We recently connected with Kate Coleman and have shared our conversation below.
Kate, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?
At a young age- under 10 for sure- I remembering making a conscious decision to find the good in people, difficult situations, and in myself. I have no idea why but I know my Mom was very optimistic and she was my biggest cheerleader so I’m sure she had something to do with it. I’m so glad little Kate did that because focusing on what you can change instead of dwelling on things you can’t has served me so well. It’s not easy all the time, because as everyone know, life throws chaos for you to muddle through but if you can learn how to keep calm and reassure yourself, “I’m going to get through this,” you can make better decisions that are aligned with what you actually want.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’m proud to be the front woman/ band member of the Atlanta based roots-rock band, Run Katie Run. The 4 other members consist of my husband, Corey Coleman, and my 3 best friends, Adam Pendlington, Ian Pendlington, and Stephen Quinn. The 5 of us started this band about 5 years ago and we met over 10 years ago at an open mic. We’re all full-time musicians and have other groups we play in: Corey and I have an acoustic duo called Kate and Corey and the 3 other fellas have a folk-rock trio called Highbeams. Run Katie Run is all about having fun and following our instincts. We don’t limit our sound to one genre but to paint a sonic picture, we kind of sound like The Chicks and Grateful Dead formed a band, I’m endlessly excited and inspired by Run Katie Run. To name a few things we have coming up, we’re playing Amplify Decatur Music Festival with Melissa Etheridge, Dawes, and The Blind Boys of Alabama, we are playing our first show in the Music Room at Smith’s Olde Bar on June 29, we have at least 5 new singles coming out in 2024 (probably more!), and we’re touring to Florida, Buffalo and Back, all over the Southeast, and we’ll be returning to Dollywood in October for our 4th year in a row to play their Night Time at the Back Porch concert series as part of their Harvest Festival. These 4 gentlemen are the kindest, most talented, most hard-working, funniest, bravest, most wonderful people on the planet and I LOVE that they’ve chosen to take risks with me in Run Katie Run. BONUS: they have the most supportive and loving partners on the planet who I also love very much.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1, The people you choose to work with/surround yourself with are everything. If you don’t love your partners in creativity and they are not feeding your energy, find new people because it’s ultimately not going to work.
2. Answer people honestly and as quickly as possible. I’m specifically thinking about booking emails as I write this haha. Don’t oversell your group/act or promise the world if you can’t deliver and if you get a reply, the faster you answer, the better. You have their attention so don’t miss your shot!
3. Before anyone else is going to believe in what you’re selling, YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE IT. I’m not talking about, “fake it ’til you make it,” (because people can see through that) I’m talking about authentic, visceral belief in yourself and {in my case] your band/music. Getting there, for me, took consistently making music I was proud of, pushing myself to get better as a musician, and having people around me who are doing the same thing. There was a noticeable shift once I really felt that what Run Katie Run is doing is special and genuinely good. You carry yourself differently, you’re not afraid of rejection because you already have everything you need, and you aren’t doing a sales pitch anymore- you’re simply speaking from your heart.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
My parents gave me so much- and still do. My Mom and Dad never once made me feel like there was something I couldn’t do and more importantly, they wanted me to pursue any career that was truly what I wanted. In other words they didn’t try to steer me towards security, they wanted me to be passionate about what I did. But to answer the question, the most impactful thing they taught me was to take care of yourself, do/try your best and strive to get better everyday, be willing to work hard, expect nothing from others except yourself, and earn the respect and help of others through your actions. These are principles I still live by and when I’m struggling I still love talking to them so I can hear this wisdom again.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.runkatierun.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runkatie.run/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/runkatierunband/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/runkatierun
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0fujAH4VeB5HhWvVa7d6MQ
Image Credits
Luigi Louissaint (first 3 photos)
