Two nights before his legendary free Central Park concert, famed tenor Andrea Bocelli opened up about his life to a packed audience at Walter Reade Theater in Lincoln Center. Part of TimesTalks, New York Times culture reporter Robin Pogrebin interviewed Bocelli while his interpreter assisted with translation.
At times, Bocelli surprised the audience with tales of stage fright and his previous career as a lawyer. Additionally, he hinted at the production of Thursday’s concert and revealed that he will perform four songs in English for the first time.
While Bocelli has played for millions, he admits he’s terrified to sing live. He said concerts are always a terror and “from the stage, an audience is for me like a monster.”
“I’m very nervous always. But, I’m nervous when I have to go on stage to sing, not to speak. I’m nervous because I would like to [always] give my best and that’s impossible because every time something happens. If I listen to my performance after, I’m never content so I decided not to listen to it for this reason,” he said.
Though he states “opera is the paradise of music,” he didn’t always know it was his destiny. Instead, he studied to be a lawyer and worked as a court appointed defense attorney. When Pogrebin asked him why and when he decided to pursue music instead, he joked, “When I realized that I cannot defend anyone without singing, I better not defend anyone.”
Comedy aside, Bocelli thought for a moment before he concluded, “Honestly I don’t know why I did it. Life is a strange adventure. Nobody knows the future. I never tried to know my future and I accepted everything that happened in my life.”
As his popularity ensued, he faced a new challenge: fame.
“Fame is something strange. It begins as an accident. At the beginning it’s something curious, it’s something fun. But then it becomes sort of a habit because it gives but it also takes away. Everything started in a flash. From one day to the next I was no longer the unknown country boy that I actually still am,” he said.
“I have to be honest; nobody can say that they are unhappy to be famous. The most important thing that it takes away is privacy . . . fame and notoriety do not mean happiness. Wealth, fame they do not make you happy. There are other things, way more important things in life.”
Now a household name, it wasn’t always that way. Hard work and optimism are qualities that led Bocelli to where he is today.
“Talent is a rebel. It cannot be kept in prison. My parents, for instance, had to wait quite some time to see my talent recognized. There was a time when people used to say, ‘I guess you have to recognize he’s only going to be singing in a piano bar and some weddings, there’s no more you can do,’” Bocelli recalls. “You need to be optimistic because if the talent is genuine it will come out and it will be recognized. If you are sincere, if you don’t wear any masks, if you don’t try to be what you are not, then you will be successful. Things will work out.”
Andrea Bocelli performs Thursday evening at Central Park with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Alan Gilbert, with appearances by Celine Dion, Tony Bennett, Nicola Benedetti, Chris Botti, David Foster and more.
You can read this article, originally posted on CBS Local.
I witnessed Matthew Mayfield live for the first time last October during CMJ when I stumbled into Rockwood Music Hall in between a few band interviews. Alone on acoustic guitar, his deep, rustic vocals and emotion-fueled lyrics echoed throughout the silent room and blew me away.
After the show, he said his debut solo album would be released in a few months and I scoured the Web to find out more about this artist who I was certain I heard before. His former band, Moses Mayfield, was signed to Epic Records in 2005, released an album and toured with major acts. A few years later, though, they broke up and Mayfield found himself questioning his next steps.
“When the band broke up there was a six month period where I debated whether or not I was going to keep doing it. You have to pick up the pieces and start all over, write all new songs, a new band, a new everything. It’s been a hell of a lot of work, but if I wasn’t doing it I’d be super unhappy,” Mayfield said.
Mayfield’s solo album, Now You’re Free, was released earlier this year and encompasses 11 tracks of impeccable songwriting, standout musical accompaniment, and impressive collaborations. Singing of love and heartache, the listener can relate to every track. Songs like the powerful “Fire Escape,” written with John Paul White of The Civil Wars, and the poignant “Element” showcase his remarkable talent. A track he originally wrote 10 years ago and has appeared on numerous records, at a recent concert at The Hotel Cafe in Hollywood, Mayfield said, “I put this song out a few times but the best version to date is on this new record.” A longtime fan favorite, the song was received with much excitement at the packed venue.
I chatted with Matthew earlier this month while in California right before his intimate performance at The Hotel Cafe. He filled me in on many of the stories behind his songs as well as the struggles he has faced as a musician and collaborating with friends The Civil Wars and NEEDTOBREATHE. Read the complete interview below and be sure to check him out on tour this August.
