Penfold spreads good cheer with Sweetest Thing and live seasonal concert footage
Credit to Author: Shawn Conner| Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2019 19:04:54 +0000
Katherine Penfold
When: Dec. 13-14
Where: Good Noise Gospel Choir, three dates at Christ Church Cathedral
Tickets: Sold-out
The bad news: Vancouver’s Good News Gospel Choir’s annual holiday shows are sold-out. The good news: You’ll still be able to catch a Christmas concert by vocalist Katherine Penfold. The singer, who is performing with the choir, plans on posting live footage of her singing with her band on Dec. 18 (check out katherinepenfold.com or follow her on social media). We talked to the Sunshine Coast-based vocalist, who has been receiving positive reviews for the throwback ‘90s neo-soul sound of her new album Sweetest Thing, about the record, the show, and the Prairies.
Q: How much of Sweetest Thing was recorded in your home studio?
A: All of my singing and backup vocals. I had the musicians come into Demitone (a Vancouver recording studio) in September. I had it for a month. Once we were done with that, around December, my studio was meant to be done. I was building it through August. And then the wrong door arrived. And it was devastating because I needed to have this thing finished by the time we went into the studio in September. But it had to wait. Luckily, we got the right door. And that’s when the tracks came home. I can’t believe I have an album that I did in my own studio.
Q: So the studio was a DIY Project?
A: It was all me. My mom was my number-two. I never meant for her to be involved. I really love construction and woodworking. But I said I’m going to build this thing. And then one day she just started saying, ‘Well, when do we do this.’ And I said, ‘You don’t have to, it’s going to be a big project, I don’t want to break you.’ But she was excellent.
Q: You grew up in Manitoba, “in the middle of nowhere,” as your bio puts it.
A: In between the two big cities, Winnipeg and Brandon, there’s a town called Austin. There’s a steam engine up on a huge stand. We were about 20 minutes north of Austin down an old gravel road. The bus took about an hour every morning and evening to get to and from school. It was a real rural upbringing, but super cool.
Q: Is that where you were when the music bug hit you?
A: It was. But before that, we were living in Nova Scotia. So I was raised on the Rankin Family, the Barra MacNeils, Rita MacNeil, Anne Murray, who are all from Cape Breton and Newfoundland and all those wonderful gorgeous maritime communities that are so musical. There are photos of me when I was little with cardboard cutout replicas of bagpipes and fiddles. I would march around the living room playing along to whoever we were listening to. So, it’s always been there.
Q: What can you tell us about this concert you’ve recorded?
A: I had this idea to record these Christmas tunes that my band and I play together. They’re just so funky and fresh and fun. And my little side hobby is video production. So I decided to put together something with a bit of a live concert feel and we recorded it all. And I’m going to release that through my website on the 18th. So people can still see a Christmas concert before Christmas, no matter where they are. I’m really stoked to be able to share that. I feel like I’m missing out on a lot of people I would love to share some holiday vibes with.