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When
you think about it, there are a lot of people out there cutting
records. Heck, the Polyphonic Spree alone has at least 20 members.
Among the masses making music with their voices, there are those
who are "performers" but not really singers, and others
who are singers but not really storytellers. Think of Amy Correia,
then, as a diamond in the rough - the rare entertaining songwriter
with an amazing set of pipes.
Wearing
her blue jeans tucked inside a pair of cowgirl boots, Correia
charmed the small crowd at her Bowery Ballroom show last month
with a revealing solo acoustic set. Just as friendly on stage
as she was on the phone for her WOMANROCK interview, the Brooklynite
chatted between numbers about going to California to become a
"big star" and playing to an audience that included
9/11 widows and Suzanne Vega's mom. She played songs from her
acclaimed debut Carnival
Love
as well as this month's Nettwerk
release, Lakeville,
finishing with an a cappella version of the gospel-inspired "Love
Is." Just a woman and a microphone, those final moments were
as real as performance gets.
WOMANROCK:
Have there been major changes in your life since the release of
your 2000 debut Carnival Love?
AMY
CORREIA:
Well, I moved from California back to New York, which was a big
change. I moved to Los Angeles, I think in 1997. I was getting
signed to Virgin at the time, and that was the beginning of a
long process of making my first album, which didn't come out until
2000, like three years later. The reason I had gone out to Los
Angeles in the first place, among other reasons, was to make this
first record. I was out there a little longer than I thought.
WOMANROCK:
I really like the new album. How would you describe it to someone
who hasn't heard it?
AMY
CORREIA:
I think it sounds real, because it was recorded in eight days
and it was all recorded in this big room at this place called
the Paramour, which is a studio in Los Angeles. And we were all
performing these songs live together, so there's a sense of that
musical connection and the spontaneity of a real live performance.
So I think it sounds real, and I think it sounds quite live, and
there are some elements that are somewhat ethereal.
The
producer, Mark Howard, that's one of the things I think he does
really well, he kind of blends earthy elements with an ethereal
sound. Like he'll take a pedal steel guitar, which is kind of
a traditional country blues instrument and he'll put it through
some kind of effect so it kind of sounds almost ghostly. I don't
know what he does; he doesn't really talk much about it. He just
kind of goes about his thing. I like it. I love how he recorded
my voice; to me, I'm really happy with how it sounds on this recording.
WOMANROCK:
The first album was released on Capitol Records. What was your
experience with that like?
AMY
CORREIA:
I think I was signed there in '98, and that's when I had started
to finish Carnival Love. I had started it when I was with Virgin
and then I moved over to Capitol, and it was a difficult process
making the record. The label itself, I thought it was a great
experience. It was kind of like the big time. There was a lot
of money, and there was a lot of people, there was a lot of attention,
and it was a great experience. It really was, and in some ways,
I'll have to say it was kind of an unreal experience, too, because
what ever it was — two years later — I was just, you
know, I basically didn't have anything again. So it was kind of
like a little bit of a dream, and then I woke up.
WOMANROCK:
How has the transition to Nettwerk been?
AMY
CORREIA:
It's been really good for me because I'm much more connected with
what's going on. I think there's a lot more for me to do in some
ways. You know, like I have more control of my web site, and photo
shoot. I think there is more creative freedom, and I like that
things just seem a little less hype-y, you know, they're just
- I guess things are a little more real. I guess that's sort of
the theme of the interview, because it does. It feels like my
feet are more on the ground and I kind of understand what's going
on, and it makes sense, and I feel like everything we're doing
is solid. It may be on a little smaller level, but it does feel
more solid. I like it; I like it a lot.
WOMANROCK:
You recorded this album before you had the label lined up. How
did that make you feel while you were recording it? Did it help
you?
AMY
CORREIA:
I think not having a label when I recorded the second record made
me feel more relaxed, and there was literally nobody looking over
my shoulder, so I think you can hear that relaxation on the recording.
I think that was really good for me and also because I had to
put up the money myself, I just feel like there's more ownership
and it really feels like mine. I've now licensed it to Nettwerk,
and they're helping me to put out into the world something that
I really created on my own, so I'm proud of that.
WOMANROCK:
How did you hook up with Mark Howard?
