In this interview spotlight, I chat with Lost Cat about the music, the challenges, the technology and more.

Full Q&A along with links and music below.

Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)

I was born and raised in Chicago, so that’s where I’m from and will always be a part of me.  I also lived in Atlanta for 23 years so that is where I became who I am.

Lost Cat was originally a duo, now that we live in different states I mostly carry the torch, although I don’t necessarily think of lost cat as strictly a solo project –  at this point, it’s mostly me with some collaboration with others.

Musically I would say that I come from a garage rock/punk diy aesthetic, although now I’m a little older, mellower and happier – I still have some of those elements in my songs – I call it Scuzz Folk, although I probably fall under the American/Alt-Country umbrella. 

What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?

I’ve loved and been interested in music since I was young and have been involved in writing and playing to varying degrees throughout my life. The communal experience of the live show has always been my “religious” experience. 

 I’ve generally worked in the food industry and dabbled in music for most of my adult life, now that I have a little home studio I can devote more time to recording.

How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?

I really just wanted to get these songs down with a basic purity, not try to do too much, not add in too many extra instruments or embellishments.  Pretty much raw, stripped down, natural emotion is what I’m going for.

Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this over saturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?

I think that the ease and accessibility is simultaneously the absolute best and worst thing to ever happen to music.  I love that anyone can now share their vision with the world, but . . . it just means there’s a lot out there to sort through . . .

What was the last song you listened to?

Rainy Night in Soho – The Pogues

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?

I definitely love my vinyl and still buy records regularly and sit around the turntable at home –  I also buy CDs then upload them to my computer so I can listen to them on a bluetooth speaker.  I don’t usually just download MP3s – for some reason I still like to have some physical product, but I do try to get as much of the money as possible direct to the artist.

How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?

I have my own music on Bandcamp, ReverbNation and SoundCloud.  I listen to Pandora a lot while I’m working, sometimes Spotify and I’m constantly looking things up on YouTube.

Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?

My website – www.lostcatsongs.com has links to my music pages as well as social media. (https://www.facebook.com/lostcatsongs, http://www.reverbnation.com/lostcat6 https://lostcat4.bandcamp.com)

Anything else before we sign off?

Just thanks for taking the time to include me in this project, every once in a while it’s nice to poke your head out from obscurity.