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The Great Kat is she a God or a Goddess?

Interview Conducted on February 07, 2018

She’s a busty blond with a guitar — and has more attitude than Lita Ford.
She doesn’t play, but incinerates, classical music — and is faster than Yngwie Malmsteen.
She’s outrageous, dangerous, and ferocious — she’s The Great Kat – and if you haven’t heard her play yet, after you ingest this DVD you’ll never be the same.

Voted by Guitar World Magazine as one of the 50 Fastest Guitarists of All Time, The Great Kat – a Juilliard graduate, takes guitar playing, classical music, and performance wow-ness to a whole new level.

The new DVD,>Beethoven’s Guitar Shred, includes seven blazing, albeit brief, videos in all: “The Flight Of The Bumble-Bee,” Beethoven’s “5 th Symphony,” Paganini’s “Caprice #24,” Bach’s “Brandenburg Concerto #3,” Kat’s macabre “Torture Techniques” – proving in an in-your-face kind of way that Kat won’t be pushed around just because she’s a girl, and more.

Bonus material includes the “Shred Kartoon” — an animated Kat shredding even more, shredding out-takes, shredding geniuses, and just when you thought it was over — even more blood, fire, technical innovativeness, and — yes, shredding.

If normal, speed-guitar playing has just become kind of hum-drum for you, check out The Great Kat. She might give you nightmares, but you’ll thank Mr. Sandman come morning.- Melanie “Sass” Falina ©2009

UnRated Magazine: Tell me about your backgrounds?

The Great Kat: THE GREAT KAT IS GOD! (http://www.greatkat.com)

First of all, THE GREAT KAT IS the Reincarnation of Beethoven, the ONLY Guitar/Violin Double Virtuoso since Paganini, Juilliard grad violin virtuoso, “Top 10 Fastest Shredders of All Time,” World’s Fastest Guitar/Violin Shredder, and a Metal Legend!

I listened to Beethoven since birth and decided I would be the NEW Beethoven of the 21st Century!
The Great Kat Awards & Accolades:

Concertmaster Of The Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra

Winner Of The Artists International Competition On Violin

Carnegie Recital Hall Debut Violin Soloist

“Top 10 Fastest Shredders Of All Time” – Guitar One Magazine

“20 Of The Fastest Guitarists In The World Today” – Musicradar.Com

“50 Fastest Guitarists Of All Time” – Guitar World Magazine

“50 Sensational Female Guitarists” – Guitar Player Magazine

“Winner Of “Who Plays The Fastest” – Guitar Player Magazine’s Reader Poll

“50 Sensational Female Guitarists” – Guitar Player Magazine

“8 Of The World’s Fastest Shredders” – Gibson Lifestyle

“Killer Heavy Metal Frontwomen” – Vh1

The New York Times Declares:
“The wave of the future might well be heavy-metal Beethoven by way of Juilliard. Ms. Kat’s ‘Beethoven on Speed’ album elevates furiousness to a would-be world view. It is built on speed-rock electric guitar solos (fast, virtuosic, nearly everything articulated with frenzied right-hand strumming and manic left-hand skittering up and down the fret board, the general esthetic being more-notes-per-second equals better). To which she adds hoarse imprecations for her ‘slaves’ to grovel before her and her overpowering genius.”
John Rockwell, The New York Time
The New York Times

Tell me about the development of your musical style?

The Great Kat’s musical style is Classical Music, which first began as pure Classical Music as a violinist, then went to Thrash Classical music as heard in “WORSHIP ME OR DIE!” at iTunes. then progressed to Speed-Metal Classical Music as heard in “BEETHOVEN ON SPEED,” and NOW PURE SHRED CLASSICAL Music as heard in “BEETHOVEN SHREDS.”

How do you describe your music?

