The Great Kat interview - 01 Dec 09

The Great Kat must be worshipped. Media outlets who proclaim The
Great Kat to be in the top 50, top 10, top whatever, are wrong. The
Great Kat is the best, the fastest, the greatest. She is Beethoven
reincarnated. This is not open for debate. You either 'get' what
this means, or you do not. "Only one who devotes himself to a cause
with his whole strength and soul can be a true master. For this
reason, mastery demands all of a person." -Albert Einstein

Read the follow-up email interview below, after listening to the
phone interview (the yellow/green play button is at the bottom).
Fellow WSCA DJ Kim joined me in the studio for the interview.

Email/Requests: blacknightmeditations@msn.com
Playlists:
http://wsca.radioactivity.fm/show.html?showoid=1242

BLACK NIGHT MEDITATIONS - A heathenish foray along the shining
path. Aural ruminations of Black, Death, Speed, Thrash, Doom, Folk,
Shred, Power, Prog & Traditional Metal.

Tuesday Nights 10pm-2am e.s.t. - WSCA 106.1 FM - Portsmouth, NH USA
- Listen online live @ www.wscafm.org


***The Great Kat email interview - 17 Dec 09***

BNM - There were a few things we did not get to discuss during our
phone interview. I'd like you to expand on the evolution of your
music. Your first 2 albums, Worship Me Or Die & Beethoven On
Speed, featured more of a Thrash influence, notably in the riffs.
Since your brand of Shred/Classical hadn't fully developed to what
it has been over the last decade, can you explain the influence
that Thrash Metal had on your early songwriting? Your Metal
influences were more traditional, so how much of an influence on
your song-writing did Thrash have? Was it a product of the times?
Were you at all involved in the New York Thrash scene of the
'80s?


TGK - The Great Kat High Priestess Of Guitar Shred
(http://www.greatkat.com ) got into SPEED METAL after graduating
from Juilliard. I liked the power and speed of that music. I
decided to mix vicious, speed metal guitar riffs with my Classical
Motives. The result was the first Great Kat CD “WORSHIP ME OR DIE!”
with it’s RAW, VICIOUS SPEED METAL RIFFS AND CLASSICAL GUITAR
SOLOS. The Great Kat’s NEXT CD “BEETHOVEN ON SPEED” was a pure
mixture of SHREDDING GUITAR VIRTUOSITY with AUTHENTIC Classical
Music from Beethoven, Rimsky-Korsakov, Chopin, Paganini ALL MIXED
with POWERFUL METAL SONGS, like “ULTRA-DEAD” and “KAT ABUSE”!


BNM - Much is said about your guitar playing, your violin playing,
your image and so on, but I feel your vocals have always been vital
to who The Great Kat is. Without those patented Kat shrieks, growls
and unique delivery, your music would feel like a symphony without
a conductor. My favorite Kat songs tend to be the ones that have
the most memorable vocal delivery, especially when you mix the
singing and shouting. Would you consider trying new vocal
approaches that you have not used in the past? It would be tough to
sing over the insanity, but you can easily do it and I want more of
those catchy choruses!


TGK - The Great Kat’s BRILLIANT music is a TOTAL MULTIMEDIA
COMBINATION of CLASSICAL and METAL Virtuosity with SCREAMS, YELLS,
BRUTAL SHOUTING and WILD and OUTRAGEOUS IMAGERY—this is the NEW
OPERA of the 21st CENTURY!!!

NOW CHECK OUT THE NEW “BEETHOVEN’S GUITAR SHRED” DVD:
This DVD stars The Great Kat’s Guitar/Violin Virtuosity and
finger-blistering guitar shredding of Classical masterpieces and
original outrageously theatrical SPEED METAL Wagnerian
Mini-Operas.
“Beethoven’s Guitar Shred” DVD Features:
7 Outrageous Shred/Classical Guitar Music Videos, including:
• “The Flight Of The Bumble-Bee” - At the finger-blistering speed
of 300 BPM!
• Beethoven’s “5th Symphony” - Metal version of the world’s most
famous symphony!
• Paganini’s “Caprice #24” – Kat dazzles on this technical virtuoso
showpiece on guitar and violin!
• Bach’s “Brandenburg Concerto #3”- The Great Kat shreds on 6
guitars & 3 violins!
• “Torture Techniques” – Watch Kat’s arsenal of Torture devices and
abused victims!
• Plus MORE Theatrical Metal Madness!
4 Shred BONUS Features:
• Hot Kat Shred Photos! Shred Geniuses!
Kat Kartoon – A crazy cartoon of The High Priestess of Guitar
Shred!
DVD Video Clips: http://www.greatkat.com/dvd/dvd.html


