The Bobby Bones Show - BONUS EPISODE: Catie Offerman Interview

Episode Date: August 18, 2022

Bobby sat down with Catie Offerman to discuss her journey on becoming a country singer. They dive into Catie’s childhood and talk about being home schooled by her father, what it was liked being raised on a farm, playing the accordion and fast forward to moving from places around the globe like Los Angeles and Europe. Along the way meeting the creator of American Idol, auditioning for TV gigs, eventually establishing roots in Nashville, and pursuing a career in country music!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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And any fiddle player that I know, like, that dominates what they do musically. Right. Most of them. If they're a fiddle player, like first and foremost, I was very surprised to see you killing a fiddle. Thank you. And that is a massive compliment because I went through and we've been playing. some of your music on the women of our country and the country top 30 like i've programmed both of those shows and so i've been a fan of your music and i've been watched some of your videos where you

play live i was just so shocked to see you play a fiddle because you don't that's usually the person's thing i know you know it's such an interesting thing because um i grew up playing instruments as opposed to singing and doing my own thing um you know people always ask like oh what all instruments do you play whatever and it's like i have to categorize them by what i'm willing to get paid for and for me like that's fiddle and you know me backing myself up on guitar um but fiddle's just always been my main thing like I grew up playing in polka bands and playing fiddle in a German dress and like you know all that is normal stuff and um so for me it's like I had to learn when I came in Nashville and when I started doing my own thing like where does that fit in what I do did you purposefully

not want to be a you're a fiddle player obviously but did you not want to be known because there's a lot of art. There's a couple that are really good with the fiddle. There's not a lot of artists who play the fiddle up front. I think for me it was really important that people focus on what I have to say and who I am as an artist and that be kind of like a spice that I add in, you know, and it not be in my pictures or something that I'm like, I'm Katie, I'm the fiddle chick, you know, I want it to be like if you were to go see, gosh, I mean, Even somebody like, let's just say Taylor Swift, like somebody that everybody has kind of, you know, been into of the years. If suddenly, like, mid-set, they picked up a fiddle and they played...

Blow your mind. Like, on one song. And here's the thing, too. It's not about just picking up the fiddle. It's the difference to me of playing something like Allison Krauswood versus, like, I'm not, I mean, you're never going to catch me playing dead one down in Georgia mid-set. Like, please kill me before that happens. And yes, I've done it too many times and I'm over it. But for me, it's like, while it will never be the forefront, it will never be, I'll never be the fiddle chick.

The fiddle and just my musicality is way too deep-rooted in my life and my career and who I am as a person to ever completely neglect that, you know? Yeah, it's awesome. I mean, it's kind of like the Lizzo flute thing. Right. Where when she pulls out the flute, you're like, what the crap? Who even plays the flute? And when she's so good at it, you're like, wow. But anyway, that's the feeling that I got because I was not expecting to see you on a stage grab a,

fiddle and tear it apart. It was awesome. Well, thanks. I appreciate that. I think that as a massive compliment. Thank you. When you grew up in Texas? Yeah. Love it. You spent time there that, you know, makes every Texan happy. A lot. So near New Bromples? Yeah, I grew up on a ranch outside of New Bronfels. Born and raised was there my whole life up until moving to college, you know?

And to me, like, I mean, Texas is obviously a huge part of who I am as well. I feel like that comes out in my music. And even though I played all these different genres, like country music, I feel like you have to love country music. You're from Texas, but that's what my foundation was built on. You grew up on a ranch, so did you have to go out and, I don't know, gather the horses and milk the goats before you got to play the fest? Yes, all right. So TMI, but my husband two weeks ago was like, you know, people have been talking about this like raw milk thing, you know, I think it's like pretty hit. Maybe I should try it.

So we like go to the Charlotte Farmer's Market. We buy the raw milk and he's telling me how it's going to change my life. I'm like, cool. I'm probably, I'm not a huge dairy person. But so that in the process of doing that, he's like, well, have you ever tried it? I'm like, yes, straight from the goat. I would go out. I just take the utter and I put it straight to my mouth.

I can't even believe I'm telling you this because that seems so far from the person that I am today. But like I was that girl Like I'm like Want to be unpopular You know Let me tell you how to do it Grow up on a ranch Be homeschooled

Be an only child Your best friends are your goats And you play music You were homeschooled on the ranch Who was your teacher? My dad And what was his expertise Meaning what was it the best dad

What was it the best dad What is not his expertise If you talk to him You know at the time He was a horse trainer And so we grew up like Just kind of a simple life and I was homeschooled, the tack room of our barn.

