OffStage with Kathy Kallick April 2003 Have you ever wondered about the offstage world of a professional musician? Every month in this column, bluegrass now will provide a glimpse into the lives of some of your favorite bluegrass stars. To see captions, just move your cursor over the photos!
“I think it's important to bring a little bit of home with you, in one way or another,” she says. “I always bring my hot water bottle. Wherever I am in the world, I can get hot water!” For the same reason, she always travels with a stash of Earl Grey tea. “Those two things make me feel less bereft when I am away from home. They make me feel like I am who I am, wherever I'm going.” Since 1982, home, for Kathy, has been an old house in Oakland, California, just across the bay from San Francisco. Her home always surprises visitors, who have included the Lynn Morris Band, John Reischman, Suzanne Thomas, Carol Elizabeth Jones and James Leva. “They think they're going to be in an urban environment. The back of our house goes out into a big canyon full of live oak trees, with a creek running through it!” Built in the mid-1930s, the house is distinctive of its era, with high vaulted ceilings in the living room and tiles from the 20th century's California ceramics movement. “All I have to do is push some piles of stuff over to the side. Books and dolls and instruments. Just push them way over and I can show everybody my tiles!” Kathy laughs. “When people come here, they know it's not gonna be very deluxe, but it will be comfortable. And they'll never be lonely! There are girls that want to talk to them, and a dog that will get in their lap.”
Kathy met her husband Peter Thompson, a PR consultant and bluegrass DJ, at the Vancouver Folk Festival some years ago, when he interviewed her for a radio program. They've been together for 11 years, and married for almost nine. Peter's weekly radio show, “Bluegrass Signal,” is broadcast on KALW in San Francisco. Peter tells us that Kathy believes she has an “almost perfect band”: Amy Stenberg is a critical care nurse, Tom Bekeny is a therapist, and Avram Siegel can build or fix anything. “They can take care of almost any disaster which befalls them on the road, so Kathy feels pretty secure away from home and hearth,” Peter chuckles. “She claims her major skills are hand-laundry, breastfeeding, and cake decorating, so she's glad to have such talented band mates!” Coastal Fog, Kathy's new collection of original tunes, will be released by Copper Creek in May. Guest musicians include Laurie Lewis, Herb Petersen, John Reischmann, Nina Gerber, and Scott Nygaard. The Kathy Kallick Band plans to release its second project in October. Visit Kathy online at www.kathykallick.com!
When Kathy first moved to San Francisco in 1973, she and her boyfriend lived in an apartment on Telegraph Hill. “We didn't have any furniture at all! On the second night, we were sitting on stereo speakers, eating dinner on the ironing board that folded out of the wall. My Italian landlord walked by, looked in the kitchen door, saw us and laughed! He had an old table down in the basement, and he said we could have it. I sanded it and painted it blue, and I've carried that table with me for almost 30 years, every place I've lived in California. I'm looking at it in the middle of my living room. People have suggested, over the years, that perhaps I'd like to throw this away now, 'cause it was just a piece of junk 30 years ago! But I will never part with it.” From The Kitchen of Kathy Kallick Kathy loves to bake, and her family and guests are delighted with the results! Here's one of her favorite recipes. OLD-FASHIONED CHOCOLATE CAKE
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease & flour two 9-inch round baking pans. In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat for 3 minutes on high speed of electric mixer. Combine and stir dry ingredients. Add alternately with buttermilk to the butter mixture, beating until blended. Pour together into prepared pans. Bake 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely and frost. Serves 8-10. Kathy's never really figured out the quantities for this, so she calls it . . . INTUITIVE COFFEE FROSTING
1/2 box (8 oz.) powdered sugar Soften butter, then add vanilla and half the powdered sugar. Beat until very smooth. Add coffee and rest of powdered sugar alternately until the flavor is the way you like it. Decorate with chocolate espresso beans for adults or cookies/candy for children.
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Some folks are strangers wherever they go, and some can find comfort in the strangest of places. Kathy Kallick definitely belongs to the second group.
The dog is Lester, a cockapoo puppy; the girls are Kathy's daughters, Jenny Lynn, called “Jen”, 16, and Madeline Jane, 8, who is in the third grade. Kathy's daughters take up most of her time and energy when she's home. “I've been a Girl Scout mom, a basketball mom, a softball mom . . . I just go along with whatever they're doing--I drive them.” 
Kathy's Blue Table
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