Katie Flynn Interview

Katie Flynn
Photo Courtesy of: Della Perrone

Katie Flynn is talented to the point that it annoys me. She sings jazz and cabaret, she a great live entertainer, and she can even spin a funny story. Where does this woman get off being that charming?

I recently saw Katie Flynn perform live at Big Grove Tavern in Champaign, IL and it was terrific. So much so that I'm doing two things. One, I'm going to see her again this Thursday Night (Aug 13th) at Mike N Molly's in downtown Champaign at 8pm. (Doin' the plugs right up top!) The second thing was to bug her for two months about doing an interview with us at C-U Comedy.

JT: "Alright Katie, we've gotta get to Bette, hecklers, and performing... but to people who don't know you, let's give them your comic book like origin story. You grew up in Kansas... how was that?"

KT: "If it weren't for my amazing mom, my best friend Caley, and the soundtrack to 'Hello Dolly!', I'm not sure I would've survived. My family was like most families in a small town in Kansas. We went to church, and in church, I started singing. Very sultry stuff....except not. In fact, had you told me as a little girl that I'd grow up to be some sassy, vulgar cabaret singer in Illinois, I would've looked at you like you had three heads and exclaimed, 'Where the heck is Illinois?' (I went to public school in Kansas, you understand....education just takes a wee bit longer out there)."

JT: "A church girl who ended up being dirty minded? The hell you say. When did the singing get more serious?"

KT: "In high school and college I was in choir and took private voice, but after college, I really didn't do much except waitress and I recall watching copious amounts of 'King of the Hill'." After meeting my husband and having two children, I realized that I had a little something that I thought might be worth sharing with people. I looooooooove to sing and I really do get a thrill from connecting with an audience. It's a high, what can I say. And who doesn't want to be high, hm?"

JT: "You just saw Bette Midler live, go ahead and tell us what we already know... it was awesome wasn't it?"

"The second coming is here,
dummies. She's a Hawaiian
Jew Goddess."

KF: "I just want to say that Bette Midler is actually Jesus Christ. There it is. People have been waiting for the second coming (I mean, I know some folks out there are waiting just to come once, sheesh). The second coming is here, dummies. She's a Hawaiian Jew Goddess. Who knew? The Lord does work in mysterious ways, huh? Ms. M has still got it. She's brilliant. Did you know she's 69? Yes, the magic number, yes! Seeing her live is just such an eye opening experience. You'll walk out of the concert crying, exclaiming to every passerby: "Everything I know is wrong! Long live Bette!" I promise you. Bette Midler has it all: she can sing, she can run a tight show, she is funny, oh man, is she funny. In all the right ways, too. Nothing I love better than a grown woman with a dirty mouth and an even filthier mind.

JT: "So we have Winifred Sanderson to blame for your gutter talk. Leave it to Disney..."

KF: "I only wish she and I were close friends. I sometimes think about how much fun we would have driving around in my mom's '91 Nissan Maxima, singing 'Chapel of Love' with the windows down, going to get cherry cokes, getting mani/pedis. Oh, if only. She truly is divine. She is to be loved."

JT: "Having a fictional day planned out down to the detail of getting your cuticles removed together doesn't sound stalker'ish at all. I have the same day panned out if I meet Danny Glover.

Katie Flynn
Photo Courtesy of: Della Perrone

You are funny during your live show, and talk to the crowd between songs. Do you have material (or 'skits' as every stand up performer's mom would say) or do you just kinda wing it and improv?"

KF:" First of all, thank you for calling me funny. I feel like an idiot much of the time. During my show, I sort of have material. A few days before a cabaret show, I think about what songs I'm singing and how I can work funny stories into a few of those songs. But really, I just tell stories about crazy stuff my kids do, or going shopping with my mom, or being made fun of by a group of teenagers in a CVS parking lot. No, not in high school. That happened a few weeks ago. I'm 34. Ya know what, not important. So I guess, I do a little both. I like to have things somewhat organized, but I also like to improvise. You never know what's going to happen when you're on that stage in front of the crowd."

