By Bart Medoza
A tireless champion of San Diego’s music community, as well as a member of several combos, including “Calamity”, singer-song writer Cathryn Beeks is focusing on her own music this month with the re- lease of a new solo album, The After Times. The impetus was Beeks induction in the San Diego Music Hall of Fame last year. “Jeff Berkley told me, ‘This is your year, dude! You’re being inducted into the Hall of Fame, you should put out a record, too!’ Beeks said. “So, I gathered about 20 songs that I had written since my last release in 2019 and we sifted through and found the best dozen. Berkley and his group “The Banned”, provide backing on the recording.”
According to Beeks the solo billing is also for pragmatic reasons. “After Matt Silvia (guitarist) left San Diego in 2017, I retired my band name, ‘The Ordeal.’ So, this collection is just under my name. Because ‘Cathryn Beeks and Jeff Berkley and The Banned’ was just way too long!” she joked. The After Times features ten originals and one cover, Bobbie Gentry’s 1967 hit, “Ode to Billy Joe”.
“All of the original songs were written by me, with some magical tweaks from my producer, Jeff Berkley,” noted Beeks. “These songs mean a lot to me. They’re pretty personal, but also relatable, I think. A few were written during isolation and were my way of coping with the world, the loss of my dad and my sweet dog Penny. Others are upbeat and hopeful.”
The first single from the collection is “I Love Ramona”, which was nominated for best folk or acoustic song at this years SDMAs. “It was released on Mother’s Day, with a video that features all of the women who make Ramona such a special place,” Beeks said. “The plan is to release a video every four to eight weeks, eventually the whole album.” Beyond the songs themselves, Beeks is thrilled with the musicians involved. “I mean, the music itself is incredibly rad,” she said. “The players are the best in the biz. Jeff Berkley on guitars and banjo, Josh Hermsmeier on drums, Rick Nash on bass, Josh Weinstein on keys, Ted Stern on pedal steel and Joshua Taylor and Sandi King brought my backing vocal arrangements to life. They all truly are San Diego’s version of (famed session recording musicians) the Wrecking Crew!”
You can hear Beeks play the best in San Diego music weekly via her long running podcast, Listen Local.
CathrynBeeks.com | ListenLocalRadio.com
