Press

Singer-Songwriter Katey Laurel Releases New Single “Hurricane”
Singer-Songwriter Katey Laurel Releases New Single “Hurricane”
Upcoming new album “Periscope” produced by Warren Huart


(Denver, CO) September 10, 2013 – Pop/folk singer-songwriter Katey Laurel is announcing the release of her new single “Hurricane,” along with an official video for the single due out by the end of September. “Hurricane” is being released in advance of Katey’s upcoming full-length album Periscope, produced by recording industry veteran Warren Huart (The Fray, Aerosmith) and slated for an early 2014 release.

Presented with a solid, radio-friendly hook guaranteed to stay in the listener’s mind long after the song is over, “Hurricane” delves into the idea of finding the “eye of the storm” amid the chaos and struggles of relationships. The topic fits well with the overarching theme of Periscope, which explores the dichotomy and tension between struggle and hope in which life is lived. Recorded at Harmony and Spitfire Studios in Los Angeles, the upcoming album and its first single easily represent Laurel’s most poignant and accessible work to date.

As a songwriter, Katey has won or placed in numerous songwriting competitions around the country (including the Tucson Folk Festival and the Great American Song Contest). Her songs have been well received by Triple A radio stations around the country and have garnered multiple film, television and advertisement placements. As a performer, she has shared the stage with the likes of Howie Day, Katie Herzig, Matt Morris, Bill Mallonee, Trevor Hall and others.

“Remember when Stevie Nicks first came out with Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Rhiannon’? Remember how her voice soared through those cheap speakerphones your dad had just installed in your car? Well, I am pleased to announce that I have found a similar voice.” - Christine B, This Girl Christine’s Blog
“Katey will sing her heart out and keep you coming back for more of this voice.”- John DiTirro, Examiner.com
“Her songs embrace American magic and longing in their sounds, themes and production.” - Dave, EastPortlandBlog.com

For interviews, press photos, or advance review copies of Periscope, please contact
Katey Laurel using the information below. Hi-Res Press kit materials also available for download at www.kateylaurel.com under the “Contact” tab.

mail@kateylaurel.com 720 470 1606


Press Quotes
“Laurel’s unique sound is one that will operate as a blueprint for further work in the singer-songwriter genre.”
- James McQuiston, NeuFutur Magazine (Jan 12, 2011)

"Katey Laurel has one of those unmistakable voices that is instantly recognized."
- Jeff McQuilkin, Oomph Music Blog (Jan 15, 2011)

“What a great song!” (regarding “The Wheel”)
- Laura Slavin, Music Dept. Liaison - Pacifica Radio KPFT 90.1 FM, Houston, TX (Jan 2011)

“LOVE your stuff!”
- Jeremy Padgett, On Air Talent / Executive Producer - Dom & Jane Morning Show, Mix 100.3- KIMN FM, Denver CO (January 2011)

“Every single song on ‘From Here’ has got heart, which proves that Laurel is as genuine as they come.”
-Jimmy Rae, Skope Magazine (Jan 19, 2011)
http://skopemag.com/2011/01/19/katey-laurel-from-here

“I love the single.”
- Valerie DeLong, Former VP of Radio and Video Promotion for Universal/Motown Records and owner of Moxie Entertainment (Jan 19, 2011)

“Produced by Nielsen Hubbard (Glenn Phillips [Toad the Wet Sprocket], Kate York), From Here sounds like it was crafted specifically for the AAA/Americana and adult contemporary crossover radio stations it is already making inroads onto.”
-Chris Kresge, The Rocky Mountain Music Network/The Colorado Sound, KRFC FM, Ft. Collins, CO (Jan 18, 2011)

“What’s not to love about the talented and beautiful Katey Laurel?”
-Richie Frieman, PensEyeView.com (Jan 18, 2011) - http://www.penseyeview.com/content/katey-laurel

“Denver's Katey Laurel has songs with a beauty in them that deserve a listen.”
- Melissa Kucirek, Suite101.com (Jan 16, 2011)

“Listeners might compare her voice to Quinn Fabray of Fox TV's Glee (played by Dianna Agron) meets Colbie Caillat.”
- Suite101.com (Jan 16, 2011)

“She has a perfect grasp on social media, and DIY spirit that’s unmatched.”
- Aaron Zimmer, NYC web designer, musician and performing artist, www.lavalounge.net (Jan 2011)

"‘From Here’ - the song is a bullet to the heart; very true and honest!”
- Stacy Price, fellow Denver musician, teacher and performing artist (Jan 2011)

“If confidence and an 'as a matter of fact' tone are any indication, look out Pop World, here she comes.”
- Brian Rutherford, www.musicemissions.com (2010)

"I've heard the Natalie Merchant comparisons with Katey, but my vote is Aimee Mann on a sweet little hayride."
- Doug Anderson, Colorado Music Buzz (Feb 01, 2009)

"Laurel has all the bittersweet soul of Macy Gray and poetic musing of Natalie Merchant."
- Jeremy Johnson, The Metropolitan (Jan 22, 2009)