You know, like just being homeschooled, being an only child, like, it's funny now because I think that's a problem with kind of like social media and just it's easy to assume things about people and see my life on there and be like, oh man, looks like she's, you know, doing the thing, must be cool, whatever. And it's like deep inside, I'm still kind of like that 12-year-old that's out of the ranch that's just kind of like by myself, just kind of doing my thing. and like not cool at all, you know? And I'm just so lucky that my dad homeschool me

because I think if my mom had, I would have been a horrible person. I think she would have stressed me out. Love her, but not in the classroom. Did you guys have a music class? Did you do anything like that? You know, my parents are not musical at all. So then how are you so musical if they are not?

Man, I don't know. Maybe I just kind of got lucky. I think that for me It was like we grew up going to church You know and I'd see The old gal at the front It was nothing special Like to me

Yeah I mean now I go to a big church And it's like the light show And the whole deal And I'm into it I definitely wouldn't want to go back To my small church But it's crazy how far like You know

That even just going to that Presbyterian church When I was a little kid Like that one person One old lady playing piano Inspired me And I just remember asking my parents Like that looks kind of cool

Like I want to do that. And they were supportive to help you do it. So supportive. They're the best. You know, I really couldn't be and do all the things that I do without having all their support over the years. And like, yeah, I think it's just been a game changer for me. Even just emotionally like to have that support. So you grew up playing the fiddle, obviously. The accordion? Yeah. So the accordion, that's something like. That's like the coolest instrument ever. I've been thinking, you know, the funny thing is I have my old accordion at the house. And, um,

It's broken. Your house here? Or back in Texas? No, it's here. Oh, if you brought that in and played on our show, that would be better than a Garth performance. See, all right, we've added the fiddle to the set. We've not added the accordion to the set yet. The accordion's hilarious and awesome and tough and hard to play.

It's all the combination. It's a lot, man. And I'm not saying no. So maybe sometime we'll do that together. But it's funny because my, according to all the buttons on the left are stuck. And it's just, yeah, it sounds like just the worst. And so I was thinking of really. recently. Like, you know what? Maybe I should

just go on Amazon and order some cruddy, just cheap, like, little, you know, maybe I'll learn the button box. Because I feel like that would be so fun to bring out to a show for one song. People wouldn't even have to know if I was playing. But they would know what it is, like, what is happening? It would be awesome. Because you would surprise folks and give them something they haven't

seen before. 100%. No one's ever played. There might be a reason for that. No, I take it back. The Texas Twist. Eddie, who was it? It became Tim McGraw brought in the Texas Tornadoes. Oh, they played Texas tornadoes, yeah. Oh, that's what it was.

And they brought an accordion. The whole group, it was, and it was awesome. And I was like, that's the coolest thing I've ever seen. Because I've only ever seen it at a Mexican restaurant in a mariachi, right? Man, you've only seen the mar. You need to get them out to a polka show sometime. I've never been to a poker show. We went to a bar in Vegas, right Eddie once?

It was polka. Oh, that's German. Yeah, they did polka music. Yeah. Polka bar. Yeah. I don't really know. I just know it was fun.

Yeah. It was like green. It's very green. Yeah. And people going, do put, do put, do but. There's a tuba and stuff. It's awesome. It's a good time, you know?

People drink a lot of beer, eat a lot of sourcrime. Man, I remember when I was like 12, 11, 12, 13 on the road with this polka ban. Like, I've never eaten more brown. You went on the road with a polka band when you were 12 or 13? For sure. Like, who does it? I mean, man, I'll tell you this. Up until, like, when I moved to Nashville six years ago, I used to play with this guy back in Texas.

His name was Terry Kavanaugh, and he was like the reason why I started playing shows because I was playing all these instruments, but it was, you know, primarily either classical bass or kind of gospel bluegrass. And for me, like all the only potential I saw in my musicality was either playing in an orchestra or like playing at home or playing kind of at the church. But when I started taking accordion lessons from Terry, he was like, man, you should do on my polka band. And so Terry and I, long story short, played together for a long time.

We kind of ended up having a falling out. I think because he saw me leaving the polka industry or whatever. And, you know, it's just, I looked, one day I woke up and I looked in my closet and I realized I didn't have any clothes. Like, I'd never worn jeans to a gig. I wore a durnal. And so, anyway, years went by. Terry and I didn't really, you know, talk much. I was doing my thing.

He was still playing polka music. And he's, like, in his 60s. When I moved to Nashville, you know, starting out, semi-dead. desperate and Terry calls me and he was like hey I know it's been a while do you want to make some extra money like heck yeah so we would go play these secret polka gigs over opry mills at the hopbrow beer garden so I'd be there like every tuesday so and I'd be like please god let me not see anybody I know um so I did that until I started seeing people other than I knew and I was like we need to stop so the funniest thing about that is that is now the coolest thing

that you have that skill and you've done it. I was like, is polka music the cool thing? No, but it's so not cool that it's super cool. Like, it's because I just don't know anything about it. That's why I say it's not cool. I know there's like a tuba and people weren't suspenders and people going up and down like the umpola lozen. Yes, whatever that is.

