Katie was recommended to me by my friend, Nick Vincent, with whom I’ve done the Nilsson Tribute shows. Most recently he did the arrangement for “Nevertheless” for the 8th Annual show. (See it here.)
Katie, it turns out was part of Kenny Burrell’s 85th birthday concert, which gives us something in common, as I sang with him at the 75th and 80th!
She’ll be solo on the 6th, and here’s how she describes her music:
Katie Ward imagines a world in which jazz harmony and glittery synthesizers enmesh in a dreamy balancing act of consonance and dissonance. At times her musical world is chaotic and challenging, but it is matched with a lyrical sincerity that is unabashedly girly and whimsical. She aims to push musical boundaries as far as possible without straying from an emotional core.
Gary is someone I find a delight to be around! His voice is pure and his songs are witty, poignant, and effortlessly musical. I’m exited to have him join us on the 6th for a set.
Read some about him below:
GARY STOCKDALE is a 2-time Emmy-nominated composer, songwriter and singer who composed music for many TV shows and films, including Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Penn & Teller: Bullshit, Spongebob Squarepants, and The Aristocrats (not to be confused with the AristoCATS – this is the one about the world’s dirtiest joke told by the world’s funniest comedians). For some of these, he also wrote and was the primary vocalist on original songs. He was also the composer and Musical Director for the Emmy-nominated Penn & Teller’s Sin City Spectacular, one of the last true TV variety shows. Gary won a BMI Award for Music Composition for his work on the Penn & Teller show.
As a veteran studio singer, his voice can be heard on The Prince of Egypt, Star Wars: Rogue One, Star Trek: Beyond, The Spongebob Squarepants Movie, The Simpsons, & Family Guy. He has sung with Justin Timberlake, Adele, Aaron Neville, Neil Young, David Crosby & Johnny Mathis, and backed up Mary J. Blige on the 2018 Oscars. Gary’s onscreen performances include a featured solo in the cult-classic musical TV seriesCop/Rock, a lead vocal in the film Lucy In The Sky (as a singing Shriner), a singing retiree in the first episode of B Positive, as well as wearing a pink choir robe, backing up Camila Cabello on the Ellen show in 2019.
With Spencer Green, Gary co-wrote the irreverent adult musical BUKOWSICAL, which won Outstanding Musical at the2007 NewYorkInternationalFringeFestival. Gary also composed the score for the original Off-Broadway productionof PLAYDEAD, directed and co-written by Teller. He was the original keyboard player in the BrianSetzerOrchestra.
Gary’s latest record, Keep Letting Go was released in 2018. After working with Gary, award-winning songwriters Barry Mann & Cynthia Weill (You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’, Somewhere Out There) called Gary “…one of the greatest singers on the planet.” That quote sure looks nice on a bio!