Now You’re Free is your first solo LP. Was the recording process any different than with your previous band, Moses Mayfield?
Yeah, it was different. This time around, I think the songs are stronger and the players I was playing with in Nashville were some good friends and also super pro guys. We tried to make it a band thing. We were in a room, in a circle, and we wanted it to feel alive and have that energy that a big, anthemic rock record would have. The process was similar in terms of going through the motions and making a record, but at the same time, we tried so many new things which was cool. I’m excited about people hearing us in a studio where there were bells on a song or there’s cello or weird toy piano. Whatever it is, that kind of stuff is fun for us.
Why did you decide to use Pledge Music to fund your album?
At the time, my manager suggested it to me. It was cool. I looked at it, but I was kind of hesitant because I really didn’t want to ask people for money but then I realized it was a win-win. They get things that they want, whether it was handwritten lyrics or a house party, or we’ll play at the wedding. There were all kinds of weird stuff; microphones and gear. Everybody gets something which is really cool. We raised $14 grand for the record.
“Element” is my favorite track of yours and you wrote it a decade ago. Why did you decide to add it to this album?
We had the album down to 10 songs and I just felt like there was something missing. I feel like it’s one of those songs that I keep wanting to put onto a record because every time you take a step forward, that’s one I want to bring with me. The guy that produced the record and my management said, ‘This song is so strong, I really feel like it should come with you.’ I thought about it for a long time and I thought it was a great idea.
What’s the story behind “Element?”
I wrote that song when I was 18 and I was in this long distance relationship with a girl. I was just a kid. I think it’s very honest. It doesn’t feel particularly young, but it was very honest, from a very honest place. I feel like a song like that, that just comes from the heart, there was nothing about it that was forced. I sat down with a guitar and wrote it. It wasn’t in pieces. It all came at once.
Do you get tired of playing it?
Sometimes. I feel like with anything, sometimes there are songs that are going to be a little bit of a chore to play. It depends. If the crowd is great and they love it and you can see it in their eyes that they’re enjoying you play it, then it’s great.
What is your typical songwriting process like?
It usually starts with a guitar and a melody and I bring the lyrics in when I feel like I got the vibe down. There are times where the lyric is the inspiration. It changes quite a bit. I’d say 90% of the time it’s me and my guitar singing, humming things. It’s a strange thing, chasing songs.
Do you feel a song comes out better when it actually happened to you? Do you always write from firsthand experience?
Pretty much. I think everything on the record is firsthand. There are a couple that are hypothetical I guess, but I certainly can relate to the things that I’m singing about. “Can’t Change My Mind” is hypothetical in a sense to me. I wrote it from the perspective of that person who’s sold. I know that feeling; to be sold. You write it from the perspective of somebody that’s found something that you want to find.
Are you ever nervous to reveal too much in a song, like “Fire Escape?”
Yeah. Honestly, that’s probably the hardest one. I’m never scared because it’s like therapy for me. I need to do it, to get it out. I don’t know. I feel like there’s a release that you get from putting it on paper and singing it in a song that’s healthy. It’s always been an outlet for me since I was a little kid.
Are there nights you don’t want to play a certain song because it’s too personal and brings back a specific relationship or memory?
It can be. It depends on the night and it depends where my head’s at and if I was thinking about it before a show or not. Sometimes it can sting a little more than others. Sometimes you just do it because it feels good to know that you’re helping somebody else out. I think that’s the reason why the sad songs resonate more with people. I’ve noticed that. People love the upbeat stuff, but when it’s real heartache people are like, ‘Yeah, I know what you mean.’ More so than, ‘I’m really happy, everything’s great.’ That’s pretty rare. It’s good to write a song about it when it happens.
Isn’t that depressing though? When everyone’s like, ‘Yeah! That’s real heartbreak. We love that you’re depressed.’
It’s a weird world. I just write it from wherever I can find it. So if it’s sad, it’s sad. If it’s happy, it’s happy. If it’s confusing, it’s confusing.
Is there a song that means more to you now then when you first wrote it?
Yeah, there are a couple. I really like a song called “Her Name Was December.” That song, we don’t play it a lot live, but when I hear it on the record I’m like, ‘Man, we’ve got to get that one back because I love that song.’ I feel like the lyric and the melody, everything about it is special to me and came from a really real place.
You collaborated with NEEDTOBREATHE and The Civil Wars on a few tracks. How did that come about?
