JOURNAL

March 10, 2009

Hi Everyone!

I hope you all are having a great 2009 so far! Already in 2009 I’ve had minor surgery on my knee and a wonderful vacation. Now it’s time to get back to work!

I have some very exciting news to share with you…

First of all, the new video for “A Soldier’s Wife” is now up on You Tube! Please take the time to view it and let us know what you think. You can view it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxmUJMBJAKc. Also, please take the time to forward the link to any friends you may know that would enjoy it. (A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU to Craig Gillette for directing and producing the video! It was an honor to work with you!!!!)

In addition to performing with Julie Crosson and John Mancuso (as Katy & Vega), I’ve now taken over lead singing duties for a band called Jackson Jill. Jackson Jill is an awesome band that plays classic rock and popular music. It’s definitely new for me, but a lot of fun! If you like classic rock, you’ll LOVE Jackson Jill! (www.jacksonjill.net)

I have a ton of new dates added to my schedule. We’ll be updating the schedule on the website quite often as I continue to perform with all three acts. So make sure you check often for updates.

As always, I’ll keep you informed with any news. I hope to see you at one of the upcoming performances!

Musically yours,

Katy

December 10, 2008

Hello Everyone!

I hope everyone is enjoying the cold weather. I sure am!

On Friday, November 21st Julie and I had the honor to perform at a very special dinner at the Washington Golf and Country Club. Once a month they host a dinner for wounded military service members and their families, and we were asked to perform a few songs at their November dinner. Talk about an amazing experience. We met some truly wonderful and inspiring men and women. I have so much admiration for all those who serve this country, and getting the opportunity to entertain these people was a true honor. It is an experience Julie and I will never forget, and one that we hope we’ll get to experience again!

On Saturday, November 29th, Julie and I “debuted” together at Applebee’s in Sterling. What a fun show! A lot of our friends and family turned out, and the entire staff was wonderful. We’ve already booked back there in January and March, so make sure you check the schedule page!

We are really looking forward to playing at Notaviva Vineyards on Saturday, December 20th. Check the schedule page for more information.

I’ve also joined forces with another local guitar player! John Mancuso and I have formed a duo called “Katy & Vega.” We’ve already got several gigs booked, so make sure you check the schedule page for that as well!

I hope to see a lot of you out at Notaviva Vineyards. If you can’t make it out, I wish you the happiest of holidays and a joyous ringing in of 2009!

Musically yours,

Katy

July 9, 2008

October 23, 2008

Hello Everyone!

I am SO happy to tell everyone that my best friend has moved back to Northern Virginia!

For those of you who have been following me for a long time, you might remember that my best friend Julie Crosson used to play keyboard and sing background vocals with me. Well, Julie went off to college where she earned a degree in piano performance from James Madison University and she just recently completed her Masters in Music Theory at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro.

Now she's home, and we are currently working on booking performances. I'm so excited because not only do Julie and I have a great time playing together, but I've missed performing more than I can begin to describe. I've been waiting for the right time to jump back into it, and this is it!

We've already got a few things booked - make sure you check the schedule page.

And I'm also excited to tell everyone that the video for "A Soldier's Wife" is ALMOST DONE! We will definitely let you all know when and where you can view it, but it's going to be soon.

I hope everyone is trying to stay warm - it's getting cold outside!

Musically yours,

Katy

July 9, 2008

Hello Everyone!

I hope everyone had a fantastic 4th of July!

I've been busy, as always…

My hiatus from performing has given me the opportunity to work behind the scenes on a few projects. Most importantly, I've been writing a lot of music and loving every second of it!

I've recently written a song called "American Heroes" that we'll be going into the studio to record very soon. I will post it for everyone to hear as soon as it's finished! We've had a great response to it from the few people who have heard it, and I can't wait to make it come alive in the studio.

I've finally put my own mini recording studio together in my basement - getting more creative and trying my hand at producing some of my new material. It's been a great learning experience and a lot of fun!

I put together a very basic video for "A Soldier's Wife" that you can view at www.musicnation.com/music/katybenko. I did all of the editing myself, and that was really cool. We're working on doing an even better video of the song right now, so I'll let you all know when you can see that one, too!

We're also hoping to do a video for "American Heroes" once it's recorded. That video is going to be SO COOL!

I've actually got a couple of live performance dates scheduled for the end of this month and the beginning of next. Hopefully I'll see some of you out there! It's always great to see familiar faces! You can check the dates and locations on my schedule page.

And in the middle of it all, I continue to teach voice lessons and love every minute of it. My students really are incredible - I'm very lucky!

I'll be in touch when we get "American Heroes" done - I can't wait for you all to hear it!

Enjoy your summer!

Musically yours,

Katy

April 4, 2008

Hello Everyone!

Gosh, it's been a while. The ending of one year and the beginning of a new one is always a hectic time for me. I hope 2008 is going great for you all thus far!

I had an amazing holiday season, despite the fact that my husband was gone. My entire family came together in Virginia and it really made it that much easier to be away from him. I got to spend my nephew's first Christmas with him, so that was wonderful!

I'm VERY excited to tell you that my husband got home from Iraq at the beginning of February and joined me on vacation in the Caribbean for the month. It was amazing getting to spend that time with him in paradise. We're now both home and finally in our rhythm. It is so nice to have things back to normal!

I have been busy setting up a recording studio in my home and working on my songwriting. I'm happy to say I've written several new songs and continue to get more and more confident with my writing. I hope to do a show sometime this summer or fall introducing a lot of my new stuff.

I'm on an internet radio show this evening (check the news page for info) which should be fun. I'm also really looking forward to performing at the National Memorial Day Parade in Washington, DC, this May. More details should be available on that shortly - make sure you keep checking the schedule page.

