What's Dropping in East Brunswick: Original Music by Kathleen Elle

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ: Looking for a cover band?  Well, Sundays review at Fox Hollow Vineyards in Holmdel is not the place for you to be.  This week, the FHV will host an Original Music Showcase at Fox Hollow Vineyards .  East Brunswick's Kathleen Elle will be playing a full set of original music off her upcoming album, sharing stories, and talking about the writing process.

Kathleen Elle will take the stage at Fox Hollow at 2:45, delivering new heartfelt music with a very personal touch.

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What's dropping in East Brunswick? Kathleen's new album Memory Lane will be released soon, and some cuts are already fan favorites. Kathleen calls the album "my most personal to date," in that it tells the stories of "real things and me and my friends and represents a variety of genre from punk/pop to country music to folk originals."

Kathleen Elle (Kathleen Lonski of East Brunswick High School's Class of 2015) tells TAPinto East Brunswick that "songwriting is closest to my heart."  "When I get a request for an original song, I find that cool and validating," said Kathleen who performs locally at Orchard Park in East Brunswick, the Asbury Hotel in Asbury Park, Klein's in Belmar, Cafe' Artiste in Ocean Grove, and 3BR Distillery in Hazlet.

"My performances are largely a mix of covers and originals, depending on the "vibe" and nature of the performance requirements," she said.

Yet, the original songs lie where her heart lives.

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Her career took off with the release of her 6-track EP " Helium ," which included the impactful anti-bullying song " Don't Let Them In ," touching hearts worldwide. In 2019, she unveiled her first full-length album, "Brainwaves," a compilation of tales exploring the emotions tied to relationships, encompassing joy, sadness, anger, regret, envy, and laughter.

​In 2021, Kathleen transitioned to a new electronic pop era with her single " Nervous ," amassing nearly 2 million streams across various platforms. Her passion for performing has been a consistent driving force, delighting audiences in live gigs and live-streaming on platforms like Twitch, where she's cultivated a following of almost 10,000 fans.

"Each song comes to me in different ways, but the most common way that I write actually starts in my car. I'll drive around and just sing melodies to myself, making up lyrics about what I'm feeling or if I think of a cool phrase, and record that into the Voice Memos app on my phone. As soon as I can when I get back from wherever I was, I'll sit down at the piano or guitar and find the chords. I usually can get the chorus down within that first session. The next part takes the longest, writing the lyrics for the verses. This is where the most revisions happen, and where the most nonsense phrases come in as placeholders. I've also written after finding a cool chord progression/ guitar riff, and sometimes I'm super lucky and can write an entire song in one sitting," said Kathleen.

Kathleen even admits to "recording voice memos in my car" when she finds a chord or a lyric or "punchline" that resounds with her. Good ideas can often be slippery things.

Of her new songs for Memory Lane, though, Kathleen says, "I also spent a lot longer writing these songs than previous ones I've put out. The hardest one to perfect took about 3 years to get the lyrics right. I wanted to make sure that my songwriting and lyricism really came through with specific imagery, while still being concise and clear. I used Billy Joel and Taylor Swift as my main influences for editing my lyrics, as they both tell stories so vividly, without needing a ton of words."

Kathleen Elle will take the stage at Fox Hollow at 2:45, delivering new heartfelt music with a very personal touch.

Editor's note:  This is the first of two articles about the musical experience of Kathleen Elle. The next will appear before her performance at the East Brunswick Municipal Complex on Monday, August 5.

For more local news, visit TAPinto.net