I co-wrote “Fire Escape” with John Paul [White] of The Civil Wars. He’s fantastic. And Joy [Williams] sang on “Can’t Change My Mind.” They’re some of the sweetest people in the world and certainly in this business it’s so hard to come by people who are so kind and just easygoing. There are no egos. They’re just great people and I’m super happy for them that all the stuff’s happening. It’s good to see that happen with good friends. Same thing with NEEDTOBREATHE. Those guys are coming to the show tonight, they’re in town. I’m super happy for them. They’re so good. Their live show is killer. It’s good to see good things happen to good people that you’re friends with.
Is co-writing an entirely different process for you than writing by yourself?
Usually with me, if I co-write it’s like I have a chorus that I love or a verse that I love but I just can’t find a chorus or I can’t find another verse. Or I’ll have a melody that I really like. Usually it has to be someone I really trust like John Paul or Paul Moak, the guy that produced the record. There has to be that feeling of trust where you’re like, ‘I can let you in on this secret.’ “Fire Escape” was a touchy subject, but John Paul was so cool about talking to me and hearing me out; kind of getting inside my head. We wrote the song really quickly, in a couple of hours and it’s one of my favorites on the record.
Your music has been featured on “Teen Mom” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” Have you noticed more fans from different music placement?
I have. Those “Grey’s” placements were really big. I feel like I noticed a big spike in sales but also noticed it helped put me on the map which was funny because I made that record for under $1,000 in a basement for myself. I wasn’t doing it in hopes to get a sync or get on TV and it ended up being a huge thing for me. Those little things are special because you have so many slaps in the face as you’re coming up and it’s cool. When you get a win in a world full of losses it’s something to be celebrated.
What has kept you motivated all these years to keep pursuing music?
I don’t know. I think it’s just that underlying passion for writing songs and playing rock & roll. I’ve always just loved it since I was a little kid. When the band broke up there was a six month period where I debated whether or not I was going to keep doing it. You have to pick up the pieces and start all over, write all new songs. A new band, a new everything. It’s been a hell of a lot of work, but if I wasn’t doing it I’d be super unhappy. It isn’t easy. We push ourselves in every aspect so I feel like it’s hard work, but it’s really rewarding. When the rewards come around, which is not that often, they’re sweet when they do.
Do you think a band needs a record label today to survive?
I don’t. There are some labels that are doing some cool things, some indies that are really smart with their money. But no, I don’t think you need the big machine until you are at a certain level. If you can get to a certain level and you need that monster, mainstream push then you get it when the time’s right. Getting a record deal is definitely not what any band’s goal should be, especially with a major. You may be their favorite band one day and literally the next week they don’t remember who you are ’cause they had a change of regime, they fired everybody and brought on new people. I definitely don’t think you need a label in 2011. At the end of the day, you have to do it all yourself.
What’s the best and worst thing about being a musician?
The best thing is seeing people sing your songs at shows, for me. If I see two or three people, or 30 people or 100 people singing the lyrics to a song, that’s as good as it gets. The worst part I think is a lot of times not feeling like your hard work is being rewarded. You really have to keep on even if you’re not getting any affirmation that what you’re doing is working. But, it’s always like that in music. When you do get those placements or whatever it is, your song is on a TV show or commercial, you play a great show and have a big turn out; those little things add up.
Do you have any advice for other singer-songwriters trying to make it in the industry?
One thing I have to say is don’t expect anyone to do anything for you starting out. You have to hustle and do it yourself. I made that record in my basement just because I wanted to for me. I didn’t have a manager or an agent. I just put it up on iTunes and it got a couple lucky moments and placements. It was fresh enough too, where people knew about the band. You just have to be persistent. As lame of a word as it is, you have to persevere. I started doing this when I was 18 and now I’m 28. I’m not some big, famous rock star. You want to play arenas, but you have to start somewhere. Tonight, if I play for 200 people that’s a huge deal. You just can’t expect it to be fast. That would be my advice.
Last month, I received an email from Michael Shoup introducing me to his music. While I receive plenty of band pitches on a daily basis, his words were genuine and his past and current projects peaked my interest. The Nashville based singer-songwriter got his start attending songwriter nights in his hometown of Dayton, Ohio, in his teens before moving to Nashville for college. He soon began designing artist Web sites, including A-listers like Lady Antebellum and Kelly Clarkson, when he noticed bands he toured with were in need of a Web site to promote their music.
