"What's New, Kitty?"
Check out Kitty's gig schedules, announcements and updates on her Logbook.

"Listen to Kitty's song, The Mighty Mississippi. This isn't blues, this is the voice of hope and should be the anthem of the world. Thanks Kitty for allowing us first listen... She's pretty special indeed." Tweed, Tweed's Blues.

Kitty West has been a part of the professional music world for over 30 years. She's performed all over the United States and Europe, including Hamburg Germany where she performed with a 50 voice choir and jazz orchestra, Davos Switzerland during the World Economic Conference, Bermuda, The Virgin Islands and Canada.

Her music is a blend of endless influences, an evolution of her 50 years on Planet Earth. She can't remember ever NOT being a musician. In a conversation describing her first moment of musical awareness, she says, "I reached my arm way up over my head so I could touch the piano keys. The sounds fastinated me. I somehow managed to push down two keys at once, hearing for the first time, HARMONY . I will never forget the passion that welled up inside of me. All I could think was I WANT THAT! At the time I was barely 2 years old."

"That feeling is as fresh today as it was 48 years ago", she says, " I STILL want THAT!"

Kitty has had a good many invitations into the "star world" but has always opted for her freedom of expression, something she would have had to compromise if she had signed with a major label.

Busy juggling road performances and family life, Kitty did not begin recording until 1991 when she put out her first tape entitled "Keep Believing", The title song "Keep Believing" is in refrence to the life of John Lennon and the inspiration he lent to her. "John was a believable character. He was far from perfect, but he had such a wonderful way of getting up after his falls. I have never needed examles of perfection in my life as much as I have needed to see how to carry on after mistakes." "For Each Other", Kitty's 2nd recording done in 1998, is a musical celebration of life in Eastern North Carolina, where she's lived for over 30 years. Included on this CD are the voices of 70 area children ("Rise and Shine"), and a large group of musician friends.

Kitty is finishing up her 3rd release, due out in the next few months, as well as a memorial CD in honor of Nathan Upchurch, a beloved friend of many on the coast.

Kitty spends a lot of time working with children, helping to give them a musical way to express their feelings. She delevoped her "Expression Through Music" program in Switzerland and it has been taught in recreation departments, schools, Boys and Girls Club, and supported by the Arts Council of Carteret County.

Some Major Music Influences: Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Arlo Guthrie, Woody Guthrie, Tom Cockran, Roger Mcguinn, The Moody Blues, Nils Lofgren, Jefferson Airplane/Starship, Bessie Smith, Etta James, Robert Johnson, Poco, Tracy Nelson, Kate Wolf, Fleetwood Mac, and The Singing Nun. (heehee)

Some Of Today's favorites: Arlo Guthrie, Sarah Lee Guthrie, Johnny Irion, Xavier, Counting Crows, Lightning Wells, Allison King, GooGoo Dolls, Andy Boller, Mary Black, The Fureys, Lucinda Williams, Nanci Griffith and October Project

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