Suspenders, lateros and holmes. That is so interesting. You know, I think that, yeah, it's just totally shaped who I am and got me this place. Like, I would never do it any other way. That is awesome. I recommend to anybody. Go play some polka music and come back. The Bobby Bone Show is proud to be supported by Grand Canyon University,

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GCU is purpose-driven education. Take action. Find your purpose at GCU, private, Christian, affordable nonprofit. Visit gCU.edu to learn more. We could piano, all these instruments. So you decided to go to music school. Yep. Do you go to school for the instrument or for your voice? So I didn't really find my voice for a while. You know, that's kind of what came last.

And so for me, like, I was still kind of figuring out my deal when I went to college. I went up to Berkeley when I was 16. I'd already started college at that point. 16. So you were finished early because of homeschool. You did all your stuff early. Yeah, that's kind of a long story. I ended up starting college like a few years before I went to Berkeley.

So I was super young. And it was kind of a crazy opportunity I had. And so I kind of ran with it. And I was like 15. I'm wearing college. I took a year off school. I was just playing like Western swing gigs around Texas. And I'm like, what do I want to do with my life?

And this loser guy I was playing with at the time handed me this Berkeley like pamphlet thing. It was like, I'm not going to go. Like, you should go. I'm like, okay. So anyway, I ended up there. And you graduated. I actually graduated. Yeah, I graduated when I was 19.

And I say those were kind of like the bonus years of my life because I got to go and like move to L.A. and get told no like a million times for a couple years. And it was like... What was your degree in... It was in Fiddle. So I did go for Fiddle. Wasn't for voice.

Do they have Fiddle and violin? A difference? No, no. It's all the same. I just feel like Fiddle makes me seem like a... Like, you don't want to be my friend. You know, it's more approachable. I'm like, oh, I play the fiddle.

And said like, oh, I play the violin. Yeah, and I, you know, I would say if you were so, I agree with that statement completely because the fiddle's warmer, right? It's like, on the fiddle, come over and have some biscuits, right? If you were someone who wasn't believable as a country artist, because there will be people, they're like, oh, look how country I am. And you're like, you never know, this is just a game to you. You're trying to make it in music, and this is where you think you have the best shot. But you are so freaking country that it is, I mean, you know what? You can say, I'm playing the cello.

We'd be like, as a country cello. Yeah. Yeah. You know, that's the thing. it's like I've never had to sell that part of me. You know, it's like even I've lived in Boston. I've lived in L.A., you know,

I've traveled all over the world. And I'm not, you know, there are other parts of me that are not just that girl on the ranch, you know? But like I said, that's always my foundation. Like I grew up listening to Bob Wills and Ray Price and people that you were saying earlier about,

do you know this song? Because, you know, you're probably too young for it. I'm like, man, the older I'm more likely to know it, you know. Is that because of your parents at all? You said they weren't music, but did they listen to a lot of music? You know, I feel like I really listened to that with my grandparents. Like my grandfather would just turn on records, you know,

and he's the reason why I started playing fiddle because he was like, oh, I think I'm going to go to a pawn shop today and buy a fiddle and try to play because, you know, he played violin in high school. Which is that weird that I say violin and fiddle in the same sentence? No, because I, I mean, I can differentiate and even what you mean by the difference. And to me, there's a style difference when you say the two as well.

Yeah, it's a stylistic thing, I feel like. It's the kind of person you are. Like, are you wearing jeans? Are you wearing like trousers? Like, you know, it's like just different kinds of people, different kinds of whatever. I like fiddle vest. But he took me to the pawn shop and was like, we're going to get a fiddle. And he brought it home, tried to play.

He was in his 80s. And so he's like, man, I got too bad arthritis in my hands. And so he gave the fiddle to me. It was like, you can do something with this. So that's something I always hold on to. And that's what keeps me always, you know, at the end of the day, keeping that in what I do. So, because I think it's important to keep the fiddle alive

and know that that's a huge part of who I am. I'm more of let's keep the, what I think called? Let's keep accordion alive. Hey, make accordion. It's great again. Let's go. Yeah. All right.

I'm working on that, so we'll see. How would you describe your journey to Nashville? Because it sounds like there are a lot of really interesting character building stops along the way. Yeah, I think the biggest maybe time period in my life that really taught me a lot of lessons and made me grow up a lot, was living in L.A. after college. Because I really wasn't planning on moving out there. and I was going to go either back to Texas, do some kind of a Texas scene thing, and come here,

or I was just going to come here. And I met Simon Fuller, who created American Idol. He happened to be at a show I played, and I was backing up a few different people, but Annie Lennox was one of those people. And who he, I don't know if he still manages, but was managing her at the time.