AMY
CORREIA:
I had met Mark when I was on Capitol and we had worked together
one day; he used to have a studio called Teatro, which is also
the name of the Willie Nelson record that he made up there. And,
what happened was, I had gone back to Los Angeles, and I'm not
sure when this was. It was over a year ago. We just ran into each
other in a diner, and we started talking and he was asking what
was going on with me and he invited me to go and record a couple
songs with him at the Paramour. So I was, needless to say, very
excited about that opportunity.
WOMANROCK:
Your sound seems pretty timeless to me, and I was wondering if
you feel a particular connection to the past or different time
periods.
AMY
CORREIA:
I love that question. I think you're on to something. I definitely
don't feel quite at home in these times. I'm not sure exactly
what it is, but there is something that resonates with me when
I hear older music. All kinds of older music. I've always been
a little bit behind the times, though. It wouldn't surprise me
if in 10 more years I was like, "Wow, Britney Spears, man,
check this out!" No, maybe not that far. But I definitely
do connect to older stuff. It just feels right to me. I love Nina
Simone, and I love Billie Holiday. I love Carole King, too. I
can't say that I'm feeling the current times. Not that I don't
want to, I just think my natural bent is to go back.
And that is maybe part of the title of the record, too. I do have
a tendency to look back, and that kind of helps me move forward.
I
want to read this Thomas Wolfe book called, You Can't Go Home
Again. I guess I kind of identify with that story because,
like I said, I lived in New York, I lived in Los Angeles, I came
back to New York. You know, I'm trying to find my home. And I
think, for me anyway, I definitely have a real connection with
my childhood and my past in Lakeville, Massachusetts. And whatever
that means, I'm not even sure, but it's definitely a source of
inspiration.
WOMANROCK:
Speaking of inspiration, I read that the song "The Devil
& I" was inspired by a ghost who held your hand.
AMY
CORREIA:
Well, yes, it was partly inspired by that experience, which was
very creepy, because I really didn't believe in ghosts up until
that time. I think in my bio it's described how I was sleeping
at my friend's house and I was awoken because I actually thought
it was my boyfriend who had come into the room, and I thought
he was holding my hand. And I thought, "No, he's not here.
He's not in New York." So yeah, I was trying to scream, and
I don't know if
you've ever had a ghost experience, but I swear to God, it felt
like the person was really there. What the tip-off was, the thing
that made me realize it wasn't somebody that I knew, was because
the hand was very big and fat. It was a big, fat man hand, and
it freaked me out. And then my friend had an experience, who also
was a nonbeliever in ghosts and things. And I hadn't even said
anything to her. I thought, "Oh, it was just a bad dream."
And then a few weeks later, she called me, and she was really
freaked out by a similar experience.
But
"The Devil & I" was kind of inspired by that central
image of that hand kind of waking you in the middle of the night.
I was trying to write about temptation, and I was trying to write
about a couple different things. It's something about trying to
put your temptations or things that are dragging you down behind
you and to move on.
WOMANROCK:
What's your songwriting process usually like?
AMY
CORREIA:
First of all, I find it very difficult to write songs. Sometimes
I read
about artists, and they're like, "Oh, these songs just flew
out of me." And that has happened occasionally, but more
often than not, it's like I get some inkling like I'll be sitting
down with an instrument, sitting down with my guitar or ukulele
or even at the piano lately and I'm just trying to amuse myself.
I'm playing the instrument, kind of singing along, coming up with
a melody and then the only thing I know is that it's just sheer
luck. Something will come into my head and I'll just kind of like
it, and then I just kind of start chasing it, and then I find
if I try to chase it too hard, it escapes. It's almost like you
kind of have to not try too hard. and I think I have a tendency
to try too hard.
WOMANROCK:
Do you aim your music toward a particular audience?
AMY
CORREIA:
I don't. I just really aim it towards moving myself.
WOMANROCK:
How long have you been playing music?
AMY
CORREIA:
I started a little bit late. Or I guess, compared to some people.
I started playing guitar when I was 17 but didn't really get into
it until in my twenties, and I started writing songs in my early
twenties.
WOMANROCK:
I was surprised to read that you didn't really have any formal
musical training, especially since you're such a gifted singer.
Are there any vocalists who you tried to imitate or emulate when
you were developing your style?
AMY
CORREIA:
Thank you. I would love to answer that truthfully. But I think
the truth is I'm influenced by so many people. Some of the ones
I mentioned before, like Nina Simone. When I first started writing
songs I was really into Bonnie Raitt. I also love Julie Andrews
— but I also love the Rolling Stones! And I listen to Mick
Jagger a lot, and I listen to the Beatles a ton. If I had to say
the biggest influence on me as a singer, it would be Nina Simone.
