By: Sherryl Craig
For Women of Music Music of Women
“As a child we are taught from an early age to listen to our parents. As we grow we get tangled up in life’s challenges and we sometimes put our dreams on hold. But…if you feel passionate about your gift, whatever it may be, don’t give up. Give it 100% and don’t stop. Even though you’ll face tough times believe in yourself.” ~Cat Beach, 2016~
Passionate about her music and about living a healthy, full life Cat Beach knows all too well the challenges women face on a daily basis. There are lot’s of pressures placed on us to do well, live healthy, work hard.
Cat’s ambitions have always pushed her to give her best. Acting was her original career passion but as life took her through different phases her ambitions changed. Currently shes working on her music, her new EP, a healthy routine of diet and exercise, and on motivating and coaching others to help them lead healthy productive lives.
Her first album “Love Me Out Loud” was recorded in 2009 and her most recent “Celebration Under the Sun” is an amazing collection of songs from the heart. It could be described as an expression of strength and warmth, depicting a personal journey of surrender, from life’s struggles and challenges. Yet all the while it encourages hope and a passion for life.
Musical influences in Cat’s life include legends Joni Mitchell, Carol King, and her all time favorite James Taylor. She said James Taylor was the biggest influence and that she listened to his music all the time. She has also written and worked with some of the industries finest singer/songwriters. Mitzi Knight, Sally Garcia, Dan Hagen, Tom Schafer and Chris Crane. But the most influential and dynamic of those is Ned Albright. Cat will tell you he is the single most important writing partner and co-writer that she’s worked with who has, in her own words, “profoundly changed her life”, and has taught her to embrace who she is within and create her own style. She said her career would not be what it is today without him.
Artists who have shared their passion for music on Cat’s albums and on stage are Lee Sklar, Dean Parks, Herman Matthews, Ned Albright, Kim Yarbrough, Kevin Ricard and Gia Ciambotti. Currently Jason Cohen, Andre Madatian, Kris Luis, Justin Lacey, Lo Carter and April Rucker make up Cat Beach and The Surfers.
Cat was heavily influenced by her grandmother with regards to her music. “These Hands” is a song about her grandmother and how the advice she gave helped to pull Cat back together after a rough patch in her life. Cat’s velvety voice soothes you and brings you in to the story as if you were there when it happened. It’s a story about courage, faith and family.
“My Grandmother said, “our world is all about fighting to survive, remember that.” She spoke of how hard work feed the family and that “if these hands can feed me I can move on in life”…I always remembered that.” ~Cat Beach~
As we talked I asked Cat where the inspiration for her songs comes from. She said the lyrics from the most special part of her heart and soul. That every thing she writes about comes from her own life and that everything you hear in her songs is what she’s lived.
“The good, the bad and the truly disorienting. I’ve lived them all and I’m hoping in sharing my lyrics of life someone out there might be going through the same thing and for a brief moment listening and realize that their not alone in this crazy world. I feel that as musicians and performers we have an obligation to help the people of this world FEEL SOMETHING….”~ Cat Beach~
Health and fitness have always been a big part of Cat’s life along with her music and she’s found an amazing way to combine both for the greater good. She said that fitness and weight lifting helped her create a strong body, mind and spirit so that she could keep up with the pace of her every day life and life as a professional musician. After years of meeting and talking with other professional musicians and performers about their own survival stories and struggles she felt that there was a special message that needed to be shared with the world. She said that most people are focused on just weight loss and not healing the entire body, so after years of working with mentors and coaches who taught her how to change her mind set from using the word loss and applying the word gain she was able to create a positive outlook that would benefit everyone.
If we viewed our bodies as beautiful gifts that we need to love, embrace and nurture we could have a more positive outlook on our every day life and our careers. It was through this new found outlook on life that “Music In Motion” was created.
“I thought to myself what if we looked from a different angle and took a brief moment to view our bodies as amazing gifts that we desperately needed to take care of, love and nurture. What if we stopped dieting it down and starving it …what if we stopped over feeding it because our emotions said we need to cover it with instant ‘taste’ gratification? What if, as a culture, together we became a STRONGER team?” ~Cat Beach~
This is where “Music In Motion” was born. From the desire to spread the message of loving our bodies and not breaking them down and all the while using something that truly inspires others…music. Together with other performers who faced tremendous adversity in their careers and daily lives, Cat is showing us how to overcome affliction and hardship by proving that if nourished our bodies at their strongest may be unstoppable.
The goal is to take “Music In Motion”, which tentatively kicks off in early 2017, nationwide across America and share the message that this is not just a seminar it’s also a celebration of life. Along with the knowledge shared on individual disciplines of fitness and physical transformation by medical professionals and entertainers who each have first hand knowledge of life changing events related to their health, there will be a concert celebration by those entertainers and artists who have shared their own personal stories.
Aside from the “Music In Motion” over the course of the next four months, Cat will also be working on a video for two of her songs, “Soul Shine Pizza and “Does This Groove Make My Butt Look Big. Both are top selling new singles and are fun, happy songs.
Cat Beach is an amazing woman. Her voice is unique with a distinctive texture of warmth, richness, and sultry conviction. The lyrics are heart-warming, inspiring, and at times humbling. She’s living her passion, a passion to share her story, her music and her drive for life.
“Stay on the good side of life. Be good to your body, mind, and spirit.” ~Cat Beach~
*The material included in this article is the sole property of the writer, (Sherryl Craig,) and the photographer, (Cilene Bosch.) All elements may be used in other publications as determined by the owners. Permission must be obtained for reproduction.
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