Destined to be involved in music

Music was very important when Katie Pinder Brown was growing up in Waycross, Georgia, during the 1980s.

She was raised singing in church choirs, performed in a musical at age 8 and participated in a statewide summer music program while in high school that showed her a path toward a career in music.

Brown’s father was in a Southern rock band called Waycross Express. Her future in music was influenced by his appreciation for singer-songwriters such as Don McLean, Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor.

Her grandmother taught her how to play piano, beginning in kindergarten, and she spent her formative years playing a Baldwin piano that was a high school graduation gift from her grandparents to her dad.

Brown calls her ensuing music career “a little inevitable.” Fortunately, it was in harmony with her business goals.

“It was my destiny to be involved in music in some way,” Brown said in a recent telephone interview. “Besides just having a proximity to it and access to it, I also grew to have a passion for it and a talent for it.”

After a stint as a contributing singer in a Frankie Valli tribute band, Brown decided to make center stage her domain.

Brown will present “Natural Woman: A Tribute to Carole King” July 6 at the Venice Performing Arts Center.

It’s a 90-minute program featuring Brown’s six-piece, all-female band, performing King’s greatest hits and “most beloved songs,” said Brown, now a resident of the Orlando area.

Among the songs likely to be performed are “I Feel the Earth Move”, “It’s Too Late”, “Tapestry”, “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman”, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”, “You’ve Got a Friend”, “Up on the Roof” and “Jazzman”.

Brown created a company in 2017 called Piano Party (pianoparty.com) which provides “world class piano entertainment in several different forms.”

Brown, 40, began creating the “Natural Woman” show in 2020. The first year of the coronavirus pandemic afforded her an opportunity to select the songs, arrange the music for her band and write a script for the initial performances.

She says the time away was a “blessing in disguise” that enabled her to “make it come to life.”

In addition to “Natural Woman,” the company boasts several other acts. “Piano Party Dueling Pianos,” her signature act, is an all-request dueling piano show. Two or more piano players engage the audience in an interactive singalong. This show has been seen on the Disney Cruise Line, as well as at weddings, corporate events and special occasions across North America.

Other Piano Party acts include an all-female vintage act called “Hourglass: The Strolling Piano” (jazz-inspired covers of modern songs) and a variety band called Switcheroo.

Brown says King, 82, who has been a professional singer-songwriter since 1958 and won four Grammy Awards, is her company’s role model.

Like King, Brown is a singing piano player. But she also plays drums and bass guitar. The premise of Switcheroo is that the musicians switch instruments during songs.

Brown didn’t disagree with the notion that she may be on her way to becoming a music mogul. In fact, she chuckled at the thought.

“I’m going to try to build an empire,” she said. “That is the goal. But the main vibe behind it is to create more opportunities for women, female musicians, artists. But also, just to have a focus on … quality and uniqueness that you don’t always get in our little corner niche of the industry.”

Brown chose King as her focus for a tribute band because she grew up listening to her and admired her and found that her own musical style was inspired by King. The more she prepared for the show, the more that connection revealed itself.

There are three primary aspects to “Natural Woman:” the music, the memories and sharing King’s story.

Some of the most important moments, for Brown, is when audience members come up to her and say that the show brought back memories.

“The power of this music to transport people to different times in their lives and bring back these special memories is one of the reasons why we love to do this so much,” she said.

“The music is great, obviously. That’s why we started doing this. But once we started meeting the people and finding out the impact that it has on them emotionally, it’s been extremely rewarding.”

The flipside is how little some actually know about King, which Brown aims to change.

“She is a very private person,” Brown said of King. “So, one of the things we also love to do is tell a lot of stories about her career, which is very illustrious and prolific. So, people will probably learn something.”

Brown performs “Natural Woman” about half a dozen times a year. However, she is going on a national solo tour this fall and next spring. Brown will have dates nationwide. Shortly after the performance in Venice, she will perform her solo act on a Disney cruise ship in Alaska.

Part of the appeal of that gig, she said, is to have 10 days away from the oppressive summer heat and replace it with “an Arctic chill.”