125: Caitlin Canty
On Episode 125, I'm joined by singer-songwriter Caitlin Canty. Canty just released the Woody Guthrie-influenced song "Where is the Heart of My Country" earlier this week (Listen here). She was largely inspired on a flight from California back to her Nashville home and seeing the US from high above. Much like her excellent 2018 album, Motel Bouquet, Canty's stark, but bold sound takes lead ushering in a heightened sense of uncertainty in Canty's vocals and words. And while she most certainly captures that tension and fracture we're all feeling in 2020, there's undoubtedly unwavering determination and a sense of community that still finds its way in there too. As one would say, it's always darkest before the dawn.
During this interview, we talk about the journey of the song, songwriting, recording albums live, creating certain moods and tones for her songs, road testing, traveling and touring, the various pockets of the US that she's fallen in love with over the years, what she has planned for the rest of 2020, and a handful of heartwarming stories of resilience and strength in the aftermath of the March Tornado that tore through Nashville.
This episode's presenting partner is Desert Door Texas Sotol and The Blue Light Live.
Interview Transcript
Note: Transcripts aren’t always accurate since they are computer automated and haven’t been edited for spelling, grammar, etc.
Thomas Mooney 0:00
everyone welcome back to New slang. I'm your host and music journalist Thomas Mooney. This is Episode 125. We close out the week being joined by singer songwriter Caitlin Canty. So earlier this year when I was really in the process of revamping the podcast, I was reaching out to a lot of people, making lists and so forth, kind of seeing, kind of seeing how available people were and seeing what their plans were for later in 2020, as far as albums and recording and release schedules, etc. And one of those people near the top of that list was Caitlin Canty. I had really, really, really enjoyed her 2018 album called Motown, okay. I just loved the in depth storytelling and the intensity that kind of radiated off that album, there was a lot of really beautiful tension. And it was really beautifully dark and haunting in nature as well. And so yeah, I kind of figured I would reach out and see if she had anything planned for 2020 as far as an album, or she was just up for talking about music and whatnot. Long story short, we figured we'd wait until later in the year to see exactly where those plans had kind of fallen in place. And see she had a better idea on when her next album would be coming out. So yeah, it was a nice surprise when last week when her PR, they reached out and said, while a new album isn't just right around the corner, she does have a new song that she's putting out. And do you want to talk to her? And so of course, I said, Yeah, I would love to talk to her about that song. And so yeah, the song that Caitlin just released is called, where's the heart of my country that officially came out yesterday. Of course, though, a link to it in the show notes so you can listen to it if you haven't had the chance just yet. Today's presenting sponsor is desert door, Texas SoTL. If you know anything about me, it's probably that I'm from the heart of West Texas and absolutely love everything about West Texas. And that's really why I love desert door so much. You may be asking yourself what exactly SoTL is, well, it's a premium spirit that similar to a tequila or a Moscow, but for my money. It's a little bit more refined and smooth. There's a sweetness and faint hints of vanilla and citrus and it's also as versatile as your garden variety vodka. At its core desert door is authentically West Texas, they go out and harvest Soto plants from the wild and bring them back to their distillery over in driftwood, Texas. So next time you're at your local liquor store, get a bottle of desert door. For more info, check this episode's show notes.
All right, as mentioned the new slang Patreon is up and running. It's a great way to help support new slang. And to get a couple of extra perks. I'll throw a link into the show notes for those of you who are interested. But the jest is 435 10 or $15 a month, you'll get anything from add free episodes to previously unheard episodes to new sling merge, again, just a really easy, fun way to help support the podcast. Alright, I think that does it for the intro here. Here is Caitlin Canty. You have this new song coming out just in a couple of days, by the time this podcast is out, it'll already be out. And, you know, it's called where's the heart of my country and it very much like feels like you've tapped into some of the restlessness, the the unsureness the the mixed emotions of the dread and the anger and even like, you know, the optimism of trying to find our way back on course, if you will. I guess like a like how old of a song was this when you first initially started kind of putting it together?
Caitlin Canty 4:11
I've been hanging on to it because I wanted to. I was planning to put it on my next record and pandemic kind of disrupted those plans, but I wrote it, I believe, a year before I recorded it. So I think I wrote it last June. And we recorded it, this gene. So it's you know, it does feel timely again, with the wildfires burning and you know, countries still in rough shape as far as empathy goes, and divisions. So I started singing it out on some of my shows. I only had a few this year before we were all locked away and it felt like it really was ringing true and people were coming up after the show and saying which CD He just went on. So I thought, you know, felt like it was getting it was landing with people. And I think you're right. It's this is timely. But it's unfortunately this time that we're in seems to be stretching a lot longer. I keep feeling like I see the light at the end of the tunnel. And then, you know, seems like there's another thing to scream or cry about in the news every five or six minutes.
Thomas Mooney 5:24
Yeah, it's sometimes I am convinced that, yeah, like things are as bad as they've ever been. And then other times I'm thinking, or maybe it's just because we're all paying attention so much more. We were just hooked to our phones and getting bad news all the time, since it's more available, but it's, uh, I don't know. Um, I read that you were reading the Woody Guthrie autobiography. Whenever Yeah, we're first kind of initially sparked this idea sparked for you. That feels like that should be like required reading for every person in this country.
