Not long after Katy Vernon met her future husband, Randy, on a train ride from Amsterdam to Berlin in 1992, she realized she would have to move to his homeland and not the other way around if they were going to commit long-term.
"His name was never going to work in England," said Vernon, a London native, recounting how her friends would snicker anytime she mentioned him.
"Randy," you see, carries the "lustful" connotation much more strongly there than here.
Twenty-two years later, Vernon has now lived in Minnesota longer than she did in England, and in recent years her roots have been firmly planted as one of the Twin Cities' most beloved folky singer/songwriters.
Her newest album, "Present," at once shows off her blooming relationship with her local band — with whom she will promote the album Sunday at Icehouse in south Minneapolis — as well as it touts her happy home life in White Bear Lake. One of the standout songs, "Lily," jubilantly compares her eldest of two daughters to her favorite Crayola colors, while the ballad "Heart Is in Your Hands" celebrates motherhood. And the romantic gem "Loud" — well, let's just say it sounds a bit randy.
"I'm mostly a writer of sad songs, but got away with a few happy ones here," quipped Vernon, who is well-known for singing her melancholy tunes accompanied by an instrument more associated with warm, happy vibes: the ukulele, which she only picked up five years ago. She got her start in local clubs fronting a rockier early-'00s band, the Camdens.
Vernon played her uke throughout the "Present" recording sessions with producer Kevin Bowe, but she is quick to point out, "There's more than one way of playing it. It's like any other instrument: It can reflect the mood of what you're feeling."
She certainly has reason to feel sad about her youth in England.
