Bad Girl: Kate Chippindale

"Bad Girl." Kate Chippindale, Toronto, ON, Canada, 26 April 2018.

"My favourite concert of all time was Bruce Springsteen a few years ago. It was at the Skydome. The dome was down on a beautiful hot summer evening, with the Toronto cityscape lit up in the background. Everyone knew every song. He played for 4+ hours, we were surrounded by mega fans. It was pure magic. He's a legend. "

IT ALL STARTED WHEN...

Over the course of our lives, we come across those special individuals who have exceptional taste and always seem to be collecting incredible things, people, and experiences. Those people who make things happen, who build community, who get shit done.

Kate has a way of finding, gathering, and curating the coolest of the cool. Music is no exception.

First, a little bit about Kate before we dive into the music part.

Imagine running marketing for one of Toronto's most unique hotel properties, a piece of the city's modern history, a beloved platform for artistic expression and community building, which has seen immense growth expanding across the GTA and beyond. There's been the addition of the Drake General Stores starting on Queen West and now boasting four other locations, followed by the Financial District's Drake One Fifty and Drake Mini Bar, the Junction Triangle's Drake Commissary, and, most recently, the Drake Devonshire, located in Ontario's booming wine region of Prince Edward County. 

Naturally, you would take on a side hustle, because all that clearly wouldn't be enough.

This is the part of the story where Kate joins forces with Kara Lynne Wark and launches the Bad Girls Collective, described in their own words as, "a network of badass women who are on that intellectual tip." I had the pleasure of attending the event for Read 004 (Joan Didion's beautiful, honest, and heartbreaking A Year of Magical Thinking), an incredible evening filled with brave and vulnerable discussions on grief and mourning, mental health, and financial empowerment. For ways to get involved with this incredible community of empowering women, sign up for the Read 007 event coming up on May 30th, sweat it out with the Bad Girls Run Club at Misfit's Queen West studio on Wednesdays, spin at RIDE Cycle Club on Ossington (RSVP required), and shop the Bad Girls Spring Market at 950 Queen Street West.

This interview is about Kate, but it's worth noting that one of those charming items in her collection is her partner, Chef Matt Ravenscroft, who, along with acclaimed Toronto restauranteur Grant van Gameren (Bar Isabel, Bar Raval, Harry's), is opening a vegan Mexican restaurant in Toronto's Financial District. Stay tuned, Rosalinda Restaurant opens later this month. (My mouth is watering, and I may or may not be looking at flights back to Toronto.)

Kate is just starting the next chapter in what's sure to be an incredible career, putting her knack for developing brand partnerships to good use for Wealthsimple, an automated investment services company that clearly cares about technology, design, aesthetics, and attention to detail online. You can learn more about Wealthsimple online or follow them on Instagram @wealthsimple.

Oh, and Kate also loves cheese. She wanted me to mention that.

Kate took some time out from her busy schedule creating community for women, exploring the coolest places Toronto has to offer (and eating cheese), to share a bit about the role that music plays in her life. Enjoy!

What's your passion/hustle/profession?

Marketing + Partnerships

I am a creative + strategic thinker. 
I’m a doer with an entrepreneurial spirit. 
I am a people person.
I thrive on human interaction + building relationships that lead to meaningful + mutually beneficial partnerships. 
I use the left + ride sides of my brain with equal weight.

Profession: Imminently starting as Partnerships lead at Wealthsimple.

Passion Side Hustle: Bad Girls Collective.

What kind of music helps you focus at work?

Anything as long as I have something in my headphones at all times when I'm sitting at my desk. I cannot focus without music. I mix it up a lot depending on my mood and the type of task I'm doing. I'm a big fan of Spotify playlists that my friends make (shout out to Blair McGregor).

When you’re winding down?

Charlotte Day Wilson, Rhye, Daniel Caesar, Maggie Rogers...all on repeat these days. 

Working out?

R+B / Hip Hop...and Beyoncé. 

Cooking? 

