Featured Artist

Laura Walker - Guitar, Vocals
Lori Mast - Keyboard, Fiddle, Vocals
John Rawlston - Lead Guitar, Vocals
Kathy Veazey - Guitar, Keyboard, Vocals

Sistren brings a soulful sound to the stage with harmony that just fills your soul and a beat that makes your feet tap to the rhythm. Their music brings together a blend of gospel, folk, bluegrass, and southern rock. Sistren came together in late fall of 2008 after running into each other at Nightfall, a perennial concert series in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Kathy Veazey tells the story of Sistren in an interview. “We all knew each other and have for a long time. We all saw each other at a Night Fall concert last summer… It was a Ruthie Foster concert... We were just kind of dancing around and talking and everything. We got to singing along with the song she was doing and doing a harmony thing… We just got kind of excited about that. It took us a while to finally get together but… we thought we ought to do this more and experiment and see how that comes off. We got together over at my house and just kind of played stuff we knew – which we had a lot in common with coming from the same geographical area and chorological area to some extent.... we knew a lot of the same music so it was kind of effortless in that way. It’s just been really fun.”

Though Sistren, the band, is new to the music scene, Laura Walker of Dismembered Tennesseans, Lori Mast of Skydog, John Rawlston of Lumbar Five, and Kathy Veazey of Lumbar Five have all been playing gigs with different bands in the Chattanooga area over the years. “Each member of the group has lived in the Chattanooga area for a long time.” Kathy describes, “It’s neat because everybody’s got their own community of other musicians that they know. It’s like a microcosm of Chattanooga when we get together because everybody knows everybody else and has played with so many of the same folks. It’s a lot of fun.”

After the band was formed, the name, Sistren, was born. Kathy shares that “John kind of came up with that one. He originally called it Sistern kind of in a joking way. We were going to go with Brethren and Sistren and then we were going to go with Sistern. Laura bounced it off Cindy Pinion, who was part of the Boxcar Pinion Festival. She said ‘That sounds like a toilet.’ In some of the country places they called an outhouse a cistern or something. So we started rethinking the spelling and it became Sistren after that… It’s kind of a country, rootsy thing.”

Kathy also shares about her experience with Lumbar Five as it still plays an important part in her music career. “Lumbar Five has been my heart and soul for a long time. We started that back in 2001. It was the first band that I was ever in that I could play original music in… It really encouraged me to write. I’ve started writing more than I’ve ever had in my life when I got in that band. I just love the guys. They’re just very easygoing folks. They’ve been really encouraging to me and I hope I have to them. We’ve just had a great time over the years… The most recently, we’ve had three drummers so our percussion section is the newest addition. That would be Jo Whitaker on the drum set. Kofi Mawuko is an African percussionist. We’re just thrilled to have both of those guys. They’re just great, and they work together very well. The old standbys are me, John, and Nick [Honerkamp] who were the ones that got together in 2001 along with John Wilson who was our old drummer.”

Kathy has written several songs since Lumbar Five came together. She smiles as she tells the background of the song “Church of the Tiki God.” “I actually wrote that right before the band started so that was one of the first ones we worked up. I think it was just from going on vacation to Panama City and around Pensacola and the Gulf Shores area. It’s a story about a redneck Riviera section of Florida and going in the souvenir stores. Anyway that was just my big thrill because I haven’t travelled a whole lot and I just enjoy going to the beach. It’s where you can just chill out for a little while.” In “Daddy’s Revival” Kathy tells a story about the mischievous lives that some preachers’ kids live. “Bring It On” is about liking the wrong kind of guy. Kathy expounds on the theme that it’s about “trying to make the best of a really bad situation and live for today because tomorrow’s gonna really suck.”

As Kathy continues to write, she looks forward to collaborating even more with Sistren. Kathy shares her enthusiasm. “I’m excited about singing with the girls. I wrote a new one last week that I still haven’t heard yet and I’m looking forward to getting them on it. The neatest experience with a song that – I guess the second newest song – was so good. It was kind of a difficult thing to hear and they just nailed it. So it’s really encouraging to me. So I’m really looking forward to them interpreting some of this stuff.”

Look for Sistren at venues in the Chattanooga, Tennessee area. Listen for the soulful harmony that fills the stage.

A message of encouragement from Kathy to fellow musicians…

“If you are into music and you love it, you’re just kind of stuck with it for better or worse. There’s not a whole lot you can do. You have to face it. It’s hard times out there for musicians but just keep it up and do it whether you get paid for it or not. It’s just the way it is. Just enjoy it.”