Echo and KEPW welcome Kate Ramsey from The Rose Haze
11 min read
Echo (KEPW, Underground Echo): You are listening to KEPW-LP 97.3 FM, PeaceWorks Community Radio broadcasting from Eugene, Oregon and simulcasting online at KEPW.org. This is Underground Echo, and I am your host, Echo, guiding you through the labyrinth of the unseen, the unheard and the unforgettable.
[00:00:23] The Rose Haze is more than a band. It’s a vision, a dreamscape painted in sound led by Kate, whose voice carries the weight of midnight confessions in the light of dawn. Their music is a journey through the liminal spaces between waking and dreaming, between memory and desire. It’s a music for those who know that the best stories are told in whispers, not shouts.
We’re honored to descend into the heart of the underground with a voice that blooms in the shadows, Kate of The Rose Haze. Kate, it’s such a pleasure to have you here.
[00:00:52] Kate Ramsey (The Rose Haze): Thank you, Echo. That was the best intro I’ve ever had. I loved that. (Thank you.) Thanks for having me.
[00:01:02] Echo: Before we dive into your music, I always like to start with a big unusual question. So what does the word ‘underground’ mean to you? Is it a scene, a mindset, or something even deeper?
[00:01:13] Kate: I think for me it’s more of a mindset that I’m happy to be part of and like, treasure, and value. I think that generally speaking, it’s like, the community that is, whatever the DIY artists or people that really come out and build that community that isn’t of a structure or system (Right) is, to me, the underground.
[00:01:45] Echo: That’s a beautiful way to put it. When did you first realize you were drawn to music? And was there a specific moment or experience that pulled you in?
[00:01:58] Kate: Well, I have a music background with my family, so I have, on my mom’s side, I had a lot of, they were church people, but there was a lot of organists and pianists on that side. So when I was young I was taking piano lessons and I didn’t really know what I, you know, I was just a kid. So I guess I connected with it before I really had a conscious choice.
[00:02:24] And my dad’s a guitar player and he’s almost like on the opposite end of the spectrum. He’s pretty like hardcore and defiant and rebellious and all, all the things non-structured that my other side of my family kind of was, you know, so I kind of had this influence young.
[00:02:40] And then when I first really connected with music, I feel like I was about 11 or 12. ’cause I was like, I started writing songs about then, and that’s when I kind of took this, like, conscious choice. Like, I don’t want to take piano, like I don’t want to play piano, like, you know, from a book. I want to hear songs.
[00:02:56] I hear these songs. And I just started kind of like riffing. And I remember I was really into David Bowie at that time and I really wanted to play Space Oddity on the piano, which isn’t a conventional piano song.
[00:03:08] And I remember my grandma actually knew the song and I was really impressed by that, ’cause I started playing what I could hear of that song. My grandma was like, ‘Is that David Bowie?’ I did not expect her to know.
[00:03:22] So that was kind of like one of, if that comes to mind, one of my first moments where I was like, yeah, I want to, I want to take this to a different level or whatever, you know?
[00:03:30] Echo: Absolutely. What’s the one of the biggest influences on your creative journey? Were there artists or mentors or even places that left a lasting impression?
[00:03:40] Kate: Yeah, I have like my top main three when it comes to, like, I wouldn’t even want to call it political, it’s not political, but, like, I was a big Joni Mitchell, Frank Zappa, Miles Davis lover, and musically sure.
[00:03:56] But also just sort of the sentiments behind, like more so I guess Frank, Frank quotes and things like that. Kind of just like sort of anti-industry, but also part of the industry. And Joni was very much kind of the same thing. So I think I just drew a lot of, when moments I’d want to give up, I would think back to like, you know, they’re very mainstream artists and they somehow were able to still kind of give the finger, you know? (Right.)
[00:04:28] And so I feel like that kind of pushed me forward at different points. But I think stylistically and musically, especially now, with the music I’m doing now and I kind of found my home and my sound with what I want to do, is very much in that Cocteau Twins, Depeche Mode, Kate Bush world. Yeah. So, yeah.
