Meet Cate Carter

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cate Carter.

Hi Cate, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Yeah, so I have been writing music since I was six years old and it was always my dream to record, release, and perform the music I wrote. I actually ended up studying history in college because I thought I was going to have a “realistic career” as a lawyer, then later as a psychosexual therapist (long story). But when it came down to taking the LSAT or applying to jobs, the idea of being a musician hung over my head and wouldn’t leave me alone.

Up until my senior year of college, I had continued writing music just for me (or so I told myself). When I realized I couldn’t go forward with my planned career path, I had a long and hard discussion with myself about how I really wanted my life to look and realized that if I didn’t pursue my dream of being a singer-songwriter now, then I never would.

So, when I graduated, I worked all summer in New York recording my currently released singles and upcoming EP and saving up enough to move to LA.

In October I packed up my life and drove out here with whatever could fit in my car. Since then, I’ve been writing, preparing to film my music video for my upcoming single, release my EP, and honestly just setting up my new life. It’s hard to start your life anywhere, and it’s especially hard to start a life that doesn’t have a clear path to success in a field you did not study. So, I’ve honestly been giving myself a lot of grace and empathy in this weird transitional period. That being said, now that my life is a little more on track, I’m moving full speed ahead toward these exciting releases I have coming up.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Haha, yeah so like I said, it’s been really hard moving out here. I’ve always been a very independent and self-sufficient person so I thought moving across the country would be a piece of cake. Wow, was I wrong. It’s been so emotional and I’ve had a lot of impostor syndrome since I moved here. It’s easy to believe in yourself and your art when you’re actively working in the studio making an album or EP, but it’s a lot harder when you have to face the less creative, more business side of the industry. Moving to a place where the most successful people in music live and work is equal parts motivating and terrifying.

So, I’m not only dealing with all of this existential career stuff, but I’m also dealing with it being a lot harder than I thought to find a survival job and then a horrific neighbor situation that forced me to move five months into being here. I could not have been more wrong about how I would handle this transition. The transitional period after college being hard is the understatement of the century.

To answer your question, unless you have major industry connections, an immediately viral Tik Tok song, a pre-existing social media following, or a ton of money, I don’t think a smooth road in this industry is possible. There are a million and one people trying to do the exact same thing as you and you somehow have to break through all that noise. It’s hard, but it’s the kind of thing I’ve learned to break down into smaller more achievable goals that I can check off as I move forward.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I would categorize my music genre as pop/rock/Americana. It’s a lot of different genres, but it’s because I have a lot of different musical inspirations, both conscious and subconscious. I am inspired by the works of Taylor Swift, Billy Joel, and Alanis Morissette, but because of all of the country music my dad played in the car when I was growing up, there’s a lot of sub-conscious country influence in my music as well.

What sets me apart from other artists is my storytelling ability. Most, but not all, of my music is autobiographical and it’s deeply vulnerable. My lyrics are genuine and honest; I take the most painful raw feelings I have and turn them into my art. I really don’t hold anything back and I think that kind of honesty paired with the right music creates a catharsis that is incredibly hard to produce without feeling the actual emotions. I hold myself to ridiculous standards, especially with my lyrics, that make me a better artist because I truly scrutinize over every word until I believe it’s perfect.

I’m most proud of the fact that right now, I’m the only writer on all of my songs. I’m sure as I progress I’ll be excited to collaborate, but for now, the fact that it really is all coming from me is something I take pride in. I am also really proud of my voice. I have worked for over ten years to turn my voice into something that is unique and powerful. It’s a different kind of sound because I was initially trained through musical theatre technique, so molded into a pop/rock frame, it communicates the emotion in my lyrics very well.

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
Wow yes. This is going to get kind of deep, but I learned how to love myself during the lockdown, and I honestly don’t think I would be strong enough to pursue this career if it weren’t for the fact that I isolated completely alone. For the first four months of the pandemic, I lived in my college apartment by myself because all of my roommates had decided to fly home. Since we had a lease, we weren’t forced to leave, so I chose to stay. While being completely isolated from everyone (aside from my best friend who also isolated on campus alone) was incredibly difficult, I learned how to sit with myself in a way that I had never been forced to do before.

I learned to sit with my uncomfortable feelings about the future, body image, self-esteem, etc. I was literally alone so I had to learn to do everything for myself. If there was a problem, like cutting a full chicken in half to make soup for Passover, that I normally would have called someone physically stronger to help me with, I had to figure out how to do it on my own. During COVID I learned that I can do anything I need to do for myself. If need be, I can be my own partner and I can get myself through anything.

While I have an awesome community of people here in LA, I am fully confident that I could have and would have moved here without them to do what I love. I am so grateful for my friends and family but I am more grateful for how I’ve learned to take care of myself, and that will be the thing that ultimately creates my success.

Contact Info:

• Website: linktr.ee/c8carter
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/c8carter/
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/56BJMKjhWKDKaQ9jjbGSGT 

Image Credits
Feature Photo: Maxwell Lamb Blue Photo: Ellie Podell Red Hair Photos: Jordan Kulick