One needn’t look any further than Catfish Keith to find a prime example of diligence, honest work, and keeping true to oneself. A staple on the Midwestern blues scene, he has been able to make a living doing what he loves for more than two decades.
The East Chicago, Ind., native, who will perform at 8 p.m. Friday at the Mill, 120 E. Burlington St., began his love for music at an early age. His hometown area provided a multifaceted musical background for Keith, something for which he has expressed great gratitude.
“There was always quite a wide range of ethnic music around when I grew up,” he said. “We also had a wide range of music around the house.”
Ultimately, it was the style of blues and roots music that captured his interest, and it has always been a major influence on his work. Once he picked up an acoustic guitar, there was no turning back.
“Great, real American roots music really laid the groundwork for me and is the foundation of everything I do,” he said.
He released his début album, Catfish Blues, in 1984, and he has since recorded 10 more albums as a solo artist, his latest being 2008’s If I Could Holler. The same year, he was inducted into the Iowa Blues Hall of Fame.
In the early 1990s, Catfish Keith decided to take complete control of his creative destiny by establishing his own independent record label, Fish Tail Records, on which he is the only artist. It was also around this time that his wife, Penny Cahill, became his manager. A former social worker at the Mental Health Clinical Research Center at UI Hospitals, Cahill decided, Keith said, “to put her whole energy into managing [his] music career.” The dynamic duo has been able to maintain a satisfying personal and professional relationship, and they have grown as a couple over the years.
“Although it probably wouldn’t work for a lot of people, for whatever reasons, our arrangement has worked out well for Catfish and me,” Cahill said. “I feel we’ve created something positive for others and have contributed to the arts.”
For the past two decades, Keith has enjoyed considerable international exposure, providing him the opportunity to perform in the United Kingdom, other parts of Europe, Mexico, and more.
“I love being able to see the world,” he said. “I’ve gone to places I would have never seen if it weren’t for playing guitar. It’s really been a wonderful journey.”
His distinct American sound has clearly shown a good deal of international appeal, which for an independent artist isn’t necessarily easy. He believes his audiences young and old, American or otherwise, can all sense the enjoyment he experiences in playing and singing, which is his music’s most transcendent quality, he said.
“My pure joy of playing comes through. It’s my own style of music based in beautiful early American musical styles,” Keith said. “It’s the joy and the rhythm, the pure heartbeat of the music. After 30 years or so, you realize how fast time goes by. Appreciate time and enjoy the music.”
