JOURNAL

April 4, 2008

Hello Everyone!

Gosh, it’s been a while. The ending of one year and the beginning of a new one is always a hectic time for me. I hope 2008 is going great for you all thus far!

I had an amazing holiday season, despite the fact that my husband was gone. My entire family came together in Virginia and it really made it that much easier to be away from him. I got to spend my nephew’s first Christmas with him, so that was wonderful!

I’m VERY excited to tell you that my husband got home from Iraq at the beginning of February and joined me on vacation in the Caribbean for the month. It was amazing getting to spend that time with him in paradise. We’re now both home and finally in our rhythm. It is so nice to have things back to normal!

I have been busy setting up a recording studio in my home and working on my songwriting. I’m happy to say I’ve written several new songs and continue to get more and more confident with my writing. I hope to do a show sometime this summer or fall introducing a lot of my new stuff.

I’m on an internet radio show this evening (check the news page for info) which should be fun. I’m also really looking forward to performing at the National Memorial Day Parade in Washington, DC, this May. More details should be available on that shortly – make sure you keep checking the schedule page.

Also, I’ve posted the official pictures I received from The White House of me with President and First Lady Bush and Vice President Cheney. Make sure you check them out on the photo page.

That’s it for now – Happy Spring!

Musically yours,

Katy

November 12, 2007

Wow – I can’t believe it’s November already.  Where is the time going!?!

I got back from Wyoming on October 15th – what an awesome trip!  I sang at the Preliminary Competition and Finals of the Miss Wyoming USA and Miss Wyoming Teen USA state pageant.  I met some wonderful young women and had an amazing time.  A special thanks to my friends Denise, Libby, and Craig from Future Productions (www.futureproductions.net) for having me out there and congratulations to the new titleholders, Cassie Shore and Callie Bishop – good luck at Nationals next year!

Just two days after I got back from Wyoming my husband, Ryan, came home on his two week leave.  It was so great to see him and have him home, even for that short time.  We had so much fun.  We went down to Florida to visit his sister, swung by Atlanta so he could meet our nephew who was born in April, and just spent as much time together as we possibly could.  He’s now back in Iraq, but he should be home for good at the beginning of March.  I can’t wait!

Last week (November 8th) I sang at a luncheon at The Capitol Hill Club in Washington, DC.  There were about 160 people there.  I took my guitar and performed “A Soldier’s Wife”.  The reaction was amazing – a standing ovation that lasted almost a minute!  I got so many great comments, including a very special comment from Janet Huckabee (wife of Republican Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee) who said she loved the song and my voice.

I’ll keep you all updated on anything else that comes up, but for now I’m just looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas (with my birthday in between), and spending time with my family.

I hope you all have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!

Musically yours,

Katy

October 9, 2007

Hi Everyone!

What an AMAZING month it has been!  And also quite busy – which is why it has taken me so long to get this posted!

I’ll take you back to Monday, September 17th.  We were in Charleston, South Carolina for Senator John McCain’s final rally on his “No Surrender” tour.  What an AMAZING event.  They packed in 1,000 people (standing room only).  I sang “A Soldier’s Wife” and the response was amazing.  It actually made me tear up.  Then, when I sang “God Bless the USA” later in the program, the crowd erupted in cheers and applause three times during the song, and the response when I hit the last note blew me away – you could barely hear it over the crowd!  It took almost a minute for the ovation to die down when I finished the song.

As soon as the rally ended, I boarded a bus with Senator McCain, Senator Lindsay Graham, and Senator McCain’s family.  We rode straight to the airport where we boarded the McCain’s private jet and took right off for Dulles.  They were all SO nice!  Mrs. McCain is just a wonderful woman – I chatted with her quite a bit.  Senator McCain has a great sense of humor, and even their daughter Meghan was very friendly.  All in all, it was a wonderful trip back – and they did it so I could get to The White House Tuesday morning!

Of course, I only got a few hours of sleep because the Redskins were in the process of beating the Eagles when I got home (3-1, baby!).

That brings us to Tuesday, September 18th.  I’m so glad I got to take my Mom, my Dad, my Mother-in-law, and my Father-in-law with me to The White House.  We definitely had royal treatment!  We had premium parking, our holding room in The White House was The Map Room, which is often used by The President for interviews.  They gave my family a table right in front on the South Lawn so they could get a prime view of me singing The National Anthem.  The most amazing part of the day was when I got to meet The First Lady and The President right before I sang.  I chatted with The First Lady for about ten minutes.  She is such a kind and classy woman; very gracious and very humble.  The President was running late so I didn’t get to chat with him, but I did meet him.  He was incredibly friendly, and I got my picture taken with the both of them inside The White House.  (I’ll get it posted as soon as I get a copy.)

Then I rushed up to the Blue Room balcony where I sang The National Anthem, with The President and First Lady right down in front of me (and right next to my parents and in-laws)!  After I finished singing, The President made some remarks and began by talking about Ryan and me!  It was amazing.  After the President’s speech I got to meet Vice President Dick Cheney who was also very nice.

All in all, it was the coolest 24 hour period I’ve ever experienced!  To see photos, make sure you check out the photos page.

Now, I’m getting ready to head to Casper, Wyoming to sing this weekend, and then Ryan will be home on leave next week!  I can’t wait to see him!

I’ll write again soon.

Musically yours,

Katy

 

September 14, 2007

Hi everyone!  Welcome to the new and improved katybenko.com – I hope you like it!

And I hope everyone enjoys the new journal page.  It will allow me to come on from time to time and update everyone about what’s going on in my life – musically and beyond!

Things have been going really well.  If you haven’t heard my new song yet (“A Soldier’s Wife”), make sure you listen to it on the homepage.

If you haven’t heard the story yet, here it is in a condensed version:

On August 25th, 2006, I married the love of my life and long time boyfriend.  Ryan was an ROTC student in college and commissioned into the United States Army in January 2005.  He then joined the Virginia Army National Guard.  Three months after we were married, Ryan was activated and called to duty.  He is currently serving in Iraq.  In January, I wrote the song “A Soldier’s Wife” to help me express what I was going through.  The song has struck quite an emotional chord with a lot of people, and I’ve been tremendously touched at the reaction it’s getting.

So if you listen to the song, please take the time to go to the contact page and let me know what you think!

I’m REALLY excited about the Senator John McCain rally in Charleston on Monday.  (Check out the news page and schedule page for more info.)  And then flying back with Senator McCain so I can be at The White House Tuesday morning…  WOW!  It’s going to be an amazing couple of days!  (And it ALSO means I’ll be able to catch about half of the Redskins’ Monday night game against the Eagles.  Heck yeah!)

I’ll let everyone know how the show goes and how things go at The White House.  I can’t wait!

And GO REDSKINS!

Musically yours,
Katy