I first met Cathy Wicks several years ago when we were both OU undergrads. It was a beautiful day. Cathy took her guitar and some homework to the college green, ostensibly to enjoy the weather and play or practice or jam or study or whatever. I spied her there, innocently enjoying the weather and decided to harass her. After all, it's not every beautiful day you see a chyck decked out with a guitar.

"Can you play that thing," I miffed, "or are you just trying to look cool?"

Though a simple yes, no or even a, "I am cool, mutherfucker," would have sufficed, she retorted with a quick, "Whadayou wanna hear?"

Answering a question with a question?!? Well, I'll spare you the details of the rest of our brief tête-Ã-tête, which no doubt included several quips from me in an ill-fated attempt to throw her off guard, and just admit that she could play - and she looked pretty cool doing it.

Truth be known, Cathy Wicks is no Hendrix or Clapton with an axe. Not her forte. Instead, she focuses on the whole, singing, songwriting and delivery. And deliver she does.

Her current hypodermic needle of sorts is Athens' latest supergroup, The Misprints. Cathy's publicist was kind enough to fly me out to sun-drenched Bora Bora where she was laying down the finishing vocal overdubs for The Misprints' as of yet unreleased, unnamed first album so I could ask her a few questions.

Cathy Wicks, Lead singer of The Misprints

AMN: Wassup?

Cathy: Watchin' the waves, havin' a Bud. Hey I remember that day. I thought, "Who the hell is this guy and why won't he leave me alone?" J heheheheheehehe just kiddin' ; )

AMN: Name?

Cathy: Catherine Ann Wicks or just Cathy with a C. (just to get things straight)

AMN: Any tasty nicknames?

Cathy: "Catwix", "Cathy Wix", "Kathy Wickes", "Cathy Wiques", "Cat", "Cath", "C-Dub", "C-Train" I used to work at Pizza Hut with a bunch of guys & they called me "The Catheter." And my mom used to call me "Trinka" or "Baby Buddha." My best friend used to call me "Or" because she used to write me notes that said, "Are you mad at me? Yes or No". I always circled "or." I'm still as indecisive to this day.

AMN: Age

Cathy: Young enough to think I can make a difference in the world, yet old enough to know better (26 and 11/12ths)

AMN: Bora Bora is beautiful this time of year. What brought you to B-Island Studios?

Cathy: This is Bora Bora? Wow I thought I was elsewhere. What's a chyck?

AMN: Chosen instrument of destruction

Cathy: Appetite

AMN: Least favorite color

Cathy: Purple, even though I carry a purple backpack. It was the only one I liked at Ames. If you were on a deserted island, what 3 things would you miss the most? My cats, my mom, and my band

AMN: Role model/influences?

Cathy: The back-up singer in Pink Floyd's "The Great Gig in the Sky , Annie Lennox, Gay Dalzell, Ozzy Osbourne, Bonnie Raitt, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Madonna, Lita Ford, the back-up band girls in the early eighties Robert Palmer videos, Shawn Colvin, Robert Plant, the band YES, Heart, Ted Nugent, Etta James, Britney Spears, no kidding!

AMN: Describe your past music experience.

Cathy: Well I used to go do those karaoke tapes in the studio with my friends when I was a young hoodlum in the 80s. We did stuff by Poison, Bon Java, Motley Crue (with 2 dots above the u), Madonna, etc. Then I got a guitar when I was 15 & became a Peace & Love hippie child.

I joined a band called "Silence" & we played the 9th grade Talent Show. We played "Is There Anybody Out There" and "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd. Then I joined a band called "The Sonic Angels" when I was 16. We played the Battle of the Bands at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus. Then I came here & started opening up for Jonathan Holmberg & Paul Newman at the Dugout, after which I played with Ed & Don Ritchie (Don from Uncle Sam's Dream Machine) and Ed McGee from Ekoostik Hookah every Sunday at Columbus' South Berg for a while, which is always nice to put on my resume. Those guys were awesome to work with.

I eventually hooked up with Michelle Kaczor, John "Catfish" Juliano, Eric "Junebug" Leighton, & Stevie Blaha & formed the band "Headwaters" in '95. We played around Athens until '97, when I got my degree in Cartography (map-making). I left & went to St. Petersburg for a year & made maps & played music. a lot of music, where I actually made money!! I really wanted to work on my stage presence because I was such a dork on stage. I decided to move back to Ohio before I got myself into Rock 'n' Roll trouble (dementia) and I weaseled my way back to Athens for Grad School in Geography. I'm still a dork on stage. That couldn't be helped. Damn.

AMN: How'd you hook up with your new band?

Cathy: Part of my idealist dream was to come back to town & play music with Josh Brown. I believe he is a musical genius and I think he's very tasteful and conscientious. I really think he's wonderful. So I pursued him as a music partner, and he happened to be working with Roman Warmke, whom I also worship, and Roman pulled Chris Aubell & Rob Quebman out of his pocket & we said "Look! A perfect band!" Then Roman ran into Junebug one night & they discussed trombones over a beer, and we asked him to come check out our gloves to see if they fit. He added such a cool dirty New Orleans sound that we made him play at our gig the next night. I love my band.

