Interview with Cathy of "Epps and Cathy"

This interview was conducted in November of 1999 through the magic of Internet email with Katelijne van de Loo, otherwise known as "Cathy" - the singing half of the duo known as "Epps and Cathy". Not too long ago, Epps and Cathy recorded a CD in the style of Tuck and Patti Andress.

Before you leave, make sure you check out Epps and Cathy's music here or click on the pictures of Epps and Cathy below. And don't forget to stop by the Epiphone Joe Pass Appreciation Page.

Are you and Epps and married?
No, we're just good friends.
How did you and Epps get together?
I met him 3 years ago at a party of his niece who also lived in my student house. Then he [Epps] wanted to see the house and went in all 10 rooms (yes, we lived with 10 girls! Very nice, party-time!)

Then he entered mine, where he found a piano and a guitar (ordinary one). Then he started playing my guitar and very coincidentally he played "Time after Time", the song I knew really well, so I started singing with him.

It was great and all the other girls were very surprised hearing the non-rehearsed music. I asked him if he knew the duo Tuck & Patti, which he did... he was a great fan of them like I am! And so it began.

So, what made you and Epps cut a CD?
We started playing the songs we knew from Tuck & Patti and arranged some other well known pieces (like Tears in Heaven by Clapton). People around us were very excited about our playing, and encouraged us to make a demo-CD. So we did.

We had some rehearsals and then used the mini-studio of Epps. We recorded 12 pieces in two evenings. We even had trouble with the neighbour, complaining about the noise! He got so angry that he threatened Epps by telling him he would throw the Epi Joe Pass through his window! Can you imagine? It was incredible!

So, we really were in a hurry with the recording...... Now you know that actually this CD was meant to be a demo. But everybody was so enthusiastic about it that we decided to make 1000 copies of it.

My mother is an artist and made a portrait of us which now is the cover of the CD!

What made you and Epps pick a Jimi Hendrix tune (Castles made of Sand) for your CD?

It's a bit stolen.... the idea came from Tuck & Patti! SShhhhhh!
Are you and Epps still playing together?
We used to play alot together: in jazz-bars at party's, lots of business party's and of course Christmas and New Years receptions. But then Epps got busy finishing the conservatory and later playing in a professional band to accompany "big stars" like Randy Crawford and Sister Sledge.

I was offered a job as a tv-representative, but after 6 months, I realised that this wasn't 'my thing' to do and I quit. I wanted to finish my studies at the technical University in Delft, architecture (real estate management and developing). So now I'm in the middle of my 'scientific' research. And I don't like it, I want to SING!!

Epps likes playing 'Epps & Cathy' but also needs to play some more "rough" music (unfortunately, because I think he's really good at playing the Tuck & Patti-style). So I looked for another guitar-player who could stand in for Epps. I found one, although it's not Epps, and he doesn't have this beautiful guitar!

Did you and/or Epps write your own music?
Yes, we did.
What styles (blues, rock, jazz, etc) have influenced your writing?
Actually I love jazz, but not the old fashioned jazz. So we tried to introduce a 'new' style: pop-jazz! Playing pop songs in a jazz style and playing jazz in pop style. Our own stuff was a mixture of Jazz, pop and blues.
Where do you perform?
Mostly in Holland. Once we played in Switserland and Italie.
Do you perform out of the duo context, say, with bands?
Yes, Epps and I also have a jazzgroup We're with 4 [other musicians]. The last song on our CD 'Time after Time' is played by E&C + drums and double bass.Then we also play together in a disco-pop band.

I was in a girls-group for 4 years (1994-1998), and made some records. Twice we were in the Dutch Hit-Parade, did a lot af TV gigs and radio-interviews, tours to Marokko, Rome, Dennmark, Thailand and so on. Really good time.

Now, I just started a brand new band with my boyfriend. He plays double bass and bass guitar, and runs a studio in Holland (Fieldwork Studios, Oegstgeest) with a close friend of his who plays the piano really well. They also wrote songs for Debby Sledge for her newest solo-album and produce a lot of well-known artists in Holland, mostly Jazz and pop-jazz.

We are still thinking of a good name for our band. We are with 5 musicians. If you think of something, let me know!

Does Epps prefer solo playing to bands?
No, he likes both. He thinks is good to play different styles of music, to keep you fresh. I do not really agree, but that doesn't matter.
Why did Epps choose the Epiphone Joe Pass guitar over, say, a Gibson ES-175 or some other well known brand?
He bought the guitar and then showed it to me. He specially bought it to have this "Tuck"-sound, he loves it and I love it, so that's probably the reason. But he didn't want to start recording before he had those two Bartolini pick-ups on it... And he already had five other guitars!!