Caitlin Canty 6:09
I agree. I see it on everyone's bookshelf, too. And it was on mine for a while. And he started it so many short stories, really, I guess vignettes. And so you can really pick it up and put it down. And yeah, I think reading that book, at the time, I was also traveling across the country, I had just, I was literally flying, the song starts out with, you know, being in California and it goes on to the flying scene. And that was quite true to where I was flinging my body around this country at the time I was out in California on this gorgeous this like three days of I think it was maybe March or April or so one of the very green lush seasons in California when I usually go It feels so dry, especially being a you know, born raised vermonter and living in swampy Tennessee, it feels so dry and like right on the cusp of breaking from it's drying, as you know, of lighting on fire. And so it was raining out the whole time it was it was so beautiful and lush. And then the session I was on was with I was I was actually a sideman for a session, which is so rare for me, I'm usually, you know, running the show and making my own records. But this was singing on someone else's records, thinking lead on someone else's record. So I was in a band, a guy that looked up to forever, and I was just on cloud nine. And I think this song sparked was flying home, I was looking out the window, I was switching back and forth between the you know, the scrolling of the phone and staring out the window. And then I had my Woody Guthrie book with me and those those three points of view, I think really just got me sparking with this song. And you know, I, I love I mean, the first time I ever got on a plane was I think was 18 years old. And I remember people being just shocked, like you had flown in your life. Yeah, you know, and I remember looking out the window, the whole flight and just feeling so amazed. And I still spend a lot of time looking out the window when I'm flying. Like it's just still an amazing experience even though I do it, or used to do it before pandemic like every, every few weeks. And it's just there's, there's no perspective like it, you know, you get to really look down at the beautiful scenery in a whole new way. But it's I don't know what it is about just leaping off of the Earth a little bit and you know, hanging over it and hovering over it and it just makes you think about more than just the the daily list of to dues and so I do spend a lot of time actually writing on planes.
Thomas Mooney 9:02
Yeah, you know, like that the perspective of that of the plane ride of being above it's you know, it's it's very much like if you've ever just sat and watched a like an an ant bed for 10 minutes and because you know, you're so much higher than it and you just see all these ants moving around and they're so organized and everything like that and it feels very much like that when you're flying and you do like I guess like whenever you go especially into that second verse with you know, the the brown and green fields of, of where we've just kind of like carved up the land for you know, for pasture land or for farming or whatever or even you know, obviously cities. It very much feels like you're watching from like watching the ant pile and I don't know, I've always loved that as well like that. Just looking out the window and kind of feeling small.
So, and then also, like, one of the things that really obviously pops out in that very first verse is, you know, you use Jacaranda blue. And I felt like, I guess, like, we're, how did that word get in there? Because that's like, you know, a good nice like, just, it sounds really cool when you say that for a while.
Caitlin Canty 10:34
But I'm sorry, it just cut out
Thomas Mooney 10:36
what I said. Were you holding on to that word for a while, like, Oh, this needs to be in a song or something. Or,
Caitlin Canty 10:42
you know, I used to hold on to words and and wait to use them. And now I just deploy them as as necessary. I try not to hang on to anything for too long. That was I was both struck by being in California and staying with some two comedian friends and their, their goofy dog and we were basically as either making music or laughing or eating good food for three days straight. It was like the most it was that's my kind of spa I guess. That's the fuel back in the tank for me. And I remember walking, walking to the studio, which you don't get to do often in LA but I was I got to walk to work because I was staying so close. And they were like, actual there was water on the sidewalk. You know, when do you see that in LA and in their pedals everywhere. And the Jacaranda trees. So beautiful always struck me as like what on earth is that? It was maybe the first plant I saw in California was like, how does that not exist in my life. And one of my friends Eric Heywood, his he's lived in LA for a lot of his life. And he told me about the Jacaranda tree and how it would give you a, like a purple carpet on your front lawn. That's he had one friend who had this beautiful tree and it was just raining. Purple petals. So that's where the stream of Jacaranda blue came from. For me. It's just such a beautiful image in real life. But you're right, I just have a nice, nice glow to that word. It's a good word.
Thomas Mooney 12:20
Yeah.
Caitlin Canty 12:21
Well, I hope I'm saying it right.
Thomas Mooney 12:24
Well, you know, it's one of those things where I think like, obviously, you're a songwriter, you're a storyteller, you appreciate language, and, you know, when you're listening to music, like myself, like basically all day, it's always something that's really nice whenever, like, I have not heard that in a song whenever you hear like a word that you've not you heard in, in a song or something, it always just kind of takes you and you're like, Oh my gosh, like that's why hasn't gone before but I'm also you know, one of the things I wanted to bring up about the song in comparison to woody that I think is kind of a an interesting take is how for woody being a dusk bowler and you know like the the john Steinbeck end kind of thing of moving west going to California and in this song like you're kind of going from California back east. I really like that kind of thing as far as being kind of a different take on that plight if you will, especially for you know a different year a different kind of setting
Caitlin Canty 13:37
era Yeah, I love her when she listened to the amazing that you got that I that was a conscious decision in a couple ways. One was the Eden for me that that Garden of Eden just was started in that in that California place It started in that hopeful setting. And I wanted to start it there like maybe we can get back there you know, in a way I also I'm from Vermont from the East Coast I was heading you know, as going back to Tennessee, quite literally but I when I started writing the song I was flying east and there you know, I didn't I honestly didn't think of you know, the woody going west kind of impulse but that's that's a pretty cool I'm gonna use that from now on like, it was just such a important part of my songwriting building block there. No, but it's, it was really important to me the way to the verses lined up, it felt like they were that it was intentionally moving east just not in relationship to what he but I like that parallel.
Thomas Mooney 14:48
Yeah, well, you know, in, in kind of like our, I guess the American culture like so much of the American Dream is always attached to going west like You know, your fortune is out west your dreams as far as like if you want to be a Hollywood star or make it big, or, I mean, going out to the frontier, you're always heading west. And and I think that sometimes, I mean, I'm kind of from the middle of nowhere, but still like West Texas, and it feels very much like, oh, you're still headed west while like the East East is like still, I feel like I don't know is as far as you being a, you know, a North Eastern native like, have you ever felt that I guess like the West Coast has always been like the dream or has it always for you always kind of been like, since there is New York City so close by and you did live there, that you not even really even thought about West Coast life or anything?
