#INTERVIEW Kate Todd talks about new album “Anywhere With You”

Singer-Songwriter and actress Kate Todd has been in the industry since her early teens. Best known for her role as Shady Lane/Lily Randall in Radio Free Roscoe and Sally in Life With Derek, Kate Todd has been busy promoting her current album “Anywhere With You”. 

We caught up with the lovely Kate Todd at The Field’s Annual Afternoon Party and chatted about her new album “Anywhere with You”, her inspirations, and future plans.  Read the interview below!

We’re here on a lovely sunny day at The Field’s Annual Afternoon MMVAs pre party. How do you feel?
Really good. It’s exciting to be at The Field party. The Field has been great for me as far as writing video treatments for my music video and songs. So it’s really exciting to be here to connect with people and meet people like yourself as well, to finally connect. It’s been great.

Are you currently on tour right now?
I just finished a Western promo tour for TV/Radio. So we’re promoting my second album, “Anywhere With You”. I just came back from Banff, Alberta as well. My distribution company Entertainment One (EOne) brought us out there. We got to play a really cool industry party for the BANFF Film Festival, so it was really exciting and a thrill to be able to promote the album out there. But also, see the beautiful country side of Canada.

You’re a country singer, but there are so many country singers out there. Why should people listen to you?
Well that’s an interesting question. I think for me, my music is a reflection of my personality and things I been going through. So I always kind of say when people come to a live show, they can expect a little bit of lace, a little bit of leather. That’s sort of my style, there’s a lot of femininity in the songs, but there’s also a lot of rock and strength and edge that I bring to it as well. Hopefully that comes across in the music.

So who are some of your inspirations?
I really love the Rolling Stones, Cheryl Crow, Shania Twain, Joni Mitchell was one of the reason why I started playing guitar. I love The Eagles, that to me is country rock. That’s the sound I kind of associate with when I think country. For me, growing up my parents were hippies and listen to all those kind of bands from the 70s. So it’s been cool to be able to try to recreate that guitar driven rock in my music.

You do play a lot of music festivals like CMW. So when it comes to choosing which artist to see, what’s most important to you? Is it the music, the lyrics, or the performance?
Well as a performer, what’s important is really good sound. As far as a listener goes, I really like when somebody has a uniqueness about them on stage. It’s one of those vocal types that you just know it’s a singer when you hear it. I’ve never been partial to necessarily having to have perfection in vocals. I just love style and vibe, for example Mick Jagger, The Rolling Stones or Bob Dylan. That to me is enjoyable and makes a performance stand out in my mind.

Going back to older roots, a lot of people know you from Radio Free Roscoe. How do you feel when people still reference you as Lily Randall?
Yeah it’s a big thrill because people still recognize and still really love that show. It was really cool on the promo tour we were on, the radio and TV tour,  because that show was so influential in some people’s lives. Some people went into radio and TV because of that show. So to be able to meet them on my tour and see how excited they were, it was really a thrill for me. Everyone says I look the same, I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but it’s really great to be able to meet people that connected with that show.  It was a special time and people still have fond memories of it.

Being on both sides as an actress and a singer, what are some major similarities and differences?
Yeah, I hope there’s always roles out there for me. I really enjoy acting, and music is something that got me into the industry. So to be able to continue my musical career, and have this be my second album now distributed through EOne. Just to be embraced in that way, and be embraced in the country music world, it’s really been a big thrill for me. I played so many musicians on TV that they kind of married together, gone hand in hand.

How do you go The Xtra Mile?
That’s a good question. I think in this industry or any industry where you want to become known or recognized you have to put in that extra work. I think a lot of it is working hard and working long hours and make sacrifices in your life, like I have and many other artists have, but also being true to yourself. Because in the end of the day you can go The Xtra Mile trying to be someone you’re not, but that doesn’t always mean it’s going to be authentic and connect. So I think knowing what you believe in and your values and morals.

What’s next for you?
I just finished Assassin’s Creed : Unity, a voice work for that. I played a character, Bishop, so she’s the enabler on that game there, so it’s very exciting for me. What’s next is keep promoting “Anywhere with You” and playing lots of shows this summer so I’m excited about that.

Check out Kate Todd’s single for “Anywhere With You” below!