Five Firsts: Katie Haverly

NAME: Katie Haverly
BAND AFFILIATION: Copper & Congress
INSTRUMENT: Guitar, voice, piano/keyboards

1. THE FIRST ALBUM I EVER BOUGHT WAS … I feel like the first cassette tape I ever bought was of the Gin Blossoms! (I grew up in Phoenix.) I also bought a lot of musicals on tape – I did a lot of musical theater when I was a kid, and I loved that stuff.

2. THE FIRST CONCERT THAT I EVER SAW WAS … I don’t want to answer this – Green Day!!

3. THE FIRST MUSICAL INSTRUMENT I EVER OWNED OR PLAYED WAS … An acoustic guitar that used to tear my fingers to shreds, I think it was an old crappy Fender?

4. THE FIRST SONG THAT I EVER PERFORMED IN PUBLIC WAS … I performed a lot as a kid – I think a performance of “Help” by the Beatles at the Arizona State Fair stands out when I was about 11. As a songwriter, the first song of my own I ever performed in public was the first song I wrote called “Golden Hands” about a homeless man in Phoenix. The worst.

5. THE FIRST BAND I WAS EVER IN WAS … I’ve had a number of backing bands but always went by my own name. I think Pumped for Dumplin, a fun rock band me, Nick Matulis, and Frank & Martha Moscowitz put together was my first real band with a band name.

Former Nippertonian singer-songwriter Katie Haverly relocated to Tucson and formed her band Copper & Congress, who recorded their debut album “The Leap Year,” earlier this year. She returns to the Capital Region for a concert at the Foundry for Art Design + Culture in Cohoes at 7:30pm on Saturday (November 24). Sharing the evening will be Eric Margan and Rosary Beard. Admission is $5.