Caitlin Canty 15:53
Oh, well, well, I so I'm born raised remonter. And, and I lived in New York City for a decade sort of accidentally, and I worked there. And I stayed there for a variety of reasons, just a decade just happened to get stuck in New York in some ways, but my heart was I love Idaho. I mean, that's almost as far west as he can go. And that was a place for me where I started writing. And I started being a touring you know, full time during singer songwriter. When I first started out when I quit the jobs i'd landed there for a full summer and I would go back every summer and I would feel like when I stepped off the plane, I just feel like taller and stronger and lighter automatically. I just love there's something about being out there that really makes you feel free you know the wide open spaces and the how far you can see from the land maybe it is like being up in the sky. You know when you're flying over you can see so far. But I I love it there. I love Tennessee. I love Vermont. I think the problem is with touring and loving this country is I keep falling in love with different places and different lives, I would like to lead I could just throw it all away and go live in Idaho and never leave or I could just haul ass back to Vermont and never leave because it's so beautiful. Especially right now I can't look at pictures my family sending too jealous. Any love it in Nashville too. So, I mean, there's just you get to know a little pockets of this country and through the way I travel, which is small clubs, and you know, a little restaurant nearby that you love and the van full of two or three other channels that you spend most of time in deep in conversation that you don't have those types of, of that reality doesn't exist and you were on tour. And so I think that's what's led me to falling in love so much of this country, but it's I really don't have like one spot I would consider only my home or only my job. But I'm telling you definitely feel the Wild West. I think a lot of the songs I've written and a lot of songs that I've covered, I just there's a good, hefty share of that in my, in my heart and in the words that I end up putting on paper.
Thomas Mooney 18:27
Yeah, like the I was talking with someone about how I guess for as long as it's been around that especially if you watch like old westerns, they aren't like one of the main things is like how the, the Wild West is, is dead, or likely the frontier is closed. And it just kind of like has been a I guess maybe something that like people always tap into as far as storytelling goes. But I still don't think that's necessarily always true. I think that like if you can still find that frontier, that open space, if you look for even in 2020 and it's just kind of like you can I don't know how else to say like you can find that elbow room if you're looking for it. You can find that like that pioneering spirit if you if you search hard enough.
Caitlin Canty 19:24
Oh yeah, you can drive down a road without passing anybody for a while in certain places. And I think my you know, my travels have led me not only to the big cities and then back home like most of the spots I played when I was starting out in Idaho were restaurants you could get a gig and play for three hours. And people I thought I could just play an hour set and redo it. This is nice first starting and he won't stay the whole time. So I you know had to quickly write more songs to fill out the set and and learn a few and so I was basically in it. No, it is similar to you know, growing up in the northeast and other smaller towns I played and little hole in the wall joints. The the places I found don't feel quite as crowded. I know that's probably the opposite of what my booking agent would like, like, Okay, keep going to the empty places because you like it. But you know, my, we named one of our dogs after Mackey, Idaho, because it's one of the coolest spots I've ever been. And I would go every summer. And like, I got to know a lot of people live there just you know, one friend or family is their cattle ranchers and they have, they just know every place to fish and every place to hike and, and they would remember one day they threw me on a horse. They gave me a fishing pole. And we went out hiking, it was a perfect day in my opinion. But so yeah, I definitely love the Wild West. But it's it's it's more like it's less wild. For me though it's more serene, and empty and lonely in a good way.
Thomas Mooney 21:11
Yeah, I like I've always loved just kind of being alone. And I feel like you can especially like out out in these like, areas that are very rural or off the beaten path. You can just, there's, there's I don't know, I always feel comfort in just kind of having like that day by yourself or with just a handful of people. And I don't know, I there's just something that kind of like recharges the batteries. So I love that. Now you mentioned like, obviously this this new song You know, you were putting it together, you're writing it on the plane, and how you do find time on planes to to write. And obviously, like your last record all those kind of songs on that album, we're very much in a they felt like they were all kind of written in, in green rooms and on tours or on tours, and in bands and motel rooms and all that kind of stuff. Yeah, is is I feel like a lot of people can sometimes feel that writing while traveling is difficult to find that time. I guess like it doesn't take practice to to, I guess, like, make the time on to write and on tour? Or did it just kind of come natural? Is that just kind of something that that just worked for you?
Caitlin Canty 22:45
Well, I think two things when I'm flying, it's one of the only times I'm alone now. I usually tour with other people these days. So what used to be one person starting out in a car, just me by myself in my little red Volvo like shooting off from you know, the corner of whichever New York City or from Vermont and driving like six hours for one gig that pay 200 bucks and driving back like I just won the lottery that kind of those six hours both ways were spent like in anticipation thinking about setlist and also like oh, shoot, I need to have this song for that set that would have been great on the way home. You know, it's it's just, there's a lot of free, free time to think. And I listen to music to that. I think when I'm in motion, you know, I'm only writing by jotting something down, like dictating it into my phone or just making a voice memo. And I'm not usually having the focus or like the ability really to just distill the whole thing and have a song done sometimes songs happen like that, but usually, I think a lot about it and have a you know, a couple approaches that get thrown in the trash can. And that happens more when I'm stationary at a desk again. Our kitchen table really
Thomas Mooney 24:08
like all the Oh Go ahead.
