{"id":1440,"date":"2011-04-21T07:47:18","date_gmt":"2011-04-21T14:47:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/?p=1440"},"modified":"2014-08-01T20:41:03","modified_gmt":"2014-08-02T03:41:03","slug":"lucinda-williams-in-cincinnati","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/?p=1440","title":{"rendered":"Lucinda Williams in Cincinnati"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Lucinda Williams is a premier female act in country and American folk music. She has been blazing the roads since the late 70\u2019s and has not slowed down. She is still appearing at music festivals all across the country, even gaining international acclaim. Her most recent album, \u201cBlessed\u201d is her eleventh studio album settling in the top 15 of the country album sales chart. She has been nominated for 14 Grammys, taking home three of the awards. In 2002, Time magazine<\/em> called her \u201cAmerica’s best songwriter.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In this interview, Lucinda discusses many realms of her life from her family to her personal songwriting process. Cincinnati is gearing up for a couple performances of Williams, the first coming this Saturday the 23rd<\/sup> at the Madison Theatre in Covington, KY.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: You recently just had a Cincinnati connection. You worked with Over The Rhine, <\/em>a local band on their latest album on the song, \u201cUndamned\u201d. Can you tell us a little bit about that experience and working with those guys?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lucinda:\u00a0 I just love them. To be honest, I wasn\u2019t aware of them until I was asked to come and sing on that song. Of course I was completely blown away by their talent. We have gotten to be good friends with them since then. And they came and sat in with me when I played in Iowa City this year. I did a string of solo shows and I played in Iowa City. Bo Ramsey sat in. And they did that song \u201cUndamned\u201d and I sat in with them. They played in Los Angeles a while back and we went to see them there. Yeah, I\u2019m a big, big fan now.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy:\u00a0 I love those guys and I have seen them several times here. There\u2019s another lady here in town named Kim Taylor, and I don\u2019t know if you have heard of her, but when I hear her music but I feel the same kind of vibe as yours. That\u2019s someone else to look up locally.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: Your new album is \u201cBlessed,\u201d and I have been listening to it throughout the day getting ready. What does \u201cBlessed\u201d mean to you?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lucinda: I think the song, it\u2019s kind of hard to explain that. It\u2019s such an ethereal kind of thing. I mean, to me, the song just does it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: You guys have been going out and taking pictures with fans and they\u2019ve been giving feedback on what it means to be blessed to them as well, right?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lucinda: Yeah, it has kind of sprouted into sort of this movement. Some of it has been posted online I think, a documentary of the people who were having their picture taken. The photographer went out and found people on his own. We didn\u2019t go with him or anything. And some of the people wanted to talk about it. So he went back out again with a filmmaker and they started filming people. So now it came out beautifully, this documentary with the song in the background. I don\u2019t know how to answer that question.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: You talked in a recent interview about wanting to collaborate with people like Cee-Lo Green on songs like \u201cCan\u2019t Wish for Nothing\u201d and it not working out. How do you go about deciding who you want to work with on a song or do people come to you? Do you think of potential people at the time you are writing the songs?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lucinda: Like, in the case, when we were recording \u201cBlessed\u201d, the song I was thinking of for him, we didn\u2019t end up doing this time. That album he did with Danger Mouse<\/em>, where he sings that song\u2026 I mean, the reason we were thinking of him, not the album that is out now but the one where he sings the song that\u2019s really cool sounding and it\u2019s called, \u201cWho\u2019s Gonna Save My Soul.\u201d It kind of sounds like an old soul song or from the 70\u2019s. Matthew Sweet sang on the album with me.\u00a0We brought him in because he had done some harmony singing on the \u201cLittle Honey\u201d album. We didn\u2019t have too many people, really come in and add, too many extra people this time except Matthew Sweet, who I had worked with before and Elvis Costello, who I had also worked with previously. That was Tom\u2019s idea for Elvis to come in and just play guitar.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: He\u2019s not really known for guitar playing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lucinda: And he was surprised when we asked him to just come in and play guitar. And I was a little surprised when Tom suggested him for that. But obviously it worked really well. You just kind of go song by song and toss out ideas. When I am recording, I let everybody come up with ideas. It is not just me making the suggestions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: Where did you record this one?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lucinda: At Capitol Studios<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: Wow. There\u2019s a lot of history there.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lucinda: Yeah, a very historical place.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: What are you listening to right now. What\u2019s in your car, or your ipod, or your bus I should say?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lucinda: Right before we left to come out, I was listening to a lot of stuff that people had given me. When I am on the road, a lot of people give me stuff of theirs to listen to. And I always listen to everything, at least to a couple tracks. So I actually brought some stuff with me. One of the relatively newer artists that I have been listening to, and I also sang on his record, is Amos Lee. We are going to do a few shows with him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: I saw an upcoming tour with him posted.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lucinda: Yeah, we\u2019re doing an upcoming tour with him. He\u2019s great. Oh, and the Over The Rhine<\/em> stuff. They sent us a whole package of some of their stuff on vinyl and some of the other CDs I hadn\u2019t heard yet from before like \u201cOhio.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: Some of the original stuff?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lucinda: Yeah. I really love that song, \u201cJesus in New Orleans.\u201d Tom was saying, \u201cYou should cover that song.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: I saw that one of the Foo Fighters<\/em> played on your album right? Remy?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lucinda: He played all the keyboard stuff.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: I know they had a new album come out this week that is pretty amazing called \u201cRope\u201d. They have been promoting it and it\u2019s amazing. They recorded it all in the old style in a garage so it\u2019s cool too. I thought you might had heard that.