When not working his 9-5 job, he has spent his time writing, recording and producing his debut solo release, Learning How to Live. An impressive LP, the 10 tracks (which you can download for free this week here) are relatable and emotion fueled with solid music accompanying Shoup’s soulful vocals.
While in Nashville last month I caught up with Shoup at 12South Taproom, his neighborhood cafe/bar that he described to me as “one of the most unpretentious, chill bars around.” Well recommended as a good place for conversation, we even ran into fellow singer-songwriter Mat Kearney. So, on a hot day in June I escaped the craziness that was the CMA Music Festival downtown for a while as we chatted about his career in music, latest album and the stories behind many of the tracks on Learning How to Live.
This is your first album as a solo artist. How was the recording process?
It took just about as long as I expected because I was doing it in pieces and didn’t want to ask fans for funding. I wanted to be able to do it myself and have it as a gift to people. Like, ‘Hey, I know you’ve been waiting to hear some of this, I want you to hear it.’ Not that I have anything against Kickstarter projects. For a debut I didn’t want people to feel like they owed it. And, what if they didn’t like the record? I wanted to do something they would enjoy.
I had a producer that worked with me on it named Paul Shearer. Paul and I took basically eight months to a year and scheduled how we wanted to do every song. We did it very systematically. ‘What parts do we need on this? Let’s plan it out.’ It came out to a really good process and a really good relationship between he and I. We continued that process throughout the last year. Even new stuff we’re writing. I know what I need to do and I know when I need to send it to him.
You’ve been collaborating with fans for Song-A-Week. How did that concept come together? (Watch one of the videos below and for more click here.)
The Song-A-Week I’m doing, Paul and I have co-written two of those together and those are working out really nicely. It was twofold for me. I released the record in November and I’ve had a Tumblr blog for years so I just said I would focus on that to be a way to talk directly talk to people who were into the music. I was trying to find a good way to do that, how to get some consistent content and also motivate me to keep writing. The record’s already out, what are you gonna do now? The thing with music for me, I always want to have something that’s communicating with people. I don’t want to just write a song and say, ‘This is what I was feeling.’ I want it to be what somebody else is feeling so they can feel like it’s their song. I think Tumblr as a format works really nicely.
I just opened it up and said, ‘If you guys want to submit ideas or stories about something big in your life, send them in and I’m going to start writing songs about it.’ For me, it was partially a challenge but it was also a weight lifted off because there was this giant pallet of things I had to choose from. I think the further it’s gone along, I’ve gotten some really in depth stories and some really personal stories that move me. I don’t think you can put a price on that as a writer. It’s like I just opened this great book and found an awesome story that I have to write a song about.
The week timeline was just to make sure I had a challenge. I wanted to put up consistent content. Having worked in the Web world for a long time, I understood that. But I also know myself and if I don’t put a deadline on it so many things could happen. I wanted to see if I could do it. It’s a perfect testing ground for me. I’ll write a song, stick it out there and I’ll see how much of a response it gets. If I hit close to what people had written in about, then they’d probably like it. If they don’t, that’s cool. It’s another song, I got some practice out of it, somebody probably got connected to it. I’m surprised I don’t see more songwriters doing that back and forth because it’s right there. There’s no reason you can’t do it. You’re getting instant feedback from the people that will hopefully be purchasing your stuff down the road.
One of my favorite tracks on the album is “Dying to Live.” What was the idea behind it?
That was a co-write between Paul and I and I had a basic idea. All my friends are in their late 20s and early 30s. I’m sure you’ve seen it. It happens in New York, it happens in Nashville, it happens everywhere. You get out of college or you get out of high school and you have these giant dreams and all these mountains you’re ready to scale and the world beats you back a little bit. That’s what it’s about. Sometimes it feels like those dreams are unattainable or sometimes it feels like they’re attainable but you don’t know how to get there. I wanted to put all of those stories from my friends around me into a song and say, ‘Hey, we understand you’re trying to get there. Hold out. Everybody else is trying to get there too.’
I was feeling the same thing myself. The whole time we were producing and writing and making this record, I was working 9-5 doing Web design. It was an anthem for myself to keep going to finish the record and to get everything together.
It was a funny turn around for me while we were doing the record. We took enough time to do it that by the time we had written and recorded everything it was sort of like an out of body experience. I didn’t feel like I 100% had written those songs, I could relate to them as a listener instead of a writer, which was the first time I had ever been able to do that. It was a really weird feeling.