JT: "Hecklers, let's talk about them. It's a bit different with music than it is comedy, but have you had a crowd member that, for lack of a better term, "heckled" you during a performance?"

KF: "I'm not sure if this counts, but there used to be one particular older dude who would come to a lot of my gigs and always call out songs he wanted me to sing. I mean, he'd be yelling, "Sing Satin Doll! Sing Satin Doll! Sing it!!" Jesus, I don't even know Satin Doll, and now, I'll definitely never know it.

"Fucking piss pants teenage ass hats"
- Katie Flynn

There was also one lady who was nice enough, but she'd always get really liquored up and sing along with me, very loudly, and off key. It was painful.

Oh, and how could I forget about the teenage boys at the country club who attended my Valentine's Day gig at the Country Club? First of all, I was put right by the foyer/bar area. NOT the dining room. Second of all, the folks who were in there that night were not in the mood for love songs, they were in the mood for a quick drink before their meals in the dining room. I got so dolled up for this too. But just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, in walk these yuppie teens, ordering cherry cokes and steaks and tuna tartar on their parents' accounts. In between songs, one of them called out, "Hey, is this karaoke?" Oh, it just made my night! Fucking piss pants teenage ass hats. I could've strangled each and every one of them with my microphone cable. I just put on my tough girl face and said, "What, you wanna sing, buddy?" His friends snickered and they went back to their caviar cereal or whatever the fuck. That was a definite low. But Valentine's Day sucks, we all know it. Of course, this is when I'm booked just to be background music. That's definitely not my favorite. But let's talk about that in a minute."

JT: "How do you handle crowd members that are rude, talkative, or taking
away from a performance? You don't seem like the insult type of gal."

"I say WHO, I say WHEN, I say HOW MUCH!
I'm my own pimp and don't you forget it."

KF: "Oh honey, I sing at all kinds of gigs where I'm just there to be white noise. It's the fucking worst. For awhile, I was like, 'Well, at least I'm singing.' But anymore, I try to not book gigs where absolutely NO ONE is listening and talking/texting/shaving their legs/literally doing ANYTHING but listening to me, or even acknowledging that I'm there. Sometimes that's just how it is, I'm afraid, and I'm no dummy. If a gig pays, I usually show up. No, I don't insult anyone, but sometimes I'll say into the mic after a song, 'Thank you! Wow, what a warm round of applause that was! I am overwhelmed, just completely speechless. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much!' It rarely works, because no one is listening. I suppose if someone was rudely talking during a cabaret show or something, I would definitely have to call them out and tell them to take it outside. That shit is infuriating. I'm here to entertain, not to wait for someone to finish their conversation."

JT: "All performers tend to have a 'hell gig' story. We comics love to hear others pain.... recollection of your worst show like that?"

KF: "I sang at Boltini (in Champaign) for about a year and a half. It was fun for awhile, but then this new owner fellow from Florida took over. And my god, was he nasty. Just awful. He would yell at me about how sick of my songs people were and how I was either too loud or no one could hear me. He then started to tell me I wasn't allowed to sing anywhere else in town but AT Boltini. He said, 'You work for me!' I started to feel a little bit like a prostitute. In a way, I was flattered, ya know? He loved me enough to want to be totally possessive of me and act like some sort of a singer's pimp. But, I couldn't figure out how that relationship was supposed to work. So, I quit. Smart move too, I might add. I don't work for anyone. To quote Julia Roberts from Pretty Woman, 'I say WHO, I say WHEN, I say HOW MUCH! I'm my own pimp, and don't you forget it!'"

JT: "So tell me, pimp... what is it about cabaret and jazz music that made you want to sing it? Is there something more classy about it, or did you want to be a pop singer and realize you were too talented?"

KT: "GASP! How dare you use the C word. Classy? HA! Guuurl, please."

JT: "Add it to the list of 'C Words' I get in trouble for saying."

