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Katy Needs A Life? They're still a thing?

Katy May
Jul 31, 2023
3 min read

Hello, again!

It's hard to believe how long it's been since this site/blog has been updated. You probably thought we were dead!

Lucky for us, we're not dead. Far from it!

We have some updates though. Some good, some meh. It's a mixed bag, so buckle up! We're gonna hit this in chronological order.

In the fall of 2019, KNAL hit the recording studio and started banging out a full-band, full-length album. We were all so excited to finally get started on our album "With Friends Like Bees" after so many years without recordings.

The momentum was going great until, literally, the entire world stopped.

Through texts, emails, and phone calls, we were able to finish our album in the Spring of 2021! This is all thanks to our amazing recording engineer/producer, Collin Schipper. We then shipped the record off to Jason Corbett of Jackknife Sounds for mastering.

With all pieces in place, all we needed was some dope artwork to bring the project together. Thank crispies for the amazing talents of Xanthe Van Houten who brought the concept of our album title to life.

Finally, the day for our big release came. On January 29, 2022, "With Friends Like Bees" hit the cosmos.

Our first big show was more than we ever could have asked for when we opened for Mustard Plug at Bell's Eccentric Cafe. Admittedly, our music is a bit of a drag in comparison, but it was incredibly exciting to play to a packed house right out the gate. You can see how great of a time we're having in these awesome shots by Derek Ketchum Photography.

We started to play again on a regular basis, sticking mostly around Kalamazoo and Grand rapids. It seemed like we were back again, ready to rock and roll.

KATY NEEDS A LIFE AT THE PYRAMID SCHEME IN GRAND RAPIDS 4/22- ROCK AGAINST DOBBS

In August of 2022, I think, maybe earlier, Reggi told the band they were ready to move on to their own musical venture. The conversation was difficult since Reggi has become like family to me over the last near-decade of playing music together. However, Reggi is a brilliant musician and we all understood why they needed time to do their own thing.

I asked if they'd play one last show with us and they agreed.

When I tell you this line up was stacked, I mean it was STACKED! We had Jake Simmons and the Little Ghosts playing their first show since the pandemic, Shark Beach 2 bringing pure surf rock insanity to the stage, Basic Comfort setting a chill vibe, and finally, us, playing our final set with Reggi.

When 2023 kicked off, we were down a player and facing a new challenge: do we find a new guitar player or try this dang ol' thing out as a trio? Ultimately, we decided to remain a three-piece.

It's been nine months since we've played as a full band, but this brings me back to one of my first points: we're not dead yet, baby!

Earlier this month, I did the unthinkable and played a solo set again for the first time in several years at Dormouse Theatre in Kalamazoo. It was nice to dust off my old electronic tracks and try something new. This time, I broke away from the keyboards and sang and danced around while a projector played videos I set up. David designed a light show and at the end of the night, I think it didn't suck.

Which now brings us to, well, today. Now I can tell you all the rad shit you have to look forward to!

This Sunday, Katy Needs A Life is making an appearance at Shark Beach 2's album release party will also feature Jake Simmons and the Little Ghosts, The Frogs and Toads, Pistol Gang, and Erin Emery. This is going to be an all day party with music, artists, and more, so pack sunscreen and grab your best buds. I hope to see some familiar faces in the crowd!

On top of that, we have merch! We're going to try something new this time around. We'll still have shirts available as examples at our shows, but we're going to give this print-to-order hoopla a crack and see how it goes.