If the old adage that you can judge a person by the company they keep applies to music, KATE BENNETT is in fine shape. The Santa Barbara singer-songwriter's self-produced debut CD, Over the Moon, includes Kenny Loggins, Jim Messina, and acclaimed guitarist Jeff Pevar. Produced with elegant simplicity, and an ear toward both folk and pop appeal, the 13 songs are infused with impressions of the mountains and ocean of Bennett's hometown. They're also rife with the things that can't be seen: the rapture and anguish of relationships, the joys and struggles of parenting, and the sensations of longing and belonging.

Although she was born in New Jersey, Kate is all California girl now. Soon after arriving in Santa Barbara she began performing locally. One of her first public appearances was a concert at the prestigious Lobero Theatre, where she shared the stage with other local songwriters. For several years Kate's pursuit of a music career took a back seat to other endeavors. A divorce left her with a young son to raise and she returned to college where she graduated magna cum laude with a minor in music. Although she found work as a tutor, development and grant writer, she never lost her passion for songwriting.

Kate began focusing on her songwriting again when she was invited by Jim Messina, (whose producing and performing credits include Buffalo Springfield, Poco, and Loggins & Messina) to join his newly created Songwriter's Performance Workshop. Under his skillful guidance, with a backlog of material to choose from, she fine-tuned her songs. For several years, Kate was also a performing member of Messina's regular "Songwriters-in-the-Round" concerts where she played alongside notable songwriters such as 60s hit maker Jeff Barry, Poco's Paul Cotton, Toto's David Paich as well as Messina's former partner Kenny Loggins. Loggins also co-wrote one of the songs on her CD.

Following the fall 1999 release of her CD, Kate has been performing regularly as a solo artist, duo or with her band and has produced some songwriter shows in Santa Barbara. Bennett is a performing member of Indiegrrl, an organization that supports women in the independent music industry and she is sponsored by Polysonics. Over the Moon receives airplay in the United States, Canada and Europe and has gathered glowing reviews. She performed here with her husband Jeff Bisch on harmonica and Michael Adcock on bass. Be sure to visit Kate's website at www.katebennett.com.