Is there a song you’ve written that means more to you now than when you first wrote it?
Sure. There are a couple. I wrote this song called “Last Goodbye” years ago. I think you go through seasons in your life with relationships and a lot of times those seasons return. As I got older, the words that I put into that song made a lot more sense to me. I had written them out of this emotional moment and I never understood why other people related very well to it. As I got older and had other experiences, it made a lot more sense to me than when I first wrote it. There’s a line on “Last Goodbye” that says, “Maybe life’s not right for what this love has got in store.” That made a lot more sense to me as I grew older and realized that even though two people are in love, it can’t be right sometimes.
The other one that was really stuck in my head as we were doing the record and it was why I made it the title of the record, “Learning How to Live.” That’s one for me…I don’t know if it’s ever going to be a single. It’s not your usual pop song. You don’t get to the chorus in 30 seconds. But, for me and I think a lot of people who are in the same life place as me, can really relate to the chorus of it. “All I want to be is right in front of me but all I can see is how to live carelessly.” You understand how to get to where you want to get, but it doesn’t mean it’s always easy to get there.
What keeps you motivated?
Two things. Learning. Honestly, this is something I’ve newly learned about myself. I’m motivated to continue to do stuff when I feel like I’m learning new things from it. For Song-A-Week, when I first took that on I added a video element to it because it’s a totally new field I’ve never tried to do before. I’m going to learn how to shoot and to edit and figure out what 720p is and all that other stuff and it’s going to keep me motivated to want to do it more. The other side of it is the back and forth communication that I can get to people to be able to experience it with me. Whether it’s at a live show that I do or posts on Tumblr, emails that I get. That is the driving force. Anybody that does anything creative has to get that feedback.
What would you be doing if it wasn’t for music?
I really just like doing creative stuff. I think if I wasn’t making money off of music I would be doing something like that. Whether it’s helping other people be creative or doing video work or design. My life goal is to try to communicate to people that way. I just think the way that I’ve been gifted to do that is through songs. If it wasn’t through that, it would be something else.
For more on Michael Shoup, be sure to visit his Web site. You can download his debut album, Learning How to Live for free this week here and watch him live all day until 11PM CDT as he plays some music and gives viewers tutorials on making and editing videos, how to build a Web site and more.
With nearly 270 shows lined up this year, Lukas Nelson and Promise of the Real are taking the world by storm with their debut release, ‘Promise of the Real.’ After a jaw-dropping ‘Late Show With David Letterman’ performance last month and stints opening for Willie Nelson [Lukas’ dad], B.B. King and Dave Matthews, as well as sharing the stage with Steven Tyler, Neil Young and Bob Dylan, the band have already made a name for themselves.
Made up of singer/songwriter/guitarist Lukas Nelson, drummer Anthony LoGerfo, percussionist Tato Melgar, and bassist Corey McCormick, the band sat down with me to talk about their live show (including Lukas’ playful homage to Jimi Hendrix), their advocacy and just what it was like growing up with the Redheaded Stranger as your father. You can read some of my interview below, and for the complete Q&A visit The Boot.
I love the band name. So, just what is this ‘real’ you’re promising?
Anthony: Promise of the Real came from just wanting to be real with our music. You look at a lot of music today and they have all these special effects, smoke-and-mirrors. We’re just trying to keep it like the old-school guys did.
Lukas: It means that we promise to stay true to who we are. We aren’t going to be perfect, and we aren’t going to try and make it so that every show is the same. It means that we’re going to do the best we can, but we’re not going to Auto-Tune our voices. We’re not going to make sacrifices to our integrity as a band because we don’t have to. We want to support ourselves so we can be able to support a family and then after that, we want to give it all back.
What’s your songwriting process?
Lukas: It changes every time I write a song. Sometimes it’s a hook or chorus, or then it’s a riff and then it’s like chiseling wood. When I was a young kid, I read something that [Bob] Dylan said. He treats his lyrics as if every line could be the title of a song. I thought that was pretty cool. I looked at all his lyrics and took that to heart. I listen to people like Bob and Neil and my dad and Kris Kristofferson and the Beatles, Ray Charles. Those are my heroes, and they influence me, writing-wise.
Anthony: As a band backing up Lukas, when he brings his songs to the table, we try to keep them as pure as we can. Lukas will either write on the road or at home, and we arrange everything the same way — basically on the road. In the back of the bus, we’re arranging music and then we do it in sound check.
