7/6/2009 1:59:00 PM
The musical journey of
Sedona songstress Vyktoria Pratt Keating
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| Vyktoria Pratt Keating
"I truly love playing and singing more than ever," says Vyktoria. |
| | Performance Schedule |
- July 10th, 2009 Pony Espresso 7pm Roberts rd Prescott Valley AZ 928-775-5605
- • July 11th, 2009 Rimside Grill 6-9pm Pine AZ 928-476-3349.July 15th, 2009 Sedona Heartwalk 7-8:30pm Southwest dr Sedona AZ 928-204-5589
- July 18th, 2009 Celtic Crossings 7-10pm Gateway Mall Prescott AZ 928-443-8454
- July 24th, 2009 Well Red Coyote 6:30-8pm Hwy 89 A Sedona AZ 928-282-2284
- July 25th, 2009 Granite Creek Vineyards 1:30-4:30pm Chino Valley AZ
- July 28th, 2009 Sedona Heartwalk 6:30-8:30pm workshop (see website) Sedona AZ 928-204-5589
- July 30th, 2009 Ken's Creekside 7-10pm Sedona AZ 928-282-1705
- Aug. 1, 2009 527 Gallery 5-8pm Jerome AZ 1st Saturday Artwalk
- Aug. 2 noon-3pmAwakening Earth ExpoCrystal Lotus Gallery & GiftsPine AZ928-476-3410
- Aug. 8th, 2009 Rimside Grill 6-9pm Pine AZ 928-476-3349
- Aug. 13th, 2009 Sedona Heartwalk 7-8:30pm Southwest dr Sedona AZ 928-204-5589
- Aug. 14th, 2009 Rumors 6-9pm Yarnell AZ 928-427-4201
- Aug. 15th, 2009 Celtic Crossings 7-10pm Gateway Mall Prescott AZ 928-443-8454
- Aug. 29th, 2009 Copa Habana 6-9pm 350 E. Bell rd Phoenix AZ 602-993-6800
- Sept. 4th, 2009 Mountain Music Festival 6pm Elk Ridge Ski Resort Williams AZ
- Sept. 8th, 2009 Spirit Room 7pm Jerome AZ 928-634-8809
- Sept 10th, 2009 Ken's Creekside 7-10pm Sedona AZ 928-282-1705
- Sept. 19th, 2009 Granite Creek Vineyards 1:30-4:30pm Chino Valley AZ
- Sept. 26th, 2009 Escalante Canyons Fest 2pm Escalante UT
- Oct. 15th, 2009 Breathe Inn 7pm Lake Roberts NM
- Oct. 16th, 2009 Breathe Inn 7pm Lake Roberts NM
- Oct. 17th, 2009 Breathe Inn 7pm Lake Roberts NM
- Oct. 18th, 2009 Adobe Cafe 5pm Reserve NM
- Nov. 14th, 2009 Faerie Fest tba Phoenix AZ
- Nov. 17th, 2009 O'Donoghue's 6-9pm Scottsdale AZ
- Dec. 3rd, 2009 Breathe Inn 7pm Lake Roberts NM
- Dec. 4th, 2009 Breathe Inn 7pm Lake Roberts NM
- Dec. 5th, 2009 Breathe Inn 7pm Lake Roberts NM
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Music is a way of life for Vyktoria Pratt Keating.
Except when she doesn't want it to be.
In fact, she's purposely put it on the shelf a couple of times. In the fall of 2004, for example, she dropped out and landed in Pietown, N.M., where she opened a small retail boutique. Another time, in 1997, she "hit the wall" and did a total retreat from her life as a troubadour.
Even now, performing three or four shows every week, Keating says, "When I am not writing or playing music I am not even that hooked into the fact that I do. It's strange."
But whether it's deliberate or just a subliminal break, there is something about the disassociation with music that makes her want to do it all the more; a recharging of the batteries, so to speak. When talking about her break from the business in '97, she says, "When the whole thing came back, it came back in a new way. The music meant more than ever."
The same was true following her New Mexico adventure five years ago: "It was the second time that music 'came back' to me and I got it at this whole new level. That it was just the life of the songs to be sung; to live whatever little life they have, that means so much, whether anyone is there to hear or applaud or not ... It was a profound time when it all came back and I had to go play again. I have loved it more than ever since then."
Click "play" to hear Spyder.
>Free QuickTime player required to hear this audio clip
Really, the music is all that has ever mattered to Vyktoria Pratt Keating. She was 7 when she picked up a guitar for the first time. In short order, she taught herself to play and hasn't stopped since. As a teen in Washington, D.C., she began performing at open mics, Immediately after graduating from high school, she began a professional career with the Backstreet Rhythm Band.
During the ensuing quarter-century, Keating has played in all kinds of bands, but her stock-in-trade is being a solo performer. Much of that has to do with her self-taught innovative guitar style. She admits knowing next to nothing about music theory. When playing with other musicians, she says they tell her, "Hey ... you can't do that." She tunes her guitar to coincide with the song she's playing at the moment. Some of it is open tuning. Some is uniquely contrived to fit the song.
