{"id":20066,"date":"2019-11-12T13:42:09","date_gmt":"2019-11-12T20:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyhinews.com\/?p=61478"},"modified":"2019-11-12T13:42:09","modified_gmt":"2019-11-12T20:42:09","slug":"steamboat-high-grad-kathleen-signs-record-deal-with-warner-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/local-news\/steamboat-high-grad-kathleen-signs-record-deal-with-warner-records\/","title":{"rendered":"Steamboat high grad Kathleen signs record deal with Warner Records"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Singer-songwriter Kathleen, who grew up in Steamboat Springs and formerly performed as Kate Brady, adds her name to the wall of Warner Records-signed artists, next to Regina Spektor’s signature.<\/strong>
Courtesy of Steven Ross<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS \u2014 Growing up in Steamboat Springs, Kathleen Brady Ross was always singing.<\/p>\n

She recalls being a 7-year-old on a summer camp trip to the pool, singing a song she\u2019d made up to her counselor \u2014 the song cut short by another camper\u2019s struggle to stay above water, and the counselor rushing to help.<\/p>\n

She remembers teachers\u2019 reminders of \u201cWe\u2019re taking a test now, so let\u2019s pause the singing,\u201d and her own surprised response: \u201cOh, I didn\u2019t even notice I was singing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ross \u2014 who went by Katie as a child \u2014 participated in theater and choirs through middle school. She skied with Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club, swam and played volleyball, tennis and lacrosse, but around the time she got to Steamboat Springs High School, she realized, \u201cI don\u2019t really want to do (the sports) anymore \u2014 I just want to write songs.\u201d<\/p>\n

And she did. As her friends became Olympians and professional athletes, Ross applied the same work ethic toward her music. Inspired by Carole King, James Taylor, Elton John, Van Morrison, The Eagles and Jackson Browne, she sang in choirs, acted in school plays and attended Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School and Camp several times. She taught herself piano and guitar, with a few formal lessons sprinkled along the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing surrounded by hard-working kids achieving big things \u2014 that sort of skill set easily translates into anything,\u201d Ross said.<\/p>\n

At Ross\u2019 graduation ceremony in 2012, she sang her original song \u201cSailing Ships\u201d to a standing ovation. Her next stop was University of Colorado Boulder. She considered applying to music conservatory, but she didn\u2019t because she wasn\u2019t classically trained.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a huge hurdle to go into a conservatory being self-taught,\u201d Ross said. \u201cI would have had to know theory and specialize in an instrument.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead, considering her affection for movies, she took some film classes, her favorites being the ones culminating in papers. Once the cameras and lenses came out, Ross realized her aversion to the technical side of film and quickly found the poetry track of the creative writing major.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt fostered a love of words and how to work with words and how every word matters,\u201d she said. \u201cIt taught me how to workshop.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

In 2016, as a college senior, Ross \u2014 performing under the name Kate Brady \u2014 was selected from a pool of 14,000 entries to be one of five finalists to perform at L.A.\u2019s The Troubadour as part of the Guitar Center Singer-Songwriter artist discovery program. With a performance of \u201cAugust,\u201d and \u201cSailing Ships,\u201d she won the grand prize: a four-song EP and studio time with Grammy Award-winning producer Ariel Rechtshaid, a mentoring songwriting session with City and Colour, a performance slot on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, a cash prize and more.<\/p>\n

After graduating from CU, Ross headed west to Los Angeles, where she became friends with a crew of singers and songwriters, and for two years, spent days on end in group writing sessions meant to grow songs to pitch to pop stars.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt like the grad school of songwriting,\u201d she said. While she found the writing sessions an interesting way to learn, the process was also defeating, with \u201calmost 100 percent of the songs going nowhere,\u201d she said. At the same time, she was babysitting, teaching music lessons, doing vocal work for commercials on a freelance basis and selling suitcases.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
Steamboat Springs-raised Kathleen is a self-taught singer-songwriter who recently signed a record deal with Warner Bros. Records.<\/strong>
courtesy of Kathleen<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI learned so much, but it was kind of breaking me,\u201d Ross said. She reconsidered her reasons for moving to L.A. and realized she didn\u2019t want to be writing for pop singers \u2014 she wanted to be writing songs to sing herself. And with that clarity, Ross was moving forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cI suddenly felt really confident again,\u201d Ross said. \u201cIt was like, \u2018I\u2019m an artist, and this is what I\u2019m doing,\u2019 and that attracts really good people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the past six months, Ross \u2014 now known as Kathleen \u2014 built up her team. She found a booking agent, who led her to her lawyers, who led her to a selection of managers, where she found her perfect managerial match: Ethan Schiff, CEO of Backbeat Management.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
Upon signing a record deal with Warner Records, Steamboat Springs-raised singer-songwriter Kathleen, second from left, poses with, from left, Warner Records CEO and Co-chairman Aaron Bay-Schuck, COO and Co-chairman Tom Corson and Executive Vice-President of Artists and Repertoire Nate Albert.<\/strong>
courtesy of Steven Ross<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re so great, they\u2019re the best,\u201d Ross said. \u201c(Ethan) totally gets it when I need to just go to Joshua Tree for a few days and figure out a song.\u201d<\/p>\n

