Everything something new:
Katie Trotta and Cory Hill at Starbuck's on 96th St.
Story and Photos by Paul F. P. Pogue

The first time I saw singer/songwriter Katie Trotta live, it happened to
be her first live performance ever, at an acoustic music contest at the
745 Pub. She didn't place - she was the only keyboardist in a sea of
guitars - but she definitely left the most lasting impression. Ever since
she's become a fixture in a variety of local outlets, but coffeehouses in
particular ("I just don't like smoky bars," she said.) Wherever the case,
when she performs she commands attention with her raw and uncompromising style.

Every Trotta show is something a little different, as she's a prolific
writer who draws on her life experiences for each new piece. More than
half the songs at her most recent show, at the far-northside Starbuck's,
were new work composed after her debut album, "Release," from earlier this year.

Her newest life experience has been her first semester at college, which
has sent her songwriting in a whole new direction.

"It's not like anything I expected," she said. "Everything's something new."
Her voice is husky and haunting, a journey into an inner world that is not
always a pleasant place but is constantly a revelation. "Just so you guys
know, this one's a little dark, so don't expect a happy ending," she
warned the audience before performing "Enough", and that was a bit of an
understatement; it's definitely a depress-a-thon.

But it's not all melancholy and darkness; songs like "Lazy Sunday" open up
the occasional ray of light. And with the expansion of her life experience
since college and her debut album, she and her lyrics find ever more
repositories of hope.

Trotta's appeal is a combination of her precocious maturity - 19 going on
35 - and great vulnerability as she reveals her deepest self in her songs.
She's opening up her diary and presenting her most private journal entries
in song form, pounding away at the keyboard as she pours out her heart. A
searing vulnerability combined with a quiet confidence.

"I write my best music at 2 a.m., because that's when I feel the most
honest," she said. "And I made a promise to myself a long time ago that I
wouldn't write a song just because somebody would like it. I wanted my
songs to be honest, something I could be proud of."

There are a million reasons it shouldn't work - emotional honesty can also
be grating, especially in the teen years. It works anyway, the poetry of
the soul finding safe haven in Trotta's solid classical music background.
Trotta has also picked up a knack for finding solid performing partners;
she's tag-teamed with the likes of Rochelle Bucher and Jessica Weiser.
This time around she introduced Indianapolis to the guitar and singing of
Cory Hill. Hill's sound straddles the fence between protest folk and the
Grand Ole Opry. "I picked up a lot from the jam bands, like the Grateful
Dead and Phish," he said.

Cory Hill @ Starbucks | photo by Paul Pogue

Though only 21, he sings with a voice beyond his years, much like Trotta
herself. His is the gravelly, weary voice of the old-old-school country
singers, Hank Williams Sr. and Johnny Cash, with a little bit of Dylan. He
did about half original and half covers, and he did justice to the
classics in his performance. And as for his own songwriting ability, let's
put it this way: if you didn't already know the covers before, you'd be
hard pressed to tell which was his own stuff and which were the classics. Hill can definitely keep pace.

Starting in the spring, Trotta will be keeping an accelerated schedule of
live performances. I'd suggest catching her as soon as you can; once the
general public catches on to her talent, you'll find yourself regretting
skipping the chance to see her live and up close so easily and usually for
free. She has it in her to become one of this city's greats.

Keep up with Katie's schedule at www.katietrotta.com.

-- Paul Pogue