BNM - Do you own the rights to your first 2 albums that were
released by Roadracer? Those albums are hard to find, so a reissue
would be great for those who have yet to hear your early material.
What is the status of the Total Insanity compilation that features
over 50 songs from your discography? It is not available on
greatkat.com, nor is the Guitar Goddess ep. How can your
worshippers get these releases?


TGK - “Total Insanity” is NOT an authorized Great Kat CD and is NOT
released by TPR Music.

To purchase The Great Kat’s “Worship Me Or Die!” and “Beethoven On
Speed” try Amazon.com. “Guitar Goddess” is on TPR Music, but is
currently sold out.

The Great Kat’s NEW “Beethoven’s Guitar Shred” DVD is available
through major retailers (Amazon.com, Best Buy, Target, CDUniverse,
Barnes And Noble) and through the Kat Store at
http://www.greatkat.com/07/index07.html


BNM - Your releases have been issued on vinyl, cassette, cd, and
you even released a cd-rom in the mid-90s. Your last 2 releases
have been dvds. You seem to want to stay with what is current in
promotion, as your online presence has expanded to Youtube,
Facebook and Twitter. Will we see any more cd releases, or has the
current trend in promotion of music (that sees fewer cd sales)
pushed you solely into dvd releases for the forseeable
future?


TGK - The Great Kat’s SHRED/CLASSICAL GENIUS MUSIC must be SEEN and
well as HEARD—that’s why The Great Kat is concentrating on MUSIC
VIDEO DVDS!!! Like Wagner’s Operas, you need to get the ENTIRE
GREAT KAT EXPERIENCE to understand the REINCARNATION OF BEETHOVEN
FOR YOURSELVES!!!!!!!!!
Check out The Great Kat on FACEBOOK:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Great-Kat/296984350242 and
TWITTER at http://twitter.com/greatkatguitar and YOUTUBE at
http://www.youtube.com/user/KthomasPR and Kat Web Site at
http://www.greatkat.com

MUSIC VIDEO CLIPS from “BEETHOVEN’S GUITAR SHRED” DVD:
-BEETHOVEN’S “5th SYMPHONY”
http://www.greatkat.com/beethovens5thsymphonynew.wmv
-“The Flight Of The Bumble-Bee”
http://www.greatkat.com/metalvideos/TheFlightOfTheBumbleBeeMusicVideo.wmv

-Paganini’s “Caprice #24”
http://www.greatkat.com/metalvideos/PaganinisCaprice24.wmv
-Bach’s “Brandenburg Concerto #3
http://www.greatkat.com/BachsBrandenburgConcerto3.wmv
“Torture Techniques”
http://www.greatkat.com/metalvideos/TortureTechniques.wmv
DVD trailer at:
http://www.greatkat.com/BeethovensGuitarShredVideosMenuMED.wmv

More DVD Video Clips: http://www.greatkat.com/dvd/dvd.html


BNM - How do you regard radio? There aren't many stations
(terrestrial, satellite, internet) who are willing to support music
such as yours. Those that do "feature" your work tend to be quite
insulting and demeaning. Has this old-school method of promoting
The Great Kat been worth your effort over the years? Is it still
now? Basically, is any press good press for The Great Kat?


TGK - RADIO IS OLD!!! The Great Kat needs to be SEEN to FULLY
UNDERSTAND SHRED/CLASSICAL!!!! THAT’S THE MAIN REASON The Great Kat
is PRODUCING DVDS!!!!!!!!!!!