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lucinda: I haven\u2019t heard that yet.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: One of the things I found interesting about your history that I could relate to is your parents divorced when you were little and your Dad raised you. My Father raised me which was very abnormal in the 80\u2019s much less the 60\u2019s when it happened to you.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lucinda: Yes, that was real unusual.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: I can relate to that a lot. I was just curious about, I know you are really close to your Father. How do you think that experience and traveling with him in the early days shaped your music and your songwriting?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lucinda: The fact that he is a writer, he is a poet, just that alone inspired me quite a bit. Growing up around writers and artistic thinkers and creative people, I had a lot of creative freedom in my life and I was encouraged in that way. He was kind of my mentor for my writing. I started writing at a real young age. Little stories and things. Then when I was in my early teens, I started trying to write songs. As I got older, and when I got actually really being able to do it, I would show them to him and he would critique them. So it was kind of a built in creative writing class. It was like an apprenticeship I guess.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: You guys are still really close. He still looks at your songs right?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lucinda: Yeah, well I don\u2019t show them to him anymore before I record them. I did that for every album up until \u201cEssence\u201d. I asked him what he thought about the songs on \u201cEssence\u201d and he said they were as close to poetry as anything I had done or something like that. And I said \u201cWell does that mean I\u2019ve graduated?\u201d (laughing)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: I usually ask people if their parents were supportive of their music but yours is pretty self-explanatory. He was there the whole way.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: You\u2019ve been doing this a long time, almost 30 years in the business. Any regrets along the way?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lucinda: Well, I guess not. Sometimes I feel wishful, this doesn\u2019t have anything to do with my career, since I never had children. To be honest, I didn\u2019t even start thinking about that until a lot later in life. But also I didn\u2019t really find a person who I would want to have a child with until later in life. In other words, I never thought about, tried or anything. Sometimes I think, you know.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: I don\u2019t have children either. I made that choice a long time ago as well and I just think it\u2019s not meant for everybody.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lucinda: Yeah, that\u2019s how I feel. It\u2019s whatever is meant to be. But I feel like I need to get a dog or something.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: When you are here on Saturday, is there anything you like to do in Cincinnati when you\u2019re here or are you going to do any guest appearances?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lucinda: I don\u2019t think we\u2019re going to have any time. We\u2019re going to be bouncing. We are in Indianapolis and we just got in today and we are off tonight. But starting with tomorrow, it\u2019s pretty much three nights in a row and we\u2019re off on Sunday then three in a row. But I love Cincinnati. I don\u2019t know Over The Rhine<\/em> are right now. They\u2019re out on the road tour. We haven\u2019t heard from them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy:\u00a0 Maybe you can line it up for the July date when you come back July 15th <\/sup>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: I read when you write songs you kind of sit at your kitchen table and you have your scraps of paper you have collected over the years. Has your song writing process changed over the years?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lucinda: It really hasn\u2019t. I have always had this really organic approach to songwriting. I might think of a line or two here or there and jot it down. And I save everything. Then, when I get in the mood I sit down with everything. That\u2019s pretty much how I have always done it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: So where are you living these days?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lucinda: We\u2019re in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: I know you have moved a lot over the years. Any favorite place that you like to play live?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lucinda: Minneapolis, Minnesota on First Avenue. Love playing there. I like playing festivals too. Like the Beale St Festival in Memphis where we are going to be. House of Blues in New Orleans, always a fun place to play and we\u2019re going to be at JazzFest in New Orleans.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: That\u2019ll be good. I\u2019m going to catch you guys four times in the next few weeks. JazzFest and Beale Street and Saturday night. I am really looking forward to seeing you Saturday night. I saw you live 12 years ago maybe in Nashville. I haven\u2019t seen you live since then so I am really excited to photograph it this weekend and see you many times in the next couple months. I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to us.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lucinda: I am really looking forward to the show.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: Is there anything else you want to say today to the fans in Cincinnati?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lucinda: Well we have a great new guitar player in the band. A young guy. He\u2019s just fantastic. His name is Blake Mills. I\u2019m excited to be bringing him out with the band.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: Do you have any hazing any hazing or new guy ritual to put him through?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Lucinda: No, we\u2019ll let the guys take care of that.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amy: Have a great show in Indianapolis and we\u2019ll see you Saturday.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Photo Credit:\u00a0\u00a0James Minchin III<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lucinda Williams is a premier female act in country and American folk music. She has been blazing the roads since the late 70\u2019s and has not slowed down. She is still appearing at music festivals all across the country, even gaining international acclaim. Her most recent album, \u201cBlessed\u201d is her eleventh studio album settling in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[812],"tags":[814,1775,813],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1440"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1440"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1442,"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1440\/revisions\/1442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefirst3songs.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}