From there, Ross and the team met with representatives of Warner Records (formerly Warner Bros. Records), which has been undergoing a radical company-wide revamp in the past year, with new leadership, new offices and an overhaul of the artist roster. After a whirlwind of conversations, meetings and negotiations \u2014 which proceeded extra quickly due to Ross\u2019 sizable stockpile of songs already written \u2014 the deal was done.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Ross announced she\u2019d signed with the label, becoming one of more than 30 new artists with the company. <\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone\u2019s really energized,\u201d she said. \u201cBasically, I guarantee (Warner Records) a couple albums, and they help me build out the art and the marketing and help get the songs heard. I\u2019m happy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very in charge of my art, which a lot of artists surprisingly aren\u2019t,\u201d she added. \u201cEveryone on my team trusts my vision a lot, and they trust me as a person.\u201d<\/p>\n

The deal also means Ross will be able to focus exclusively on her music.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m working seven jobs and trying to write songs, it\u2019s hard to put my brain all toward music, and (the songs) don\u2019t turn out how I want,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Ross\u2019 album reflects her life in that it\u2019s centered on the environment. Growing up in Steamboat, raised by a park ranger\/ski instructor mom and a dad who valued the outdoors, alongside a sister who\u2019d end up studying ecology, \u201ceverything is nature-based, and climate-focused to its core,\u201d Ross said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a difficult balance in art \u2014 you don\u2019t want to be preachy or ostracize,\u201d she noted. \u201cI want to be delicate about presenting that, and let everyone feel included.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ross describes the collection of songs expected to be on the album as an eclectic mix. Some songs are high-energy poppy with synthesizers; some are quieter, accompanied only by guitar; some are love songs; some are commentary; and some are experimental. A personal favorite of Ross\u2019 is \u201cAsking the Aspens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the next year and a half or so, songs will be released as EPs and singles \u2014 \u201clittle peppers of songs coming out,\u201d in Ross\u2019 words \u2014 to gauge audience response, which will determine details about upcoming concert dates and tours.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited to play these songs live, and see what people resonate with best,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s so informative.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team has also taken the first steps of putting music videos together, which will follow Ross\u2019 vision of lots of surrealist visuals and \u201cdreamy, crazy colors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ross and her team celebrated the partnership with a champagne toast, and of course, the ceremonial signing of the Warner Records wall, which all artists with the label sign. Alongside Warner Records CEO and Co-Chairman Aaron Bay-Schuck, COO and Co-Chairman Tom Corson, Executive Vice-President of Artist and Repertoire Nate Albert and her manager Ethan Schiff, Ross added her name right next to Regina Spektor\u2019s, whose music she\u2019d been listening to on the way over.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important, I think, to say, had I gotten signed 10 years ago, or five, it wouldn\u2019t have been right. I wouldn\u2019t have been as clear-minded about my direction, and I would have been squished by it,\u201d Ross reflected. \u201cBut now, I\u2019m ready to work with a label. I\u2019m stoked. It feels good, it feels right.\u201d<\/p>\n

And even in the midst of all the excitement of Ross\u2019 debut album, she\u2019s already writing songs for the next one.<\/p>\n

via:: Sky-Hi News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Singer-songwriter Kathleen, who grew up in Steamboat Springs and formerly performed as Kate Brady, adds her name to the wall of Warner Records-signed artists, next to Regina Spektor’s signature.Courtesy of Steven Ross STEAMBOAT SPRINGS \u2014 Growing up in Steamboat Springs, Kathleen Brady Ross was always singing. She recalls being a 7-year-old on a summer camp […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-20066","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-15 18:11:46","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KRKY Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20066\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}