Myself, Katie Ann and MC ZiLL embark on a tour that's an adventure of a life time. We are "Brainwashing the Ride." Here's where you can see all the pictures and stories from our tour.
We're in love and engaged. We both write music. It's a dream to share the same life goal and conquer the world with our positive vibes one show at a time.
I am a singer song writer, producer, lyricist, and keys player. I have released my first album, The Ride, and the point of this tour is to promote it...now I can call myself a booking agent, publicist, graphic designer, promoter and manager after setting up this tour. And after this tour has been done and said I want to hire a booking agent, manager etc. I'm taking inquiries if you want to become involved in our music grind! (email katieanntheride@gmail.com).
My music is uplifting with powerful lyrics driven by strong melodies. It's anything but simple yet somehow it provides a chill relaxed mood for listeners. Deep thinking music is food for the soul.
I've been told that I sound like Jewel, Alicia Keys, Adele, Sarah Mclachlan, Tori Amos and Britney Spears. I have a unique style influenced by hip hop, rock and pop. But to throw a twist on it, I 've been classically trained as a child on piano and took studio engineering and song writing classes in college at San Diego State.
You can find my album at: www.katieannlkproductions.com
www.facebook.com/katieannlkproductions
MC ZiLL is a mathematical and philosophical lyricist. He makes positive hip hop that influences people to stay off the streets and live healthy lifestyles. His rhyme schemes are playful and mind boggling. He touches upon politics and justice in his music. He creates riddles, analogies and acronyms. His music is deep and he doesn't hesitate to put it all out there. He's upbeat and pulls the crowd in to participate with his positive vibes. Even if hip hop is not your typical style, his words will leave you stunned with ears wide open.
ZiLL's album "Brainwashing" is completely written and produced. He's in the final stages of recording. Without forcing the album he anticipates it to be done by the end of this year.
I met MC ZiLL 4 years ago. He was one of the first friends I made in Buffalo after I made a big move from my hometown in San Diego. Being a Cali girl I was not good at driving in the snow. I had to adapt quickly. During my time "adapting" I hit ZiLL's car when it was parked. I left a note and secretly hoped he would never call because I didn't have any money to fix a dent. But, thankfully, he did call...a month later. His voice sounded cute on the phone and he told me the dent was not big and to not worry about it. We got to talking and discovered we both write music and teach. We decided to meet up to "network."
Shortly after we recorded a song together called "Strong am I." This song was prophetic for where our friendship would go. Through some ups and downs along with love and hate, we carried on a platonic friendship. I helped him produce his album and we wrote more music together. It wasn't until two years later that a light switch turned on. Not sure when it happened, but we quickly fell in love. Long story short, last Spring he put a ring on it! I think we're the perfect example of fate. Let it go and let your third eye do the work. Love will always find a way and all you have to do is enjoy the ride.
Our tour, Brainwashing the Ride, is named after our individual solo albums. The tour is a month long. We traveled from New York to California, Nevada, Oregon and Montana playing 15 shows along the way. Considering that this is our first major tour for us both it's pretty ambitious. We both do better under pressure so we needed to just put ourselves out there. The tour forced us to build as artists each and every show. Some parts of the tour were easy and fun but others were difficult and straining. This adventure is certainly a test, both individually and as a couple. If we didn't love each other we would be driven crazy by this point. Instead we're building, over coming and meeting some really cool people along the journey. We love touring and want more of it.
Promo gear
To see the fine details of Brainwashing the Ride visit this blog: http://theridekatieann.blogspot.com/2014/06/tour-schedule.html
SHOW 1
Ocean Beach, CA.
We began our tour on a high note. Our first show was at Winston's, along the shore in Ocean Beach, California. We were part of an open minded hip hop social, "Yoga For Your Ears." The vibe was energetic and people wanted to dance. The fans loved us and what we stood for.
We shared the stage with some really awesome performers. I was impressed by Destructo Bunny (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Destructo-Bunny/6788343459) of Atlantis Rizing. (http://atlantisrizing.com) After the show was over at 2am we were invited to a cypher. We freestyled for a few hours until dawn nearly broke. Destructo Bunny smashed the freestyle. A cool chick named Adelaide (https://www.facebook.com/adelaide.marcus?fref=ts) was painting during the show and then shocked us all by killing the freestyle at the end of the night. She has beautiful artwork available online to purchase. It was refreshing to hear a really good female lyricist who spoke about positive topics.
We loved performing at this show because of the people there. Ocean Beach is a great community and we couldn't have asked more a better show to start out our tour.
Beautiful San Diego, CA.
SHOW 2
Encinitas, CA.