Lukas, you’ve adapted Jimi Hendrix’s technique of playing guitar with his teeth. How did that come about?
Lukas: I don’t play all the time with my teeth, but, yeah, it’s a tribute to him and it’s fun to do. It was fun to learn that I could do it. I just tried it one day and I was like, “OK, that’s not too bad. I know where all the strings are and I can pluck them.” I chipped my tooth a couple months ago. People get weird about teeth. They cringe when I do it sometimes. It’s fun to be able to put on a show and not have to rely on special effects. We have enough energy on our own where we don’t need all that stuff.
For more of my interview with Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, visit The Boot.
Singer/songwriter Amos Lee has toured with everyone from Merle Haggard and Bob Dylan to Paul Simon and Elvis Costello. So it comes as no surprise that many country artists respect the Americana/folk artist.
Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott is one of Amos’ many country admirers, along with Willie Nelson and Lucinda Williams, who lend their voices on his upcoming album, ‘Mission Bell.’
“Great songwriters don’t come around that often. Amos is an exceptional artist, a true story teller, unique to his generation,” says Willie.
While ‘Mission Bell’ isn’t due for release until January 25 of next year, Amos filled me in on the recording process, his Farm Aid performance and just how he recruited Willie to join him in the studio. For the complete Q&A visit The Boot and be sure to watch his performance tonight on CMT’s “Artists of the Year.”
On Wednesday I shared with you my review of Keith Urban’s impromptu train station performances promoting his new album, ‘Get Closer.’ I was lucky enough to spend the day with him in New York and Philadelphia and covered all the excitement for The Boot. You can read my complete writeup on The Boot and watch the video below!
Known best for taking the stage in his hat and sunglasses while energizing audiences everywhere, Eric Church revealed a more serious, songwriter side when I sat down with him after his CMA Songwriters Series performance in New York.
Currently on the road as part of CMT on Tour with Miranda Lambert and Josh Kelley, Church plans to hit the studio for a follow up to his 2009 album, Carolina, and also has a tour with Jason Aldean and Toby Keith filling up his 2011 calender. And although many songs have been written for his next project, fans shouldn’t hold their breath for an album release next year.
“It’s hard to write on the road all the time,” says Church. “I usually write down a bunch of ideas or a bunch of melodies and then I’ll take a month to write, which I just finished doing in North Carolina. I spent a month there and wrote the next record so sometime late this year or early next year we’ll start recording. I get really obsessive and probably unhealthy about the recording process just because it really gets in my head. The biggest fear of my career is releasing a record to the public that’s not the way I intended. I don’t know how long the process is going to take, but we’ll probably start next year.”
For my complete interview with Eric Church, visit The Boot.
Earlier this week, I interviewed the infamous Pat Benatar. Thanks for all your questions, I was able to squeeze most of them in! We chatted about life, work and dating — including whether she still believes love is a battlefield. A true inspiration, Benatar gave me advice about living out your dreams and things she wish she knew in her 20s. You can read an excerpt below and for the complete interview visit Lemondrop. You talk a lot about trusting your gut. You write, in your memoir, “Rock and roll is really about following your passion with no apologies. Following that sound in your head that only you can hear.” What’s your advice to 20-somethings trying to find that passion and pursue their dreams? You have to be smart, of course. You can’t just go running off to Kuala Lumpur throwing everything away. You don’t want to wreck your life in the pursuit of your dream. I have two girls — my youngest is 16 and my oldest is 25. I’m right in the thick of this with them. They struggle, they’re afraid to take a chance, of what people think. You’ve got to give it up. You have to stop worrying about this. You have to sit down and really examine what it is in your heart that you really want, what makes you happy. And don’t hurt anyone else in the process. Don’t trample others to have the dream that you want.
I think everyone should go for what they really, really love. You may only get to do this one time. Don’t be worried. Don’t think that you can’t have most of it. I’m of the belief that you cannot have it all. You can try. I think that you always have to make a sacrifice somewhere. I grew up during the women’s movement, and they told us we can have everything. It was a lie. You definitely cannot have everything, not 100 percent. You can have it all, but some part of it at different times in your life will have to take a backseat. If you choose to raise your children, your career will take a backseat for a little while. If you choose to pursue your career at a stronger pace, your kids will take a backseat. It’s just the ebb and flow of how life is. Don’t make yourself crazy thinking you have to be a superwoman. It’s not even possible. Think about what you want personally. Don’t let other things, don’t let the media, don’t let anybody tell you what you’re supposed to be, because only you know.