REVIEWS OF THE GREAT KAT:
-"The Great Kat should be feared because her hyper-blasting,
neo-classical, whirlwind guitar playing is so precise and intense.
This woman really is a better guitarist than most men ever were.
Beethoven’s Guitar Shred DVD is a portable clinic of seemingly
inhuman guitar antics. Dominating torture, blood, fire,
anti-terrorist sentiments – all wrapped in an oddly tasteful,
hyper-classical visual feast." - Mark Morton, Heavy Metal
Examiner
-"The Great Kat named one of the fastest guitar players. Probably
the fastest female shredder on the face of the earth. 'Flight Of
The Bumble-Bee' at 300 Beats Per Minute. It does not get any faster
than that. This ('Beethoven's Guitar Shred' DVD) makes a great
stocking stuffer." - Michael Butler, MEVIO Music
"The guitarist Katherine Thomas aka The Great Kat is ranked among
the fastest metal shredders of all time." - Danny Kringiel, Spiegel
Online (Germany)
-"Blending the showmanship of metal with the intensive musical
construction of classical, Kat has carved out a name for herself in
musical history by shredding some of the greatest musical works of
our time." - Carly Milne, AOL's Digital City


BNM - How do you regard the composer Felix Mendelssohn, given that
it's possible J.S. Bach's brilliant music may have been lost to the
ages had it not been for Mendelssohn bringing back Bach's
compositions to the stage?


TGK - Mendelssohn did a great service to society by finding J.S.
BACH’S MUSIC and BRINGING it to the masses! THAT’S THE SAME MISSION
THE GREAT KAT IS ON—to BRING BEETHOVEN TO THE PEOPLE WHO DON’T EVEN
KNOW BEETHOVEN’S GENIUS MUSIC!!!!!!!!


BNM - You have been motivated to perform music composed by those
you consider to be "geniuses." But can we expect The Great Kat's
musical tribute to non-composer geniuses such as Galileo Galilei or
our founding fathers of the U.S.A.? Certainly you can apply your
Shred/Classical style of music in honor of these geniuses as well.
Instead of wasting any more of your time on terrorist scum, how
about expanding upon the Wagner's War theme and further celebrate
our history, or composing music based upon our future through the
eyes of the past?


TGK - The Great Kat Guitar Shredder’s MISSION is to NOT only UPDATE
CLASSICAL MUSIC for the MASSES, but to ALSO TALK ABOUT WHAT IS
HAPPENING RIGHT NOW IN THIS TERRORIST INFESTED WORLD—like on my
songs “ISLAMOFASCISTS” and “TORTURE TECHNIQUES” from “Beethoven’s
Guitar Shred” DVD!!!!!!!!!!


BNM - Many of us Kat slaves would like to here much more of your
violin playing. Personally, I'd love to hear solo violin pieces.
Especially Paganini's Caprice no.1.


TGK - The Great Kat’s VIOLIN VIRTUOSITY is heard on the NEW
BEETHOVEN’S GUITAR SHRED” DVD—on “THE FLIGHT OF THE BUMBLE-BEE”,
PAGANINI’S “CAPRICE #24”, BEETHOVEN’S “5th SYMPHONY” and BACH’S
“BRANDENBURG CONCERTO #3”!!!!!

On the NEXT Shred/Classical DVD, The Great Kat will be SHREDDING
one of THE MOST TECHNICALLY DIFFICULT AND DEMANDING VIOLIN VIRTUOSO
PIECES ever written: NICCOLO PAGANINI’S “MOTO PERPETUO” on the
GUITAR and VIOLIN, along with works of BEETHOVEN, MOZART and
MORE!!!!!!


BNM - Thanks for your time, Kat. I'd love to delve deeper into your
psyche and find out more about you as a person, but I know if I
tried you'd just pummel me into submission. Your boots would be
cleaner, and I'd still have no answers. Thank you again for
sticking to your guns over the years, and continuing on with The
Great Kat's Shred/Classical supremacy. You have my support.


TGK - THANKS MARK!!

THE GREAT KAT IS THE METAL MESSIAH/REINCARNATION OF
BEETHOVEN!

NOW GO TO THE GREAT KAT WEB SITE at http://www.greatkat.com
KAT on FACEBOOK:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Great-Kat/296984350242
KAT on TWITTER at http://twitter.com/greatkatguitar
KAT on YOUTUBE at http://www.youtube.com/user/KthomasPR