Also, I've posted the official pictures I received from The White House of me with President and First Lady Bush and Vice President Cheney. Make sure you check them out on the photo page.

That's it for now - Happy Spring!

Musically yours,

Katy

November 12, 2007

Wow - I can't believe it's November already.  Where is the time going!?!

I got back from Wyoming on October 15th - what an awesome trip!  I sang at the Preliminary Competition and Finals of the Miss Wyoming USA and Miss Wyoming Teen USA state pageant.  I met some wonderful young women and had an amazing time.  A special thanks to my friends Denise, Libby, and Craig from Future Productions (www.futureproductions.net) for having me out there and congratulations to the new titleholders, Cassie Shore and Callie Bishop - good luck at Nationals next year!

Just two days after I got back from Wyoming my husband, Ryan, came home on his two week leave.  It was so great to see him and have him home, even for that short time.  We had so much fun.  We went down to Florida to visit his sister, swung by Atlanta so he could meet our nephew who was born in April, and just spent as much time together as we possibly could.  He's now back in Iraq, but he should be home for good at the beginning of March.  I can't wait!

Last week (November 8th) I sang at a luncheon at The Capitol Hill Club in Washington, DC.  There were about 160 people there.  I took my guitar and performed "A Soldier's Wife".  The reaction was amazing - a standing ovation that lasted almost a minute!  I got so many great comments, including a very special comment from Janet Huckabee (wife of Republican Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee) who said she loved the song and my voice.

I'll keep you all updated on anything else that comes up, but for now I'm just looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas (with my birthday in between), and spending time with my family.

I hope you all have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!

Musically yours,

Katy

October 9, 2007

Hi Everyone!

What an AMAZING month it has been!  And also quite busy - which is why it has taken me so long to get this posted!

I'll take you back to Monday, September 17th.  We were in Charleston, South Carolina for Senator John McCain's final rally on his "No Surrender" tour.  What an AMAZING event.  They packed in 1,000 people (standing room only).  I sang "A Soldier's Wife" and the response was amazing.  It actually made me tear up.  Then, when I sang "God Bless the USA" later in the program, the crowd erupted in cheers and applause three times during the song, and the response when I hit the last note blew me away - you could barely hear it over the crowd!  It took almost a minute for the ovation to die down when I finished the song.

As soon as the rally ended, I boarded a bus with Senator McCain, Senator Lindsay Graham, and Senator McCain's family.  We rode straight to the airport where we boarded the McCain's private jet and took right off for Dulles.  They were all SO nice!  Mrs. McCain is just a wonderful woman - I chatted with her quite a bit.  Senator McCain has a great sense of humor, and even their daughter Meghan was very friendly.  All in all, it was a wonderful trip back - and they did it so I could get to The White House Tuesday morning!

Of course, I only got a few hours of sleep because the Redskins were in the process of beating the Eagles when I got home (3-1, baby!).

That brings us to Tuesday, September 18th.  I'm so glad I got to take my Mom, my Dad, my Mother-in-law, and my Father-in-law with me to The White House.  We definitely had royal treatment!  We had premium parking, our holding room in The White House was The Map Room, which is often used by The President for interviews.  They gave my family a table right in front on the South Lawn so they could get a prime view of me singing The National Anthem.  The most amazing part of the day was when I got to meet The First Lady and The President right before I sang.  I chatted with The First Lady for about ten minutes.  She is such a kind and classy woman; very gracious and very humble.  The President was running late so I didn't get to chat with him, but I did meet him.  He was incredibly friendly, and I got my picture taken with the both of them inside The White House.  (I'll get it posted as soon as I get a copy.)

Then I rushed up to the Blue Room balcony where I sang The National Anthem, with The President and First Lady right down in front of me (and right next to my parents and in-laws)!  After I finished singing, The President made some remarks and began by talking about Ryan and me!  It was amazing.  After the President's speech I got to meet Vice President Dick Cheney who was also very nice.

All in all, it was the coolest 24 hour period I've ever experienced!  To see photos, make sure you check out the photos page.

Now, I'm getting ready to head to Casper, Wyoming to sing this weekend, and then Ryan will be home on leave next week!  I can't wait to see him!

I'll write again soon.

Musically yours,

Katy

 

September 14, 2007

Hi everyone!  Welcome to the new and improved katybenko.com - I hope you like it!

And I hope everyone enjoys the new journal page.  It will allow me to come on from time to time and update everyone about what's going on in my life - musically and beyond!

Things have been going really well.  If you haven't heard my new song yet ("A Soldier's Wife"), make sure you listen to it on the homepage.

If you haven't heard the story yet, here it is in a condensed version:

On August 25th, 2006, I married the love of my life and long time boyfriend.  Ryan was an ROTC student in college and commissioned into the United States Army in January 2005.  He then joined the Virginia Army National Guard.  Three months after we were married, Ryan was activated and called to duty.  He is currently serving in Iraq.  In January, I wrote the song "A Soldier's Wife" to help me express what I was going through.  The song has struck quite an emotional chord with a lot of people, and I've been tremendously touched at the reaction it's getting.

So if you listen to the song, please take the time to go to the contact page and let me know what you think!

I'm REALLY excited about the Senator John McCain rally in Charleston on Monday.  (Check out the news page and schedule page for more info.)  And then flying back with Senator McCain so I can be at The White House Tuesday morning…  WOW!  It's going to be an amazing couple of days!  (And it ALSO means I'll be able to catch about half of the Redskins' Monday night game against the Eagles.  Heck yeah!)

I'll let everyone know how the show goes and how things go at The White House.  I can't wait!

And GO REDSKINS!

Musically yours,
Katy