I've Gotta Be Free

I've Gotta Be Free

Editorial Reviews
<"b0007qs3a62999"> About the Artist
Katie embraces life with "one step short of crazy" passion. She exudes enthusiasm and zest, roaring through each day with boundless energy that uplifts those around her. She is ever seeking to challenge herself in new directions and wont allow others to stand in her way. Katie has a way of charming the most uncharmable, with a smile, a giggle and a hug that warms you to your toes. Her confidence bubbles over on stage, until everyone in the audience is feeling "the spirit" and moving to her groove. Christened Jessica Katie Whitis, Katie is the third child in a family of eight children. Rick and Dar Whitis created a warm homestead full of love, laughter and music. Katie recalls that as a child, her father would play guitar to entertain his children. When she was afraid to go to bed by herself, Mom gave Katie her first taste of soul and gospel with a cassette tape of Beau Williams for her lullabies. Today, Beau remains one of the greatest influences on Katies style. ! There was always music on the house. Katie's big brother, Jeremy, owned a large music collection. Katie would borrow records - oldies and rock and whatever Jeremy was currently listening to, or borrow his drum set to create her own music. The pivotal point in her life, though, came at the age of 14, when a member of Katie's church, in a moment of prayer, asked Katie, "Do you sing" At that time, pretty much the only singing Katie did was in the barn while cleaning the horse stalls, which she shared with this woman. The woman replied that she believed that God was going to strengthen Katie's gift of song. Shortly after that, Katie began singing at her community church. Performing solos not only gave her the opportunity to openly praise the Lord, but it also fed her desire to share her gift with others. Katie's strong voice and infectious enthusiasm were warmly embraced and admired by the congregation. She began to get invited to sing for weddings or perform at other churches. ! Word of her fresh young talent spread and soon Katie was busy at larger events such as local fairs and festivals. Katie spent the next few years performing wherever and whenever she could. Any vocal competition within sixty miles of her home was sure to include a performance by this powerhouse entertainer. While Katie was winning awards and wowing her fans with renditions of others tunes, she was starting to focus attention on the inner music of her soul. She began writing lyrics and working with a local musician to put the rhythms she felt in her bones into a language we all could enjoy. Katie's first recorded original, Fragile Heart, speaks of heartache and warns a new beau to be gentle with the tender emotions of love. Because of the rave reviews it received, Katie was inspired to continue to compose her own tunes. In 2004, Katie's vocal talent was brought to the attention of the owner of a local recording studio, who was immediately awed by Katie's gift. Ginger Younge, owner and Veteran Nashville Producer of Studio 13 in Brown City, Michigan, signed Katie to an "artist friendly" contract on her label 9 and 4 Records. Younge believes that there is a great amount of young talent locally, and has a vision to establish a non-profit organization to develop this talent. She generously works with teens and young adults who want to pursue musical dreams without the burden of long-term restrictive contracts. Younge saw in Katie the star potential and encouraged Katie to perfect her craft. With Younge's assistance and support, Katie has recently completed her first CD of all original music, and has a second CD in the works.

<"b0007qs3a64999"> Album Description
Katie's first recorded original, Fragile Heart, speaks of heartache and warns a new beau to be gentle with the tender emotions of love. Because of the rave reviews it received, Katie was inspired to continue to compose her own tunes. "Almost all of my song ideas come to me with a melody in mind this is when I team up with my producer to put the rhythms that I feel in my heart into a language that we can all enjoy." It is a lot of fun to watch it all come together that is from when you have the song idea to it actually being mixed and mastered to it's final product. I remember being on my way to one of my favorite restaurants and just coming off the exit I had this idea. "My constant thoughts lead me to believe that I am a deep thinker, I was thinking to my self about the decisions that we make. What if we make a decision that at the time we believe is right and then 5-10 years down the road that we then review the decision we made and deem it incorrect. We want to go back but that bridge has already been burned and we cannot do it over the way we wished we could have." Hence the birth of "When You Can't Go Back". I was very happy with how the instrumentation came out in this song because to me it just cries and that is the effect I wanted. "She Wants To Be Wanted" Goes With out saying. Most women who hear this song say yes! That's exactly it! I want to be wanted! I need to be needed! It is great to get that kind of feed back. I feel that when you've written something that people can relate to and that tells a story then you've made a difference and that is very important to me. I have countless others that I have written and composed that much like people each have a story behind them. This album has a definite blues feel to it, however I do plan on releasing a Country and a Gospel Album in the near future I look forward to many more albums to come with a great positive effect on the human spirit.

I've Gotta Be Free, Music, Katie Whitis, Blues, Katie Whitis lets her guard down and exposes her gentle strength, with an album that encompasses a multitude of genres best described as soulful blusey, R&B with a hint of country seasoned with haunting vocals sure to captivate even the toughest critic., Pop, R&B/Soul

I've Gotta Be Free

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