GRAMMY WINNER? Those who have followed Cathy Kreger would say YES! Definitely! Cathy’s got it! “Her voice could make a bulldog break his leash to hug a hound!” says one fan. For this article, I sat down with Cathy Kreger to talk about her career and her soon to be released CD PURE IMAGINATION. Cathy resides here in Huntington and performs often around the island. Her musical influences begin with her parents Bill and Robie(short for Roberta) Berlinghoff. Throughout the 70’s they toured the folk circuit rubbing elbows with well known artists such as Pete Seeger, and Fred Hellerman (of The Weavers) and Paul Stookey (of Peter Paul and Mary). Around the house were the records of Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Cat Stevens, Joni Mitchel, Judy Collins, Janis Ian, Bonnie Raitt and those were the artists that gave her the juice to begin her career in songwriting and performance. As she sang throughout the Northeast in the 80’s and 90’s she garnered a loyal following opening shows with the likes of Taj Mahal, Bonnie Raitt, the Band, David Bromberg, and that’s just naming a few. With 3 Cds to her credit and now on the verge of releasing her 4th CD “Pure Imagination”, Cathy is planning to expand her touring schedule out to the Midwest and Southern states. I then asked her to tell me about the new CD. “Well, I have lots to say about it.” says Cathy. “ I pulled out all the stops and decided that I would not be concerned with rules or thoughts like will it sell? This CD is artistic and fun and has a lineup of musicians that are truly the cream of the crop! With players like The Cadillac Moon Band, Ken Talve, Mike Frost, Chris Elsener Jr., Don Celenza, Jamie Betty and Vicki Genfan, how could I go wrong? John Tabacco is the producer and in choosing him I knew we’d have a great sound. I met John at the local post office in Centerport, right after he came back from Maui. He had been working at George Benson’s studio. I was lucky that he was between projects and could take on the job. John’s style as producer is progressive and gave this Cd it’s punch and attitude.” In an interview with John Tabacco he said, “It was an interesting challenge working with Cathy Kreger due to the fact that she tends to come from a more folksy kind of musical world where as my production skills are geared towards the comical pop, experimental world. Could these two disparate musical approaches be integrated into one another? The answer was a resounding yes! Cathy's willingness to let me create a colorful environment around her music was admirable. She is taking a chance with her audience. Hopefully they'll embrace this new direction. In any event, I had fun co-writing a few songs with her, working with her talented friends and members of her band and I believe the subtle details present in this collection of songs should sustain one's ears through many hours of repeated listenings.” I heard the CD which includes covers of the songs Pure Imagination (Willy Wonka) and Black Water (The Doobie Brothers) and it is truly a work of art! You can listen to it entirely without wanting to skip ahead and each song just seems to set up the next. PURE IMAGINATION is pure enjoyment! April 30th is the due date for this new Cd and we all look forward to hearing it! For more info on Cathy Kreger www.cathykreger.com www.myspace.com/cathykreger www.myspace.com/cathykregerswhatitiz John Tabacco www.betarecords.com/john.tabacco