Comedian, actor and singer Cat Cohen and I met briefly after her Auckland show in 2023, which led to us feeling extremely spiritually connected a year later. In her incredible comedy special, Come For Me (released earlier this year and available to stream on Veeps), she asks the audience for recommendations for healers and psychics. While saying that same line at her earlier show at The Tuning Fork in Auckland, at least three of my friends whipped around and eyeballed me, knowing that I’d been seeing one.
Later that night I sheepishly broke through a circle of comedians and fans and asked if her request was serious, cos boy howdy, did I know a good one. Cat told me to DM her, and, trying to play it cool, I sent her my healer’s info the next morning. Her name is Lika, and no, she’s not taking on new clients.
A little context: I’ve been seeing Lika for over two years now. She was recommended to me by a good friend, and I was incredibly sceptical. I’d never seen a psychic regularly and wasn’t sure what spiritual healing even entailed, but after eight years of therapy, I still felt like I was at a crossroads so gave it a go. I’m not putting it lightly when I say that seeing her has literally changed my life. I am a completely different person than I was in 2022, and I give major credit to Lika.
Listen, I know a lot of this is pretty woo-woo. It’s simply not for everyone. But the people who get it, get it. And Cat gets it big time. Cat has also been seeing Lika now for almost a year – and it was actually Lika who suggested we get together to chat about Overdressed, Cat’s just released new album. This was basically the first time we’d properly spoken outside of a few messages and our initial meeting, and it was pretty cute.
Cat Cohen: How are you gorgeous? I can't believe I'm finally getting to talk to you. It's just so crazy. I talked to you for like one second at the show, and then it was like, life equals changed.
Tanya Barlow: I love that this happened because of one joke in your special. How many healers have people put you in touch with?
Cat: I've gotten a lot of, ‘oh, I have this tarot reader’, or ‘this person's great’. But the way you were like, ‘I promise you, you need to talk to this person’. I thought okay, can't hurt and then, even when I first met [Lika], I was like, maybe this is real.
Tanya: So what kind of other healer experiences have you had? And what makes it different with Lika?
Cat: You know, peak Covid, I was making appointments with everyone I could get my hands on. I did this thing called the Emotion Code, which was crazy and that I did not connect with. I did past life regression therapy, which I mentioned in one of my songs, which I enjoyed, but I don't know if I felt like it was any more than my imagination.
There's a psychic I've seen a couple of times who I do think is very good, but she's incredibly hard to book with. I've seen a different psychic who I did not think was very good; and lots of astrologers, lots of tarot readings.
Lika, she said something to me in our first session and I was like, that's fucking spot on. Compared to all the years of therapy I had, I felt like her and her focus on extreme self love and gratitude and positivity, that's what everything should be about. I should stop unpacking every thought; I've overanalysed shit to hell. I just need to be present, grateful and happy and that's what she's given me.
Tanya: I fully get that. I was so resistant. I was angry. I think the first few sessions I was really defensive. She asked, why don't you love yourself? And I was like, do you know much I didn't like myself before?! And then I was like, wait a minute Cady Heron, the limit does not exist.
Tanya: I loved your show the first time, and loved it even more as the Netflix special with the full band. How do you handle being so funny and gorgeous?
Cat: That's so funny. It's so hard to make something you're so proud of, and you have to push it in this way that makes you feel sick of it, and over it, and so annoyed with yourself. I've done it so many times, but I am ultimately very proud of how it turned out. I think it looks sick, and the full band is very different from how you saw it the first time. They crushed it, it's so fun. And, yeah, I think it's major, it's major, it's major.
Tanya: What were your influences for writing those songs? Because I'm hearing a little bit of almost 60s, 70s, that kind of soft, almost folk kind of voice. But a musical theatre influence as well.
Cat: I was kind of raised a musical theatre girl who liked sad indie rock kind of mashed with the Spice Girls. I just think the cabaret style is sort of retro vintagey. In the special, I wrote some of the songs on guitar by myself, which was a different experience than working with a pianist, so I feel like that gave it more of a rocky, folky, rocky sound.
Tanya: How long did you tour Come For Me?
Cat: I started working on it in Edinburgh 2022, so I toured it for a little over two years. I would take breaks to work on other things, but I was consistently doing that material. So it's very bittersweet to say goodbye, but I'm definitely ready to move on. But the last show in London, I was sobbing at the end.
