Haunted by a Janet Jackson Song After Chat with Katrina Weidman

“Yeah, it’s definitely like a dark pop with some rock elements in some songs,” Katrina Weidman said when I asked if she’d describe her style of music as “alt rock.”

Which I think is fair to say is not how most people would describe Janet Jackson’s music. So why was I haunted (in the form of an earworm) by Jackson’s song “Control” after my conversation with Weidman?

Well, “Control” reflects a lot of the same themes that came up during my chat with Weidman. It’s also filled with confidence and empowerment, much like Weidman herself —and how I felt after speaking with her.

But even though she naturally possesses a lot of “old soul” wisdom, at times it’s had to be coaxed out of her. Which, in the case of her songwriting, came thanks to some advice from her producer, Barb Morrison.

Katrina Weidman, Singer/Songwriter

During our chat, Weidman explained how she’s written songs since she was a kid. However, when her band broke up, she “felt really, really stuck as a writer.” That was the impetus for enrolling in Morrison’s mentorship program.

Weidman explained she came in with a couple of songs, but at one point, Morrison asked her, “Why are you trying so hard to control this?”

As Weidman put it, that was the one thing they said to her “that completely just let everything come out.”

It was the permission she needed, or key,  that unlocked her lyrical muse. After that, she wrote one to two songs a day, and before she knew it, she had enough for an album.

Now she’s in the process of releasing some of those songs. The first was “Suffer Me” in March of this year. The second was “I Do” at the end of May.

Can we expect more singles? Yes! Another single is coming out later this summer, then the EP will follow in the late summer/early fall. And then, hopefully after that, an album.

And then maybe some tour dates? Slow down, Court. I was getting ahead of myself on some of it, but, yes. She’s definitely interested in doing live performances.

Katrina Weidman on Fear and Permission

I don’t know why I do it, but I have this horrible inclination to believe that celebrities are immune from the stresses of everyday life that the rest of us contend with. Weidman reminded me that, sure, she’s been on TV. However, at the end of the day, she’s just a person too. A star (or something like a blue checkmark) next to her name isn’t some kind of shield.

Not that she put it that way. It was more how she expressed herself, especially when she admitted to fighting fear.

“I guess a lot of us going through the pandemic have been examining our lives, you know, and what we do, and how we exist in this life. And when I was in the mentorship program, Barb and I were talking about the ghost side of everything and they were like, ‘How do you do that? How do you actually go into these places? Aren’t you scared?'”

This led to another realization that also ended up helping Weidman’s music. Because she told them, “Well, you know I don’t want fear to, like, have me miss out. I don’t want to miss out on anything because of my fear.”

Morrison’s reaction was perfect: “Wow. What a great thought for how to go through life.” (Right?!)

But that’s when another lightbulb clicked on for Weidman. She realized, “Well, wait a minute. I’m not going through life like that. I’m actually only going through haunted houses like that.”

Then she said something that really struck a chord. Something she questioned after speaking with her producer. “Why am I waiting so much for permission?”

I think it’s something a lot of people, but especially women, contend with. I know I sure have.

That was the kind of down-to-earth, candid, vulnerable, authentic revelations during our chat that were completely unexpected —not to mention endearing and bewitching.

Katrina Weidman, Ghost Hunter

When I wrote about the release of Katrina Weidman’s latest single, “I Do,” I couldn’t help but wonder if she was giving up the paranormal for music. I also wrote that if I got the chance to ask her, I would. So, of course, I did.

“I have no intention of leaving the paranormal field at all,” she said.

“My career path was very much music and acting before the paranormal presented an opportunity. And it wasn’t that I wasn’t into the supernatural. I always was. It just, there…it was like a hobby.”

She talked about how there used to be very few ways to have a career in the paranormal. The main one was via academics, but “I never saw myself in an academic field,” she explained. “I don’t know that I would survive that because I have such the love for arts that I felt very much pulled to pursue that more.”

Then the Paranormal State opportunity came along, which “snowballed,” as she put it, and led to Paranormal Lockdown and Portals to Hell. That allowed her to pursue the other thing she loved, i.e. the paranormal. But music…well, that has always beat in her soul.

Even though she would’ve welcomed another season of Portals to Hell, she possesses a superb attitude and outlook about it all. She very much exudes a “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened” mindset.

“With Portals being over, you know, it’s a bummer because we really had such a great team on that show,” she said. “But it’s also when you work in TV, you go in knowing that a job isn’t forever. And you really don’t know how long you have. I always count myself lucky if we have three seasons.”

See? Such a great attitude!

Keeping Up with Katrina Weidman

Follow Katrina Weidman and listen to both “Suffer Me” and “I Do” on Spotify here.

Watch Weidman on Travel the Dead. She investigates haunted places with Heather Taddy and shares webisodes on her YouTube channel.

In addition to watching Weidman, we’ll also be able to listen to her. She has a podcast coming out soon. Although, she wasn’t ready to announce more about it beyond that yet. But that’s something to look forward to.

But something she mentioned she was really excited about was being the ambassador on the Mysterious Adventures Tour to Ireland this fall. It’s a 10-day tour in October that will include jaunting to haunted castles and the Puca festival! (It filled up fast, but there might be a few tickets left if you’d care to join her.)

And of course there’s always socials. However, she’s also susceptible to the constantly changing algorithms, so people don’t always see her posts. That’s why she started an email subscription service. Starting in July, she’ll share announcements, news, etc. there first, so it’ll be the very best way to keep up to date with what she’s doing. To sign up, just visit her website and scroll to the bottom. That’s where you’ll find the sign-up box.

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