Stars In Their Eyes

New Idea by Dionne Christian April 3rd 1999 When singer Caitlin Smith received a telephone call from a man named ‘Rocket’ who said rocker Courtney Love wanted Caitlin to be her vocal coach, she thought it was a joke. But as he talked, Caitlin, 27, realised he was serious. Singer-songwriter Jan Hellreigel had recommended Caitlin to Courtney, lead singer of Hole, to be her vocal coach while she was in Auckland for The Big Day Out music festival. Caitlin, a jazz singer, performs with the band Fondue Set and has also done backing vocals for groups like Rick Bryant and the Jive Bombers and does vocal coaching with several well-known local bands and singers. She compares her role to that of a sports coach – helping performers work toward a goal and maintain the ‘fitness’ needed to achieve it. ‘It was a completely-out-of-the-blue offer,’ says Caitlin. ‘I wasn’t nervous when I met Courtney because there was so much waiting around beforehand. Someone said to me, “Just go in there, honey, and tie her down…” which is basically what I had to do. ‘The whole time we were running through exercises, Courtney was trying on clothes and getting ready to go on stage. I think she’s a very driven woman – a full-on personality which I have a lot of respect for. ‘I saw her a few years ago at the Big Day Out and to the men, she was like Satan but, to the women, she was an inspiration. She was doing what men have done for years, breaking stereotypes.’ Caitlin is also breaking stereotypes. She sees only five per cent in one eye and 10 per cent in the other of what people with normal vision see. In addition, Caitlin is totally colour blind, meaning she sees only in black and white. ‘I can’t see a metre in front of me,’ she says candidly. ‘I can’t “schmoose” with people at recording industry functions because I can’t see them! I do try to bring my sight problems to the attention of people I work with because I can’t look them in the eye and, often, they can think I’m distracted or not interested in them or just plain mad. Despite her limitations, Caitlin gained a master’s degree in political sciences and spent several years working in the social justice field. She admits getting work in the corporate world was difficult because of her condition. A talented singer since she was a toddler, Caitlin says the music industry was always an inspiration because of the number of blind or partially sighted people – Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles and Diana Schur – working in it. ‘I used to think, “dammit”, if I suffered discrimination in job interviews, “I’ll just go off and sing’!”‘ So far, the gamble is paying off. As well as the vocal coaching, Caitlin is working on two high profile projects. The first involves ‘creating’ a New Zealand version of the Spice Girls while the second is the new TV3 show Get Your Act Together. She is also passionate about promotion of New Zealand music. ‘New Zealand has many incredibly talented musicians but they all get pulled overseas by the more supportive musical infrastructures of larger countries. ‘Both the record buying public and musicians themselves seem to underestimate our homegrown talent -this mindset has got to change. I really love the privilege of being involved full-time in the music industry but given my political background, I’ve got to get stroppy about something!’