Oldies but goodies -- Matt and I love this Spotify playlist our B.C. pals created called Wildchild. Lots of Van Morrison, Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young, James Taylor...feel good stuff. 

Kickin’ it with friends?

A little bit of everything. I get obsessed with artists and playlists and tend to beat them to death, then move on to a new favourite.

What’s your most memorable musical moment? This could be a live show or festival that really stuck with you, meeting a music icon, etc.

My favourite concert of all time was Bruce Springsteen a few years ago. I took my Dad, who is a major fan, as a surprise Father's Day gift. It was at the Skydome. The dome was down on a beautiful hot summer evening, with the TO cityscape lit up in the background. Everyone knew every song. He played for 4+ hours, we were surrounded by mega fans (I'm talking it was their 20th ++ time seeing Bruce). It was pure magic. He's a legend. 

Favourite love song? Slow jam? Between the sheets track?

When it comes to love songs, it's "Into the Mystic," by Van Morrison, and I have soft spot for "Can't Help Falling in Love," the Ingrid Michaelson version. Makes me cry every time. I think because I associate it with the scene in Like Crazy...tearing up at my desk.

For slow jams and sexy tunes, really into Daniel Caesar these days.

You need to hype up the crowd at a house party real quick. What do you put on next?

Drake -- especially "Nice for What" these days! Anyone who says they don't like Drake must be lying. 

If you were stranded on a desert island with only one album, which would it be?

Currently Charlotte Day Wilson's new album. 

Best format? Cassette tape, CD, iPod, Vinyl, etc.

Vinyl (but usually Spotify / Sonos).

What’s the most prized album/mixtape/musical memento you own? Your home is on fire and this is the only thing you can grab before it all burns down. (Sorry, that one’s grim.)

A Mumford & Sons vinyl my best friend gave me (I know, I know), but we saw them 4 times one summer and it was one of the best summers of my life so far. 

Dinner with any artist, dead or alive. They're paying. Whom do you choose?

Beyoncé, duh.

Bonus question: What's your go-to karaoke jam?

"I Wanna Dance with Somebody," Whitney Houston

Merçi, Kate!

"Bad Girl" Track Listing

1. Rhye. "Shed Some Blood." Woman, Polydor Ltd. (UK), Inc., 2013.
2. Charlotte Day Wilson. "Nothing New." Stone Woman, Last Gang Records, 2018.
3. KAYTRANADA, Anderson .Paak. "GLOWED UP." 99.9%, XL Recordings, 2016,
4. Drake. "Nice For What." Nice For What, Young Money/Cash Money Records, 2018.
5. Jesse Reyez, Daniel Caesar. "Figures, a Reprise." Figures, a Reprise, FMLY, 2018.
6. Moses Sumney. "Plastic." Aromanticism, Jagjaguwar, 2017.
7. Sabrina Claudio. "Belong To You (feat. 6LACK) [Remix]." About Time, SC Entertainment, LLC, 2017.
8. Beyoncé. "Halo." I Am...Sasha Fierce..., Sony Music Entertainment, 2008.
9. Maggie Rogers. "Alaska." Now That The Light Is Fading, Debay Sounds LLC under exclusive license to Capitol Records, 2017.
10. Fleetwood Mac. "Rhiannon." Fleetwood Mac, Warner Bros. Records Inc., 1975.
11. Mumford & Sons. "White Blank Page." Sigh No More, Mumford & Sons under exclusive license to Glassnote Entertainment Group, 2015.
12. Van Morrison. "Into The Mystic." Moondance, Warner Bros Records, 1987.
13. James Taylor. "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight." One Man Dog, Warner Bros. Records Inc, 1972.
14. Bruce Springsteen. "The Ghost Of Tom Joad." The Ghost of Tom Joad, Bruce Springsteen, 1995.

For more Kate, follow her on Instagram @katechippindale, check out the Bad Girls Collective website and on Instagram @badgirlscollective, and listen to more jams on Spotify.