Caitlin Canty 24:11
Oh no, it's I think it's the process of collecting those ideas or when I hit you is when I'm in motion that's it finishing off of them has to for me be more of a intentional pen and paper. Gosh, the song has been nagging me and I don't have it done enough yet to sing to myself or sing on it on a show. Yeah, I want to finish that whereas that song won't go away. I gotta get I gotta finish it. You know what I mean? I can't sing it to get it out of my head yet. So
Thomas Mooney 24:46
yeah, like we're, I guess like you've used the road more so as that place for inspiration for that place of like where you have time to think that's, I think that's like The underrated part in all this is I think, and I've talked about this probably on the podcast a few times now that where listeners are going, Okay, you've mentioned this a million times, now we get it. But I guess like we kind of romance like the, the getting the guitar getting the pen and paper, and like writing the song. And that's the writing of the song, where in reality, it's a lot more of a slower process than that of collecting those ideas, and then actually thinking about what that is, why do you want to say that? Why is that? Like, why are you trying to like, scratch that itch? Yeah, and then like, all I guess, all that prep work, all of that kind of stuff, is like, just as important, if not more important than that, actually jotting down the lyrics and finding the melody and etc, etc.
Caitlin Canty 26:00
Yeah, I, I tend to think that you have to show up for the song, the songs gonna show up, you know, so you can go around, finding that inspiration as it hits you. But you also, at least I, I also have to sit down and make sure I'm hanging out near near the tools dependent on paper and my guitar, in order to ever get something done. I think it's good to have little bits of songs that keep floating around until they find their, their home, you get to see if they're worth while if they, if they hold up in different lights, you know, if they, in different moments that are they still still saying something strong that I want to, I want to think about more, you know, instead of just ripping through songs every five minutes, here's a new song. I mean, anyone can do that. But are they good? Are they good songs? Like, it's great practice. Absolutely, to just right, right, right. I tend to fall somewhere in the middle, I will go through periods of of both, like collector and not finishing single thing and then the periods of like three songs in one week that are just done and and really, like locked in the way I want to keep them you know, so just depends on what season it is for me.
Thomas Mooney 27:25
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Caitlin Canty 28:53
Oh, I love to try him out. I think that's part of my process. It's part of the writing of the song, I think it's not done. You know, for me, it feels like there's a version that is done once it's on a record. But when it's live, you know, I tend to play with a lot of different bands, let's say like one two or will be four days and it will be with only me and a pedal steel player. And the next week I'll be playing with an upright bass and an electric guitar or, you know, I'll go on tour with Nome, and it'll just be mean banjo. And the songs changed so much with a different instrumentation and with you know, what that human brings to the song and how they, they might say, hey, do you want to start this with? Like, let's do a neat little intro verse here and usually the lyrics I'm not like, I I love how Bob Dylan just changes his. Yeah, he doesn't really care how you think this song. He had verses and changes words, even to the classic ones, you know that you feel like? Like, oh my gosh, you could do that. I remember seeing him play live, I was like, wow, that's another thing I never really thought of, you know, like, you can just keep moving them. But while there for me while they're still cooking, I don't feel like I want to put on a record until I've aired them out with other bandmates and in front of audiences like for me, it just there can be a real navel gazing, self centered, diary reading kind of aspect to singer songwriter dumb that I don't dig. Like it's a little too self absorbed sometimes, you know, my feelings, my emotions, here's the diary. Like, flip through. It's that's not interesting to me. And I want to make sure that a song isn't just interesting to me, because then it's not working. It doesn't. It works when it's interesting. And it hits somebody else's heart, you know, not just my own autobiography that I read to myself. That's boring. So I guess it's like, my r&d is going out and playing my shows and throwing in a new song or you know, a song I know wants another verse before I record it, but what the hell we'll see what this audience if the how they hear it, you know how I hear it when I sing it. in a room with people it's not. It's not like I'm doing an applause Oh, meter, you know, this song is is the best song, you know, it's more like, you, you you understand the concept if you try to explain it to somebody and you realize that you understand it, because they got it, you know, that sometimes you think you know something until you try to explain it. And then you realize your words are one on top of each other. And you got to, like, do with that concept a little longer. But so I even for this next record I'm making I was I had a session that was cancelled with Coronavirus. And we have we played a live show as a trio that we write the week before, we're going to go into the studio just because we really wanted to feel them as a band together. And I'd never done that before I'd always toured the band after the records made. But this felt like a really, really helpful way of like rehearsing, but rehearsing not in just the closed, behind closed doors, where there, there are different different I guess, you give weight different things when you are with a bunch of musicians and you're all approaching the song with your own blinders on. When you're in front of an audience, you're reacting in a way, you're more open, and you have to fly by the seat of your pants, you only get one shot at that song, you know, it's not like a studio, you can go back and do it as many times as you want. I mean, or you can use the magic wand and recreate things from afar. So there's something just honest about live performance that is just the most important element of songwriting for me.
Thomas Mooney 33:08
Yeah, no, I, I totally get that I think that so much of that is, is tied to the, that interaction by just kind of like road testing songs, and has to help, like, understand more of what you're trying to say, getting better at saying that getting the better feel of like, how a song should sound like. And obviously also, like, you know, you mentioned, you know, playing with different bands and different kind of lineups. That's something that I've always been really interested in, as far as like, you know, whenever you have the song, and like, it's that initial idea. And, you know, it's still kind of probably like a bare bones just you acoustic idea. You may have like some ideas of like, what you would want on it, but then, like, I guess it's very abstract to go. Let's take that and then just, you know, record it. And that's how we're whatever, however, the studio magic of it all, but I feel like you'd have to you're probably understanding like, Oh, this works better than this. Or I like this better than this. As far as like, knowing whenever you whenever you're doing it kind of like whenever you're playing live before recording, you're understanding what what that song needs or, or wants. I know I'm just rambling here now but like, I guess like, to me, I don't know for me if I was a songwriter, I feel like I would constantly be playing new songs in front of live audiences, before cutting them just so like you you kind of understand the song better.
