http://www.soundspike.com/features/tour/2504-vanessa_carlton_concert_news_tour_dates/These are curious and wonderful times for singer/songwriter Vanessa Carlton.
On July 26, Carlton releases "Rabbits on the Run," 10 intimate songs recorded directly to tape that mark a stark departure from her previous, piano-laden pop pieces. The album was recorded in England at Peter Gabriel's renowned Real World Studios with producer Steve Osborne (U2, KT Tunstall).
Aiding in her effort were Osborne, Patrick Hallahan of My Morning Jacket and Ari Ingber of The Upwelling. The album was partly inspired by two books -- Richard Adams' "Watership Down" and Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time." Its first single is "Carousel."
Carlton began playing the piano as a toddler, continuing on an artistic road with her attendance at the School of American Ballet in New York -- a path she would eventually abandon in favor of songwriting. While studying at Columbia University in New York City, Carlton was signed to Interscope Records. She came onto the scene in 2002 with her debut "Be Not Nobody" and its hit single "A Thousand Miles." Since then, she has released three albums, scoring additional hits with the tracks "White Houses" and "Nolita Fairytale."
Calling from Pennsylvania where she was visiting her parents, Carlton recently spoke to SoundSpike about her songwriting process, why this is a "curious" time and working with Osborne.
SoundSpike: Are you looking forward to your tour?I am. I'm real excited about the venues that we're doing and the cities that we're doing. It's a real quick kind of preview. It's been awhile too, so it's nice to get back out.
Are you a little nervous because it's been so long?Very nervous. Nervous and excited. I'd like to kind of do something really great.
How much of the new material are you playing live?That's the thing I'm struggling with. On one hand I'd like to save a couple of the initial experiences you have with these songs for the record for when people can listen to the record. You can never rewrite a first impression. You can never experience a first impression. For all I know the whole thing is leaked. I'm trying to figure out which songs should not be played. Long story short, I'd like to not play the entire record before the record officially comes out. I think that would be foolish. I don't know.
So what can we expect from the shows?
I'm going to play, I believe, two-thirds of "Rabbits on the Run" and then really just my favorites. There are going to be some songs that people know. Honestly, I just want to play my favorite songs. That's my approach. I think if they're my favorite, then I hope other people will like them, too.
What was the songwriting process for "Rabbits on the Run"?It was a two-year process. The commencement of the writing of the record was really when I wrote "London." [pauses] That's not true. "Marching Line" was a film-scoring idea that I had that I turned into a song. That happened a little before "London." All in all it was two years.
So do you write when you're inspired, or do you make appointments to write?
I think it's important to do both. I love reading about Twila Tharp's creative habits. She's very aware of how important it is to create your own structure in order to come up with your best work. At times, things will just hit you and whether it's on a plane -- a lot of times I write on the plane -- or in the morning, whenever your brain in the freshest. I would say it's a combination of both. I think I'm still honing my process, but I'm very aware of creating habits that will kind of bring out the best work possible.
What inspired the record?Two books, Richard Adams' "Watership Down" and Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time." The aesthetic in terms of sonics -- the way it was engineered -- Steve Osborne did a masterful job, I think. It was inspired by my vinyl record collection. One other thing was the Langley School Choir was the direct inspiration for the children's choir that appears throughout the record.
What was it like to work with Steve Osborne?An extraordinary education. I was really enchanted by watching him work. Scary brilliant and also very open and sensitive to what's going on in the moment. I learned a lot about working on flushing out ideas. I also learned how to carry myself as a person. I learned a lot from him. I really felt like I was in grad school or something. He's not professorial. He's a very humble person. He's just a natural-born wizard. He's a young Gandalf or something. I can't say enough good things about him, honestly. Extremely educational, lots of laughs too. Don't get me wrong. It was really intense nights to try to figure stuff out. If you don't have those, you're probably not on the right track.
Do you have other tour plans for later this year?Yeah we're trying to put something together for fall that would be amazing. We're trying to find the right fit. This is a very transitional record for me in terms of how it's promoted and what kind of radio format it goes on. The tour has to reflect that. It's not like a 21-year-old little pop girl playing piano. It's still part of where I came from. I'm in a different place and maybe the beginning of the rest of my career. I feel it's starting now. It's a curious and wonderful time and scary at the same time. I look forward to having those real exchanges with people in tour. That's when it becomes real for me. I hope people connect with it. I'll find out soon enough, I suppose
