‘Catalyst Sessions’ recap: Kasondra Rose with Colleen Cherry

A haunting autobiographical song, “Tiptoes and Whispers,” was singer/songwriter Kasondra Rose’s opening for Wednesday’s edition of The Catalyst Sessions. She explained that the song, written from a child’s perspective, is about dealing with a family member suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. “I’m not good at the practice of just making stuff up,” she said.

Unlike her initial Sessions appearance April 1, Rose spent a majority of Wednesday’s half hour discussing life – and music-making – within the parameters of the pandemic. “I don’t know how long it’s been now, because yesterday feels like it was last week,” she said. “But I can’t write when I’m crying on the floor every other night. And that’s pretty much what I was doing until maybe about a month ago.”

Colleen Cherry, one of Rose’s Florida Bjorkestra bandmates, joined the Zoom interview, and in time the conversation turned to the current state of racial disharmony in the country. And the coronavirus. And their shared belief that now is not the time for happy-go-lucky pop songs.

“We’re all still here, and we’re all still breathing,” offered Cherry. “Doing what we can do. That’s all we can do.”

Still, Rose ended the program on an optimistic note with her lighthearted singalong song “A Cloud.”

Today on The Catalyst Sessions: Novelist Lisa Unger.

Streaming at 7 p.m. weekdays on the Catalyst Facebook page. All shows are archived on our YouTube page.