Caitlin Canty 35:00
Yeah, it's hard to do, when you want to be presenting everything you do, and in the best light possible kind of leaves you wide open and makes you feel like you're right at the beginning again, which I think is really important. I think it's hard. I A lot of my friends, you know, much, let's say, bigger audiences and more critical views of anything they do. It's like, Oh, this person is releasing something. And this is their new say, their new take on, you know, the next three years, you know, every three years, they put on a record or something, it's like, momentous, and that's important, but it makes it hard, especially in this day and age to try anything out. Because everyone's got their phones out, and, you know, their new songs gonna be up on YouTube before they've been home. And I think it's shut down some of that creativity for folks who might have a, I don't know, play a much larger stage, let's say, but for me, I would never want to lose that. Like, one of the hardest things about this moment in time is not touring and not being able to, to have that part of feedback loop, you know, and I feel lucky to that I have that sort of, part of my process. I didn't, I would, it's, it's all accidental, you know, I was playing gigs for peanuts. At first I was playing solo. And then the gigs started paying a little more. So I'd bring somebody or, you know, I'm touring from California, up to Seattle, and you're maybe out to Idaho. And I know, Eric, Hey, what's going to be in LA? So let's throw him in a car, and I'll fly him home from Boise. You know, it's just a practical approach to things. But in the meantime, I'll be playing these songs with brilliant pedal steel player all the way around this gorgeous country, and learning about the songs and you know, learning from his take on them. And it's like, it's all part of the process for me.
Thomas Mooney 36:58
Yeah. You mentioned working on a new album, I guess, like and also just kind of being, you know, sidetracked by not necessarily sidetracked but sideswiped in a lot of ways by the pandemic and just 2020. In general. I guess, where are you at? In that process? Where's the when do you think you'll be able to release this next upcoming record?
Caitlin Canty 37:27
As a good question. So I was, I was advised by my, my publicist not to talk about the next record, because I haven't made it yet. He's like, save your save. You're talking for that for later. But you know, you asked, so I'm going to talk about it is it's good advice. But I, I was about to make this record, six months pregnant with Nashville musicians. And one drummer was coming in from LA. And we, I was, yeah, we were about to make it and the studio closed its doors because it the pandemic hit. And so we were, I think, two days away. And we had the chance to, to record in a bigger place and in a studio that was still open with a local drummer. And we just decided it was kind of a stupid idea to do this. Because all of us have just been recently traveling, nobody knew what the heck this new virus was about. And so we just said, well, let's table it. But being six months pregnant meant that, you know, it makes it a little harder to play guitar. And when I got to around eight months, there's no way I was going to go into a studio and feel like I could record the way I want, which is live and intensely. And over a course of three or four days with the same crew playing live, you know, you're just playing one really long concert. And that's not physically I wasn't really down with that. And then the virus was introducing other variables and questions on how to do that safely. And so now I've got a baby. So I've still got to get to the studio as soon as I can. I can get into a little schedule with this guy. He's, he's, he's leading the way here right now. Very little sweet tyrant. But I'll likely be recording within the next few months. And you know, so many people I feel like lucky you know, I can make this record anytime it'll be a different record than the one I was gonna make at that moment. Just because times have changed I've other songs that might, you know, weigh in a little heavier that wouldn't have made it the first time around. Maybe the crew will be different depending on how this pandemic timing shakes out. But it it was definitely the it was a hit. huge sacrifice, just getting, I was so ready to make that record. And like, even to the point of touring to Chattanooga, with like, I was on tour in the northeast, in February with I opened for Josh Ritter I like played some places out of the way and, and just in order to feel these songs under my fingers, and like get those calluses getting thick, and you know, I got to get those calluses back. So the washing a lot of baby bottles and and not sleeping, it doesn't do numbers, it does numbers on your on your voice, I think so I want to see if I can get a month or two under my belt with this little guy and and then the songs are waiting for me so and so excited to do that though. That's like the next big, I don't know, it's like, for me, it's like a vacation. It's like a big party. Like the amount of work you put into planning a wedding or whatever people having a baby or, you know, moving to New Town or starting a new job. Like for me that's making a record is just like, all consuming and in a really wonderful way. But I'm a newborn is all consuming in a different really wonderful way. So that's the reality right now. But luckily, I live in, in Music City. And so when, when I'm ready, there's just 100 rooms to choose from. And I can't wait. I'll talk to you all about that as soon as I have the music. For now this song, I didn't want to wait, I didn't want to wait around for the world to change like it has every, you know, week since I've, since I wrote it. And I just felt like I needed to get it out there.
Thomas Mooney 41:52
Yeah, yeah, it was. I loved what I read as far as like you guys kind of making the makeshift studio at every nursery and using like the baby monitors.
Caitlin Canty 42:07
I mean, it worked, you know, that's already had it.
Thomas Mooney 42:11
Yeah, that's a great image as like, Well, you know, these are dual purpose now.
Caitlin Canty 42:16
Yeah, and it was hard to do like to, I recorded at home, and I was eight months pregnant. So we tried, I tried to do at once and we got a live version of just me solo. And no, I'm counting my husband, he was he was helping engineer it. And we liked this version. But then there was something just didn't keep catching us about it. And so of course you just try again. And by that point, I was you know, house. And so my guitar was off to my side fully. And I was standing up instead of sitting down, we change the key. And that's where this song came from. I just felt like so much more moved by listening back to this one. So that's where we went from I had no idea was going to be so you know. So it was a very different scenario for recording I'd ever imagined. But there's a lot to be said for the different the isolation between the vocal mic and the guitar mic if you get one off to the side instead of firing at the same zone. So Mike might try to change my lifestyle for for good now.