Classical Katherine Thomas before coming The Great Kat(Credit: The Great Kat)

ENERGIZING!!!
The Great Kat’s “SHRED/CLASSICAL” Music is:
Note-for-note authentic SYMPHONIC and ORCHESTRAL Classical Music scores (from Beethoven, Vivaldi, Bach, Wagner, Liszt, Paganini, Sarasate, Rossini and more) UPDATED for the 21st Century with SHRED GUITAR, CLASSICAL VIOLIN, ORCHESTRA and VICIOUS SPEED METAL BAND, PLUS INSANE IMAGERY!
Get ready for upcoming the new Great Kat DVD, featuring Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons”, “Terror”, Liszt’s “HUNGARIAN RHAPSODY #2” Rossini’s “WILLIAM TELL OVERTURE”, “THE ROUND OF THE GOBLINS”, Chef Great Kat Cooks with Beethoven, Paganini, Bach, & MORE!
WATCH FREE on AMAZON PRIME at https://www.amazon.com/v/thegreatkat

What type of music did you listen to growing up?

BEETHOVEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You were classically trained violinist who graduated from Julliard School of Music. And you tour in the classical music circles, before heading to metal. How are these circles different and still the same?

Good question! Classical music circle is filled with repressed, polite people who don’t even UNDERSTAND Classical genius.
Metal music circle is filled with repressed, DRUGGED OUT people who don’t UNDERSTAND the GENIUS of The Great Kat!

How did you decide to do metal interpretations of well-known pieces of classical music? What was your turning point to start playing metal?

I shred well-known Classical masterpieces (from Beethoven, Wagner, Rossini, Vivaldi, Bach, Paganini, Bazzini, Sarasate, Chopin, etc.), which are entertaining, fun, exciting and virtuosic music – which the masses NEED RIGHT NOW!!!

Turning point to Metal:

After graduating with Honors from The Juilliard School as a violin virtuoso, I began performing, first as a Classical violin soloist at Carnegie Recital Hall as winner of the exclusive “Artists International Competition” and then soloing extensively in Mexico, the U.S. and Europe.

After touring the world, I realized that Classical music was DEAD, killed by NON-VIRTUOSO COMPOSERS like Glass, Cage, Schoenberg. I began researching popular music forms and first collaborated with genius Counter-Culture Guru Timothy Leary on the rock song “Right Brain Lover”, which I composed the music & played electric violin with Timothy Leary rapping his own lyrics. We recorded the song – check it out on NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY “TIMOTHY LEARY PAPERS” athttp://archives.nypl.org/mss/18400#c759755 and stay tuned for news on the release of this NEVER-BEFORE HEARD SONG: http://www.greatkat.com/03/timothyleary.html

One day, I happened to see a JUDAS PRIEST Music Video on TV and realized that SPEED METAL was POWERFUL and EXCITING! I immediately picked up an electric guitar and began transcribing my Classical violin solos to the guitar and “THE GREAT KAT” was BORN! I used my “PAGANINI Technique”, which I learned from Juilliard on Violin, and placed it on guitar to bring NOTE-FOR-NOTE AUTHENTIC Classical Violin and orchestral scores to metal with SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, BAND, SHREDDING at BLISTERING SPEEDS with CRAZED THEATRICS!

You called one of the Fastest Shredders of all Time. Why are you and who do you compared yourself to?

The Great Kat is “TOP 10 FASTEST SHREDDERS OF ALL TIME” (http://www.greatkat.com/59/articles/guitarone.html) because I have highly-trained professional Juilliard trained violin technique, which I place on the guitar!

I compare myself ONLY to BEETHOVEN!!

“Chef Great Kat Cooks Russian Caviar & Blini with Rimsky-Korsakov”

What is the Russian Cooking /Guitar Shedding video?

The new INSANE Russian/Cooking/Guitar Shredding Video is called “Chef Great Kat Cooks Russian Caviar & Blini with Rimsky-Korsakov” from Upcoming New Great Kat DVD! You can watch the video FREE on Amazon Prime.

Here’s the plot:
The Great Kat is the hot Russian KatBot “Android” tempting you in Russian to taste Chef Great Kat’s Russian Caviar & Blini. The Great Kat legendary “Top 10 Fastest Shredders Of All Time” cooks Russian Caviar & Blini with high-speed guitar/violin shredding on Rimsky-Korsakov’s “The Flight Of The Bumble-Bee” with her Sous Chefs Vladimir & Sergey. It’s a crazy cooking video with guitar/violin shredding and hilarious cooking.

