VANESSA CARLTON
Think you can have a calm, cool and collected lunchtime conversation with Vanessa Carlton? Good luck. This adorably daffy folk-pop pianist switches topics faster than Rainman tallied matchsticks. As soon as you join her at one of her favorite L.A. cafes, it begins: "I like vampires," she blurts. "I think they're sexy. I've always loved the vampire book author Christopher Pike--I'm obsessed!" The accessories complementing her kook-chic outfit are all made from turquoise, prompting an instant explanation: "I'm obsessed with turquoise! I initially liked it because I thought it was a scary color, but now I'm addicted to it!" Other addictions tumble out in an avalanche of non sequiturs--Martha Stewart, Homer Simpson, Kylie Minogue, horseback riding, swimming with dolphins and the cable network Animal Planet.
Suddenly the 21-year-old Carlton notices the waitress scrambling to serve her scrambled eggs. "I am so happy I'm not waiting tables anymore," she smiles, breathing a sigh of relief. As proof, she grabs a purse-hidden copy of Be Not Nobody (A&M/Interscope), her grammatically incorrect, Jewel-meets-Mendelssohn debut disc and holds it up for inspection. It brings back a lot of memories for her. Learning piano from her mom as a kid in tiny Milford, Pa; moving to New York at 14 to study at the School of American Ballet; hating the teachers there so much she took out her frustration on a dorm-room baby grand; dropping out once she discovered that songwriting was her true calling; then getting fired from countless Big Apple waitressing gigs as she struggled to get her demo tapes noticed.
All these tales converge into the happy ending of Nobody, and classically-filigreed numbers like "Unsung," "Ordinary Day" and the out-of-the-box hit "A Thousand Miles." How did Carlton find her voice so soon after dance recital? Remarkably, she's at a loss for words on the subject. "I just think I live in my head a lot, and if I knew how it all worked, I probably wouldn't have to write songs. And all I know is that I now have an opportunity to share what I know, subconsciously." At which point her subconscious comes knocking again. "Ohmygawd!" Carlton exclaims. "I'm on The Tonight Show tomorrow night and I didn't even tell my parents! No, wait! I did tell my parents." Pause. "Y'know, this is the kind of day where you just wanna go swimming."--Tom Lanham
