The Detroit-based singer/songwriter talks about the blog she wrote having gone viral, her soon-to-be-released fourth CD, performing at Carnegie Hall, getting her music into an award-winning documentary, and more.
“With Sonicbids there were a lot of no replies, ‘No, you are not what we are looking for,’ not ‘I actually had quite a bit of success on there.’ And I've met a lot of people. I booked more things than I had expected. ‘Ride the Divide’ was a cool thing that came from it.”
“Generally this album has a little bit more of a narrative than my other stuff. My other stuff is generally vibe-y. What's the general emotion and just try to sing about that. And I think I have a few more stories to tell this time. I'm excited about that it feels a little more different but it is still going to feel like my stuff.”
“If I could choose one kind of venue it would be house concerts because the atmosphere is so different. The connection with the audience, for me, is so important. Being able to see their faces and to have them lead me through the song, you kind of can't do that at Carnegie Hall. I mean, you can, it's a great big place, (but) it's just not the same. I love it. I would like to do it again, please, but I mean, house concert, that's where it’s at for me and what I want to accomplish with my music.”
“If somebody is going to compare me to Sarah McLachlan, I will take that compliment. That is really nice to say and especially if they are saying – ‘I can't believe it, you remind me of [some name].’ If it's somebody I never heard of, typically it's something they love and that's a huge compliment. You’ve got to take that.”
“I had never heard of MySpace. A friend of mine said, ‘You should really have a MySpace.’ So I recorded some demos at home and posted them on MySpace. I had just started. I was maybe a year at doing gigs, that was it, and I get this message from this lady, ‘Hi, I love your stuff. Where can I get your CD?’ I told her I didn't have any. It was three months after I had my MySpace page up this happened. A week later she wrote me again, ‘I just want you to know I am here for my daily visit to your MySpace page so I can listen.’ I wrote back saying, ‘I can send you my stuff,’ and she said, ‘P.S., I'm with a record label in St. Louis.’ So we talked on the phone and got to know each other and six months later I found myself (going) to St. Louis. They are as much my family as my blood family.”
“I am going to tell you social media is a love/hate relationship. I think everybody feels that way but we live in a really cool time and I can't imagine doing this any different way. How would I meet people, find kindred spirits, and stay in touch with them? I just can’t imagine how it would all go down without it. And so that's the secret – to figure out how to use it, and to use it because it's there.”
"Skeleton Key"
"July"