Tanya: It sounds so bittersweet, because you spent so long working on it, touring it, and then refining it to this beautiful diamond, and then you have to let it go to make room for the new things, right? I love that you've got this transitional project with the album because that way, you can pull your gems from your other shows! I love that you've made an album.
Cat: Me too. I had the best time making it. We recorded it in nine days in London. Not to be so dramatic, but it really was an experience of channelling something. It was so fun being in a studio with other musicians, we had the best time.
Tanya: Oh, my God. How does it feel to be a pop star?
Cat: Thank you for asking. It feels a little bit the same as I felt before. Maybe just because I've always been one.
Tanya: I love it. So tell me about the album.
Cat: It's some of the songs from both specials, and then a couple of new songs that I wrote this summer. I think it's really good. It's a pop version of what I've been doing on stage for the past few years.
Tanya: I've had Can You Send Me That stuck in my head since you launched it. Especially just before Halloween? Incredible. You’re in my head!
Cat: That's the whole goal: to make catchy pop songs that happen to be funny. That's the dream.
Tanya: Are we doing any more music videos for the album?
Cat: I have a song called Plus One about wanting to be the plus one at a holiday party; we shot a video for that a few weeks ago. And next we have some fun Christmasy songs on the album. It's technically a holiday album, so I love that.
Tanya: Have you got inklings for the next special? Is there anything that you're wanting to play around with? The Twist? She's Gorgeous deals with your 20s, and then Come For Me, creeping into the 30s. Where are we going next?
Cat:I had this crazy health scare right before I met you, my heart thing, and I think I'm going to dive into that experience and maybe have something a little more narrative, or a little bit more contained… But I've been saying that for a few months now, and I haven't written anything, so we'll see.
I do think, for better or worse, the universe gave me lots of material over the past year, so I have to now translate that into something funny, because I have the trauma. A friend of mine recommended this podcast of Anne Lamott, who wrote that book Bird by Bird, and she's quoting someone – when you're writing, it's like you're driving through fog with headlights and you can't see what's ahead of you. But if you take it one second at a time, you can get where you're going. I'm letting that quote lead me through the next show.
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Tanya: I feel like every time I hear from you, you're in a different country. Girl, are you okay?
Cat: No, I'm really run down, but it's all good stuff. I'm very much looking forward to the holidays. I'm going to take some time off. I'm trying to get better about setting aside time to rest and be creative, because right now, I've just been not doing that. I have to write a new show. That's the next big hurdle, because I do love touring so much; I’ve just got to set aside some time to be creative and let the ideas flow through me. I'm merely a vessel. That's really how I feel. Do you feel like that?
Tanya: I don't know if I feel like I'm a vessel, but I feel like I am merely an origami boat on the ocean of life. Whatever happens happens. I'm definitely not forward planning too hard, because I just want to enjoy the moment and see whatever happens.
Tanya: What are you watching, listening to, consuming, eating?
Cat: Great question. Oh, what a great question. Watching, well, I just finished all of Vanderpump Rules and The Valley, so I need a new show. Listening... Oh, I'm listening to this new record I love with Andrew Bird and Madison Cunningham. It's really good, an autumnal vibe.
Consuming. I’ve been getting really into fragrance. I think it's very glamorous to have a signature scent. So I've been playing around with some to hopefully find. Do you have a signature scent?
Tanya: I have several, I’ll send you my faves!
Cat: Favourite snack I'm eating? My boyfriend was sent this beef jerky for his podcast, and I've been eating it all and it's really good. I want to shout out the brand, Chomps, because they're doing amazing work. What I've been eating whenever I'm in New York… I like to have a bagel in the morning. I do an everything bagel, veggie, cream cheese, tomato and onion, and that's like, the best fucking thing in the world.
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Tanya: I can't wait for you to come back to New Zealand.
Cat: I know, I'm desperate to do it. I only got to see Auckland last time, and it was only two days – I got to see Waiheke Island and that was nice, but I need to do the rest of the island and see the other sights. It just took so long to get there. I was like, I need a year to psych myself up for the journey. But it is so magical, the people are so nice and the food was amazing. I had a really good time. I just love comedy, because I now know people who live all over the world. So wherever I go, I have at least, ideally, one friend, and I can just see a place through their eyes, which is so magical.
Tanya: So chic. I love that.
Cat: We're chic, we're chic babe. I think when you do what you're born to do, and you make art, the right people come into your life.
Tanya: That's true!
Cat: Werk. And that’s life.
