We like girls who can rap, especially those who are from Chicago and graduated from Stanford.
That’s why tomorrow night we’re heading out to Subterranean to re-explore the live show of Chicago-native Katherine Flaherty (aka K.Flay). Colleen and I first discovered K. Flay’s cunning blend of hip hop, pop, rock and humorous rhymes back in March at SXSW. Out of the myriad blur of bands we saw at SXSW, her show was one of my favorites, so I had to dive deeper into her creative back story to discover what inspired her to start rapping and making beats.
As Jessica Hopper writes in her Chicago Tribune interview, K. Flay’s start was a personal and academic challenge:
The idea of rapping came out of a bit of academic discourse that Flaherty had with fellow students. “Some friends and I were having a discussion about voice, what makes a performer’s voice ‘authentic.’ I started thinking about how I could write to a certain formula, using my own background, being, demographically, who I am. Have my own authentic voice,” she says. “It was fun. At first it was more just like a tongue-twisting challenge. I was writing more, like, punch lines and things to make my friends laugh. Just doing stuff to be clever.”
All this said, we’re excited to see how her live performance has evolved over the last 8 months and I’m equally curious to see what’s in store with her new album Eyes Shut that’s due in 2012.
And as we continue our exploration into How Women Experience Live Music, we’ll also be chatting with K. Flay before the show about her sociology studying days at Stanford, growing up in Chicago and what she’s learned the most about connecting with a live audience since SXSW.
Our interview will be shared in future episode of Live Fix Radio, so if you have a question for K.Flay, post it below and we’ll be sure to ask it during our chat.
Check out K.Flay’s latest Official Beastie Boys remix and other clever tunes on her blog.
Show Info:
Subterranean
DOORS @ 9:00 PM | SHOW @ 9:30 PM | 17 & OVER
TICKETS: $10.00
2011 Tour Dates:
* with Grieves
Fri Nov 25 Chicago @ SubTerranean
Sat Nov 26 Pittsburgh @ Stage AE *
Mon Nov 28 Buffalo, NY @ Xtreme Wheelz *
Tue Nov 29 Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground Lounge *
Thu Dec 1 New York, NY @ Studio at Webster Hall *
Fri Dec 2 Northampton, MA @ Pearl Street *
Sat Dec 3 Pawtucket, RI @ The Met *
Sun Dec 4 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s *
Mon Dec 5 Boston, MA @ Middle East Downstairs *
Tue Dec 6 Hartford, CT @ Arch Street *
Wed Dec 7 Boston, MA @ Northeastern *
Thu Dec 8 Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel *
Fri Dec 9 Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506 *
Sat Dec 10 Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade *
Sun Dec 11 Orlando, FL @ The Social *
Wed Dec 14 Dallas, TX @ House of Blues Cambridge *
Thu Dec 15 Austin, TX @ Stubb’s Jr *