"I'm channeling Ethel Merman" - Katie Flynn
Photo Courtesy of: Della Perrone

KT: "I do like a lot of pop music but no, I never had any desire to be a pop singer. For one thing, I have never been very cool. Also, my voice has always been too big for pop music. Not big in the important context, big in the fact that it's fucking loud and it's very broad. Sometimes I hear myself and I'm not sure how it's happened, but I'm channeling Ethel Merman. Yikes. Anyway, I don't want to yammer on about pop music, or Ethel Merman. I mean, of course I do, but we all have shit to do, so let's get to the good stuff."

JT: "Name dropping Ethel Merman is always welcome here. Did you start with jazz or cabaret?"

KF: "I started out by singing jazz standards, which I LOVE. They really don't make songs like that anymore. They are a joy to sing, they are a delight to hear, and they're a beautiful way of life. They're timeless. What's really amazing and quite humbling about singing standards, is that when I used to sing to Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holliday in my car, I would just sing along, like I was real hot shit, and thought how good I sounded. It's only after going through some life experience that I UNDERSTAND what a lot of those songs mean. I went through a pretty rough time a couple years ago, and at one gig, I sang 'Here Comes that Rainy Day', which I had sung hundreds of times before. But all of a sudden, I fucking understood just what that song was really about. I heard it. I felt it. It hurt like crazy, but man, do I know how to really sing that song now."

JT: "I feel like I'm a cabaret singer in a poorly vocal corded, lack of rhythmic soul,
comic's body. So I will live through you... when did you get into that?"

"Less is more? No, less is less.
I like a big production"
- Katie Flynn

KF: "That's a newer endeavor for me. I love showy stuff. The more the better. Less is more? No, less is less. I like a big production, I like high energy, I like applause, I like it loud, I like it fun, I like it vulgar. Cabaret is so special because no one is really doing it here in Champaign. I know it's a college town, with a lot of rock and folk, which is awesome, but I'm going to do what I can to carry the flag for cabaret. A big, sequined flag. I've always wanted to do it, because I love telling a good story, and I love sharing a laugh with the audience. What's even better, is that whether or not I'm singing a happy song, or a sad song, or a funny song, or a sexy song, I feel like the audience really does become one big family. And I'm their mother. Is that weird? Of course it is. Connection is such a wonderful thing, and connecting through songs and stories is my favorite thing. Ever."

JT: "There are so many concepts in that paragraph that I would want to put a baby in if they were people. I know it's hard to narrow down but which song is your favorite to sing?"

KF: "...The upbeat fav would have to be 'Stuff Like That There'. It's from "For the Boys", starring (you guessed it), Bette Midler. It's just about the want for all the really fun stuff that comes with being in love... it's one of those songs that you think about and say to yourself, 'Oh, yeah, good times and high fives.'

The ballad fav is a beautiful song called A Quiet Thing. It's made famous by Liza Minelli, another beloved diva. This song is something that I think everyone can relate to. It's about how when everything goes just according to what you want and the universe smiles on you, it's just...a quiet thing. We all think that there is going to be a damn parade when we get a promotion or hear the word 'yes'. But really, it's just something that walks into your heart and makes you feel a little taller and a little more loved. It's your very own. And that's beautiful."

"...sing my ass off and make people happy.
That's really all I want to do. - Katie Flynn

JT: "Is there one show you did that was so good you are always looking for the next performance that goes that well again? What was the best show?"

KF: "Hmmm, I really loved the cabaret show I put on in April at Big Grove Tavern. It was well attended, and the band I had sounded amazing. However, I remember about two years ago, I sang at Krannert with a quartet. It was for the Uncorked they have most Thursday's. The place was packed and the crowd was very in sync with me. It's an honor to have that experience. After the gig, people wanted to talk, people wanted
pictures, people were happy. The air was just a little lighter that evening and a little sweeter. I'm always looking for that kind of show again. Where I sing my ass off and make people happy. That's really all I want to do."

JT: "Make sure to go see her sing that ass off THIS Thursday Night (Aug 13th) at Mike N Molly's - if you read this after that, just check out all things Katie Flynn at www.katieflynn.com and see her upcoming dates! She's a peach and a terrific candidate to wave the cabaret flag. Support her live shows, you won't be disappointed!"