Ethereal Singer/Songwriter
Strikes Magical Chord with
South Carolina Music Fans
__________
There were discus-sized fried
green tomatoes, fluffy waffles
(an inch thick), and Nilla-crusted
chicken breasts. But at Mount
Pleasant's world-famous Page's
Okra Grill, there was more cookin'
that what was on the menu.
___________
By 10am it already was pushing 90° and the line of perspiring, hungry patrons waiting outside to be seated was hopelessly long. The plan was that my posse would have rolled up at Page's much earlier. I'd traveled to South Carolina from Florida to DJ a private event the day before. But the after-party ran well into the night, so we'd gotten a later start than expected that next morning.
All considering, the wait wasn't terribly long, maybe 20 minutes. Initially, we had no preference. The first available table was fine, inside or outside. It didn't matter. I just needed to destroy one of those fluffy waffles — ASAP. As luck would have it, we wound up outdoors.
As our hostess took us from the waiting area and down the sidewalk leading around back to the breezy dining patio, I couldn't help but notice that there were happy puppies everywhere — lounging in the sunshine, tethered to tables and generally chillaxin' at nearly all points in between. The lovable lab and the perky poodle were my two faves. As we approached the patio, I also noticed the distinctive, groovy music playing — probably a random Sunday morning playlist. Siri, play happy, breezy, sunny, fluffy waffle songs for people and puppies!
But the joke was on me. The music wasn't a Siri studio playlist. It was live. As I came around the corner, there she was — an airbrushed princess with a "gently loved" acoustic guitar in-hand. Sporting neon green hair and possessing a gypsy chic fashion sense, she could have been the angelic love child of the Gold Dust Woman and Ziggy Stardust — singing and playing "Superstar" (of course) — the iconic 1969 Bonnie Bramlett / Leon Russell collab recreated most famously by The Carpenters in 1971. What? The Carpenters? Really? In 2021? Hey NASA, I think I just discovered an alien!
Cat Strickland performing at Page's Okra Grill.
While my peeps settled in at our table and began perusing menu options, I made a beeline to the little makeshift stage area. "Lil' Ms. Gold Dust" had just segued into a soulful acoustic rendition of a Pretenders number and I embraced two objectives; 1) Confirm that this being was an actual human life form. 2) Stuff a wad of cash into her massive shiny tip bucket. As it turned out, she was in fact a human — and a darn sweet one at that. She allowed me to get a photo with her, then I promised to go away, eat my fluffy waffle and not pester her any further.
As her magical hit parade ensued, I became more and more captivated (along with everyone else who was within earshot), as she not only was engaging, and her voice was honest and pure, but her set list was an eclectic collection of cozies that included golden old timey classics from Foo Fighters, Weezer and The Cranberries plus SUPER old timey tunes from The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac and a slew of others.
Then it got wacky. On her break, she came up to our table and struck up a legit conversation — a rather brave and bold move in today's less than intimate iUniverse — particularly impressive given her immediate confession that she was only 20. Also, come to find out, her name really wasn't "Lil' Ms. Gold Dust," as she introduced herself to us (with physical handshakes) as Cat Strickland, a local Charleston area singer / songwriter who was putting herself through college by playing live music.
A genuinely likable and unassuming gal, Cat confessed that her parents had a big influence on her music interests, turning her on at an early age to "old" music by the likes of Steely Dan. She further revealed that her folks were less fond of her personal "weird '80s goth" faves such as Cocteau Twins. She also counts Stevie Nicks among her biggest musical inspirations. Ah-ha! I knew it!
Simply put, Cat Strickland is a true treasure. And if she isn't the hardest-working musician on the South Carolina scene, she's gotta come darn close to earning that distinction. She seemingly plays everywhere in and around Charleston and she's well-worth seeing and hearing for yourself. And if you catch her at Pages, you gotta try the fluffy waffles!
-Christopher Long
(September 2021)
__________
CAT STRICKLAND
SOCIALS
__________
- A SHOT OF POISON -
"10th Anniversary Edition"
(2020)
__________
- SUPERSTAR -
__________
- SHOUT IT OUT LOUD -
(2014)
__________
- C'MON! -
(2012)