What I like about her singing is that she can take any song and
make it her own. And I think I'm trying as a singer to do that.
To take my own songs and feel like they're mine.
WOMANROCK:
The song "Lakeville" is about where you grew up, and
I think it's kind of bittersweet. So I was going to ask if you
prefer living in the city now, how you feel about the city versus
the country. I don't know how rural the town was.
AMY
CORREIA:
Lakeville was a little more rural when I was growing up there.
It was a town of about 7,000. Now it's more like 11,000. So it's
still a small town. But it was a town that was mostly made up
of water. There were these lakes and woods behind my house. I
hated it at the time when I was there, of course. I just wanted
to go to New York City, and I did when I was 17. I ended up going
to Barnard College, and I ended up staying in the city. It's funny,
because now all my best friends are in New York or Los Angeles,
or in these
major cities, and I think I'm kind of stuck now because this is
where my friends are. I do love Brooklyn especially, I have to
say, I love living in Brooklyn. But I miss nature; I miss that
quiet and that feeling of solitude. It's hard to get sometimes
in the city, I think. I need that social activity. Just getting
up and going out for a cup of coffee, it means a lot, because
most of the day I'm working on
my own on music stuff. So if I lived in the country, I wonder
what would happen. [Laughs.] I'd turn into Jack Nicholson in The
Shining.
WOMANROCK:
Do you feel a big sense of community with other musicians in Brooklyn?
AMY
CORREIA:
I am starting to. When I went to California, I felt like I lost
all of that community, because there really was a community when
I was in New York and playing out and stuff. And I feel like I'm
reconnecting with my friends and the musicians that are here.
That really means so much. I think I didn't realize when I moved
to Los Angeles what a great feeling that is to have a community
of musicians. You know, I'm glad I went to L.A. because I've widened
the circle. And I value it more than I ever have. I really do.
I don't
think I realized that that's the center of making music. It's
the other musicians, the other songwriters. It's everything.
WOMANROCK:
What's your preference between playing venues around New York
and going out on tour?
AMY
CORREIA:
You know, it's been a long time since I've been on tour, so I
can't wait to go. My first little tour is going to be on the West
Coast, and I'm going to do some shows with Joseph Arthur, and
I'm so happy. It's going to be fun. I'm going to be on my own,
in a little car driving from Seattle to Portland to San Francisco
and then L.A. That's quite a trip. But I can't wait to just be
in the car because it's going to be a beautiful drive. I think
I'm looking forward to that part of it, too, as well as just getting
in front of audiences. It's been a while; I think it's been at
least three years since I've played in Seattle or Portland. And
San Francisco. So there was a real
lull and I feel like I'm sort of starting up again, and I'm so
psyched. You know, sometimes touring, people say it's really hard,
it's tiring, and it is. But I can't wait.
When
my record comes out October 5, I'm going to do shows in Boston,
New York, and Philly. Record some radio shows, and my booking
agent is looking for stuff for me to do. I just want to stay out
on the road as much as I can. For now. You'll talk to me in six
months, I'll be like, "I can't take it!"
WOMANROCK:
How long are you planning to be on the road?
AMY
CORREIA:
I've never been to Europe to tour, and that is really a goal of
mine to go to Ireland and to go to the UK and to go to France
and to tour there, and Germany, too. I'm not sure. I could see
being on the road for most of 2005. I feel like I have some material
that I want to record maybe in a year or so, so I don't know.
We'll see. I think it would be good to be out for a year. That's
a long time, actually. OK, nine months.
WOMANROCK:
Do you write songs when you're out on the road?
AMY
CORREIA:
No, I've never written a song on the road. I'm going to tell you
my plan. I'm going to keep a notebook and just try to write very
little, like 15 minutes in the morning, 15 minutes at night. That's
a half hour; you can write a lot of words. Usually I really make
this big deal about it. I don't know how you are as a writer,
but I like to have everything in place, all the bills are paid
and everything's in order, and then you sit down and then things
can come to you. But I'm realizing that nothing ever gets completely
organized. So I've just got to write.
Find
out more about Amy at www.amycorreia.com.
Andrea
Benvenuto is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has
appeared in WOMANROCK, Venus, Rockpile, and other publications.
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1999-2004. WOMANROCK.com. All Rights Reserved.
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