(This article originally appeared in the March, 2005 issue of the San Diego Troubadour–www.sandiegotroubadour.com)

Cathryn Beeks Finds Her Home

by Simeon Flick

Maybe you're itching for some live musical entertainment on a weeknight, but the calendar is relatively exiguous. You might stumble upon an advertisement for something called Acoustic Alliance, which is happening at a prominent local venue and where you might show up to investigate. The ad's byline reads "Listen Local San Diego," which might inspire you, depending on your lifestyle, to utter the query, "There's a local music scene in San Diego??!!"

You might marvel at the hallowed rock-club-as-church feel of Brick By Brick as you walk in past the grizzled, tatooed veteran bouncer and into the throes of the club's sensuous, dark atmosphere. The sacramental smell of stale beer emanating from everywhere would confirm your suspicions that many an imbibing music fan had had a religious experience or two within this cultural shrine. The bathrooms have layers upon layers of band stickers stuck to the walls as though, not unlike a tree's rings, they signify the club's age and prestigious history.

Later you may see numerous amiable patrons milling about, absorbed in their own religious experiences. They're talking with each other, mingling, some with beverages in hand, most with wide smiles on their lips and eyes alternating from their adjacent colleagues to the four well-lit figures on the stage, with whom you suspect they are also acquainted. It might be hard for you to discern the musicians from their fans, and many of the musicians are on the bill with several of their fellow friends. The moment seems like it might be on the cusp of some wonderfully utopian, idealistic unity.

You might follow their eyes to the four artists onstage at that time, most of whom are comfortably strapped into acoustic guitars–some sitting, some standing–and then with a start you may realize who it is in front of you. Could that be Gregory Page and Lisa Sanders next to amazing up-and-comers like Anna Troy and Pete Thurston? Could that be Robin Henkel next to Zach Goode of Divided By Zero? you might ask yourself how such a wonderfully disparate blend of local talent came to be under one roof, and why this serendipitous discovery didn't occur sooner.

And then you might see her, a flash of kinetic motion quickly darting across the periphery–a whirling dervish of long blonde hair who, either by necessity or by nature or both, cannot sit still. She's too busy emceeing and making announcements from the sound booth or adjusting equipment levels and monitors onstage when there's no one else present to run the sound. Or she'll stop to dish with so many people, it would only be logical to conclude that she knows everyone in the building. In the next instant she too might be onstage, grooving a shaker and singing either backing vocals for friends or lead vocals with her own band. She looks like a less arcane version of Stevie Nicks, and she belts it out with the alto soul of a Janis Joplin or Tina Turner.

You might think back to the name you saw on the ad for the show–aaah, this must be Cathryn Beeks!

And who else would it be? Cathryn has done more to promote the local music scene in the past year through her production company, Listen Local San Diego, than just about anyone else in recent memory. She's made the world a little smaller by way of her astounding ability to befriend, consolidate, and cross-pollinate disparate factions in the local scene, with the rarely observed tendency to support and promote other musicians and artists with the same fervor and drive that she pours into her own endeavors. She's the paragon of a newly emerging paradigm wherein out of necessity a person pursuing the purity of an independent career in the arts must wear many hats.

The byproduct of her selfless, multifaceted eforts over the past year has ben the growing sensation of a coalescing grassroots unity among local musicians, which is reminiscent of what cities like Seattle and Austin have enjoyed but has thus far seemed elusive here. Miss Beeks is a catalyst of the highest order, mixing business with pleasure so seamlessly as to make her life read like a continuous adventure.

Considering she's virtually a card-carrying Gypsy, it's remarkable that Cathryn has been in San Diego for five years. Born in Riverside and raised in Lancaster East of Los Angeles, she caught the music bug in college while working as a real estate secretary. Less than a year later she bought a modern version of the Gypsy's wagon (a motorhome) and hit the road to pursue the life of an itinerant musician. She lived the dream in a variety of places from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to Jacksonville Beach, Florida, singing covers in clubs and on cruise ships. However, it wasn't until landing in Cincinatti, Ohio, in the early nineties that she began to compose her own songs, releasing her first CD under the moniker JunkQueen shortly thereafter.

San Diego enchanted her during a two and a half month-long, nationwide busking trip in 2000 with Heather Gmucs, an erstwhile collaborator. Cathryn found herself entranced by the idyllic local climate and made a point to remain when Heather returned to Ohio later that year. It wasn't long before she met her current songwriting partner, guitarist/vocalist Matt Silvia, and formed 8 Ball Rack, putting out one CD and disbanding shortly thereafter. Fate conspired with design when she was asked to host a new open mic night at Mission Beach's Coaster Saloon in June of 2003.

"A year later I was booking Friday and Saturday nights [at the Coaster Saloon] as well as hosting the open mic," Cathryn recalls via email. "I was able to begin working part time from home, concentrating on my own songwriting. In July of 2004, the owner of the Coaster discontinued our business relationship, which forced me to purchase my own p.a. and look for other venues to host my shows. I named the shows Listen Local and vowed to keep them cover free so that people would be encouraged to support the local music scene."

Cathryn is optimistic about the future. "I'm busy and broke but happier than I've ever been. I play with some amazing people in the Cathryn Beeks Band: Matt Silvia, Will Bonnar [lead guitar], Scott Wilson [bass], and Jason Langton [percussion]. I provide backing vocals in the Downtown Moneywasters, which is Thomas Lee's newest and greatest project. I have a new CD out with the Gandhi Method [nominated for a 2004 San Diego Music Award] and I've been busy writing songs in my home studio. My hope is that someone famous will buy a few of those songs so that I can continue my life of leisure. That life includes working full-time on ListenLocalSD.com–maintaining the website and booking and promoting upcoming shows during the day. Four nights a week I provide sound and host a showcase at one of the various venues I work with. It's been a cool experience getting to know all of the musicians who make up the different music scenes in San Diego.

"I live in a beautiful city with the best weather, making a living doing what I love. My family and friends are healthy, happy, and close by and just recently I met the man. Things are super."

It's possible that this Gypsy has found her home.