“Katey Laurel's voice is like a ripe piece of delicious fruit. Listening to it can seem more an experience of flavor than sound. Moreover, she is so comfortable with it that her tendency is simply to let it come out of her mouth, like an exhalation. She never belts. Doesn’t need to.”
- Quentin Young, Longmont Times-Call, "Unframed" (December 2008)

“Laurel's alternately wispy and husky voice makes a greater impression when it's operating in darker settings, as on 'Earthquake' and See-Through.'.”
- Michael Roberts, Denver Westword (December 2008)

“With an unforgettable voice and an ability to connect with listeners that's a little unreal, Katey Laurel's debut album slips quietly into [my] top 40 at the end of the year, but once you hear this young lady, you won't be able to put her CD down.”
- Wildy Haskell, Wildy's World (December 2008)

“Her debut album is a self-written, self-produced jewel.”
- The Tomahawk, Mountain City, TN (2004)

“Think Joan Baez fronting 10,000 Maniacs hanging out in the studio with James Blunt and you get an idea of her soaring, smooth resonance.”
- Colorado Music Buzz, Littleton, CO (2005)

“This is the freshest album I've heard in a long, long time and an instant favorite.”
- Alan Haber, host of Pure Pop Radio--WEBR, Fairfax, VA (2007)

“A natural born singer-songwriter…Katey has a voice like Emmylou Harris and a story-telling knack like the great Joan Baez.”
- Samantha Donen, The Vail Trail (2005)

“Katey Laurel’s biggest fans are people just like her. They are teenagers and twentysomethings who are trying to carve their own paths while trying to ignore a world of voices telling them to do more, do faster and do it all by age 30…”
- Autumn Phillips, The Steamboat Pilot and Today (2004)

“One of Denver’s brightest new songwriting stars.”
- Ed Skibbe, Nashville songwriter and host of Denver’s D’Note Spotlight and Western Beat


From Here
THE VIEW ‘FROM HERE’ IS PRETTY AMAZING
FOR AWARD WINNING DENVER BASED
SINGER/SONGWRITER KATEY LAUREL,
WHOSE NEW EP IS PRODUCED BY
NEILSON HUBBARD


Katey Laurel’s emergence as a singer/songwriter powerfully straddling the line between Triple A and Adult Contemporary formats will make you think twice the next time you see the kid in the band carrying that seemingly cumbersome French Horn.

Laurel’s classical mastery of that instrument earned the Denver based performer a scholarship to the exclusive private Huntington University in Indiana, but her passion for expressing herself through songwriting ultimately led her home to Colorado. She has since performed multiple venues (The Walnut Room, Soiled Dove Underground, Gothic Theatre) and has won numerous accolades in high profile songwriting competitions. Laurel follows her well received debut studio album Upstairs, Downstairs with From Here, a compelling new eight song EP produced by renowned artist/producer Neilson Hubbard (Glen Phillips from Toad The Wet Sprocket, Kate York).

From Here’s first single “The Wheel” is featured on the respected A Taste of Triple A sampler, considered throughout the radio industry to be a strong indicator of the next “big thing” in the format. Being chosen for this compilation is simply the latest career coup for Laurel, who was a finalist in the Tucson Folk Festival, a winner and alternate in two categories of the Walnut Valley Festival NewSong Contest in Winfield, KS and a showcase artist selected for the Midpoint Music Festival in Cincinnati, OH. Offering the perfect blend of “catchy” and “intelligent,” the multi-talented performer’s music has been featured as part of Microsoft Windows 7 “Playlist 7” and Heineken “Ultimate Playlist” sponsored song programs and she was one of 7 national finalists in the Nine West “Voices of Vintage America” contest.

Her fan base has broadened as she’s shared stages with Katie Herzig, Matt Morris, Bill Mallonee, Braddigan (of Dispatch), The Bittersweets, Trevor Hall, Reed Waddle and Eilen Jewell. Laurel has also been a featured guest artist on Denver’s 9 News Peacock Café, Fox 31, Channel 2, KRFC Ft. Collins Live at Lunch and Boulder’s KGNU Kabaret and Castle Rock radio shows. Her songs have been aired on Alice 105.9, 97.3 KBCO, 99.5 The Mountain and other stations.

Laurel is such a heartfelt songwriter that even her lightest pop tune—“The Wheel”—is a deeply metaphorical statement about the reality of relationships. Like the structure of a wheel, if one part breaks, it affects the operation of the whole mechanism. More specifically, the track calls to mind images of a minor wreck (think bicycle), and emergency response vehicles coming to the rescue. The title track “From Here”, featuring Katie Herzig’s vocals on the bridge, is a deeply introspective song. Her lyrics ask the universal question “Is this all there is?” and wonder why we fail to see life’s many blessings. She explores the possibility of “the other side” and asserts her belief in a spiritual realm. Matthew Perryman Jones’ voice blends beautifully with Laurel’s on the playfully rhythmic, folk-pop influenced “Everything I Love,” which the singer describes perfectly as “a cute, happy sounding love song about how a person makes you feel when they hold your universe in their hands.” She uses noisemakers and bells to illuminate the joy, which also emanates from lyrical references to firecrackers and the deep blue sea.