For more on Pat Benatar, visit her MySpace to hear some of her timeless classics.
A few months ago, I caught Brandi Carlile’s phenomenal live show and interviewed her for Venus Zine. I’ve been anxiously awaiting to share my post with you because the interview was so honest and incredibly insightful!
Watch Brandi discuss how Lilith Fair shaped her life musically and socially, her songwriting process and advice on achieving success below. For my complete writeup, where she filled me in about working with Elton John and the stories behind some of her songs, visit Venus Zine.
Last Tuesday, Chambers released debut album, Old Love. With the goal to capture their live sound on the record, having witnessed their show this past Saturday, the five-piece band no doubt accomplished this. The LP embodies 11-tracks of aggressive rock & roll, hard vocals and killer guitar riffs that is bound to energize every listener.
I chatted with frontman Dan Pelic before the show about Chambers’ songwriting process, maintaining his voice throughout the set and what exactly he’s thinking about when screaming in the pit while fans are jumping on him. His answers may surprise you. Read below for more and be sure to visit the band on MySpace.
Reviewers have been comparing you to Doomriders and saying Old Love is an Album of the Year contender. Why do you think the album has been so well received?Well, I think they give us too much credit. I think these guys will probably hear someone else who’s just as exciting two months from now and say, “Oh, that’s the album of the year.” That’s a really scary, heavy term that we’re not deserving to have placed upon us right now being that we haven’t even been playing out for a year yet. I appreciate the general excitement about the record. I think what it is is that we’re a mish-mosh of a bunch of different influences. We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel or anything like that. We are something refreshing in our energy and the fact that we’re rooted in rock & roll makes us accessible and headbangable. That’s something a lot of the reviewers are getting excited about. That they’re not having to compute and decode and decrypt what we’re trying to do. It’s something they can turn on and immediately start banging their head to and get into.
But, we’re still refreshingly different in the sense that we’re rock & roll being played heavily with extremely hard vocals over it. I think that’s our secret. I come from a much heavier background where I’m rooted in hardcore punk and metal and everybody else in the band are strictly rooted in rock & roll. I think that’s our secret, just combining heaviness in one portion and the other portion being something with more swagger and rock & roll with sleaze.
What’s your songwriting process? Originally, it was the band riffing. We would have three band practices a week, I wouldn’t come to one of them and they would riff and just noodle around for an entire practice and record it. They would send me riffs and would say, “Write over it and come in.” Basically what happens is, they send me a demo and then I’ll take something that I’ve already written or I’ll write to it and put it over the music and we’ll come in to meet together and adapt whatever I’ve written to fit over it and do some arranging. The vocal melodies are made to the music, but the lyrics are written as poetry and that’s taken and put over the music. It’s basically jamming and taking parts and gluing them together. A lot of times the words have been written and the way that we structure the words will dictate how the arrangement of the music will go down at the end of the process.
I wanted to ask you about “Crap Out.” You’re screaming in it, but there is also some singing too. The singing is actually Nathan Gray. He sings in a band called The Casting Out. He was in a legendary band called Boy Sets Fire and he’s providing the clean vocals on that track. It started off as me screaming that line, but then I started to sing that second line and I thought it was a good dynamic to have. It wasn’t really working for me. I don’t feel my clean singing vocal tone really fit.
We became friends with him from playing together with his new band and we decided to bring him into the studio and he did it and it sounded great. He came over to the studio at 1 ‘o’clock in the morning when all they wanted to do was drive back home to Delaware. He was a sport about it and stayed around and recorded those vocal tracks and he realized that chorus to its fullest potential.
Do you plan on doing that in the future? Yeah. I’m a big Phil Anselmo fan from Pantara, Superjoint Ritual and Down. I don’t play guitar or anything, everybody else writes everything, they write the music. Provided that what they want to do allows for me to do some clean vocals, I want to do some clean vocals. But gritty, none of this Auto-Tune stuff. I want to do something gritty, but cleaner than the aggressive screaming that you hear on the rest of the record.
The title track is very edgy and aggressive, but underneath it’s almost more of a positive song. It is in a way. Basically the song is about being really hung up on somebody for a long time. I don’t know if you want to use the metaphor, “Getting under somebody to get over somebody.” But, it’s about being really hung-up on somebody for a while and making a real strong sexual connection with someone [else] that it’s just so ridden with ecstasy that you kind of forget.
