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Music Runs Through It presents Katie Marti | Thursday November 19, 2015

By Matt Carter @m_j_c73

For the past several years, New Brunswick expat Katie Marti has been enjoying life on the West Coast. Revelstoke, BC to be exact – about halfway between Banff and Kamloops. With a population of just over 7000, Marti finds the community a good compliment to her East Coast sensibilities, where friendships and music take high priority.

“I’ve been playing with some talented folks for the past few years,” said Marti, who learned to play guitar around summer campfires at Camp Glenburn and later, as a guest performer at open mic night at O’Leary’s Pub in Saint John. “We jam lots and pump each other’s tires when needed. It’s a really neat little music scene in Revelstoke with one of the most incredible monthly coffee houses I’ve ever witnessed. Mind blowing talent comes out of the woodwork all the time and it’s so much fun to be part of a community that values gifts no matter the shape or size.”

Each year she makes an effort to visit to her family back east, answering the call of weddings, funerals and on more than one occasion, the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival. But until now, these semi-regular visits home didn’t involve playing music.

“Sometimes I make a big deal out of being home,” she says, “and sometimes I just blow through town without telling anyone. This time, I wanted to spend a good chunk of time here reconnecting and letting the place creep back into my bones. I’ve been recording a bit out west and thought it would be really incredible to play a few shows in New Brunswick if anyone would have me.”

Having heard about the Music Runs Through It series, Emma Chevarie’s ongoing performance series at Corked Wine Bar, Marti thought the location and the vibe would be a great fit.

“I love intimate shows at places like Corked,” she said. “I’m a chatter. I personally adore seeing musicians play in a setting that allows them to give me a bit of insight into what they were thinking when they wrote a song or recorded an album, so I guess it makes sense that this is also how I like to play, myself. I feel like live shows should offer more than just the same music you hear on a record or the radio, otherwise why bother changing out of your sweatpants and leaving the dog home alone all night?”