Catherine Popper (born December 28, 1973) is an American bass guitarist, singer and songwriter. She is best known for her work with
Jesse Malin
Jesse Malin (born January 26, 1967) is an American rock musician, guitarist, and songwriter. Starting his performing career in the New York hardcore band Heart Attack, and rising to prominence as vocalist of D Generation, a solo recording artis ...
,
Ryan Adams & the Cardinals
The Cardinals were an American rock band that were formed in 2004 by alternative country singer-songwriter Ryan Adams and fronted by him until 2009. The band was featured on Ryan Adams and the Cardinals albums, ''Cold Roses'', '' Jacksonville ...
,
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals are an American rock band from Vermont, formed in 2002 in Waitsfield by drummer Matt Burr, guitarist Scott Tournet, and singer Grace Potter. They began their career as an indie band, self-producing their albums an ...
and
Jack White
John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975), commonly known as Jack White, is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the duo the White Stripes. White has enjoyed consistent critical and popular success and is widely c ...
. Popper is also a member of a trio called
Puss n Boots
Puss n Boots is an American alternative country band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2008 that consists of members Norah Jones, Sasha Dobson and Catherine Popper. Their debut full-length album, ''No Fools, No Fun'', was released on July 15, 20 ...
with
Norah Jones
Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and as of 2012, has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. ''Billboard'' named her the ...
and
Sasha Dobson
Sasha Dobson (born March 31, 1979) is an American jazz singer from Santa Cruz, California.
Early life
Dobson comes from a musical family. Her father, Smith Dobson (Smith Weed Dobson IV, 1947–2001) was a pianist who recorded with Mark Murphy ...
.
She released her first single, “Maybe It’s All Right” on Velvet Elk Records in 2020.
Early life
Popper was born and raised in
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
. She started playing upright bass when she was 9 years old, and attended the
North Carolina School of the Arts
The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) is an arts school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It grants high school, undergraduate, and graduate degrees. Founded in 1963 as the North Carolina School of the Arts by then-Governo ...
for high school where she studied classical string bass. For college, she studied jazz bass at the
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...
.
Career
From 2004 to 2006, Popper played bass, double bass, and sang back up vocals for
Ryan Adams
David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, artist, and poet. He has released 23 albums, as well as three studio albums as a former member of alt-country band Whiskeytown.
In 2000, Adams left ...
with his backing group, The Cardinals. She also shared songwriting credits for many songs on the band's albums. Starting in 2009, Popper joined
Grace Potter
Grace Evelyn Potter (born June 20, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter and musician who formed Grace Potter and the Nocturnals in 2002. Potter released her debut solo record ''Original Soul'' on 2004 via Grace Potter Music. Potter and her b ...
and the Nocturnals on tour and for the band's self-titled fifth album ''
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals are an American rock band from Vermont, formed in 2002 in Waitsfield by drummer Matt Burr, guitarist Scott Tournet, and singer Grace Potter. They began their career as an indie band, self-producing their albums an ...
'', released on June 8, 2010. The album was produced by
Mark Batson
Mark Batson is an American producer, musician and songwriter. He has worked on albums by artists including Alicia Keys, Dave Matthews Band, LeAnn Rimes, Anthony Hamilton, Eminem, India Arie, 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Maroon 5, Skylar Grey, Grace Pott ...
and debuted at #19 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums. On November 14, 2011, Popper announced her departure from Grace Potter and the Nocturnals for the "foreseeable future" on her Facebook page.
In January 2012, Popper appeared on ''
Late Show with David Letterman
The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...
'', performing "Travel As Equals" with
Joseph Arthur
Joseph Arthur (born September 28, 1971) is an American singer-songwriter and artist from Akron, Ohio. He is best known for his solo material, and as a member of Fistful of Mercy and RNDM. Arthur has built his reputation over the years through c ...
. In 2013, Popper appeared on four tracks on
Joseph Arthur
Joseph Arthur (born September 28, 1971) is an American singer-songwriter and artist from Akron, Ohio. He is best known for his solo material, and as a member of Fistful of Mercy and RNDM. Arthur has built his reputation over the years through c ...
's tenth studio album, ''
The Ballad of Boogie Christ
''The Ballad of Boogie Christ'' is the tenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur, released on June 11, 2013 on Real World and Lonely Astronaut Records. A concept album, ''The Ballad of Boogie Christ'' follows "a fictionalized ...
''.
In May 2012, she replaced
Bryn Davies in
Jack White's all-female band "The Peacocks".
In April 2013 Popper appeared on
Mike Doughty
Michael Ross Doughty ( ; born June 10, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and author. He founded the band Soul Coughing in 1992, and as of '' The Heart Watches While the Brain Burns'' (2016), has released 18 studio albums, live albums, and ...
's crowd funded album ''Circles Super Bon Bon...''. She then toured with Mike Doughty and drummer
Pete Wilhoit
Pete Wilhoit is an American drummer and a member of the band Fiction Plane.
Musical career
Wilhoit grew up Bloomington, Indiana and attended Indiana University, where he studied jazz and percussion. His teachers included David Baker, Shaw ...
in support of the album between October 16, 2013 and November 23, 2013.
