Kathryn was born and bred in Seattle, “the most boring place on earth before Grunge,” she says. Inspired by her two older sister’s record collections, she began singing and playing guitar at age 13. She remembers “I would sing harmonies to Joni Mitchell for hours.” Not being much of a guitarist, “I played the same three chords for years,” she thought about a career as a studio engineer after high school. She was accepted into the University of Washington’s Musical Engineering program and began working part-time in a recording studio. Before Kathryn could finish her degree, the University program was dissolved due to a lack of funding. Growing restless with her job, “I was treated like a chick; besides, I wanted to be the musician, not the one behind the knobs,” she decided to pack her bags and head south. After saying goodbye to family and friends, she loaded her giant, gold ’65 Bonneville with all her worldly possessions along with three friends hitching a ride and soon arrived in Los Angeles ready to make her mark.

Her musical experiences were as diverse as her jobs. In ’88, she replaced Rosie Flores as guitarist and songwriter for the notorious all-female “Screamin’ Sirens” (Restless Records), a country-punk band known for their heavy partying and crazy antics. “They thought it was odd that I chose working-out over drinking, but I was just happy to be playing my guitar” she recalls. She soon formed her own band, “Group Therapy,” who played the local clubs extensively and in ’92, won the L.A. Rock Award for “Best Video.” The band featured legendary Columbia Records artist, Jeff Buckley, backing her on guitar and vocals. (After his tragic demise in ‘97, Kathryn was invited to sing for his Memorial at St. Anne’s Church in Brooklyn along with Marianne Faithful and Elvis Costello. She refers to that poignant performance as “the hardest gig of my life.”) Kathryn went on to write, perform, and record with such artists as Bo Diddley, Tracy G. (of DIO), Micheal Bolton and others.

In ’97, Kathryn decided to return to school to complete her degree. In 2000, she graduated Cum Laude from California State University, Los Angeles, with a degree in Jazz Studies. “I like to finish what I start, no matter how long it takes.” Studying jazz extensively during this time led to a newfound love of the style. “My mother is a great jazz singer, but I didn’t appreciate it growing up,” she reflects. She released a six song CD featuring original arrangements of her favorite standards titled, appropriately, “Jazz According to Grimm.”

Aside from extensive performing both solo and with her band KGB, a.k.a., The Kathryn Grimm Band, Kathryn is also a private vocal coach, a songwriter for Bug Music Publishing, a freelance live and session vocalist/guitarist, and an engineer/musician/producer for hire in her own full operating digital studio. Recently, Kathryn completed a Master's Degree in Commercial Music from Cal State L.A. on scholarship. “At Cal State L.A., I learned to use all the new recording software, coming full circle from my first job in a studio.” Her newest release, "Kitchen Sink" is a self-produced unorthodox creation featuring songs of every style, a tribute to her many influences and a life study of music. Kathryn's goal is to continue to teach (“my calling”), write, produce, record and independently release her own genre of music, enjoying the freedom of creating without the intrusion of a record company. She says, “I like being in charge of my world. I love all music and won’t pigeon hole myself into one style, a tactic so common with major labels. Just call me a rock/jazz/country/blues crossover.”

Additional info can be found at kathryngrimm.com

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