Katie Stelmanis
WL 357 - Sunday, April 1 – 10pm
Purveyor of: Kate Bush meets Harriet The Spy

Katie Stelmanis is really cute and nice, although I suspect she could and would kick my ass for calling her cute. In Galaxy she’s totally a guitar hero, giving the band a lucid, sharp sound to go along with their vocal politics. In her solo music she’s a lot more introspective and experimental, stretching towards more awkward tones and textures. She’s self-produced, classically-trained and crazy-talented, twisting and tweaking her synth sounds with dissonance and weird harmonics. At the heart of it all her amazingly strong voice captures a whole range of joy and hurt and messiness. She could sing about seahorses and cereal and it would still break your heart. Demian and Katie braved the stupid Internet and shared some ideas.

Hi. Who are you? What are you like? What would you like us to know about you?

Hi, I’m Katie Stelmanis-Cali. I am Italian/Latvian and have multiple personalities. Usually I’m fun-loving and great, but sometimes I’m a jerk.

I have a very cute image of Katie as a tyke, singing and dancing and showing off her talents...

I guess when I was really little I used to sing a lot but by the time I hit 11 years old, when I started learning instruments, I turned into a big (tall for my age), awkward, shy person. That changed only recently after being completely over high-school land.

How has playing with Galaxy and others helped you grow and evolve?

Galaxy is really fun and I love it still. I have always known it wouldn’t satisfy all of my musical desires because I love orchestral instruments, and MIDI has since helped bring me closer to that satisfaction. Bruce Peninsula is a really fun band to be part of and I like playing in smaller ensembles as well. Everyone I have played with has influenced me a lot. I always steal ideas from them. But I think it’s important not to stretch yourself too thin.

I love the way you put yourself into your playing. It’s like a small person trying to be tall and strong or something. Does your performance style come naturally to you?

That’s the best thing I've heard about my music ever. A small person trying to be tall and strong. It’s funny ‘cause I don't really think of myself as being that small, but I guess I am. I have a really big voice so it makes my physical smallness more obvious, maybe. I was always taught to sing with my whole body.

Are you awkward on stage? Are you a natural? Are you shy? Are you confident?

It’s different for me every time I play. I like big crowds and dark lights. I feel really awkward playing to no one because my set is SO in your face and dramatic. That’s when I feel awkward and when it’s light because gothy-synth sounds should never be played in the day. Ideally I would like to only play big shows.

Are you saying something in your songs? Are you writing words for sound?

I record the vocals and just say whatever comes out and then I try to make sense of it later. I say the same words a lot because there are certain ones that are just really great to sing. I have no abilities whatsoever to actually sit down and write words. I hate English and I hate words. My lyrics generally don't make that much sense but I especially like it when people make their own sense of them later.

In "Pink Collar Holler" Galaxy calls out gender inequalities in indie music and the attitudes that maintain them. Do you offer something to the argument? Are we moving in the right direction?

I feel gender inequalitites in indie music more and more each day; every single time Galaxy plays with a boy band that doesn't know who we are they assume we don't know how to play our instruments. It’s pretty disgusting. And then when they see us play they are either verbally impressed or never speak to us again. It’s hard to be taken seriously and hard to promote yourself as a solo girl, but maybe it’s not any easier for men and it all depends on if you’re good or not. Who knows?

What are you looking for from your Wavelength show and for spring/summer 2007?

I am working hard to improve my live show. I’m trying to bring in as many real instruments as possible without changing the sounds too much. Maya Postepski and Isla Craig are helping me for Wavelength. This summer I am recording a professional-sounding EP that I hope to release on something and then play lots of big dark shows. Maybe tour sometime.

By Demian Carynnyk