Last summer, while on a road trip with my family, I got into joking with my brother about how funny it would be to hear Kate Bush* perform songs like Olivia Rodrigo’s “driver’s license.” I’m not sure where the idea came from, but there and then a project was born.
Track #1 off of my faux-EP is “Kate Bush Does… Hello” (by Adele). You can hear within the first 30 seconds why it makes for a great album opener:
*****
There were almost a dozen songs considered for the project altogether… The criteria for the ones that finally made it onto YouTube became 1. Can the song be considered a top hit of the past few years (one that people will recognize)? 2. Do I make myself laugh listening back to recordings of my trial runs (I figure if it makes me laugh, it will make others laugh as well, and be worth doing besides)? and 3. Will it “Kate”?
Obviously Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘driver’s license’ had to be included, as the song that started it all. It has become Track #2 in the set:
*****
One day at work inspiration struck, and I decided I needed to do a photo shoot to solidify the project. When I got home I informed Chet that he was to be my photographer (luckily he’s always game to get involved in my creative, sometimes nutso, projects), and I started gathering inspirational images from Kate Bush’s photo shoots and album covers. My main influence was her “Hounds of Love” cover, so I had my fingers crossed that my cats would get involved. It wasn’t hard to convince Georgie to participate when he saw me laying on the ground on a piece of fabric with my hair splayed out everywhere…
Track #3 is probably the least well known of the songs I covered. It is by Canadian singer Charlotte Cardin, and had been top of the CBC hit charts for weeks back when I was compiling my setlist for the project. If you haven’t heard her version, I’ve linked it in the description of the YouTube video:
*****
There you have it! The three tracks that make up my faux-EP “Erin Vandermolen-Pater Presents ‘Kate Bush Does…'”!
It’s been a self-indulgent project for the most part, really just intended to make me and my brother laugh, and to annoy my husband by making him listen to multiple takes of every song, but I hope you get a kick out of it. Call me up if you ever need a Kate Bush impression (I know it’s a niche audience, but I figured I should put the offer out there).
*****
*If you are not aware of the work of Kate Bush–you should be! She is pure magic; creative genius; my number one artistic inspiration. Maybe start with her “Hounds of Love” album–the A-side is practically a greatest hits compilation.
