NFV Song Spotlight: Kat French's Casket

You never know what hidden gems you'll discover when you go to a WFNM night at Hotel Ziggy or Bar Lubitsch. Some of my favorite bands and singers were discovered at a WFNM night such as coming across King Mala and Halo Kitsch on the same night at Bar Lubitsch. 

Kat French at Hotel Ziggy

This is what happened recently when I went to Hotel Ziggy to catch a 5 band and singers lineup. I had previously seen the band Alexandra John, but I was unfamiliar with the four singers in the lineup. The hidden gem of the night was Kat French. The first thing I noticed even before she hit the stage was how enthusiastically she supported the other acts. I also noticed her singing the lyrics to their songs. That's a person who believes in community.

Kat French at Hotel Ziggy

Side note: what I didn't know about the night was that the lineup was curated by Laamp Music. I've never heard of Laamp Music. Did not even know they were involved with the night when I arrived. Every act kept mentioning Laamp Music so I decided to look them up. It is a 1 year music academy, which means that everyone in the lineup were classmates (maybe former classmates as I noticed that Kat French was in the 2023-2024 program). 

When it was her turn to take the stage, she let the music ring out with her guitarist playing a cool rift. With head nodding and finger snapping, she got the rhythm down and approached the microphone. Her vocals rocked out the venue with tender aggression. It blew me back a step or two. It had me dancing while taking photos. When she went to the acoustic guitar for a couple songs, she didn't go into singer-songwriter mode. The rocking continued and the acoustic guitar freed her up to kick and dance her way through those songs. Her mother was in the audience and was obviously her most enthusiastic fan. 

Kat French at Hotel Ziggy

Currently, French only has two songs up on Spotify (I'm sure that will change soon enough). I'll highlight her initial 2021 single "Casket." Why? It has those cool opening guitar rifts. Got to say, that might become her signature as her career progresses. Also, I'm currently re-watching Season 1 of True Blood. When the series was on HBO, I didn't get to catch all the seasons so I figured I may as well watch from the beginning. And well, caskets and vampires seem like such a good connection.

I don't know the inspiration for the song, but maybe vampires (or zombies) played a role in the lyrics:

Now I′m trying to escape the ground with limbs that cannot crawl

There may also be some inspiration from the Dante's Inferno in a song about a terrible relationship:

Who knew the reaper lived across my wall
Thought you were an angel, guess I took your fall

Kat French at Hotel Ziggy

If you find this intriguing, you can catch Kat French at U Saw Them First on November 16th and I was informed that she'll be back at Hotel Ziggy and WFNM on January 8th, 2025.