Meet Kaitlyn Eller. The Cambia, California native recently shot onto the Internet Music Scene with clips of her live performances. The red haired beauty captivates audiences with her unfiltered, personal lyrics that evokes a maturity beyond her youthful age.
Kaitlyn recently had a conversation with the author on her career, lyrics, and future.
Eller Finds Singing Career Taped to Bathroom Stall
As Kaitlyn says it, the first push to take her songwriting to a public level came from a rather unusual place. In conversation with Suite101, Kaitlyn said “I was at my local J.C. and I saw a flyer on the bathroom stall for a winter variety show. Something inside me made me grab it and stuff it in my pocket.”
It was this variety show that sparked her career. She went to the audition with two freshly written songs and came out as the closing act. From there she has become a fixture on the local San Luis Obispo County, California, scene.
Not every performance has gone as well as her first, Eller recalls to Suite101. “It was my third performance, but my first performance in a bar/lounge setting, and I was so nervous, and I showed it! I walked up on stage and just kept singing the same verse of one of my songs over and over . . . again! I couldn't get the words out! So I stopped and a crowed member yelled at me ‘never stop.’ I replied, ‘I just don’t want to kill anyone tonight! That’s not what I came here to do!’"
Personal Lyrics Cause Confusion Among Family Members
For the most part, Eller reports that her family has been supportive with her choice to go into the music business. However, because of the intimacy of her lyrics, there have been awkward conversations with the more extended members of her family.
Kaitlyn told Suite101, “I get a lot of questions like, ‘what was that song about’ or ‘you talk about a ‘she’ a lot’ and this is the biggest thing that I have to deal with in my song writing because I am a lesbian. I write my songs about my life, on my experiences, about my lost loves my growing up, and my discovery of myself.”
Eller is very open when it comes to talking about her sexual identity. “I support myself in what I do, not only for me but for all the L.G.B.T. (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered) community around here and am not afraid to get up on stage and talk about it.”
Kaitlyn shares this trait with her biggest musical influence, Folk/Punk artist Ani Difranco. However, Eller’s lyrics also resemble other members of the New York/New England Folk scene, such as Dar Williams or Lucy Kaplansky.
Despite Rural Living, Eller Finds Life on Internet
“Considering where I live the internet has been my saving grace.”
Despite living not far from Cal Polytechnic, the music scene where Kaitlyn Eller is currently living is not extraordinary. Because of this, Kaitlyn has looked to the Internet to find new fans. Eller uses Youtube to host clips of her performing live, and she keeps a Facebook page dedicated to her music.
She does plan to move to a more lively music scene in the future though, perhaps after the completion of her first album. “As I see it the world is open with opportunities I just have to get my name and sound out there.”
Craig Sanders - Craig Sanders is happy to be the Suite101 Feature Writer for Folk Music, as writing and music have been his twin loves his whole ...