And he came up to me afterwards, and was like, you know, what are you doing with your life? And I'm like, well, I don't know. I'm fixing to graduate and we're going to see what happens. That, anyway, that all brought me out to L.A. and I finally just said, screw it, I'm going to go out there and just kind of chase this thing, you know. To do music? You moved to L.A. and try music?

Well, he said, we were going to do music, you know, but he was coming up with a show, or he had come up with a show that was going to take the place of Idol. And this was when Idol, I guess, was before it came back. and because it's been several years ago, almost 10 years ago. And he was like, I think it'd be great if you were the host of the show. And then we made your music

kind of throughout the whole thing. And so I'm like, God, cool, you know. Suddenly I was being picked up in black cars, like from my apartment in Boston. I was taking the airport. Like, I'd meet him in New York at the Plaza Hotel. Like everything felt very glamorous. Flown out to L.A., you know,

I mean, I was just like, wow, what is happening with my? life. And then as time passes, you realize, like, 99% of things don't fall through. They fall through. They don't happen, you know. And I hadn't learned that yet in life because I was so used to, like, play a gig, do a good job, get hired back, you know, and like these little baby steps. But it seemed like out there, it was like, do this, and tomorrow we'll put you on a billboard or, you know, whatever. Everything was so grandiose that after a while, the show didn't go through.

I was having to pay. They told me, we're going to put you in classes to be a TV host. We'll let you pay to go have this gal get rid of your accent. You know, like all these different things.

And I'm like, all I lost there was my money. And it's just funny. It's like all those different things that totally weren't me. But I wouldn't do it any other way because, you know, looking back now,

I'm like, that shaped me so much. And I ended up part in ways with Simon. I pretty much just told him, like, I need to go find me. You know, you can't do that. And I stayed out there. It was kind of having like a, you know, feeling like I was in crisis mode. I was 21 years old. I had broken up with this manager that I thought was going to change my life. And I said, screw it. So I went to Europe and I wrote for several months and came back. Got offered a record deal on Sony with those songs I had written that were so god awful. and finally realize the importance of getting told no a thousand times, but knowing when to say no to a yes, you know? And I realize, like, if I stay out here any longer,

I'm going to get stuck in something I don't like. I'm going to be wearing some, some probably like slutty leotard. I'm going to have sparkles falling from the sky. And it's just, I'm going to be so unhappy, you know, or I can figure out why I do music and what I do it for and, you know, the root to who I am. And so I realized I cried for like a month and I moved to Nashville. And so I say that that little portion of my life, that chapter taught me the most.

Now I don't get excited about anything. Same. Hey, yeah, same. Like, what's even exciting? Food. Going to a good restaurant. That gets me high. And food that's in front of you right then, you know you can eat it for sure.

Right. Right, right, right. Because you may get there and it's off the menu. That happens too. A lot of school of disappointments. I'll go on Yelp and look and be like, oh, awesome. They got those crispy brussels, you know, and then I'll go and be like, yeah, I want those brussels.

We know. Out of season. Yeah, I'm like, no ma'am. Same. So, yeah, and just like finding contentment in the journey because I realize what I learned from L.A. was it like I, what I'd see work in the past was just the blood, sweat and tears of showing up, being a good human. playing a show, whether it was polka music, whether it was country, you know, whether there's

one person or 10,000. And it was just showing up every day and doing it again the next day. So I feel like that's kind of the mindset I try to get back into when I moved to town. I want to play a couple clips here before we end with Katie Offerman. Here is Happy Land Trailer Park. And here is Don't Do It in Texas. Just don't do it in Texas. Don't do me that wrong Katie, good to talk to you

Thanks for having me I'm glad we finally Got to hang out in the real life Quite the journey, quite the story Quite the journey I mean really You say that Some people are like

Well I lived in North Carolina I moved to Nashville I'm like wow quite the journey That ain't crap compared to hers It's amazing Holy cow I mean I think that for me It's like

It's all part of the journey I feel like that's Maybe that's kind of why we do it It's like we're Because there's You never really know what's going to happen, you know? Like, I don't know. I could win a Grammy next year, or I could just be sitting on the couch, you know. I have no idea, but I think that's what

keeps that fire alive, you know. I just wrote all that down as lyrics. All right. Yeah, it's all down. Use it, man. Follow Katie at Katie Offerman, C-A-T-I-E. And Katie, great to talk to, and hopefully I'll see you soon. Sounds good. Thanks for having me. it can open doors for the whole family. If you have a loved one who served in the military, you may qualify for reduced tuition. AMU offers flexible online programs designed to fit your schedule so you can keep moving forward wherever life takes you.

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