Thomas Mooney 43:26
Yeah, that's funny. Yeah, I mean, I think that, like, you know, it's what I like so much about it is, you also just kind of felt like you needed to record this. And, you know, I don't even know if there's like any ob guy, like, on the other side of things as far as like, well, we need to keep people engaged in or anything like that, but I just love like the I need to record the song and let's, you know, set something up here in the house and kind of figure it out and just work with what we have and make. Make it work. You know, I love that. So,
Caitlin Canty 44:09
yeah, you know, I think everything you do, when it's, it should feel like your life depends on it, you should sing like your hair's on fire, like that's the goal, you know, you should everything should feel urgent and intense if you want it to, you have to feel that if it's going to ever come across that way. You know, and I think it just felt like I had to get this song out off my desk and you know, out into the world and it didn't feel right just sitting on it and I don't really have any other master plan to when records are released or how to keep people engaged or anything like that. I just I just felt the sound felt so necessary and I hope I can hold anything I put out two that are it's a there's an intense way of putting things but there should also be like an ease In natural quality to things as well, so that I try to tell that line, you know, something that feels like a song should be able to be sung on the porch and comfortable. And it could should also be able to take, you know, a lot of friends playing along and bringing their voice to it too, I feel like that the songs I write have to function both ways. For me to really, really level
Thomas Mooney 45:31
Yeah, you know, like these, a lot of your songs, especially on this last record, I feel like they, they just like, they take up a very organic and natural space there there is that sparseness and that space and I think that like people sometimes can be scared of space, they can like, think like, Oh, you know, since we are cutting in the studio, let's use everything to our advantage as far as we can try other things and we can fill up spots and for you, like on like on this, on your records, it feels like you take advantage of that space to to really highlight either like your vocals or those pedal stills or those fiddles or whatever the the, the other instrumentation is in the song. Does that. Does that also come with? You know, you mentioned kind of recording these records in shorter amounts of time in just, you know, that three or four, five day space?
Caitlin Canty 46:38
Yes, I think I'm not anti overdub entirely but I tend to be attracted to the more our spare you know, nature of a song so you can hear the year the lyrics here the voice here, though, not just my voice, but like, the folks I play with you here on that Motown Okay, the record you talking about? You can hear Stuart Duncan playing fiddle, and I want to hear him shine, you know, I don't want it to just feel like there's fiddle sounds happening. I mean, Stuart Duncan, for crying out loud, you know, and falcor played bass on that record, and he is, you can hear his personality in his playing. I think that's what you want to hear that voice, you know, and so that's where my ear goes. And if there's too much stuff going on, I'm just like, why do we need, you know, for acoustic guitar strumming along, just covering up the good stuff, we don't have to hide behind anything. And I usually have these last few records, I've just had amazing players, there's no, you know, they, they can do the absolutely brilliant thing live because that's the way we've been, you know, we spent most of the folks I play with or, you know, touring folks. And so we're usually playing a song one time in front of a live audience. And then it just turns the whole thing on its head if you go into the studio for me, and start with new drums, and then somebody else comes in late or something on top and and then you did vocals first, but then you record your vocals at the end, like you're just chasing your tail at that point. So I've personally found, I've been, you know, with the scratches and all sounds better if I'm singing to the band, leading the band following the band, like in that live moment, rather than trying to perfect something after the fact and chasing the band that was chasing me, you know, it just feels like feels wrong. And it sounds kind of weird to me, it sounds a little more robotics, anything I've done like that. I've usually felt you know, less inclined to release which I have set on a whole record I didn't release because it kind of went down like that and that I don't want to just say it's my way of the highway. I only do records one way and it's live and there's no overdubs because you know there's backing vocals were overdubbed on motel gave which are wasn't in the room he recorded I think on two songs and I think normally or something on a track you know, it's just like we felt like it needed it but it's not like what you're saying you know what we're paying a drummer to be here so he's gonna be on every single thing like that that kind of mentality isn't really my I try not to put something on just because there happens to be a you know, high strung guitar in the corner and might not put it on every Yeah, no danger of a studio. Yeah, you're like you were saying
Thomas Mooney 49:44
Yeah, I love that you that he said a second ago like the I don't want it to just be fiddle sounds. You didn't know that, uh, Stuart Duncan in there. Like, I think that just like sums up everything.
Caitlin Canty 49:58
And that was that record is So the fiddle sounds you're hearing on this one is like the were the heart of my country the single is Brittany hos playing and she just kills me. We played we played live together as duo. And it's almost distracting. She's just like, such a brilliant player and her tone is is she's just got her own her own voice and I don't know if you've ever seen her play live but I know she's somewhere between like a boxer and a ballerina I think there's been some kind of like tough intensity to what she does and this like just absolute astounding kind of gracefulness to it as well. And so she she really is like the lead voice on whereas the heart of my country, the way she holds a song together with her playing is just was essential.
Thomas Mooney 50:55
Yeah, yeah, like it's, I I've said this thing a couple episodes back to is how, you know, a lot of times you need to, like listeners need to understand that a lot of times the that pedal or that fiddle or violin or, or banjo is is like the kind of thing sometimes think of like that song of the song you're listening to as I can do wet and like those other instruments are that other voice that's the the response to whatever you just finished saying.
Caitlin Canty 51:29
Absolutely. I love that you said that when we were so Andrew Marlon was gracious enough to sing backing vocals on wherever in my country and we've never sung together in person. And I knew I kept saying like, I hear a male backing vocal like, like Andrew Marlins voice you know, and we're like, why don't we just ask Andrew and his singing is so profound and it feels we you know, we wanted when we heard the first mix that Brandon Bell just a beautiful job mixing this it was his voice is quieter. We're like we don't want to be backing vocal. We want more of a close closer duet sound you know his his voice is so rich and in it's uh it's dancing with mine. So it's it's got to be front and center. And that's the kind of feeling I have with with Brittany's pedal as well.
