Apparel. They have awesome basics and great colors. So I like stuff like that. I’m also a sucker for Betsey Johnson. She’s like… omigod [laughs]. Just crazy fun stuff like that. I also like Tory Burch, she’s got a really great taste for color and design.

I’m kind of all over the place honestly. That’s what is fun. I love boutiques and then random vintage stores. I love vintage boots. I have this pair of red cowboy boots I got in Haddam, Connecticut… 30 bucks… AWESOME red leather cowboy boots! I’ve worn them in so many significant times in my life, and I’ve only had them for a year. But I’ve had so many adventures in those boots. That’s what I love about shopping in different cities, you’ll always find something that reminds you of something, you know?

Do you like acting or singing more?

It’s a tough question because they’re both totally different things even though there are a lot of similarities, but I think that I will always primarily be a musician. I can’t imagine not writing songs, making records, and touring. So I think that will always be my main gig. But when I read the sides for One Tree Hill, I was like ‘omigosh, I have to get this role.’ It just really felt like me, so I think if the right role comes along again, I’d love to do more acting.

Are you going to be doing any more with One Tree Hill?

Right now they have time off, because they’re not shooting season 6 yet. They’ll start shooting again here in a couple months, so I’m sure I’ll be back doing more episodes. I’m so excited for them that they got another season.

How did you land that role?

It was this basically kind of out of nowhere thing. It was very random, and I think a lot of things in my career have been. Some of the best things are. I just went to a casting call. My manager thought that I really should go, they were looking for a female singer/songwriter/actress to play this role, and I told him he was crazy. I wasn’t an actress, I write songs, what are you talking about?! So I went, and I think it’s part of the reason I wasn’t even nervous at all, because I thought it was ridiculous, and there was no way I was going to get this role. However, they ended up finding what they were looking for and a couple weeks later I was shooting my first episode.

It was cool though, because I had to earn it. A lot of musicians just get things handed to them from their management from people who want to work with them, but it was cool to have to go in and audition. I would have never thought that I could have done that.

So that was your first acting experience?

Yeah pretty much… aside from stupid stuff in high school with musicals… you know stuff that doesn’t count at all. So yeah, I had no idea I could act [laughs].

What team are you on, Team Brucas or Team Leyton?

[Laughs] Well I have to say, because Mia is like best friends with Peyton, that’s she’s definitely Team Leyton. She’s the closest to Peyton on the show, she kind of took her in, and signed her to her label. They always have a great chemistry, they do a great job of writing their scenes. So yeah, definitely Team Leyton. Brooke Davis rocks, but I’m going with Peyton.

Did you really bond with any of the cast members?

Oh yeah, they’re all so awesome! It’s not like I expected them to be stand-offish, but I didn’t expect to make great friends. These are people that have been working together for 5 years, and I just expected them to be like, “Hey… there’s the new kid who has NEVER acted before.” But they were so welcoming and so cool! Hilarie really showed me the ropes, because I had no idea what was going on. So her, and Joy too were really sweet. I had a lot of scenes with them. A lot of the new characters too. Michaela McManus, who played Lindsay, became one of my really good friends. I loved Torrey DeVitto, who played Carrie. Everyone hated Carrie, but Torrey is such a sweetheart in real life. Lisa Goldstein, who plays Millicent, is awesome. Lee Norris is awesome. Sophia is like the sweetest person I’ve ever meet in my life. They’re all just like regular people. It’s really refreshing you know, being from the Midwest, I just appreciate normalcy. No one has gotten caught up in all of it. It’s very cool.

Did you ever watch the show before?

You know, I’d definitely seen it. I was familiar with it, because I grew up in that whole generation that was addicted to One Tree Hill, but I was so busy in high school that I never had time for TV. I caught it once and while though. It was one of those things where you would get addicted if you started watching it. So obviously, it was surreal for me to get that role and be on the set and see how it was all put together.

It was funny though because when I got the role, I was like I have to do my homework. And seriously, for like a whole week straight before I went to shoot, my friends would call me and be like, “You’re not still watching One Tree Hill are you?” And I was like, “I just got to see if Lucas and Peyton are going to get together, because he and Brooke are kind of on the rocks right now..” And they were like, “Wow.. seriously?”

It’s addicting though, it’s very well done. It’s a great show. So I’ve seen pretty much every episode, because I figured if I was going to be apart of the show, I needed to get into it. And it helped a lot, to know all of the characters and what all had happened.

Interview By: Emma Loggins

– Kate Voegele Official Site
– Kate Voegele Gallery