[00:04:50] Echo: How do you balance staying true to your roots while also evolving as an artist? It seems like a delicate dance.
[00:04:57] Kate: Yeah, that’s interesting. ’cause I grew up in a very small town in Ohio. Okay. And I feel like my influence is, growing up it’s not that I was like outright rebellious against them, but I was kind of an adventurer, so I had to, spent some time in New Orleans, you know, I was in Europe a couple times. I was in California now.
[00:05:18] And so it’s like I picked up different influences along the way, and I think that sort of, it’s not like I ever really abandoned my roots. I don’t want to sound weird, but like, I feel like I have this, like, Midwest mentality, I think it’s just like, I sort of have like a, I don’t know, there’s like a friendliness or like, I don’t know. I’m just, I feel like it’s a little more closed or independent or individualized on the coast.
[00:05:44] I think if you come from a place, where you have an international presence, like a big city, I think that as a young person you have a different experience. That’s like in your roots, right?
[00:05:58] Whereas like I’m coming from a small town, so I had to kind of like pick things up a little bit older and along the way. And it kind of, it, you know, so—I think deep down though, I’m just still that like, kind of like small-town-minded person, with an open mind though, if that makes sense.
[00:06:15] Echo: I get it. A Midwestern vibe is a very communal vibe. Yes. And I think we feel that down in Texas too. And I’m in Eugene of course, and it has been very different living out here. I called it culture shock, you know?
[00:06:28] Kate: Yeah, totally.
[00:06:29] Echo: It is. And not that it’s bad or worse or anything, like, it’s just different.
[00:06:36] Kate: Exactly. So you’re from Texas then?
[00:06:38] Echo: I am. I’m from Tyler. Yeah. You can hear it?
[00:06:42] Kate: Yeah. A little bit now that you’ve, now that you’ve brought it up, yeah, totally.
[00:06:47] Echo: What’s the most misunderstood aspect of your work? Is there something people often get wrong about what you do or why you do it?
[00:06:54] Kate: Well, the first thing is people call me Rose, which is fine.
[00:06:59] Echo: Your name is not Rose.
[00:07:00] Kate: It’s not Rose. And it’s funny. So I started putting ‘The’ in front of the band on bills because I want people to, I don’t really care. ’cause it, in a way, it really is like a stage persona. (Mm-hmm.) So I’ve kind of adopted it like, it was like sort of like. Not, that was not the the goal though, to be like
[00:07:18] Echo: you were not trying to be rows of the rose. Right, right, right. But Rose Hayes is the band.
[00:07:24] Kate: Exactly. And what’s funny now though is I don’t, I don’t, this is kind of a deep wormhole, but I’m doing this tour solo, which is the first time I’ve ever done that. So I’m actually without a band. So really I am Rose Haze at this point. It’s kind of ironic ’cause I was like, well, I guess I’ll just accept it based on the things that have gone on with my band and stuff, which again, is, maybe we can get into that. But so that’s probably the biggest thing. That’s just kind of like a no-brainer.
[00:07:56] But generally speaking, I think that, people understand my sound now, but I hear a lot of different kinds of music, and so I write a lot of different kinds of music. And so my challenge has been to kind of just have a show that people, not to give people what they want necessarily, because I’m kind of doing my thing, but I think that people don’t know what to expect from me musically sometimes.
[00:08:27] So I think, I don’t know if they’re getting it wrong. I think it’s just like, you know, I’m just now kind of like getting into that. Like maybe you can put this in a genre and it’s like, okay, it’s ethereal. You can call it that. And then that kind of takes care of it, I guess.
(from Love From Death)
[00:09:27] Echo: Well, how do you deal with creative blocks or moments of doubt?Do you have any rituals or practices that help you get unstuck?
[00:09:34] Kate: You know, I think every, I mean, every artist, every person in life goes through stuff like this, but the artist’s perspective, I’ve never been creatively dry. The problem has been how to channel it. Yeah.