Thomas Mooney 52:24
Yeah, yeah, it's it's, it's it's just such a I I love like also those kind of songs where you you listen to the the song and you hear those little things. But then like, it compels you to go check the liner notes. Because you're like, you're just kind of like on that is was that is that who who is that right there. I'm always like such a liner notes person. Anyway, so I love just like looking at who's been playing who's playing on this who's singing on this? And I love kind of like that discovery, I guess. So I wanted to talk to you all one more time about our new partners that desert door and offer up a handful of my favorite ways to drink it. Do you a Mexican Coca Cola, have a couple of swigs. Then pour yourself some desert door oak aged in tossing a lime wedge or two. Or how about this, pour some desert door into a mug. top off the glass was some ginger beer, squeeze in a lime. Or for all you ranch water drinkers out there, get you a topo Chico. Take a couple of polls off, and then pour in some desert door. Toss in a couple of lime wedges. And now you have a mighty tasty and refreshing ranch water. Remember, Soto is as versatile as vodka and has a more refined, smooth and a more complex palate than tequila. It's rich and balanced and and whatever your go to drink is it'll make it that much better. And again, it's inherently West Texas. It tastes like home. For more info on desert door, check our show notes. Alright, that's it for Thomas Mooney, his cocktail minute. Let's get back to the show. So are you familiar with Bruce Robison?
Caitlin Canty 54:08
Oh, I sorry. I had a mute for a second.
Thomas Mooney 54:10
Yes. Okay. So yeah,
Caitlin Canty 54:13
I guess, soldier.
Thomas Mooney 54:14
Yeah. So he here in Texas, he's been doing more producing work. And what he has is this thing called the next waltz. And it's all old analog. And he's set up outside of Austin. And he has been recording a bunch of different artists and then putting out a couple of albums to but a lot of it's just kind of like singles and stuff like that, that they just kind of go into the room in one day and, and cut songs. And so so much of what's tied to that is the the analog aspect and how like you only have so many mics to use and all that kind of stuff. And so I guess it was like last year I interviewed him about him and his wife, Kelly Willis, his new album, and we were talking about that and He had like, a line that just kind of really reminded me of what you were talking about just a second ago with, you know, does it kind of feel there's a strangeness if you're recording and just overdubbing. And to, to know in that kind of thing. And what he said was, let's see here. But sometimes, to me, the process of digitizing music and working on it in that way is as effective as digitizing an omelet or a loaf of bread, and then trying to eat it. I kind of felt like you'd appreciate that.
Caitlin Canty 55:36
That makes a lot of sense to me. Yeah. So I mean, I don't mean to throw any shade at people who do it that way. There's a lot of folks who make beautiful things, just by that, you know, that method and they can edit, to no end and change things, listen back and really be the writer and producer of their own music, you know, from, they can control the whole world. And I think that you'd find beautiful stuff that way, I just tend to not perform at my best if that's the scenario, and I enjoy it less, so much more fun to, you know, play a live show in the studio, essentially, and be able to do that song a bunch of different ways. And, you know, if you don't get it and those five cakes that you tried, you can always go back. Right?
Thomas Mooney 56:30
Yeah, well, you know, like, that's something too is like, again, like, I also don't want to sound like I'm just like, this is the only way to do it. But for you and like these songs, I feel like there's like what you've been doing is the right way for you, you know what I mean? So that's just kind of like it, there's always I guess, a, there's always exceptions to the rule. And there's always like, a way for to do it for everyone. There's a million ways and there's, if you want to do it whatever way you want to. And you can make great records no matter how you do it. But like what you you've been doing. I feel like there's like just a magic that, that I that I really appreciate.
Caitlin Canty 57:14
Oh, thank you. So
Thomas Mooney 57:18
yeah, you know, like, what what have you been doing? As far as a union you mentioned, like, you know, being a having a baby a newborn during all this, what, what else has like kind of been occupying your time since you haven't been able to cut that record and you haven't really been able to go out and play and be on tour? Have you what other things have been occupying your time?
Caitlin Canty 57:45
Like me, it's awesome. So I live in Nashville and East Nashville. And the week before Coronavirus, locked everybody away, we got hit by a tornado. And it came through my neighborhood and right up to our front yard. Where you know, this is still striking, looking at snapped trees in our driveway. You know what I mean? Like the view is, is completely changed. And you know, we can see our neighbor's houses still with blue tarps on them, or the houses that are gone now because they were they had to be demolished because they weren't, you know, able to rebuild and so I was it's such a crazy thing I drove with my mom who was coming to visit from my last show in February we were up in in Saratoga Springs. And so she decided to do the long haul with me a 15 hour trip back to Tennessee and we were trying to get home no one wasn't home and my friend was staying with our dogs was you know kind of on call like if we make it before nightfall if we stopped at a hotel and we'll see you tomorrow but we're gonna try to haul straight through and we got in two hours before the tornado hit. And when when we pulled in, you know, it was this weird balmy night I just been up north. So coming back to Tennessee, I was like mom, welcome to the humidity, but it was seriously you know, swampy out and we'd watched as we were driving in lightning storm up ahead that was pretty spectacular from a distance but you know, we just follow the weather we're gonna get hit by something. So let's load in as fast as we can and get the dogs taken care of and and we have one dog who's just hates thunderstorms so much so I planned to sleep down in the basement anyway, because she's gonna wake me up in an hour if there's a thunderstorm coming through. So we headed down to our like our tornado safe place. Without thinking about tornadoes. There was a 2% change, which is pretty common around here. Every time there's a weather severe weather warning. It's like hail. 10% tornado 2% you know it doesn't seem that calm that outlandish stuff tornado warnings but I want to turn it on yeah Tran warning the no one was keeping an eye on the weather more than I was following this Twitter account National Severe Weather which is probably saved so many lives they're like on the ball with with all their reports. And he said you know, if you haven't put the van away, you might get out of the the just get out of line of the trees nearby because there's a high winds and hail likely. And I told my mom