Welcome to katekoenig.com. I’m a music journalist, illustrator, graphic designer, and songwriter. I’ve been making my personally organized words, shapes, and noise as a professional since 2014. Visit katekoenigmusic.com to hear my music.
MY BACKGROUND
I’ve always been an artist. I sang as soon as I could open my mouth, began drawing at age 3, taught myself piano starting at 8, began studying trumpet in grade school and classical piano at 14, and have been self-taught on guitar since I was 16. Years later, I attended SUNY Oneonta especially for their audio recording facilities and various performance ensemble programs (including the Zappa Band).
At Oneonta, I eventually became Editor-in-Chief of the school paper, and during my senior year, spent a semester abroad in Florence, Italy. After graduating from Oneonta’s music program in 2013, a professor recommended me for an editorial position with In Tune Partners, publishers of the in-classroom magazine In Tune Monthly. In two years, I was promoted to editor of In Tune’s sister publication, Music Alive! magazine, which was founded by music producer Milt Okun in 1981. During my time at In Tune, I also managed a 32-venue, nationwide sales project in partnership with Live Nation for Etymotic Research, remodeled our websites, illustrated a map for the city of Peekskill, and in two months towards the end of my time there, produced 28 tutorial videos on four instruments for Epiphone, Inc. In 2018, I left In Tune to freelance.
During my time as a freelancer, I contributed regularly to Premier Guitar magazine and Acoustic Guitar magazine. In January of 2023, Premier Guitar invited me to join the company full-time as Associate Editor. Three and a half months later, I was promoted to Managing Editor of the magazine. Since then, I have interviewed and written feature articles on the guitarists of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, St. Vincent, Colin Meloy and Chris Funk of the Decemberists, and Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney.
While journalism is my main line of work, I’ve also created illustrations for Premier Guitar, as well as for comedians the Lucas Bros., sci-fi rock band Cousin Earth, Dylan’s Wine Cellar in Peekskill, NY, and Dallas Comedy Club. I also do all of my own web design for both katekoenig.com and katekoenigmusic.com. You can view a website I designed in 2013, located at katekoenig.com/subconscious, here. As a songwriter, I have produced five full-length albums, all of which are available on all streaming platforms.
Please feel free to reach out via my contact form with any inquiries or interest in connecting, which I’m always open to. Thanks for browsing!