Meet Cate Carter | Singer & Songwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cate Carter and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cate, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
This is a very pointed question for me because about 6 months before I signed my lease in Los Angeles to become an artist, my plan was to move to New York and pursue a Masters in Social Work (MSW). I had been writing songs since I was six and even had a brief stint in a college musical theatre program, but by the time I was finishing my freshman year in college, I was convinced I was going to go to law school or become a therapist. I continued to sing because I loved it, and I continued to write songs because it helped me process the events in my life, but I thought my dreams of being an artist were behind me.

I fully intended to pursue an academic future until the spring of my senior year of college when I started picturing a life of 9-5s and paperwork. And though lives with those things can absolutely be fulfilling and beautiful, something deep inside me knew it wasn’t the life I am meant to live. It felt deeply wrong to continue on that path. When I looked around and took stock of who I was, there was one thing that was constant from childhood to young adulthood, and that was singing and songwriting.

I had every intention of having a “normal” career and life, but I think the life of an artist chose me as a child when I started writing music, as a teenager when I was auditioning for musical theatre programs, and again, despite my best efforts to push it away, as an adult moving into the professional world. I know that this career is always what I was meant to pursue and I am continually pushed in that direction as I continue on this path.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As I mentioned, since childhood, writing music has always been how I’ve processed my feelings. Because of that, my lyrics, while being fairly simple, express an honest catharsis that cannot exist in a song written by many writers. Plenty of great, chart-topping songs are written by teams, but I think the most truthful and emotional songs are written by one or two people. I’m sure that as I become more successful, I’ll be excited to collaborate with other writers, but what sets me apart now, is that all of my music is completely self-written. It is almost all autobiographical and I write songs in the moments I am truly feeling the feelings I want to communicate. I think that honesty and vulnerability is so clearly communicated through my lyrics and voice and that this authenticity is what sets me apart.

I can’t say getting to where I am now professionally was easy. The writing and making music is the easy part – that comes naturally to me. The hard part that continues to stop me in my tracks is the business and publicity side of my industry. To be a successful artist, you must also be an influencer, socialite, and comedian. The landscape of social media has completely changed this business and what it takes to be successful. There is no clear path and there is no easy way. I cannot honestly tell you I’ve overcome this challenge, but what I can tell you is that I have a lot of help trying. I’m learning that you cannot do anything alone, you need a team of people who support and believe in you to be successful. My team is small but growing and they’re helping me put myself out there online and make content to push what is truly important, my music.

I want the world to know that it is not my intention to be an influencer. There is nothing wrong with being one and I have the utmost respect for people who make that their career, especially now that I know how truly difficult it is to become and stay relevant. But I am not an influencer, and I never wanted to be one. I’ve always struggled with social media and I don’t see a world in which it is ever something that I enjoy or comes easily to me. What I am is an artist and a storyteller. I will always prioritize my art over creating content and I will never be shy about how difficult it is for me to fill the role of artist/influencer. What I am most proud of are the songs, essays, videos, and performances I put out into the world and I can only hope those are the aspects of my career that define me as I become more successful.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well this is ever so topical as my best friend just came to visit from New York for a week! When he was here, we first took him to In N Out, and though For The Win has the best smash burgers in LA, it’s a staple and he had never been so of course that was our first stop from LAX.

We were definitely trying to stick to a budget so here are some of the best (and least expensive) things I would recommend:
– Drive around LA and show them all of the different parts of the city. Driving through Topanga Canyon and on Mulholland Drive were some highlights with the best views.
– Go thrifting! LA has some of the best thrifting I’ve ever seen so bopping around to a few thrift stores was an awesome way to spend the afternoon and a great way to see different neighborhoods.
– Spend some time at the beach in Santa Monica. There are some beautiful (and reasonably priced) beachfront restaurants where you can grab a bite with your feet in the sand.
– Tour some open houses in Beverly Hills! There are open houses every day and you can go see the most beautiful properties in LA completely for free.
– Go to the Mr. Brainwash Museum in Beverly Hills. This art museum is only open a few days a week but it has the coolest exhibits. It’s super trippy, so I’d highly recommend taking a quick smoke before you step inside.
– Here are some of my favorite restaurants and bars to take people to: For the Win (Hollywood), Trejos Cantina (Hollywood), Over/Under Public House for Happy Hour (Burbank), Marco’s Trattoria (West Hollywood), Gus’s BBQ (South Pasadena), Crafted Donuts & Bagels (North Hollywood), Alfred (Studio City) Blue Collar (West Hollywood), and Ideology Coffee (Glendale).

It’s going to sound silly after that list of fun things to do in LA, but the best thing we did was have a wine night with all of my friends at my house. My favorite things about this city are the people I’ve met since moving here. I have the coolest, kindest, funniest, most talented, and most supportive friends and getting to show them off is always at the top of my LA priority list.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I am so lucky to have the most supportive people in my life. My parents, especially, have always pushed me to follow my dreams, and specifically to become a singer-songwriter. They have listened to every song I’ve ever written, provided me with voice, piano, and guitar lessons, and were completely on board with me moving across the country after my college graduation. My parents never placed expectations on who they wanted me to be, they always let me find my own passions and callings, and for that freedom and support, I could not be more grateful.

I also want to shoutout my incredible voice teachers, Katie Gornick, Jules Olsen, and John McCarty. Katie taught me how to sing and gave me the foundations that made my voice what it is today; Jules rehabilitated my voice after the trauma of musical theatre school; And John allowed me the freedom in our lessons to find my unique sound using the music I wrote. I would not be here if it weren’t for these three incredible teachers. I owe everything to them.

Final shoutout to my best friends Logan, Blaire, and my cousin Becca for listening to all of my songs before they became anything worth listening to. They hyped me up and never told me they disliked a single song, even when they were truly terrible. That support built the confidence to publicize the work I am truly proud of.

Website: catecartermusic.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/c8carter

Youtube: https://youtu.be/B6ZEHcoFzoY

Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/56BJMKjhWKDKaQ9jjbGSGT?si=DasH-OS-RC-O9zIELaUZIQ linktr.ee/c8carter Apple Music: https://geo.music.apple.com/us/album/_/1695253952?app=music&at=1000lHKX&ct=linktree_http&itscg=30200&itsct=lt_m&ls=1&mt=1

Image Credits
Dark photos of my with guitar being filmed & Photo in orange shirt (no hat): Cristian Herrera Blue-er photos of me singing/playing guitar with a band: Mallory Siegenthaler Beach Photos: Mallory Siegenthaler Photo with hat: Maxwell Lamb