The title of Kate Voegele’s upcoming album, “A Fine Mess”, goes a long way toward summing up the singer/songwriter’s life – it’s ridiculously busy, but that’s just how she likes it.
Voegele’s sophomore effort is set to be released May 18. She recently finished shooting the album’s first video, “99 Times”, and she has a recurring role on the CW television show “One Tree Hill”. Signed to MySpace Records label, Voegele utilizes the social networking site to its fullest, constantly posting blogs and videos. She’s taking classes at the University of Phoenix (the presenting sponsor of her tour) online, working toward a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology.
Oh yes, and then there’s the grueling 40-shows-in-49-days tour that will take her across the United States (and includes a few dates in Canada).
“Things are pretty crazy, but crazy in a positive sense,” Voegele said during a phone interview from Denver, Colo., the day after her Lift Me Up Tour kicked off. “It’s been a crazy last year-and-a-half and with this new record, it’s all starting up again and I couldn’t be more thrilled, because I think I’ve never been prouder of anything that I’ve done than this record.
“‘A Fine Mess’ really feels like something that’s quintessentially me and something I’m really, really excited to get out there to fans.”
Though Voegele might need an extra hand – and a few assistants – to help her juggle her multiple projects, the Bay Village, Ohio, native insists that she works best when she’s busy. In fact, she did most of the writing for her latest album during a similarly hectic time last year.
“The funny thing about ‘A Fine Mess’ is that I really wrote it almost accidentally while I was doing all of that stuff last year,” she said. “I was touring, shooting ‘One Tree Hill’. I thought, ‘I’m going to have no time to write my second record.’ And when it came time in the fall to make the second record and we were talking about it with the label, it was like, ‘I kind of have this record already. It sort of wrote itself.’
“I’m inspired by everyday life and by being busy and by living my life. I would write a terrible record if I wasn’t busy. All the new experiences, all the travel really inspired me.”
Those fans who tune in regularly to “One Tree Hill” have had the opportunity to hear four songs from Voegele’s sophomore release. Her character on the show, Mia Catalano, just happens to be a singer/songwriter who is working on her second album.
“I was just releasing my first record [‘Don’t Look Away’, in 2007], and my manger wanted me to fly to L.A. to audition for this TV show, and I did it to humor her because I didn’t think there was any way I was going to get a job on a TV show like ‘One Tree Hill’ without any acting experience,” she said. “Next thing I knew, I was in Wilmington [N.C.], shooting my first scene and playing my music from my record on national television.
“It’s been pretty incredible how Mia’s storyline is similar to my real-life storyline. She’s making her second record this season. To have 75 percent of ‘A Fine Mess’ be featured on ‘One Tree Hill’ because Mia is making ‘A Fine Mess’ as well, it’s pretty incredible.”
The songs – among them the rocking “99 Times” and the melancholy promise of “Manhattan From the Sky” – have sent a surefire signal that the 22-year-old is continuing to establish herself as an up-and-coming force in well-crafted, intelligent, radio-friendly pop-rock. They have also given fans a chance to connect to the music in a way they might not have had otherwise.
“I’ll write a song about a certain subject matter,” Voegele said, “and they’ll say, ‘OK, let’s make this happen in Mia’s storyline so it would make sense that she would write this song.’ It’s pretty amazing they’re able to do that, and they’ve done such a stellar job of weaving those songs in to the storyline in a way that lets fans feel that they’re really connected to the songs since they watched the songs come together and they watched Mia’s journey as a character and they understand why she wrote the song. So it creates this really great connection to the music.”
Still, there’s no better way to connect with music than seeing it performed live. Voegele will bring the Life Me Up Tour to the area when she performs May 16 at The Note in West Chester.
“I just want to make the audience feel like we’re all just hanging out together, having a good time,” Voegele said of performing. “My band is awesome. There will definitely be songs where we strip it down, but there’s a full band and we’re rocking it out. It’s going to be really, really fun.
“There are certain places you play and you know every time it’s going to be super high energy. [Philadelphia is always] an energetic crowd, screaming, singing along to every song, jumping up and down, which is so much fun for the live shows. We’re going to play a ton of new music, a lot of the old stuff, throw in some covers, and just have a really good time.”
IF YOU GO
Kate Voegele
6 p.m. May 16
At The Note
142 E. Market St., West Chester
Tickets: $15
