ACL Fest - Getting Kicked Out of Bars with Caitlin Rose [Interview]
Saturday, October 9
Zilker Park (2100 Barton Springs Road)
BMI Stage, 11:15-11:45
[info] | [tickets]
Singer-songwriter Caitlin Rose began dipping into rootsy country when she was just a lass, but over the years has honed her style through several releases and has picked up a cadre of live musicians to take out with her on the road. Rose has a new album out called Own Side Now, which has been lately receiving accolades from just about all over. Rose is just stopping by in Austin before heading back out across the pond, but made some time to talk with us about her newer direction and visiting Texas.
You’ve got this new record out called Own Side Now. How did you approach writing and recording this album compared to your Dead Flowers EP out a few years back?
Some of these songs go way back and I was still wondering what to do with some previous recordings of them, but after "Shanghai," "Own Side" and "Spare Me" were written, I decided the album was ready to be recorded with those older songs included because they worked well with the stuff I'd been writing; plus, since they'd had been evolving for so long, their direction was already established, leaving more time to develop the newer ones. That worked out well.
In a live video for your song “For the Rabbits," you say that you’ve been kicking this song around for the last five years. What about it made you keep coming back and working on it, even going so far as making it the lead single off of Own Side Now?
That nagging feeling of never having properly recorded it helped in getting it on the record. As far as it being a single, not my idea, but not a bad one, either. I'm still not happy with the vocals, but maybe it's better left as is at this point. It's found its place for sure. It really just needed those strings.
Since that aforementioned Dead Flowers EP came out a few years ago, you’ve been playing long enough to not have to worry about getting kicked out of bars for being underage. What do you think you’ve learned both as a songwriter and as a professional musician over the last few years?
I've learned that there's a lot more ways to get kicked out of a bar.
As you continue to listen to and make music, do you find yourself returning to country artists, or have you seen your tastes grow in surprising directions?
My tastes have always been pretty unpredictable, even to myself, but country music is something I'm still finding out about... So they are growing, but they also know what they like. I'd never even heard of Blaze Foley until recently and I realize there's a lot more country artists left for me to discover. I'll never get over country music; it has broken my heart too badly.
You played shows solo quite a bit in the past, but you’ve got a whole band behind you now. Do you prefer having a backing band, or is it just different?
It's handy being able to do both, but I am very limited musically and in my guitar playing, which can be humiliating at times. I much prefer playing with a band and intend to plan all future tours with that in mind.
Own Side Now has been getting quite a bit of attention. Was it more than you were expecting?
It's more than nothing at all, so yah, definitely more than I was expecting.
It’s interesting that you’re stopping by the ACL Festival after a date in the U.K., and then you’re heading right back to England. That will be a surreal stopover, huh?
I'm from Texas and it's always nice to be back, especially in Austin. As far as stopovers go, this one is pretty ideal seeing as how the things I miss the most when I'm in the UK are Mexican food and my mum, who will also be there, so that will be nice...a good swim won't hurt either.
