About
PERSONNEL
Kate Baxter // guitar + vocals
Steve Garofano // drums
Elizabeth Grubbs // keyboard + vocals
Erica Keller // bass + vocals
Caitlin Strokosch // cello
Birthed from the feral creativity of Kate Baxter, Elizabeth Grubbs, and Erica Keller, My Neptune has grown like a melancholy child, finding a voice while sitting quietly in the dark. Baxter’s gentle vocal floating is supported by the foundation of Grubbs' keyboard and Keller’s bass, as well as their vocal harmony. The addition of Strokosch’s cello and Garofano on percussion has created a rich substrate, much like the sediment of the Mississippi Delta, in which the night-blooming flower of Baxter’s singing anchors its roots and draws nutrients. In taking their sound -- honed in late nights in Grubbs' French Quarter attic apartment -- into the venues of New Orleans and beyond, My Neptune seeks to bring a somber comfort like dark velvet to the weary ears of the world.
Meet the Band
Kate Baxter // guitar + vocals
After years of singing quietly to sauté pans and spreadsheets in Minneapolis kitchens, Kate Baxter found herself under the stage lights at an open mic. An awakening resulted, and she packed her car with guitars, cookbooks, and her grandfather’s cribbage board and moved to New Orleans. Once settled in the old city, Kate’s voice as a songwriter has blossomed like jasmine and she now performs her own material frequently around town. My Neptune is her first band, and while her sound retains its gentle darkness, in the collaborative environment a new strength has emerged, captivating everyone who hears it.
Steve Garofano // drums
30 years of drumming has found Steve Garofano in musical settings from street parades to symphony halls to the electronic underground, from the stage to the studio to international tours. After a decade of rhythmic education on New Orleans’ stages with bands like live-electronic act Triple Delight, Garofano moved to New York City where his skills blending live drumming with electronic loops were put to use in projects like Wolff and Tuba, led by electro-tuba impresario Brian Wolff, and Brooklyn art punks Vic Thrill. Garofano then moved to Berlin for graduate school in cognitive neuroscience, researching the brain’s mechanism for tracking musical rhythm. In returning to New Orleans and being adopted by My Neptune he has found great joy in turning off the digital elements and amplifiers, picking up brushes and playing very, very quietly. stevegarofano.com
Elizabeth Grubbs // keyboard + vocals
In the Appalachian foothills of North Carolina, Elizabeth Grubbs’ musical life began with humming hymns in her highchair after church, followed by years of singing and playing piano with her family. This bone-deep love of music brought her to the academic sphere where she earned a BA in music, and taking these skills into the recording studio led her to a residency as a studio musician and apprenticing sound engineer. She also completed tours with several NC bands, including Vaughn Aed and Ameriglow, and earned an MA in English before teaching English composition at a community college. In the fall of 2019, New Orleans called her by name and she landed in the city under a full moon. She has recently begun getting her musical chops back, gigging with New Orleans native Shawn Williams and centering the heart of My Neptune.
Erica Keller // bass + vocals
Erica came from a family of musicians and started playing piano and flute as a child. She co-founded the shoe-gazey almost-all girl band Social Studies in Philadelphia. During her 12 years in New York City, she held the foundation of spark-spitters like The Living Kills, Bradley Dean and the Terminals, and Quitty and the Don’ts, taking on punk, mod, garage, and psych rock. In 2016 she appeared in a puff of black smoke on lower Decatur Street and after a 6-year musical hiatus she is again ready to rock and/or roll. In My Neptune she has found a quieter voice, but one no less dark. Her creative direction keeps the band true to its shadowy urges to wring the hearts of all who listen.
Caitlin Strokosch // cello
Emerging from a musical family, Caitlin Strokosch’s path has taken her from classical training and academic degrees in cello performance and ethnomusicology to snarling punk music. In Chicago, she performed steadily with popular folk rock quartet Quell, Athanasios Zervas’ gypsy band, and math rock stalwarts Cheer Accident. After a move to Providence, RI Strokosch volunteered with RIOT!, empowering women and girls through rock music, and formed the all-female punk band Me Jane, as well as collaborating with Shura Baryshnikov and the looping-improv trio Apropos of Nothing in a memorial to David Bowie. After moving to New Orleans to continue her work with arts nonprofits, she has found a home for the dark richness of her cello in My Neptune, deepening the shadows and sweetening the sadness of the band’s slow darkness.