Songwriter blazes her own musical trail

A two-time Spring Sing winner, part-time songwriter and full-time student, third-year musical theater student Katie Boeck is taking the UCLA music realm by storm.

Boeck’s captivation with, and life-long love for, music started long before she came to UCLA, with a childhood hobby that turned into something greater.

After having surgery for a cleft palate while in preschool, Boeck began to take voice lessons as therapy and got more involved in music as she began to participate in dance and theater. Music was a healthy hobby that stayed with her.

At the age of 10, as a result of disillusionment with classical piano, which did not seem to tell a relatable story, Boeck found a new channel of catharsis: songwriting, which allowed her to tell her own perspective.

“It was the purging of my feelings. Songwriting is very different than journalism, poetry, drawing or any other type of release. I find it very rewarding,” Boeck said. “I like being somewhat vague in my writing ““ it can mean something to me and something different to others. The final product is one that people can interpret in their own way.”

Boeck’s first take at writing her own lyrics was a slightly questionable but creative take on a girl in a bar titled “Taking Your Sweet Time.”

“I thought it was good at the time, but it’s kind of funny that I would be writing that at the age of 10,” she said. “My dad steered me in a more age-appropriate direction after.”

Boeck’s father is a songwriter as well, and influenced her present-day music by introducing her to country and bluegrass.

“I think that country music allows the expression of emotion in a much more raw way than other types of music,” Boeck said. “I definitely draw from that in my music today.”

Inspired by female performers such as Joni Mitchell, Jewell and UCLA alumna Sara Bareilles, and drawing from her country-music background, Boeck’s music is hard to place in a single genre.

Self-described as a folk acoustic pop-rock artist, Boeck is currently experimenting with jazz chords and different styling to evolve her music further.

“My music is a little hard to place in a genre, but I think that the music industry is going in that direction anyway,” Boeck said. “Musical lines are being crossed, and as time goes on, people are willing to see artists as individual entities and not parts of a specific musical genre. My music is just that ““ it can stand on its own without needing a definition.”

Boeck’s music may not have a set definition, but it is certainly celebrated in the UCLA community.

During her first year in college, Boeck used songwriting as a means of catharsis for her emotional experience in adjusting to a new, diverse environment. Coming to a large campus forced Boeck to compete for recognition and artistic appreciation even more than in her hometown of Arroyo Grande, where she grew up being close friends with other talented standouts such as actor Zac Efron.

Boeck put her songwriting skills to work and decided to audition and perform her original song “Colorblind” in Spring Sing 2007.

The Spring Sing audience greeted her with applause and cheers, and the judges responded by giving the first-year the distinguished Northern California Alumni Grand Sweepstakes Award for Best Overall Entry.

“The performance was the shining moment for me. It was definitely scary singing in front of 6,000 people, especially when you’ve never done it before,” Boeck said. “I was blown away by the amount of creativity UCLA artists are putting out there and felt like my music was appreciated and understood. Winning was just the icing on the cake.”

Taming her fears of performing alone on a stage in front of thousands of people, Boeck came back for seconds, performing another original song in Spring Sing 2008. “White Lies” won her the UCLA Mortar Board Award for Best Solo Entry as well as the Grand Sweepstakes Award for Best Overall Entry for the second time.

“The first time on that stage my brain was saying “˜Just get through the song. Just get through the song.’ But when it was over, I just wanted to get up there and do it again,” Boeck said. “The second time was more of a feeling of being here to share my music. I didn’t have to worry about my nerves, because I’ve already been there, I’ve already done that. It was even more rewarding.”

Boeck is still deciding whether to return to and compete in Spring Sing for the third time this year, pending a musical production she is participating in.

If she decides to do so, Boeck plans to showcase a reinvention of her sound, perhaps performing with a band, collaborating with other musicians or playing the guitar instead of the piano.

“I feel like I need to reinvent myself in terms of Spring Sing,” Boeck said. “It’s really great to collaborate and be surrounded by people who speak the same language as you, adding to the music and intensifying what you’re putting out there. Two heads are better than one. It’s an opportunity to create something unique that’s part yours and part theirs.”

Boeck was able to perform with a band in her recent Oct. 30 concert at Fowler Out Loud. The concert showcased her upcoming album, currently still untitled, due to be released this Christmas.

“I was finally able to let people hear what my music sounds like when it’s not just me playing,” Boeck said. “I also got to showcase my new album which is more me. It was really nice to get to do that.”

As Boeck works on collaborating with other musicians and continues to pursue her musical theater degree, she is working with a producer in Pasadena. While her future plans do not specifically include signing with a record label, Boeck plans to pursue a career in music.

“I have to see how things go from here. The music industry is in a weird place right now, with records sales not where they used to be. I’m happy to be in control of my own music at this point,” Boeck said. “Right now my goal is to just put my music out there as much as I can on my own. After graduation I plan to play the L.A. music circuit and just continue to get my music heard.”

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