Our second show was carried on from the high of the first. We played in the late morning on a patio under an Ipe tree in Encinitas, CA. Hence the name Cafe Ipe. The People here were mixed ages, interested in relaxing and hanging out and not so much partying like the first show. We had to draw the crowd in from their own worlds and pull them into ours. I was pleased to see strangers take out their cell phones to record us. Even more pleased that we had a full tip jar and fans asked us to sign our CD 's that they bought.
The power of touring hit us at this point. We realized how important it is to step outside of the computer screen and play for people in person. The respect we earned is unmatched to a digital "like."
Check out the Ipe tree we played under.
We had a special guest perform at this show. My childhood piano teacher Howard Duncan entertained the crowd with some jazz improv in-between our sets.
MC ZiLL pumped up the crowd and took them on a new adventure. People in San Diego love hip hop, especially ZiLL's style. I enjoy being the DJ for his music and backing him up as he performs. People tell us they really appreciate our energy that we create when we perform together.
When ZiLL is really feeling the crowd he gets into his views about being an inner city school teacher and his opinions about the Common Core. He's proud to be a member of the Badass Teachers Association (www.badassteacher.org). I'm proud of him for motivating others.
A popular and talented DJ in San Diego named DJ Artistic (https://www.facebook.com/pages/DJ-ARTISTIC/112923075047) invited us to be honored guests at his event. He surprised us all by spinning some of my music! The club was a top 40 type of venue so I was pleased to see that my music bumped on the same level as the top 40 artists. DJ Artistic faded my song "Follow Me" into Alicia Keys' "Fire." It was a neat experience to watch strangers in a club dancing to my music being bumped. Next thing I know people will make it tsunami! Jk ;)
SHOW 3
Ocean Beach, CA.
Our third show was in Ocean Beach in the later morning at a venue called The Lazy Hummingbird Cafe. This may be my favorite show of the tour so far. The event was hosted by Justin Werner. (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Justin-Werner/166238790110062) Justin performs guitar in my song Tequila Sunrise on my album. He plays several instruments, sings and makes a living solely based on his music. He's extremely talented and soulful.
Justin played drums in my set at this show. We never practiced and jumped right into it. Justin is incredibly intuitive with his playing - he didn't miss a beat. The Cajon he played is a Latin drum. ZiLL and I fell in love with the style.
We shared the stage with a talented artist in San Diego named Andrew Begin. Check him out!
SHOW 4
Point Loma, CA.
Our fourth show was the evening of the same day we played Lazy Hummingbird. It was a long day of music! Justin hosted an open mic at Reds in La Jolla and we were featured in his showcase.
Sarah from Serenity Photos did a quick photo shoot with us before we began playing. Then she snapped some cool shots during the performance. Thank you Sarah!
By this point of our tour we were feeling the work. We were pulling several all nighters and for the first time in my life I had bags under my eyes. But the excitement and anticipation of the tour kept us both motivated.
We were happy to have a few days off from doing shows and explore San Diego as well as chill with friends and family. We had an engagement party at Stone Brewery in SanDiego. It was heaven getting to spend an evening with the people I'm close to in Southern Cali. I really miss these people since I moved to New York.
SHOW 5
Chula Vista, CA.
The Fifth show of our tour we pumped up the volume and kept our high from the start of the tour going. VSP Promotions in San Diego (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007997418966&fref=ts) invited us to be the headliners at their event in Chula Vista at Diamond Jim's. Once again the people were amazing at this show. We really connected and vibed with them.
Cruz Photography filmed and recorded us: https://www.facebook.com/CruzPhotographySD
Check out this video from the show!
After 5 shows in a week we got some well needed rest then snuck in a recording session. MC ZiLL recorded his song, "Not Listening." This song will be featured on his album, "Brainwashing."
Jay Wat (https://www.facebook.com/jaywatproduction?fref=ts) is our go to recording engineer everytime we record in San Diego. He has a unique, professional and efficient style of recording. We love working with him.
SHOW 6
Rancho Bernardo, CA.
Do you notice what ZiLL is sitting on? A Cajon! Justin inspired us so much we decided to buy one and incorporate it into our performances. ZILL has learned quickly how to use one and performs with me very naturally. This is what touring is about...growing!
SHOW 7
Paso Robles, CA.
We left San Diego and road tripped it to San Luis Obispo. This is where our journey really became intense. Our 7th show was at a beautiful winery called Sculpterra. A funky name that suits it well. The winery had statues all over the estate.
Sculpterra Winery
I performed in the barrel room of the winery. There were a few other singer song writers there that day sharing the stage with us. One particular band was another couple touring from Missouri. They are called "Bliss Hippie." A unique, quirky band that knows how to have fun!
