Her names rhymes with ‘witch’

Published 3:00 am Wednesday, November 2, 2022

BAKER CITY — Her name, she says with a laugh that echoes across the phone line, starts with a capital “B” and rhymes with “witch.”

Yep, you guessed it.

And she offers, again with a laugh, an explanation for calling herself Bitch.

“We all do crazy things in our 20s — and before the internet,” she said. “I named myself Bitch to reclaim a name that was used to insult powerful women.”

She recently released a new album, titled “Bitchcraft,” and is including Baker City on her tour.

Bitch, along with special guest Katie Cash, will play Saturday, Nov. 12, at Churchill School. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 6:45 p.m.

Tickets are $15 in advance at churchillbaker.com or $18 at the door. Admission is free for youth age 15 and younger with a ticket-holding adult.

Her first band was “Bitch and Animal,” and she released her debut album in 1999.

“It’s been a long time,” she said of her music career.

Bitchcraft is her first album in eight years — she’ll have vinyl and CDs available at the Nov. 12 show.

“It’s been really fun to be out touring again,” she said.

She grew up with her mom, a musical theater choreographer, teaching tap dance.

“She had a tap dancing school in our basement. That’s my love of rhythm,” she said. “I always had music all around me.”

At 3, she saw a violin on “Sesame Street” and asked for the instrument. She’s played violin since she was 4.

“My grandma said it would kill her if I quit,” she said.

She moved to Los Angeles after living in New York for 15 years, and still travels often between LA and Boston.

She’s been touring her new album since April 12, and said her show, which she said is kid-friendly, will be presented in a story form.

“I take you on an entire narrative, and you will find out what I was legally named,” she said. “I’ll have my magic broomstick, electric violin and keytar.”

To follow her on social media, she suggests searching for “Bitch music.”

“It’ll help your Google search immensely,” she said with a laugh.

Katie Cash

Cash, a Bay Area singer-songwriter-guitarist, is joining the Bitchcraft tour this fall.

In addition to her solo work, Cash plays with two Bay Area bands: Skip the Needle and Year of the Fist. Her debut solo album is titled “Gift Horse,” and she’s released other albums with the two bands.

To learn more about her work, visit www.katiecashmusic.com.

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