artist Catherine Bacque

Country-rock girl with guitar sings up-tempo hooky tunes (fans report singing in the shower and at the wheel) and memorable ballads with lyrics steeped in love, loss, and life's hard lessons.

Catherine Bacque’s roots are in 60s and 70s folk, pop and rock. Her style ranges from jazzy ballads to straight out country rock. According to her mother, Catherine sang in the cradle while her father played Vivaldi and Benny Goodman on the stereo. Later, her parents introduced her to The Beatles, Elvis, Duke Ellington, Gilles Vigneault, Monique Leyrac, Gordon Lightfoot and Joni Mitchell. Catherine went on to discover Emmylou Harris, traditional Canadian folk music, and classic American country artists such as Patsy Cline and Hank Williams. Today Catherine loves to listen to Sarah McLachlan, Dala, The Dixie Chicks, The Tragically Hip, Melissa McClelland, Kathleen Edwards and Sheryl Crow.

Catherine's Guitars:

Catherine got her first guitar, a 1950s Harmony flat top, for her 12th birthday, but since no one in the house knew guitars, when the neck began to pull up and the action got impossible it was relegated to the junk box. Too bad we never looked for the truss rod!

Moving on to a nylon stringed CBS Masterworks Classical guitar eased the wear and tear on fingertips, but was not exactly the ticket for public performance. It was great for writing though, and for those high school jam session parties.

Catherine still has that guitar, nicknamed Eliza for Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady. She has passed it on to her teenaged daughter. Synchronicity.

Catherine played a brutally rough-actioned Kay after high school and then a beautiful student model Larivee belonging to her partner. Fate (and a sharp eye on the neighbours' lawns) landed a broken Ibanez PF-40 on the doorstep which he carefully repaired as a Christmas present, and which served as the sounding board for many songs on Catherine's current CD. Today Gigi (aka garbage guitar) is a favourite all purpose guitar, especially for those outdoor gigs!

Catherine's current Martin D-41 has a story too. It belonged to her dear friend Rick Fielding, a renowned folk and blues singer-guitarist. Just days before he passed in 2004, he encouraged her to keep making music. Letting Go is dedicated to him. Catherine purchased the guitar from Rick’s widow Heather, who continues to host Rick’s acoustic roots music show “Acoustic Workshop” on Toronto radio station CIUT 89.5 FM.

Instrumentation
Catherine Bacque, guitar & vocals
Alan Hardiman, guitar, bass, and keyboards
Jack Gelbloom, piano & keyboards
Doug Cotton, drums

Discography
CD EP Letting Go, released fall 2009. Tracks can be downloaded at iTunes & CD Baby.
The EP features virtuoso bassist Alain Caron, pianist Jack Gelbloom, drummer Doug Cotton, guitarist Tim Bovaconti and multi-instrumentalist Alan Hardiman. Catherine is looking forward to releasing a full-length CD in spring, 2010. For more information, visit www.catbacque.com.