KAT and the IT that can't be taught 
By Kayla K. 

For those of you who have not heard of her, KAT is a name that will be lighting up marquees very soon. With the release of her new EP 'Supergirl', a supportive team of fellow musicians, and the backing of reggae-rock guru Lewis Richards, Kat Nestel will surely do big things. I had a chance to catch up with Kat on Thursday, July 7 at her CD release party and concert. This event was held during "Surf Roots Thursdays” at Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach. This is a weekly event hosted by Resin Music so if you haven’t checked it out, you definitely should! 

Remedy for Kill and Sinizen opened up for Kat and their high energy and positive vibes were a great compliment to the excitement of this huge step in Kat’s career. Kat is no beginner to music, quite the opposite. She has been singing since she can remember, and has played a slew of instruments making her very well rounded musically. “My music has developed over the years, and it will continue to develop” explained Kat, “I used to be into the rave scene and that type of music, and now I would say that I have a pop-rock reggae ska sound.” 

 

Whatever you chose to label her sound, there is no denying that it has a captivating quality. Owner of 17th Street Records, Lewis Richards was able to pick up on her talent right away when he heard her singing at a neighbor’s house. “I heard Kat singing from my shower, and was like damn that bitch is loud! Super cheesy song but that voice was amazing so I told her to come to the studio.” Seemingly once Lew recognizes your talent, big success is in the near future as we have seen with the Dirty Heads, Seedless, Tomorrows Bad Seeds, and countless other bands that he has taken under his wing. Lew is a big character in the reggae scene and he considers the music he produces to be, “Surf roots-beachy but still rocking, something you can have a margarita to.” 

 

At the release party, Remedy for Kill and Sinizen showed their support for their friend Kat by performing, and also stayed optimistic that soon they too could be releasing an EP. Remedy for Kill also plans on recording at 17th Street Records with Lew in the near future. As a relatively new band together, Remedy for Kill explained, “ We just want to get our music out there to as many people as we can. We just play whatever we are feeling as a group in the moment.” Sinizen has similar goals to Remedy for Kill. They have already recorded with Lewis at 17th Street and had nothing but positive things to say about working with both Lew and Kat on the single “Crazy in Love”. There certainly seems to be a lot of love in the tight knit reggae community of Southern California, and it is difficult to ignore that while you would expect these bands to compete for stage time and popularity, instead they do nothing but compliment and endorse their fellow striving musicians. 

 

As Kat anxiously awaited going on stage, you could see her eyes light up. The star quality that she has was quite evident in her performance, as she was giddy and genuinely excited just to be able to sing and interact with her fans. Her high energy and love for music will no doubt lead her to success. Richards explained Kat quite well, “Everyone is looking for IT, and well Kat has IT.  “IT” can’t be taught.”