Blake Cateris
... is turning over a new leaf with his folk inspired singer-songwriter solo project, drawing inspiration from the writings songwriters that connect at the core of the soul, such as Frank Turner, Butch Walker, Dave Hause and Laura Jane Grace, and fusing the stories with the honesty of real life events.
Blake Cateris is ...?
... a solo songwriter from Sydney Australia. He loves learning new things, has a deep interest for storytelling and is love with his beautiful cat Rocky.
Who inspired you to make music in general?
There were many pivotal stages in my musical growth that got me to where I am now. I have a great passion for the troubadours, storytellers & songwriters that have the ability to really cut to the core of a subject and hit you in places that you didn’t think could be hit.
Ultimately I want to be able to have the same effect on people that my favourite songwriters have on me. Some of those include my friend Jethro Morris, Butch Walker, Will Varley, Frank Turner, and lately as well; Dave Hause, Micah Schnabel, Amends, The Avett Brothers, Vetty Vials, Ess-Em, Chasing Ghosts, Darren Hanlon to name a few off the top of my head!
Your latest release "Days, weeks, months & years" sounds great, who or what was your inspiration?
I’d be playing a gig on the other side of Sydney then open up Instagram and see all my friends at a gig or at a party that I really wanted to go to. The song really came from a position of feeling stuck in my current stage in life. I was working so much I really felt like I had no time to actually be experiencing life and getting in touch with what I really wanted to be getting out of my short time on this planet. I was living out of balance with myself and writing this song was an important step forward in solving this problem.
What's in your opinion the hardest challenge concerning songwriting?
Being happy with what you create. They say a song is never finished, you just decide to stop working on it at some point. The possibilities really are endless and the only limitation is your imagination.
You have played in many types of bands, what was the most valuable experience you did?
Starting my own band and writing my own songs. It was tough at first, kind of like pulling teeth but the more you do it, the better you get. The struggle is what we live for - short term pain for long term gain.
In a world where people kind of lose interest if it’s not easy from the get-go, this is one of those things where you’re rewarded for your perseverance. Even if I’m still in the learning stage. Actually I think we live our entire lives in the learning stage, self improvement isn’t a destination to reach but a scenic journey till the very end.
Any chance to see you somewhere live on stage?
I’m currently in the middle of a tour to support DWMY right now. Tour dates are as follows:
Oct 15 Last Chance Rock N’ Roll Bar, Melbourne
Oct 28 Link & Pin, Woy Woy
Nov 3 Sappho Bar, Sydney
Who would you most like to collaborate with?
I think having Frank Turner sing a verse or some harmonies for a chorus would be pretty neat. I’ve always loved the idea of having someone who isn’t male reading lines or verses with me in a song. Vetty or Essem are two singers that come to mind that would be cool to try this with (they don’t know about this by the way, haha!)
What’s next for you?
I have some pretty exciting things in the pipeline for 2023, it definitely involves following through with my wants and needs from what’s mentioned in DWMY. There will be plenty of new music and tours let’s just say that for now.
