Feature: Cat Cork Decodes “Post Man”
What inspired you to write the lyrics/music for “Post Man?”
The song started off as a quiet Elliot Smith style song on guitar. I was reading about St Expeditus, the patron saint of urgent causes, as I was writing lyrics on 19 April last year. He is thought to have been an anonymous person, with Expeditus being the term for a fast travelling soldier without a pack, (hence, possibly a mail carrier). The idea of a "red letter day" (being a saints day/holiday) as well as a "dead letter" day (being undelivered mail) seemed apt. Someone used up after working their entire life and their last words not being heard or comprehended by anyone. I have also had a few cats have to be put to sleep due to cancer and liver issues and so there were a number of late evenings around that time spent holding best friends as they expired.
Can you talk about any collaborations you had while making “Post Man?”
I worked with a group of musicians via Musiversal, which is a subscription service providing session musicians. Some have become good friends with me over the number of sessions we've had. My very good friend and collaborator, Cameron Taylor set up my new home studio and produced the album. A lot of mix versions were made. My cats are also very present in the studio, sometimes in the recordings themselves. A song from my earlier album features a cat quite prominently. My cats, particularly Toofy, love Cameron Taylor too, so visits from him to track songs are quite fun.
How does Post Man fit into your overall artistic vision and what can listeners expect from you in the future?
The song reflects my wide tastes in music. I tend to write songs as they come to me and not stay within one particular genre. This one is a bit retro, but other songs on my new album (Silver & Gold comes out on 24 March 2024) are much different. My songs tend to be a bit darker/sadder but I'm working on some happier material for the next release coming later in 2024.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got started in music?
My parents and grandparents were all professional musicians. Grandparents were jazz players, and father piano and organist and mother a classical pianist and music teacher. I started piano at age 4 and did my grades and lots of theory. Taught myself guitar. It was very normal in my family to play music, so it came naturally. Throughout my teens and early 20s I was in bands and wrote a lot of music, paid for studio time and there are some decent albums from that time sitting about somewhere. I was a music teacher for about 5 years, taking a break from my career as a lawyer so that I could devote time to music - my Feet in the Dirt and Ulysses albums are from that time (made with Cameron Taylor). Music teaching and being a performer is very rewarding work, though doesn't pay very well unfortunately. So I went back to being a lawyer...
What are some of the biggest challenges you have faced as a musician and how did you overcome them?
Definitely monetary - I struggled to make ends meet when I tried to make a living full time with music. It is an expensive hobby and even very successful musicians struggle unfortunately. I was never one to apply for arts grants, as I felt it wasn't the right thing for me to do. I am very fortunate that we still had a roof over our heads and food on the table every night. I am very supportive of Musiversal for this reason - they pay their session musicians a regular income which provides stability and hopefully mental well being. Going back to full time law work, I did not have a lot of time to write or play music - for many years music fell by the wayside. Having the regular sessions with Musiversal has prompted me to start writing and actually do something again with my music. It has been a long road back to making music.