Kathi Funston Speaks! » Music

Turnstyle Debuts at Pearson Park

admin — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 02:14:11 +0000

My vocal jazz group Turnstyle had our debut performance (since revamping the band) on Saturday night at Pearson Park Amphitheatre in Anaheim. The 2000-seat venue near Disneyland was full of jazz and music lovers who received us with a VERY warm and enthusiastic attitude! We did some old jazz favorites like Gershwin’s “Summertime” and “But Not For Me” and rounded out our set with two ecclectic a cappella arrangements of pop and R&B hits by Stevie Wonder and Billy Joel. Here’s a photo of the group performing on stage.

Ken Malouf, Martin Schloemer, Melissa Pontanilla, Kathi Funston (Photo by Patrick Ortman)

New Album In The Works

admin — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 19:30:23 +0000

I’ve been writing new songs with my songwriting partner Patrick Ortman lately, and we’re getting ready to lay down some scratch tracks for a new album we’ll be recording after the holidays. So far, it’s got a bit of a soulful singer-songwriter vibe to it, a definite indie feel, influenced by storytellers who sing the blues, with a touch of country (can’t fight those Texas roots!). I can hear us on Grey’s Anatomy, whose music supervisor should win an award for discovering such great indie artists. Fingers crossed, and I’ll let you know when the album drops!

Malibu Wines Gig with In Transit

admin — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 18:38:28 +0000

I sang with In Transit, my a cappella vocal jazz group, this weekend at Malibu Wines in the beautiful canyons of Malibu, California. It was a great day at an amazing venue, the perfect setting for an intimate afternoon of jazz. Even though it was misty outside, people came. We had two birthday parties, a bachelorette party, and plenty of wine lovers come through during the afternoon to enjoy the wine and music. All in all, I think about 400 people heard us play. Not bad for a cloudy California day!

In addition to our a cappella vocal jazz, we did a couple of acoustic sets with Patrick and Martin accompanying us on guitar. I loved seeing the audience sing along, and we even got some folks up and dancing to our Mamas and Papas covers and our closing number ”Cecilia” by Simon & Garfunkel. So much fun! The winery asked us back for another afternoon of jazz on Valentine’s Day weekend! More about that later.

Thanks to Malibu Wines for having us. We had a great time and can’t wait to come back!

Covering a classic Kenny Loggins tune

Singing a jazz number with the group

In Transit in the Studio

admin — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 05:17:37 +0000

I had a great time in the studio back in March with my a cappella vocal group, In Transit. It’s always a blast to do a vocal session, but directing a session in addition to singing is even better in some ways because it challenges my noggin and works my other skills as a musician and producer.

I’m really excited about how the demo turned out. The editing and mixing process was a lot of fun. We did some sweetening and recording of clap tracks (and a whole mess of fun stuff for the Stevie Wonder tune). Sweet goodness! Special thanks to Martin (our tenor) for his master editing chops in ProTools!

Hope you like what you hear!

Listen to our demo

Find us on Facebook

Bad As Jazz

admin — Sun, 10 May 2009 22:31:27 +0000

I returned to my old stomping grounds last weekend to sing with the University of North Texas Jazz Singers in a concert honoring our musical director (also an amazing arranger, all-around musician, and general cool cat), Paris Rutherford. Paris is retiring this spring, and of course, he wanted to go out with a bang. So, he invited all of the Jazz Singers alumni to sing in a couple of numbers, including his incredible a cappella arrangement of “My Funny Valentine.” All I can say is WOWEE! The whole weekend was a whirlwind of rehearsals and get-togethers with friends both new and old. The sheer chops these fellow musicians have, what an amazing thing to be around again! We had a great time, and took a lot of good photos and videos (more to come).

To top it all off, Paris invited me to sing on a small group number called “Splanky” and I don’t mind saying, we swung the hell out of that chart! Not only was the rhythm section smokin’, but the group was made up of some of the top singers from UNT, including my former bandmates Brandon Pedigo and Cathy Jensen-Hole. And as if that weren’t enough, Paris also gave me the honor of letting loose like a trumpet player who ate some bad meat. Here’s a picture of me getting down during the concert on May 2. What a night! It was so much fun and a slap-in-the-face reminder of why I love jazz music so much! I will never stop singing. Thank you for that, Paris.

Kathi Funston performs with the UNT Jazz Singers on May 2, 2009

In My Writer’s Cave

admin — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 04:32:19 +0000

I’ve been working on the draft of the Couch Cases half-hour pilot over the past few weeks, and the more I go into my cave to write, the more I want to tip my hat to talented writers like Tina Fey. How DOES she do it? Cranking out story after story and making it look so easy! To be fair, I do have a day job that takes up part of my time that would otherwise be spent writing, but I still find it challenging to have to call upon my muse and be creative at a moment’s notice, especially when I just don’t FEEL like writing that day. (Those are the days I end up singing, by the way.) Seriously, just because it’s 10:00 AM on a Tuesday and my schedule says it’s time to write, doesn’t mean I can.

Sometimes I would prefer to wait for inspiration to hit me like it does with music. You know, that inconvenient surge of creative energy that occupies your mind at 3 AM and won’t let you rest until you’ve got the tune down? Annoying, yes, but also extremely productive and rewarding. That’s why we give in to the muse and let her speak to us. I don’t think I’m there yet with my screenwriting. I have yet to be hit with an urge to write until my little fingers can write no more. And until I’m lucky enough to be inconvenienced like that, I’ll just have to inspire myself through discipline and hard work. I’m on my way to earning my 10,000 hours, and writing in my cave for a little bit every day is sure to get me there. When I earn it, my muse will come. I’m sure of it.

It’s Fiesta Time!

admin — Sun, 04 Jun 2006 16:58:48 +0000

Join the fun as my a cappella group, In Transit, performs at a free outdoor carnival in Culver City. The day will be filled with yummy food, fun games, and fabulous music as we perform a full set of jazz, pop, and R&B favorites.

JAZZ AT THE FIESTA
Sunday, June 11th
In Transit takes the stage @ 2pm
St. Augustine’s
10195 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232