When did you decide that a career in music was for you?

 

It was never a choice.  Music chose me. I was probably singing while I was in my mom’s womb.c  I know no other way to be than to be myself and that’s being a musician.  As a young kid, I have imagined rocking out on stage with my electric guitar on stage at 90.  I will do this til I die in some form or fashion. 

 

Who are your musical inspirations and why?

 

Awww - I am inspired by all types of music and if I gave you an honest answer I would probably be writing for the next year but for simplicity’s sake, not unlike most pop rock artists, The Beatles were the first band I really dug deep into. They taught me about simplicity in songwriting. Three chords is all you need for a pop song.  The harmonies, the lyrical aspects to the songs, and the catalog of music they created in such a short amount of time.  It’s all quite inspiring.

  

In terms of influence on me as a live performer, PJ Harvey was the first artist I witnessed who made me realize I HAD TO START A BAND not just think about it. I saw her early on in her career with just a 3 piece performance and she evoked so much emotion and power in that performance, I immediately wrote my bff whom I had started writing songs with as a child, that she must move from Cali to Atlanta and start a band with me immediately and that’s what we did.  Amazingly only two years later, we opened up for PJ Harvey.

 

I also have lots of soul and country influences.  I collected probably 8 Johnny Cash albums on vinyl by the time I was 7 years old.  I named my first doll as a toddler Johnny Cash.  The voice of Johnny Cash is like no-one else’s.  Lastly, Sly and The Family Stone vinyl are in my parents’ record collection and since I was a child Sly has remained one of my mainstays for making sure I am stepping to the beat and moving my feet.
 

Can you tell me 3 things about yourself that people might not already know?

 

1. I made a short film about a woman whose protective dead cat tasers her friends called Sardines Out of A Can.  Yeah, I know….

2. I am a HUUUGE tennis fan. 

3. I was an aerobics instructor at one point in my life. 

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If you could perform a gig at any venue where would it be and why?

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I have toured quite a bit in my life so I can tell you some of my favorite places I’ve performed.  I would say overall - it’s all about the crowd, the folks who work at the club and the sound system. Personally I love seeing music in intimate spaces.  I just performed in a small club in Bushwick called Sleepwalk. The owners are musicians and they treat the musicians as family members when you walk into the door. It’s a special place. There was a small club called The Point in Atlanta, GA which was where I started out performing.  It was the heart of the Atlanta indie scene. I saw everyone from Elliot Smith, Weezer, Mazzy Starr play there. The Variety Playhouse in Atlanta is awesome. You can see well from every spot in the audience. I loved playing First Avenue in Minneapolis.  You can feel the amazing history of it when you are there.  I love playing The Bowery Ballroom in NYC.  I think it’s one of the best places to play in NYC. The Showbox and The Crocodile in Seattle have always had awesome people working there who treat you well.  I loved playing at the Gorge outside of Seattle Washington while I was on the WARP tour one year.  It’s so beautiful.   

 

What has been your best achievement to date and what would you like to achieve in the future?

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  I’ve definitely been excited about many of my accomplishments in life but I tend to think of the little things as achievements. It’s a way to keep you grounded. I literally appreciate waking up every day and making my coffee.  I am always looking to do what my heart is telling me to do. Right now it’s about putting all I can into getting everyone in the world into hearing my new album -preferably the old school way which is by sitting alone and listening to it from beginning to the end. The album is my journey and I’m inviting folks to go on that journey with me. 

 

Tell me a story from backstage or after a gig?

 

This story never gets old.  It was so long ago, but I remember playing a show in Valdosta, Georgia. My former band Ultrababyfat was opening for Drivin’ N Cryin. It was packed and I can’t remember the club but there had to be 1,000 people there and I remember a moment when the spotlight was shining on me and I truly felt like a rockstar.  We had the audience in our hands.  In that very moment, I heard this loud blood curdling howling sound erupt from the crowd.  It almost made me laugh out loud.  Later backstage after the show, this guy in these amazing high wadder overalls and a black trucker’s cap came up me and asked me if I heard the howl.  I said “YES.” He said “That was me! The only other time I have done that was when at a Styx concert and Dennis DeYoung locked eyes with me.”  May be one of the best compliments I’ve ever had. HAHAHA!

 

What do you like best about being a musician and why?

 

  I love performing in general but performing live music is a transcendent experience.  I’ve routinely hosted a live recorded podcast in front of an audience and done standup comedy, but when it comes to music,  the connection is singular.  A live performance in an intimate space is the definition of community.  Everyone feeds off of the energy of each other - be it bwn musicians and audience members, bwn musicians,  bwn audience members - the collective experience is what makes the moments together so special, so inimitable - we are all connected.  We are all valuable.  We are all living in the now..unless you are someone who goes to a show and scrolls on one of your mind numbing feeds, but honestly, usually a live show is the place where you will see that the least.

 

If you were not in the job you are now what would you be doing?

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I do so many things already that I enjoy, hmmm….a math professor.
 

What things make you happy and what things annoy you?

 

HAPPY:

1. I have rediscovered my love of watermelon recently.

2. I love when my husband makes me dinner.

3. I truly love my family. They are so cool.

 

ANNOY:

1. The ear piercing screeching sound of the 4/5/6 trains at Union Square in NYC- seems like it should be illegal.

2. People who break lines in front of me without acknowledging my presence.

3. Vocal fry hurts me.

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What things do you like to do when you are away from music?

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I love cooking dinner with my husband.  I love seeing plays.

I love taking walks in NYC.

 

If you could collaborate with any other band/singer or musician who would you choose and why?

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  I am going back into the studio next week and I actually thought I should contact Will Toledo of Car Seat Headrest to ask him to record a duet with me. He’s got electric vibes. The kinetic energy which flows from his stage performances is contagious. The urgency of his vocals and his lyricism are also aspects of his music I connect with hard.  I think we’d mesh well!  Honestly - I think we’d write and epic song together if we collaborated. 

What has the rest of the year got in store for you?

 

  I am on a mission to to celebrate this album with the world and do whatever it takes. I will continue to do whatever I can to make sure this process continues to be fun.  I’m intentionally bringing folks into the fold who have been my support system throughout my music career.  I want to celebrate them too. Another single comes out in June and then the full album comes out in July.  I will then go on tour in  August and hopefully again in late fall.  This album was made with a lot of love and I am so pleased with the awesome feedback I’ve been getting.  I think you can feel this when you hear the album.