Meet Harry Katz

Today we’d like to introduce you to Harry Katz.

Harry, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
As a Musician and a Curator, my road has been a long one. Many of my ambitions and songs began as busking melodies to raise money as I hitchhiked back and forth across the country throughout the early aughts. I lived the carnie life. I would travel on a whim, while making music, touring with punk bands, puppeteering at pagan festivals, telling fortunes, reading tarot cards, or cooking food in parking lots and music festivals.

Many a song had been written and traded for a complimentary dinner or a couch to sleep on from a stranger with a good heart. We would sing well into the night on my guitar with four strings, my voice rough from singing over traffic and the din of the city.

In my mind’s ear, I would write the complex arraignments we perform now, the backup singers, full horn sections, piano, bass, and drums. Always plotting for the full elegance and opulence of a ten-piece band in black and white suits, always chasing something bigger than myself.

The Pistachios have existed on and off throughout the past ten years, but its really just since the spring of 2018 that I’ve connected with the hardest working and talented musicians I’ve ever had the grace to work with. With the help of Rae Panas, Nick Crnko, Ashley Keen, Gregory Zilboorg and the most recent additions of Nico Kayser and Vinnie Stevens, the Pistachios have never been this pristine and clear before…

My life has become divided very clearly into the moments I spend making this music, and the time in-between those moments. We’re so excited to be doing the Monday Night Residency at The Satellite May 2019 in Silver Lake. I’m booking and working with some of my favorite people in LA, and it’s a wonderful opportunity to give the people around me the same opportunities I’ve been given.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No one has a smooth road. Life is a tough gig to play. In the beginning, people can’t see your vision clearly. It takes so much work and time to make people believe that what you’re doing is worth being a part of. You ultimately have to be the driving engine for yourself and your own work. The applause lasts a few moments. The next morning it’s you alone that have to get out of bed and figure out how to be even better the next time.

Ultimately you have to try things that may not work, make hard choices, and see the path ahead.

We’d love to hear more about what you do.
As an artist and a curator, I try to help foster an environment of creating and holding space. I’ve heard it called a temporary autonomous zone, but I’d say its more commonly known as a really good party. A place in which you can reinvent yourself during each and every interaction. As it’s said, be the change you want to see in the world, so the logic follows, throw the party you want to attend. If we’re not dancing and having a great time, filled with love, joy, and exploration, we have to ask ourselves, what are we even doing?

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Just being honest and putting in the work.

Contact Info:

• Website: Harrykatz.bandcamp.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @_Harry_Katz_
• Facebook: @Harrykatzandthepistachios

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