"If someone came up to me while I was playing an original of mine in an open tuning and was going to hand me a million dollars to tell them what key I was in, what chords I was playing, etc., I wouldn't know," Vyktoria explains. "My playing is tactile to a large extent, especially when I am writing a song. I have to say into the tape recorder where my fingers are for each note/chord."
And while that approach may be frustrating to the musicians who do perform with her, you won't hear them complain.
Click "play" to hear 09 9NY 10_11_91.
>Free QuickTime player required to hear this audio clip
Guitar wizard Ralf Illenberger says, "Vyktoria is one of the most gifted singer/songwriters I've ever worked with. She is an excellent guitar player and as a singer I would compare her to Kate Bush or Sarah McLachlan. But her original song writing is very unique. She touches folk, Celtic and rock elements in her music and transports her audience with her angelic vocals."
By her own account, over the past 25 years, Vyktoria has toured extensively in 46 states and Great Britain, performing more than 2,000 live shows. Her music is featured in film and radio in the United States, Canada, Europe and South America. She has performed at the Apollo Theater in England, the Greek Theater and House of Blues in Los Angeles, Magness Arena in Denver, and the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow, Scotland. She has opened for Richard Thompson, Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Laura Nyro, Pierre Bensusan and Roger McGuinn. In 1999, she opened a 42-show, five-month tour for British rock legends Jethro Tull.
She has written about 80 songs and recorded seven CDs. She's logged more than 700,000 miles of drive time going to performances. She books her own shows. She does all her own publicity, maintains communication with her fan list and personally handles all the business end of her career.
Vyktoria's live performances predominantly feature her own original music, but in recent years she's added a number of covers to her repertoire.
"In about 2001 when I re-settled in Arizona and stopped touring full time, I realized I had to make a living in just one state. That put the pressure on to learn some covers. Now I have a bunch of covers I can do and, to tell the truth, I totally enjoy them. I do unusual stuff, ELO, Bowie, YES, XTC. One of my jokes is 'my favorite female vocalists are all men.' I like to sing songs by guys with a high vocal range. Cover songs stretch me musically and so I will mix some in when I need to along with originals and the Celtic repertoire, which audiences really like. As far as what do I like to do better, of course there is nothing like doing an all-original gig. I try to keep all my Sedona shows original, for the most part. But sometimes I can't resist throwing in that YES medley at the end of the show.
"I truly love playing and singing more than ever."
Artist/Website comments:
• Ralf Illenberger: Vyktoria is one of the most gifted singer/songwriters I've ever worked with. She is an excellent guitar player and as a singer I would compare her to Kate Bush or Sarah McLachlan. But her original song writing is very unique, she touches folk, Celtic and rock elements in her music and transports her audience with her angelic vocals. I really enjoy playing with her, her songs are very catchy and they are great for improvisations in a "Grateful Dead" style. I think it's just a matter of time and the right circumstances and she will easily reach a huge audience.
• Fitzhugh Jenkins: Vyktoria is a consummate professional who can whisk you to another place and time with her music. a complete original, you can be in a Celtic rainforest one minute and soaring through outer space the next. Truly seasoned, it is always a musical experience guaranteed to elevate the consciousness. I put her right up there with Laura Nero and Nick Drake.
• Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull: Truly the troubadour, Vyktoria Pratt Keating combines age-old songstress seduction with technical expertise and offers up the musings of the thinking, feeling and sometimes vulnerable female presence, so much a part of contemporary music making.
• William Eaton: Vyktoria is an exceptional artist. She is one of a handful of local performers who should be a household name. Her songwriting, both musically and lyrically, is interesting, creative and entertaining. She has a wonderful voice and is a very accomplished guitarist. Perhaps her best work is yet to come. We look forward to future performances with Vyktoria at Old Town Center for the Arts and around the Verde Valley.
• Joe Neri, Blues Dawg: She is one of the best musicians in the area. A truly great songwriter and singer, but her guitar work is very innovative - personally reminds me a little of Richie Havens, although I doubt he was one of her influences.
• The Washington Post: Garnering comparisons to such diverse artists as Kate Bush, XTC and "Nancy Griffith meets Lost in Space," Vyktoria's unique sound floats effortlessly on the cutting edge of rock, pop, and folk music. Some of the most lithe, freehanded and resilient original music around. Alluring, poetic, surreal...
• The Music Exchange: Vyktoria's music is so different and so adventurous, that you find yourself drawn in by the sheer uniqueness of it.
• Performing Songwriter: Two thumbs up! Lots to praise here ... playful, moody, gave me goosebumps!
• The Edge: A swirling voice coupled with an exhilarating guitar style, Vyktoria infiltrates your psyche.
• Billboard Magazine: Truly a style all her own.
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