Somebody Cool.

Katrina Dolphin

Poet. Pistolera.

Katrina Dolphin’s writing is so much an extension of her Self-- passionate, elegant, direct, and socially conscious. She’d be the first to tell you, though, that musically she is the next worst thing to being unarmed. She once remarked that the last time she tried to carry a tune in a bucket, someone, a cruel prankster, no doubt, had cut a great, big hole in the bottom... No matter, her sense of rhythm is impeccable, and she dances like a cheetah hunts... In case you can’t tell, I like Katrina a lot. Maybe I can convince her to take up the drums... Look for a collection of her poetry in the coming year, and her thought-provoking lyrics on my next record.

Twenty Questions: KATRINA DOLPHIN

1. What do you like most about what you do?

How it feels. What it smells and tastes like.

2. What do you wish you could change about yourself?

I wish I had more than one life-- ‘cause y‘know, just one life, it ain’t ee-nuff...

3. Do you think others perceive you the way you perceive yourself?

Gosh, I hope so.

4. If you could only have access to a total of 5 items, whether they be books, albums, movies, or paintings--- which 5 would you choose, and why?

Books and paintings, ‘cause you only need sun or candlelight to take them in... I like for me to be in control, not some utility company. I would want a portrait of myself, painted by the one I love... so I might always see myself... as loved. “The Soft Revolution” by Weingartner & Postman. “Early Autumn” by Robert B. Parker. “Tao of Jeet Kune Do” by Bruce Lee. And a photo of my favorite dog, Shemp.

5. What, as opposed to who, has influenced you most?

The times I live in.

6. Do you do your best work when you’re happy or not so happy? In other words, do you think there’s any validity to the old saw about an artist having to suffer in order to successfully create?

I am Most... when I am miserable and near death. Isn’t everyone?

7. When you are not working, what do you do for fun?

Work. No. I do computer-generated art. I also like to shoot shotguns.

8. When you are working, describe a typical work day (or night)?

I work on about a 40-hour cycle, that’s just my natural circadian rhythm. I’ll go until I drop, and then I sleep for like 17 hours... Or 2 or 3, depending on what I’m working on and how into it I am... I like to finish what I’ve started in as close to one sitting as possible.

9. If you weren’t a lyricist what would you most certainly NOT have become?

A prison guard.

10. Where do you see yourself two years from now?

With my baby, and the babies I look forward to having, enjoying the breeze and the view from the front porch of OUR Home.

11. If you were cloned, what would you want to write on the blank slate of your new self? Or put another way, if you had been your own parent, what would you have taught or exposed yourself to during the course of your upbringing that you were not?

Money and finances. If I could add a sixth thing to that earlier list, it would be that book, “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki.

12. If you had the power to put together the greatest band of all time, who would the members of that band be?

Hiram Bullock on guitar. Ricky Wellman on drums. Chick Corea on keyboards. David Sanborn on alto sax. Pino Palladino on electric fretless bass, and Mark King on electric fretted bass. And Stanley Clarke on upright bass. Nana Vasconcelos on percussion. Joni Mitchell and Bonnie Raitt on female vocals. And Me’shell Ndegeocello, too. Gil Scott-Heron and Ray Anderson and Michael Franti on male vocals. And Ray on trombone, as well. And Me, writing the lyrics and coming up with crazy samples. I mean, if I wasn’t a part of the thing, what would be the point. I’m a participant, not an observer. Oh, and if I could add a dancer, I would say Shelley Washington from Twyla Tharp’s dance troupe. So powerful, and yet so... free from gravity.

13. Limited to these two choices, would you rather be the fastest runner in the world, or be able to run the longest distance?

I would rather run fast, and get where I am going quickly. To run for a long time, not getting where you’re going for a long time, and not being able to stop and enjoy where you are... ‘cause you’re still running... That doesn’t sound like a whole lot of fun. To me.

14. What’s the best song you’ve heard so far, and why?

I haven’t written it yet. But I’m working on it. I think maybe the most perfect song is, “Across 110th Street”, by Bobby Womack and Peace. It’s groovy. It’s got that bittersweet, happy-sad thing to it that I like so much. It has both a strong narrative and a political slant... meaning that it exists to communicate something... it has a purpose, which so many songs don’t. And the vocals are great.

15. What’s the worst pain in the world?

The pain of the “little death”. Not the old orgasm reference but, I mean those things that should have killed you stone dead, but then didn’t. Your love of years leaves without explanation... You lose a parent... or a child. Your life’s work has no value in the current time in which you now find yourself... Fucked-up shit like that.

16. What’s the best smell in the world?

Here are two that come to mind... a new baby... and a long-time lover...

17. What’s the saddest song of all time?

There’s an outtake from the box set of “The Wizard Of Oz”, where Judy Garland, poor little broken-winged sparrow, breaks down while singing, “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”. She’s crying and you’re crying... And then at the end of this debacle, this bastard’s voice comes over the intercom from the control room, and asks this child to do it again...

18. What’s the greatest thing that’s happened to you so far?

Being included on this webpage? No. Meeting the love of my life. I hope it happens soon.

19. What’s your LEAST favorite swear word?

Any harsh word spoken thoughtlessly to a child, but especially when it comes from a parent.

20. What should I have asked you?

Are you free for dinner tonight...?