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Singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile is touring to promote her latest critically rated album, “Give Up The Ghost,” out earlier this month.
The album boasts a prizewinning lineup — Elton John, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench and Amy Ray from the Indigo Girls. And like her previous work, it showcases her main instrument — her voice — which wails and cracks at her whim.
Carlile, 28, took time off the road touring Toronto to answer some questions:
Q: Why the brooding name, “Give Up the Ghost”?
A: We ended up being able to tap into a bigger place by leaving ourselves behind. That’s what the title “Give Up the Ghost” means. It’s a kind of figure of speech, used to mean to die. If you believe in that as a finale, it sounds so bleak, but I think of it as a transition.
Q: You transferred your dreams into songs?
A: I just think your subconscious is so much more honest with you than your environment. Phil Hanseroth, from the band, started making these dream journals, where he would wake himself up in the middle of the night, every half-hour or 45 minutes. And in a delirious state, scribble down the contents of his dreams. ... That’s a really carnal, fun place to write from.
Q: What was it like working with Elton John on the record?
A: He’s been one of my greatest heroes since I was 11 years old, and he really inspired me to play an instrument and play songs. I could talk all day and not begin to describe what a formative influence he was on me. We decided to ask him to play on this song (“Caroline”). It’s kind of this funky, piano ragtime feel ... and he agreed to do it, and the songs on the record would not be what they are without Elton’s presence.
Q: Did he give you any advice?
A: He gave me a lot of words of wisdom, about looking ahead and caring about new music and about what’s coming around the bend for music that inspires me — having a concrete place in my heart but still exploring the legends of tomorrow.
Q: You have an old-soul quality — how would you describe your style?
A: It’s funny that you should mention that. I don’t really think I have an old soul at all, but I don’t think you can have one and know it at the same time. I believe that there was a place in music 30 or 40 years ago, maybe even 50 years ago, where we were able to transcend genre and not compartmentalize music into packages ... I grew up thinking Bob Dylan was a country singer and Johnny Cash was rock ‘n’ roll. I only think of any music as rock ‘n’ roll, anything progressive actually.
Q: You’ve mentioned Elton John, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash: Who are your influences?
A: Vocally Freddie Mercury, Patsy Cline, Elton John, k.d. lang and for sure, Johnny Cash. It goes on. I’m a professional fan. My voice is a conglomerate of so many different singers that any uniqueness that it happens to possess is only an inability to peg which one I’m mimicking at the moment.
Q: Is there anything you do to take care of your voice? Because when you sing, you just let it rip.
A: I had some problems a couple years back, just an after-effect of being sick and having to do shows anyway. I went to a vocal teacher for one day, my one and only vocal lesson in life. He taught me a warm-up and turned me onto this woman, Melissa Cross, who has this DVD/CD thing called “The Zen of Screaming.” ... It’s more of a mental, emotional connection. If you know that when you open your mouth, notes are going to be there, then your body doesn’t get nervous, tense up and shut down. Harming your voice and your vocal chords comes from anxiety and tensing during these loud screaming moments. ...Like the last note in “The Story,” before I sing it, I smile, because I know it’s going to be there when I reach for it. If I didn’t know, it might hurt me.