Bliss Hippy
SHOW 8
San Luis Obispo, CA.
Our 8th show was probably the most interesting show on tour. When we were in San Diego our crowds were fun, carefree, dancing, partying people. Once we hit San Luis Obispo our crowds changed to a more quiet intense type of people. They certainly weren't use to our style! But none the less they were interested in us. A local paper wrote an article about our tour.
For full details of the article about us written by Glen Starkey please visit this link: http://theridekatieann.blogspot.com/2014/07/summer-buzz.html
This show was different because the entire crowd was filled with artists and writers. The floor was filled with people immersed in their projects. Each project unique and different. At first we weren't sure what to make of it because they were quiet but as we played on they listened with smiles. I feel connected to each every single project being made during our show because our music inspired them.
We loved Linnaea's Cafe, especially the food. It's nice to find a place away from home that makes you feel comfortable enough when you're in a sea of strangers.
SHOW 9
Morro Bay, CA.
Our 9th show may have been our most atheistically pleasing venue. It was a quant wine bar with towers of different wines next to the dock of the bay. I could stay there all day and write music.
SHOW 10
I love the Bay area! We had so much fun performing at this show. The crowd was lively. After our performance the audience wanted autographed CD's and pictures. It turns out people came to our show from around the world. We met some particularly cool people from England. Live it up!!!
Another write up about our tour! Thank you sfbg.com Interesting perspective.
SHOW 11
Templeton, CA.
After being in San Francisco for about 16 hours we turned around to make the road trip back to San Luis Obispo. We got about 4 hours of sleep and hit the road by 6:00am. We had to be at our next show by noon, the driving made it a tight squeeze. Because of the lack of sleep and pressure to make it on time this show was by far the most intense. I pulled myself together, painted a smile on my face, put on some dots and rocked it. Wild Horse winery is a beautiful place with great wine!
SHOW 12
Paso Robles, CA.
Our 12th show was our last show in California on this tour may have been our favorite. We found ourselves on an outdoor stage nestled in the hills surrounded by grape vines. My voice carried for miles. As I sang I could feel huge gushes of wind. It felt like spirits were dancing to my songs.
The owners of this winery have a rich family history with grape vines and Hollywood. The wines very tasty and clever. We enjoyed hanging out with them on their estate drinking their wines. I highly recommend coming here, it's an experience of it's own, different from any winery I have been to!
SHOW 13
Reno, NV.
Our 13th show featured local acts from Reno. Brittany Straw, who plays Ukalele and also has a wolf! Check out her sound: https://www.facebook.com/brittstraw
Joshua Ortiz of My Acoustic Heart also played soulful tunes with his guitar. Check him out at: https://www.facebook.com/mahmusic11
Check back soon for photography taken that night by Mike Outland.
View of Reno from our hotel room.
We really felt like rockstars at this part of the journey because we had to fly so much. We were flying in puddle jumpers from show to show!
SHOW 14
Portland, OR.
We had some awesome featured artists meet up with us for our show in Portland.
Laura Cooper has a dark and grungy style with a beautiful Angelic voice.
We ran into another touring couple. Pending Black is from Portland. Their style is unique and upbeat. Myra sings beautiful vocals layered on top of Gabe's guitar and beat boxing, at one point he threw a harmonica into the mix! It was a very energetic and fun set.
Uneek writes sexy music! He got the crowd into it with his melodic rhyme schemes. He has tons of music videos online that are awesome. Check him out!
MC ZiLL mind boggling people with his clever and passionate rhymes.
What makes Portland such a unique place are the people. We only spent about 32 hours here and it was not enough time. It's a beautiful place and the people are very friendly and talkative. We actually met what we consider to be an angel on our tour. We met a nice lady named D in the morning at a bar, drinking bloody mary's. She loved what we were doing with our music so much she offered to drive us to and from the show. We took up her generous offer and had a great time cruising in her mint condition olds. Portland knows how to party!!!
I like the button eye someone put on my
poster!
SHOW 15
Whitefish, MT.
Alas we reached our final destination. It was a long journey and we felt the effects of being on the road for almost a month. But the adrenaline kept us pumped up and it was important for us to finish the tour with a bang.
Must see venue! Crush: https://www.facebook.com/crushwhitefish
Our 15th show was at a rad venue called Crush. Our show was on "Huckleberry day" which is a big party day, as you can imagine. The crowd was energetic and ready to party with us. No doubt about it, they loved us! They were screaming from their top of their lungs how much the loved our music. The last show may have been our very favorite of the tour. I love Whitefish!!!
Chubdipping under the supermoon!!!!
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As if touring is not enough, August 1st Katie Ann released her hit single "Revolution." Check it out!
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