If you listen to the words, it’s about having great sex with someone and forgetting about someone and helping them teach you that you can make a new, strong connection. Albeit it’s sexual and shallow, but a new connection with someone else to help you get over someone from the past. So yeah, I guess it is a positive song. It sounds angry and everything but when you listen to the words . . . when you juxtapose that with the rest of the songs on the record, I think it sounds probably the most positive out of all the other songs that we have.
Do you have a favorite track, or one that means more to you than the others? “So Here’s That Song I Wrote About You” I really love that one and “The Nest.” Those are probably my two favorites on the records. I want to start playing the last track, “Tragedy” live. My bandmates aren’t too keen on playing it live, but I want to make it happen as soon as possible. That’s my personal opus. I wrote that in a hospital bed when I was going out with somebody who was absolutely robotic and terrible. Wouldn’t even come visit me while I was hospitalized. That song is a symbolic last straw. That song to me is really heartfelt. So I would definitely say “Tragedy,” “The Nest” and “So Here’s That Song I Wrote About You” are the pinnacles for me.
What can fans expect from your live show? A lot of our hype has come from the UK. People really want us to come there, but it’s hard. Airfare, money. We were offered a tour over there with a band called Trash Talk but it was only eight dates and it was x amount of money per date. We don’t care about losing money to expose ourselves. We’ve been spending tons of money on PR and radio to help get our music onto the radio and get people to listen to us and write about us. It would have been a catastrophic amount of monetary loss. One dude in our band has a mortgage to pay. He’s trying to sell his house to alleviate that financial burden for himself.
There’s critical acclaim, but that’s not what matters the most. What matters the most is getting people to watch you. We feel that every single show we play, we nab a couple of new fans no matter where it is, be it here or out of state. That’s the bread and butter of being a band. People can talk and hype and hype and hype. There have been a million bands that I know that have been hyped, but nothing has happened for them. People from the press and reviewers and reporters can say what they want, but it really do
esn’t matter if people aren
’t coming along to your shows and singing with you.
What are you thinking about while you’re onstage or on the floor performing and people are jumping on you and pushing you across the floor? So, while everything is happening around me and people are jumping on me and what not, aside from physically dealing with the onslaught, I am thinking about the meaning behind each line that I am singing. If I just sang the words, I wouldn’t be half as into it. But when I’m remembering and reliving what I went through to need to write those words, I explode.
How do you maintain your voice? Just like traditional singing, opera singing, singing in a rock band, whatever, there’s a technique to screaming just like there is for that. Basically learning proper technique and a lot of it is breath control and the way that you open up your throat to release the breath, it’s all about using your gas tank to put it out there. Long story short, learning proper screaming technique is essential for maintaining your voice, not only in the long term, but through the course of your set. If you’re just blowing out your voice in the first 10 minutes of your set and the last 15-20 minutes suck, that sucks for everybody. A lot of people think that music that has screaming over it is just senseless screaming. No, there’s actually technique. I’m hitting notes. I’m listening to the monitors and I know where I’m at. There’s definitely a technique and an art to screaming.
What makes Chambers different from every other band out there? I think the fact that we’re dangerous sounding, we’re dangerous to see live to a degree. We’re very aggressive, but the fact that even though all five of us come from such different backgrounds, all five of us have common rock & roll influences, and who the fuck doesn’t like rock & roll? Anyone can come in and move to our music and appreciate it is what I feel makes us different. We’re very dangerous, but we’re not complicated to digest. We’re not so offensive that you can’t get over the things that we’re saying and talking about and doing onstage. The fact that anyone can at least appreciate it is what sets us apart while still being very aggressive and on the edge and what punk rock and hardcore bands are “supposed to be.” We try to be as heavy as we can but we still have this swagger to our music that’s rooted in rock & roll. We have a very diverse group of friends and those are your first fans and all our friends dug it from the get-go.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you? I usually tell people we’re a really aggressive rock & roll band with heavy vocals. We don’t like to be pigeonholed into punk or hardcore or metal core, metallic hardcore as they call it in England. We have integrity. We have ideals that are rooted in hardcore and punk, but we like to play in front of whoever is in the audience. Whichever audience we play in front of it doesn’t matter as long as people are banging their heads and things are happening for us. We want to be successful without compromising ourselves. That’s where our integrity lies. We’ll never compromise our sounds, but we’ll do what it takes to bring this to be career musicianship.
