http://blog.music.aol.com/2011/07/28/vanessa-carlton-interview/It's been nearly a decade since Vanessa Carlton exploded onto the pop-music scene with her debut album 'Be Not Nobody' and its massive single, 'A Thousand Miles.' Over the next few years, Carlton, who was only 21 when she released her debut, became a star. She received three Grammy nominations, scored other hits like 'Ordinary Day' and 'Nolita Fairytale' and dated Third Eye Blind frontman Stephan Jenkins. But as time went on, her record sales diminished, her relationship with Jenkins ended and as she was nearing 30, Carlton found herself questioning many aspects of her life and forging a new beginning.
Carlton returned this week with her long-awaited fourth studio outing and Razor & Tie Records debut, 'Rabbits on the Run.' The album, which was recorded in the English countryside at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios, is concise and lush. The disc, which was produced by Steve Osborne and also features My Morning Jacket drummer Patrick Hallahan and guitarist Ari Ingber, flows from beginning to end, as if its 10 tracks were all sections of one long suite.
AOL Music recently caught up with the talented and personable musician in her adopted hometown of New York City to discuss her new album, her inspirations, her relationship with Jenkins, and hobbits.
Tell us about the time between albums. In the press release, you use words like "confused" and "heartbroken" about the last couple of years.
I would say it started about three years ago; kind of the equivalent to waking up and [questioning] what was going on in my life on many different levels. The life that maybe I had created for myself and decisions I had made. I had to do a lot of recalibrating before I could even start writing again. The details of it all, I'm still trying to figure out a way to communicate that. It gets personal, you know? But writing the record was transformative.
Not just musically transformative?
Well, that's the thing. My music and my expression, they were just so tightly intertwined, much moreso than I even thought. If I'm [in a bad mood], nothing's gonna come out. And because of that, I kind of fall deeper into the rabbit hole. Once I started really working on myself -- I started really figuring things out, searching, therapy, lots of reading, lots of listening, lots of quiet time, lots of no more drinking (laughs) -- then the process started again and I started to get better.
There seem to be a lot of rabbit references including the album title. Two books inspired you during this period and one of them was 'Watership Down.' For those of us who haven't read it, can you talk a little bit about the book?
The story is basically about a small group of rabbits that are unhappy in the warren that they're in and decide to break out and create their own little society -– some sort of utopia beyond the meadow. It's a huge risk that they take. It's dripping with metaphor and symbols and I think it's wonderfully written. It's like a myth.
What was it like working in the countryside, in England?
Well, it's just so enchanting because of the history. And it's very peaceful. The weather there is like a down blanket. At breakfast, people would sometimes complain about how damp it was [but] I was just in heaven! And then you light the fire. And it affects people's work habits. Maybe they master their craft [more] because artists buckle down all day. It focuses you.
This was recorded at Peter Gabriel's studio. Did you get to meet him at all?
Yeah! Very nice guy. One of the first things I told him -- 'cause he works there -- was, "You know, there are hobbits on your land." He really considered what I was saying, which I appreciated, and he was like [British accent], "Well, I haven't seen any hobbits. I've seen a few otters." And I was like delirious 'cause I'm not good in the morning [so] it's my first conversation with Peter Gabriel and it's before noon and we're just kind of going back and forth about hobbits and otters! It was perfection.
'Carousel' is the first single. Tell us what inspired it.
It was in my dream. I dream of melodies sometimes. I'm not saying it happens all the time – but it does now and then. And usually, when I wake up, I either forget them or I remember them and they're not very good. But this song, I woke up at 3:30AM and it was really just a simple scale, just a little ascending line. I thought that was pretty good, so I went to my piano and put it quickly on my laptop. And literally, the majority of the lyrics were written right there in my bed with a beam of light from my Blackberry. So, cut to the morning, I was like, "Hmmm. I had this dream, I heard this song. Oh my God, did I really record it?" Then I went out and played it and I loved it. So I finished it shortly thereafter, that morning.
Also, one more thing about the song: I was writing a lot of sad stuff, a lot of minor [chords], not "woe is me" kind of stuff but really kind of painful sounding melodies. And my friend KT Tunstall was like, "Ness, don't get too dark!" I was like, "Duly noted!"
You dated Stephan Jenkins of Third Eye Blind who's a good songwriter in his own right. What's it like being in a relationship with another musician or songwriter?
I learned a lot from him. I think it's nice to be able to have a dialogue about what you're doing with your partner. I don't think they necessarily have to be doing what you're doing in order to have that. I think the most functional relationships -- the kind that I prefer -- are when the partners really challenge each other, push each other.
When you started out, you were immediately in the limelight. What are the pros and cons of being on a major label vs. an indie label?
I'm still recovering from that whole situation. I think on one hand it was an enormous gift. It was the beginning of something that led me to this place. As cliché as that sounds, it's very true. Maybe I would have gotten here another way, I don't know. But the point is that I got to create this piece in the English countryside with some of my dearest friends, funded completely by myself because of all of that crazy stuff that was going on early in my career at that same label. And I think I realized that was the only way I was gonna be able to make this exactly how I wanted to make it.
To be honest with you, ['Rabbits'] feels in some ways like my first record. I was so grateful to have this coming out when I'm 30 and to get through the 20s and just arrive at this place. You know, I always wanted to get to this place. Who knows where I go from here? But I'm excited about it. And I couldn't have said that to you three years ago.