In December 2013 and June 2014, Popper performed with
Molly and the Zombies with
Brian Fallon
Brian Fallon (born January 28, 1980) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main lyricist of the rock band the Gaslight Anthem, with whom he has recorded five studio albums. H ...
of
The Gaslight Anthem
The Gaslight Anthem is an American rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey, formed in 2006. The band consists of Brian Fallon (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Alex Rosamilia (lead guitar, backing vocals), Alex Levine (bass guitar, backing vocals), ...
, Brian McGee of
Plow United
Plow United is an American punk rock formed in Wilmington, Delaware in 1992. They play fast punk rock with pop, thrashcore and hardcore influences. Their lyrics are sometimes labeled "emo" postfact. Band members are Brian McGee (vocals and g ...
and Randy Schrager of the
Scissor Sisters
Scissor Sisters were an American pop rock band formed in 2001. Its members include Jake Shears and Ana Matronic as vocalists, Babydaddy as multi-instrumentalist, Del Marquis as lead guitar/bassist, and Randy Real (who replaced Paddy Boom) as dr ...
.
The group released five songs for free online. Since 2015, Popper has played bass and provided back up vocals for
Jesse Malin
Jesse Malin (born January 26, 1967) is an American rock musician, guitarist, and songwriter. Starting his performing career in the New York hardcore band Heart Attack, and rising to prominence as vocalist of D Generation, a solo recording artis ...
's backing group and she has appeared on all of his releases since then. She also appeared on ''Nothing Is Anywhere'', the 2016 album by Malin's band
D Generation
D Generation (also known as DGen) are an American glam punk band formed in 1991 in New York City. They released three albums and several EPs, to much critical acclaim, before breaking up in 1999. In 2011 the band reunited for a series of show ...
. In July 2016 she was again with Grace Potter & The Nocturnals in Guitar Center Sessions.
Discography
with Hem
*''
Rabbit Songs'' (2001)
*''
Eveningland'' (2004)
*''
No Word From Tom'' (2006)
with Ryan Adams and the Cardinals
*''
Cold Roses
''Cold Roses'' is the sixth studio album by alt-country singer-songwriter Ryan Adams, released on May 3, 2005 on Lost Highway. The album is his first with backing band The Cardinals, and the first of three albums released in 2005.
''Cold Roses' ...
'' (2005)
*''
Jacksonville City Nights'' (2005)
*''
III/IV'' (2010)
with Willie Nelson
*''
Songbird
A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 500 ...
'' (2006)
with Rachael Yamagata
*''
Elephants...Teeth Sinking Into Heart'' (2008)
with Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
*''
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals are an American rock band from Vermont, formed in 2002 in Waitsfield by drummer Matt Burr, guitarist Scott Tournet, and singer Grace Potter. They began their career as an indie band, self-producing their albums an ...
'' (2010)
with Joseph Arthur
*''
The Ballad of Boogie Christ
''The Ballad of Boogie Christ'' is the tenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur, released on June 11, 2013 on Real World and Lonely Astronaut Records. A concept album, ''The Ballad of Boogie Christ'' follows "a fictionalized ...
'' (2013)
with Mike Doughty
*''Circles Super Bon Bon'' (2013)
with Jack White
*''
Lazaretto
A lazaretto or lazaret (from it, lazzaretto a diminutive form of the Italian word for beggar cf. lazzaro) is a quarantine station for maritime travellers. Lazarets can be ships permanently at anchor, isolated islands, or mainland buildings ...
'' (2014)
with Puss n Boots
*''
No Fools, No Fun
''No Fools, No Fun'' is the debut full-length album by Brooklyn-based alt-country trio Puss n Boots, released on July 15, 2014, through Blue Note Records. It is a collection of five original and seven cover songs originally performed by artists i ...
'' (2014)
* ''Dear Santa EP'' (2019)
* ''Sister'' (2020)
with Levon Helm
*''The Midnight Ramble Sessions Vol 3'' (2014)
with Jesse Malin
*''New York Before The War'' (2015)
*''Meet Me At The End Of The World'' (2017)
*''
Sunset Kids'' (2019)
*''Lust for Love'' (2020)
with Brian Fallon
*''
Painkillers
An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic (American English), analgaesic (British English), pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used to achieve relief from pain (that is, analgesia or pain management). It i ...
'' (2016)
with D Generation
*''Nothing Is Anywhere (2016)''
with Bash And Pop
*''Anything Could Happen'' (2016)
with She And Him
*''
Christmas Party'' (2016)
with Manolo Garcia
*''Geometria del Rayo'' (2018)
Broadway Cast Recordings
*''Head Over Heels Broadway cast recording (2018)''
*''Diana cast recording (2020)''
Film and Television
*''Short Bus (2006)''
*''Vinyl: Music From The HBO Original Series Vol 1 (2016)''
*''The Only Living Boy in New York (2017)''
*''The Irishman (2019)''
*''Marvelous Miss Maisel (2019)''
*''The Joker (2019)''
References
External links
*https://web.archive.org/web/20110719095353/http://www.gracepotter.com/band/catherine-popper/
*
*http://www.jambands.com/news/2011/11/14/catherine-popper-leaves-grace-potter-and-the-nocturnals/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Popper, Catherine
1973 births
Living people
American rock bass guitarists
Women bass guitarists
Musicians from Charlotte, North Carolina
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals members
21st-century American singers
21st-century American women singers
21st-century American bass guitarists