AMN: What's it like playing with so many Athens music scene veterans? I hear that they're demanding tyrants.

Cathy: Omigod they rock. I'm in Heaven. This is the most charismatic, dynamic, HUMBLE group of guys anyone could possibly encounter. They've all been through the ringer, so they've left their egos behind, for the most part. Give or take a day for all of us. J Can I tell you about a dream I had the other night? I dreamed that everyone in the band was swimming in a closed-off portion of the Hocking River in the middle of the night. We were looking for Aliens because it was an Area-51 type of place. There was a government building on the property & barbed wire fences encasing the site. Helicopters kept flying overhead & I kept telling the guys that even if we went underwater they'd still see us with their infrared cameras.

We finally swam to shore & these government people in space suits came up & arrested us. They had these weird little white cars that had neon green lights underneath. Anyway they were about to throw us in the on-site jail cell & I was worried that I was going to be all alone in the Girl jail cell & then I woke up. It made me realize that I love my band so much that I would go to the ends of the Earth for them. Even if it meant getting arrested by government officials.

AMN: Describe The Misprint's sound.

Cathy: Manic, funky white-boy, sultry, bluesy, rockabilly R&B with a touch of jazz and cool pop.

AMN: When are you playing next?

Cathy: Earth Ball, Saturday Night, November 11 at the Baker Center Ballroom

What's your favorite song to play and why?

Cathy: Usually the newest song I have written. Because "Wow! This is great! You guys have GOT to hear this!" Then Chris puts some wild ingenious beat to it & knocks me out cold. And while I'm unconscious the rest of the band turns it into this REAL song and when I awaken it's the coolest thing I've ever heard. Until the next one.

AMN: Women in music. thoughts, any? Any?

Cathy: I'm so glad I'm not a guy. Girls are sexier for everyone, I think. Don't you think? Well unless it's Brad Pitt, of course. Ahhhhhh. Oh Sorry.

No, but seriously. Guys can be a pain in the rear to work with, especially if they have big. uh. egos. It's hard to get past that sometimes, and I'm not really good at being blunt about it. I'm just a big old nice, polite wimp and I get all sensitive & weepy and my point just never gets across. until I start bitching.then something finally gets done around here.

As far as women go, I think there's a lot of subtle or even subconscious competition between women in music. I admit to having gone there in the past, but I had an epiphany that it's a lot easier on ourselves if we just hang out, respect each other, and borrow each other's clothes like real girls do! Imagine the collaborative gig wardrobe! Laura Nadeau & I wear the same size in just about everything. I borrowed her flapper dress for Halloween. I went to see Stella last night & danced my ass off.

AMN: Have you ever downloaded a copyrighted mp3?

Cathy: If using Napster entails this behavior, then yes. I also used to hang out with my friends & make tapes of our favorite songs. It's nice to be able to do that again. Except- where'd all my friends go? Nobody comes over to play anymore. Isn't that the sad thing about growing up?

AMN: Anything to say re: Napster or copyright issues in general?

Cathy: Glad it's there- it sure helps out when you need to learn a quick cover song!! I think it's wrong if someone turns around & sells what they've downloaded, but how many people are doing that? Music is supposed to be about sharing music, not money. There's something to be said about giving credit where credit is due, but it should be name credit, not necessarily money credit. I want everyone to know that those are MY songs. Napster has a section for Artist names, so I'm happy. I don't know what everyone's bitching about. I wonder if Lars remembers playing at a Battle of the Bands for free. I wonder how many times they lost before they finally won.

Any other involvement with music and the Internet?

Cathy: I'm involved in the newsgroup, alt.music.makers.soloact. I did a collaborative recording of one of my original songs, "Gone" via the internet with a guy from the group & we posted it on the newsgroup's website so it can be downloaded: http://www.technomage.net.au/ alt.music.makers.soloact I also have it on my Napster (alias: catwix) I recorded vocal & acoustic guitar with Chris Connor from Columbus, and emailed the mp3 file to Charlie Glasgow from North Dakota, he added a bunch of tracks & emailed it back to me. Then I emailed it to the newsgroup webmaster, Rod McDonough, from Brisbane, Australia, who put it on the site. The Internet is a trip.

AMN: What's up with your passion for maps?

Cathy: I believe that with the onslaught of this new Geographic Information Systems technology, much has been lost in the way of the artistic psychology of maps. I love old maps- the care that was taken to do a good job is taken for granted these days. It makes me wonder if they were perfectionists and if so, if they drove themselves crazy trying to make those perfect maps in pen & ink. No erasers. I go crazy about historical stuff. How did they ever survive without the AMN?

AMN: What's happening on your dream vacation?

Cathy: This is a dream vacation? I thought it was Heaven, man! I couldn't be happier. I could use a little more sleep, though. Maybe someone could get me a cup o' coffee or somethin'.

AMN: Thanks.

Cathy: Thank YOU!!