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Olathe News
February 2004 Making her way: Singer/songwriter takes bite out of Big Apple by Michael D. Smith, Olathe Daily News A year ago, Olathe-based singer/songwriter Corinna Fugate was busy making a name for herself by playing the coffeehouse circuit in the Kansas City area while also promoting her fourth album, “The Other Side of the Sky.” Not long after The Olathe Daily News visited with her then, Fugate, who’s now 22, decided to make a big change in her career by moving to New York City, where she’s been living off and on for the last 6 months. “It’s all about finding your voice,” Fugate said. “It took me so long to find my voice, but I found that finding and using it are two very different things. “Once I was ready to spread my wings here it was hard because ... a lot of the venues in Kansas City weren’t really interested in a songwriter. They wanted Top 40 bands.” Although Fugate had made a few contacts in New York from previous trips there, she relied on her own determination in the beginning to get her foot in the door. “What I did to get gigs in New York a lot of the time was they would have these open mic nights and sometimes the bar or coffeehouse owner would be there,” she said. “When they would hear me sing they would then book me.” The growing crowds she’s generated has led to gigs at venues like CBGB’s, where The Ramones, The Talking Heads and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers got their start in the early ’70s, and The Bitter End, host to performers like Joan Baez, Billy Joel and Blues Traveler since 1961. “Nothing could have prepared me for the first time (I played) at The Bitter End,” Fugate said. “It was a little intimidating but once I got onstage any illusions or fears (I had) shattered and it was just really electric.” Long before her move to New York, Corinna had already overcome a lot in her life. At age 12, her father, Michael, a talented trumpet player who had performed with Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder, was killed in an accident. Corinna turned to alcohol and drugs for relief, but pulled herself up when her mother, Virginia, gave her two guitars when she was 17. An inspired Corinna got clean and has been performing ever since. She said she feels like her father has been guiding her through her New York experience, especially in regard to the help of a former junior high friend of Michael’s named Rick Henley. “I got an e-mail out of nowhere a couple months ago and it said, ‘Hi. I was a friend of your father’s,’” Corinna said. “When I get any e-mails like that my ears perk up. “He said, ‘I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of your father. ... If you have any gigs out here let me know and we’ll come.’” Corinna took him up on his offer and met him at a gig she had in Manhattan near where the World Trade Center was. “I knew who he was right when he came in,” she said. “When I left the stage, I sat down with him and we talked. He told me all these stories about (my father’s) youth. And I told him about the half he wasn’t there for. It was so surreal.” Subsequently, Henley made some calls and arranged to have a drummer, bassist and violinist to perform with her as a band. “I wasn’t sure how it was going to happen,” Corinna said of her success, “but I was sure it was going to happen because I believe in fate.” Corinna won’t be performing in Kansas City anytime soon and views her return trips to Olathe, where her mother still lives, solely as an opportunity to unwind and write new material. She is currently working on her fifth album, which she hopes to have out in September. For more information on Fugate, you can visit her Web site at www.corinnafugate.com. To see a scan of the actual article, click here. |
