In the Chair: She likes to Get Up & Go, she’s Kat Greta

In the Chair is a regular feature on Eventalaide, highlighting artists from across Australia and occasionally overseas. Everyone gets the same questions. It is just meant to be a bit of fun so please treat it as such.

Questions by Geoff Jenke
Photos: Michelle Grace Hunder

While Let It Go, and her upcoming EP Get Up & Go, may mark Kat Greta’s first official foray into the musical realm as an artist, her own backstory is lined with plenty of Aussie music royalty. Hailing from a big Italian, musical family, Kat’s own immersion into music comes as little surprise, with this Victorian powerhouse related to Nic and Chris Cester of Jet, Eugene Cester from TISM, Alf, Johnny, Jayney and Lydia Klimek and opera singer Christina Russo. With plenty of new material and live shows on the horizon, Kat has spent a lifetime around music, playing from an early age and being surrounded by various musical instruments growing up. And with 2022 culminating in Kat finally launching her solo project, this is only just the beginning for this compelling artist; and it’s a journey Kat is entirely ready for, as she concludes, “I am super excited to be releasing a new single and EP this year. It’s been a few years in the making and it’s been an incredible journey so far. It took me a really long time to work out my sound and style, and I did this in a backwards way – I made the recording before I got the band together. I’ve learnt a lot in the process. I am happy to be able to release my music with the confidence that this is the kind of artist that I am.”

Name: Name: KAT GRETA

Alias: Katrina Anderson

In less than 50 words describe your music and yourself.
I am a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, combining both retro and modern tones in my music. I love to play the drums on stage because it’s just so much fun. I have recently released my debut single ‘Let It Go’, followed by my EP ‘Get Up & Go’. 

What was the first record you bought with your own money and where from?
Silverchair’s Freak Show. What an album! I bought it with my own money from a Sanity store in Frankston. My older brother guided me towards rock music, and I remember playing the drums along to their songs through a CD player and big headphones when I was a kid. 

80’s or 90’s Music:
There’s some really great music that’s come from both decades. I don’t personally have a preference, but when it comes to my own music, I’m mainly inspired by the 80’s – INXS in particular.

What music are you currently listening to?
Fleetwood Mac, Rumours. I’ve got their record here which I’m playing over and over. Their songwriting is brilliant. I have enjoyed this album so much that I decided to cover one of their songs in our set. You’ll have to come down to a gig to see which one 😉 

The Best live artist/band you’ve seen:
I loved seeing Kiss in their “Farewell Tour” back in 2001. Ace Frehley threw his guitar pick out into the crowd, and guess who caught it???????? 😉  I remember them kicking off with “Detroit Rock City,” which is one of my favourite songs of theirs, and the energy remained high through their whole show.  

Your “In the mood for love” song:
Jeff Buckley’s version of Hallelujah. 

Your favourite Saturday night party record?
Oh, hard one! Maybe Jamiroquai’s Dynamite

Your favourite Sunday morning chill out record?
Bon Iver – For Emma Forever Ago

Which song do you wish you had written?
Can I pick three? … Bridge Over Troubled Water, God Only Knows, You’ve Got a Friend.

Roger Daltry once said “Rock N Roll has no future”. Do you agree with him?
No way!! Rock N Roll is making a huge comeback. I can feel it in my loins…. Can’t you? Let’s watch this space. 

Vinyl, CD or Streaming?
Vinyl. I got a record player for my birthday last year, and I’m enjoying it so much. There’s something so special about holding a record in your hands, taking special care of it, admiring the art and listening to it up loud. 

If you could record or play live with any artist (dead or alive), who would it be?
Kate Bush. Her voice is so unique, and I’ve written a song with her voice in mind. Ha! Could you imagine? I am a huge fan of her song ‘Wuthering Heights.’ 

What is the most useless talent you have?
Honking like a seal.

Your finest recorded moment?
You can hear it on my first amateur CD that I made with a friend back in year 12, ‘Your Fly’s Undone.’ The whole album is all kinds of inappropriate. I still can’t believe my school let us perform some of these songs at the Year 12 Valedictory. 

Who is your musical hero and what one question would you ask them?
Maybe Brian Wilson? I’d love to ask him what his process is in writing a song. He’s a musical genius. 

Dying, peacefully on your death bed, what song would you like to hear?
‘Somewhere,’ that beautiful song from West Side Story.  

Stuck on a desert island for a year and can only take three albums. What would they be?
Toto, The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac Rumours. 

Favourite all time movie:
I’m only JUST getting into Star Wars now as an adult. To pick one is hard. Right now, it’s Revenge of the Clones.  

If you drove an ice cream van, what music would you play?
The Wiggles

Best show you have ever played in your career:
Playing the piano down at the Aged Care facility where mum and dad now both live. They love listening to the old tunes.

Any backstage incident that makes you laugh?
That time that I was chased down and given a wedgie before going on stage. The deal was that whoever was given a wedgie had to do the whole show with it.

Neil Young or Paul McCartney?
Paul McCartney

Who is the nicest person in Rock n Roll at the moment?
Dave Grohl

What do you hope the next 12 months holds for you?
Continued opportunities to learn and grow as a musician and performer. I would love to write a full-length album and perform as much as possible. 

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Beats, grooves and husky delights lie in wait on the debut single Let It Go from dynamic drummer and songwriter Kat Greta. Featuring Melbourne’s Charlie Lane on vocals, Let It Go marks a rousing first look into Kat’s impending maiden EP Get Up & Go due out on Friday August 5; and the slick flavours of Let It Go can also be caught live in action in July and August, with Kat launching the EP with a live unveiling at The Workers Club in Fitzroy on Sunday August 28, with the EP available to grab on vinyl on the night.

Let It Go dazzles with modern 80s cool, with gleaming keys, driving beats and frolicking melodics barreling around the whiskey-soaked vocal stylings of Charlie Lane and Kat’s potent drum work throughout. Equally embracing vintage and modern tones in a sharp and simplistic arrangement, Let It Go fluidly embraces nods to the likes of 80s greats The Doors and INXS, alongside the melodic approaches of Carole King, The Beatles and Billy Joel. But while this modern-vintage hybrid has itself been years in the making, Kat also struck inspiration for Let It Go in seizing the day professionally and personally for her debut release, as she explains, “Let It Go is about letting go of what isn’t serving you well, and finding the courage to be free. Life is short. In this case for me, it was rediscovering the joy that playing the drums brings me. I had a gut feeling that there was a suppressed dream inside of me, and I just needed to take a leap of faith and find the courage to do it. Also, on a very personal note, my parents are both living with degenerative illnesses and it really brings home for me the notion that life is very short.”

Let It Go is out now.

Get Up & Go E.P is out now.

Live – SUN 28 AUG | THE WORKERS CLUB, FITZROY VIC | ALL AGES