[00:09:46] And so when I’m depressed or anxious or, or don’t feel like things are clicking or I’m not, you know, I just go out in nature. I just allow myself the grace to just kind of stop and not push it and not force it and be like, ‘Hey, if I don’t write, if I don’t put anything out, if I don’t book a show in the next year who cares, you know? Like, who really cares?’
[00:10:12] So I just tell myself that, that it’s my world that I want to invest in, right? For me. And I just go out and I just put my hands or my body and I really like water. So water’s really good. Oceans, rivers, showers, even if I can’t get outside, you know? (Same.)
[00:10:32] And I just kind of like connect with nature and just kind of, and I do breath work and yoga and (and not as much, I’m not on my yoga so strong right now, not gonna lie), but when I’m tripping, I’m like, all right, it’s time to just unplug, stay. I delete my social media and I just go inward. And I’m like, and when I feel like I’m chill again and I’m like, all right, let’s, let’s try to like produce a thing or whatever.
[00:11:00] Echo: Yeah. Yeah. I’ve only got one spoon and I’ve got three things to eat. I can only eat one at a time.
[00:11:08] Kate: Exactly. And you’re so hungry. You’re like, yumm. They all look good, right?
[00:11:14] Echo: What’s a piece of advice you wish you received when you were starting out? Something that would’ve saved you some time and heartache.
[00:11:20] Kate: Hmm. Something that stood out to me that I didn’t really understand right away was: ‘Play what you hear.’ And that really helped me along. But it didn’t really settle in until later on.
[00:11:31] But I think it’s just more like, think of advice I’ve given that I wish I would’ve had. I think a lot of it comes to booking. If I could just be really specific, like I wish that I had had someone, like, we didn’t have Instagram when I first started booking shows, okay. You couldn’t just go online and find bands in five seconds and be like, ‘Are you available to play?’ Right. You couldn’t do that.
[00:11:54] So back in those days you just kind of had to like, hang out at shows. You had to go out more. And I just feel like I wish I was a lot more assertive and I feel like I wish that someone like helped me with booking advice like early on or something. Yeah.
[00:12:11] Echo: If you could collaborate with anyone, I mean anyone living or dead, who would it be and why?
[00:12:16] Kate: Joni’s my person. If I could collaborate with anyone, it’d be Joni Mitchell. But I think, I think soundwise, it would be Elizabeth Fraser from Cocteau Twins. Like if I could do something with her or, in that vein.
[00:12:32] So, I’ve gone through sort of a period of grief followed by enlightenment, right? Because the reason I’m playing solo is I lost a band member last year who was my very good, best friend.
[00:12:45] And so all of that story is already out there, and that’s why I didn’t want to go too deep into that wormhole here because it’s, I could go for days there. But basically it broke my heart and shattered me.
[00:12:56] So I kind of closed the books for about a year. I still threw my festival. I played like one show at the end of last year as sort of like a end-of-year celebration. And I felt good about it, but I was really struggling and so now, like, I just did not feel ready to jump out and find another guitar player, find another, whatever, you know?
[00:13:18] Echo: Yeah. It’s a lot.
[00:13:20] Kate: So I just was like, do I even want to do this project the same way? Like, I’ve got all kinds of other stuff I can do. I play the harp solo, I do this other, so I decided, I was like, no, I love this. I love the Rose Hayes project. Like it’s me, it’s my music. You know, Ruben (Valdez Gonzales) was a massive part of that, and now I just feel like he like lives in me, which is kind of a weird thing to say, but like, I kind of feel like he’s still chilling and almost closer to me in a weird way.
[00:13:51] Echo: You’ve been an excellent interview. Thank you so much. Y’all, that was Kate sharing her story, her music, The Rose Haze, and her vision with us. Keep listening to KEPW 97.3 FM.
Image from Haze Fest 2023 courtesy The Rose Haze. You can listen to Underground Echo Wednesdays at 6 p.m. on KEPW 97.3.
