Cattywampus

Country

Country Music Can Save the World

CATTYWAMPUS means to move sideways - and when you can't go forward, and you can't stand still, maybe it's time to go sideways.

The idea for Cattywampus was born a month after the last presidential inauguration. Tensions among the red voters and the blue voters were high, and like many people, I was asking myself what can I do to help this country. I was reading “Strangers in Their Own Land,” an academic’s exploration into the conservative experience in this country by Arlie Russell Hochschild. Hochschild’s book did a beautiful job of painting an “other” side of America for me. I grew up in Indiana, but living in Berkeley, California for 20 years, I had not realized that the Midwest that exists now was not the Midwest I remembered. Things were really tough in that part of America. Poverty and drugs were destabilizing the once tightknit communities, and the resulting anger and frustration, compounded with polarizing news media, was pushing our country apart. So what could I do to help? I am an event producer, a mother, a teacher, and a community builder, and I believe in the power of Music.

I have spent my adult life seeing live music and working in the event industry. I have seen and felt how deeply the shared joy of positive messages in music can open hearts and minds. As the Grammys tagline says, “I believe in the Power of Music,” and I am not alone in this:

“More than any ideology, more than any religion, more than Vietnam or any war or nuclear bomb, the single most important reason for the diffusion of the Cold War was… The Beatles.” -Mikhail Gorbachev

So Cattywampus was born. I want to use the power of music to open hearts and minds; the power of shared experiences to create community; and the power of positive messaging to bring people across the great divide in America. Or as a favorite lyric says, “

“Along the great divide
The road is rocky, the trail is steep
The cliffs get higher where the river runs deep
And it's not easy to look at what divides us
But if we do, we might find it's the same thing that unites us.” - Okee Dokee Brothers.

I am an event producer. I can find a space, set it up, get people to come, and give them a magical time while they are in that space. There is artistry and craftsmanship to this profession. Unfortunately, it is an expensive canvas to create on. But with your help, we can start the change that can shift the future of our county. If the Beatles can take down communism, just think what a little country music festival with a vision could do in rural America today.

“Because we believe in Music.”

History

Our company, Taylor Street Production has been producing events for over ten years. We have done everything from sporting events to music festivals. Through these events, we have built a team of seasoned event professionals who can build an event space of beauty, functionality, and comfortin almost any environment. We know that given the opportunity, we could use these skills to bring a new message to America.

The inspiration for this project comes from years of patronizing Northern California's old school music festivals like The Hog Farm, Reggae On the River, and the Kate Wolf Music Festival combined with the experience of working on the Country Music Television Music Festival in Ontario, Canada.

The CMT Music Festival was a two day event held in Kitchner, Ontario Canada. The event featured Eric Church and the Zac Brown Band as headliners as well many other acts on the two stages. This festival was much more then just music. This festival was a lifestyle experience for 15,000 country music fans. Carefully crafted furniture and décor elements combined with locally sourced food, arts and crafts vendors, and sponsor activations to create a amazing event.

Our Taylor Street Production team was honored to be brought to Canada by Lemmon Entertainment - the CMT festival producers - to advise on festival operations and production. This festival was a huge success, and served to introduce us to the country music market.

From these experiences we have come to believe that the power of music can be harnessed to catalyze change in middle America