WATCH WORLDWIDE FREE on AMAZON PRIME:

United States

Germany

United Kingdom

Japan

Did you win any awards for your violin playing?

Yes. Katherine Thomas Violinist Awards:

Juilliard Honors Graduate as a Violin Virtuoso

Concertmaster of the Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra

Winner of the Artists International Competition on Violin

Carnegie Recital Hall Debut on Solo Violin

Violin Soloist with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Coahuila in Mexico and in recitals under the auspices of Fondo para Actividades Sociales y Culturales del Estado, Bellas Artes, Banca Serfin and other organizations in Mexico.

Recipient of a German violin made in 1850 from The Friends of Mozart Society.

Winner of the Great Neck Symphony’s Young Musicians Competition

Winner of the Gallery Concert Series Young Artists Award

Winner of the New York State Music Teachers Association Collegiate Artists Competition

Winner of the “Robert Hufstader Scholarship” in Composition and Theory at Juilliard

Awarded “Certificate of Merit” from New York Governor Mario Cuomo

Prodigy Violin Soloist for NYC Mayor Ed Koch at Gracie Mansion

Prodigy Violin Soloist for Governor Oscar Flores Tapia in Saltillo, Coahuila Mexico

Steve Allen especially composed the solo Violin piece “Sonatina” for Katherine, which she performed in England

Collaborator with Timothy Leary on the song “Right Brain Lover”

“The New Woman To Watch” – New Woman Magazine

Winner of “Palma Julia de Burgos Award” from The Association for Puerto Rican – Hispanic Culture, Inc.

More about The Great Kat

What is “BECOME an OFFICIAL KAT THRASH DISCIPLE”?

WAKE UP & BECOME an OFFICIAL KAT THRASH DISCIPLE at http://eepurl.com/cSbl4L or http://www.greatkat.com/fan/greatkatdisciple.html

GENIUSIZE and get CD, DVD, and ALL news and updates from The Metal Messiah, THE GREAT KAT!

What is your tour like?

HOT, VICIOUS, BRILLIANT and PURE GUITAR/VIOLIN SHREDDING INSANITY!!! The Great Kat brings her Kat-Possessed thrash disciples on stage for WORSHIP and KAT-ABUSE! The Great Kat Shreds Guitar AND Violin live. The Great Kat’s METAL THRASHING and VICIOUS SHREDDING WAKES YOU UP with POWER, EXCITEMENT, ENERGY and NON-STOP CRAZINESS!

While you were playing in the classical circles what violin did you used. And what year was it. And why did you pick it?

I played on numerous famous Italian violins on loan to me from The Juilliard School. I am the recipient of a German violin made in 1850 from The Friends of Mozart Society.

How was it to created “WILLIAM TELL OVERTURE” LONE RANGER THEME MUSIC VIDEO FROM THE GREAT KAT PREMIERES ON AMAZON PRIME! Hi-yo Silver”?

Creating Rossini’s William Tell Overture music video was outrageous (Watch FREE on Amazon Primehttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B079JRY3CD)! The Great Kat shreds the famous TV show “Lone Ranger” theme song on guitar & violin and conducts my all-male rhythm guitar orchestra, bringing the legend of the famous archer William Tell to life. William Tell and Gessler, the Austrian overlord appear in the video, giving you a taste of the William Tell legend. BRILLIANT!!!

WATCH WORLDWIDE FREE on AMAZON PRIME

How do you see your band in the next 5 years?

The Great Kat is ALREADY dominating Classical, Metal, Shred and bringing the GENIUS, ENERGY and POWER of Classical music to the masses with GUITAR AND VIOLIN VIRTUOSITY, ENTERTAINMENT and EXCITEMENT!!!
Now EVERYONE NEEDS to WAKE UP and spread the word of The Great Kat!

SHRED ON!!!

The Great Kat on Unrated