because she'd never been around tornadoes. If you hear tornado sirens. You book it downstairs with me as fast as you can. But otherwise see in the morning, and I saw her an hour later because this huge one roared by and and it's just amazing to see what happened here. So we spent that week helping everybody pick up the pieces. There's just debris everywhere, folks houses in this school yard in our yard. And and a lot of folks are out without power for a week and a half when we wrote over so we were, you know, hosting folks for charging. And we were using our oven for lots of baked goods and bread and things from labors. And that occupied the time right before Coronavirus happened. So like, our stores were kind of cleaned out of toilet paper before that became a you know, a trend around the country, like we were already kind of holed up because you couldn't really walk too far or drive very far, you know, due to the you know, and so there's also this little park nearby that is one of my favorite spots, it looks like kind of a secret garden, you know, it's a little neighborhood patch of really tall trees and shady groves. And that took a direct hit from the tornado. And so a bunch of us got together and have formed, you know, a kind of a friends of the park group and it's pretty loose, but it's a lot of neighbors and volunteers have we I kind of with another group helped lead a charge to plant 100 trees over there. And we got 100 trees donated from Well, the Nashville tree Conservation Corps has like is amazing. They've they spearheaded all the you know, getting all these trees dropped off. But we had it I kind of was on the communication side and and I know a lot of out of work musicians who have little time on their hands. So a lot of friends and a lot of musicians planted trees in the park over a year. And it's that was in I think we started planting like May June 1, and they made it through the summer. And there's a bunch of wildflowers over there now and it's just it feels a lot more hopeful. But it's definitely been a good chunk of my my time. So planting trees and gardening at home and a very, you know, small level like that means putting some tomato plants and and crossing my fingers. That's been taking up my time. And you know, having a baby takes a little bit of time. Trying to figure him out. It's actually kind of like a small list of demands that he has, though. You just try to figure out which one it is right now. Like, are you hungry? No. Are you tired? No. Okay, take a diaper. No, well, let's try it again. He's he's a lot of fun. And a lot of a lot of discovery. It's like watching a person look at a book for the first time or look at a tree for the first time or like he's obsessed with this mobile. My friend test Miss test, she and I were on tour together, we stayed at a friend's house. And this woman makes these movies out of felt balls on a really light stick and connected by one very thin string. And so they kind of rotate in the slightest breeze. And he is every time he sees that thing. It's like you know, the first time he said the moon or the lights of It's so cool. So it's been a lot of fun. I definitely feel the itch to tour and to play I I know, I wouldn't know so many people who are feeling that and I can't tell you how lucky I feel to have a baby right now. I feel like everyone's on kind of long maternity leave with me. You know, there's no gig that I'm missing out on at the moment and and I'm having like such a good time with this little guy so I don't feel like I'm on my a game as far as it goes with my closeness to my guitar. Or to my, my songs. But I'm also, you know, plotting for that next record. So we'll see. I'm getting those close to your doors as soon as I can. And my dog just walked in. That's the other thing I should have mentioned that the dogs are so happy. They, they have never spent so much time with both my husband I usually, you know, tag teaming goes home with the dogs. They just got us under lock and key, right? They've been so good. And I, it's it's very strange to the home so long, I don't think in 10 years, I've been doing this I've ever spent a full summer at home, you know, and it's pretty wonderful. But I'll be I'll be roaming around as soon as I can.
Thomas Mooney 1:05:51
Yeah, well, you know, that trees, like planting the trees and kind of leading that that's, that's incredible. Like, that's like, I think, where not to go off on this tangent too far. But I feel like people always kind of look at trying to, you can't change the world, you can't change the direction of the country. You can't, like you're not you don't have a big enough voice. And my whole thing is like, you have to like, find those changes locally. And that's how you can that's how you have an impact and you planning it like are you leading the charge planning like 100 trees, that's, that's like going to have a lasting impact. Both like just in on you in your neighborhood. And then also just in, in, in a bigger spot, maybe like people listen to this. And then they think like, Oh, you know, I can plan 100 trees? Where I live? Yeah,
Caitlin Canty 1:06:50
well, you know, it's it's selfish to though it's self serving, I guess like I I was reading, what do they call it? Doom scrolling. So I've heard that term, like I was reading news and getting upset all the time. And it in a tornado. Just the visual reminder of our world being turned upside down started a week before everyone's world got turned upside down. You know, here we got at realization and then a baby turns your world upside down. It's just like, you there's no Givens and there's no guess, security or, you know, there's nothing that can't change dramatically. And it seems to be 2020 seems to be reminding of us that of that every other second. And so for me, like I, I love being in nature, it makes me feel more hopeful. And to see this spot that was like that restorative little pocket of a, of a city. Just wrecked. Made me feel like well, I can dig, you know, so I'll do that. And what really made me feel good. I'm totally a tree hugger. I worked when I was working in an office I was working at as a sustainability consultant and working in you know, that was my New York job when I was helping companies be greener, essentially, way back when and that's always been a strong streak of mine, but I didn't realize that, like a lot of folks who lost their houses over the one street over and Holly. They, you know, they were just saying, Well, I can rebuild, but I miss my trees. Like I can't, I can't regrow those 40 year old trees or those 100 year old trees while I'm here, you know, I'm starting from scratch. That's it, it's gonna take a lot longer. I was shocked that that was the thing that they were sad about, like, you know, they were homeless. Some of them were homeless. Some of them were living in in different spots, and then you know, Coronavirus hit locking them in those, those spots. It's crazy. Like, they're, they're supposed to be quarantining at home, they have no home all of a sudden, but they're worried about trees. I felt like that'd be something I would be wiped out. But you guys too, you know you're not tree huggers. It's just how much joy and peace those things would would bring them. So it felt like okay, I can make a cup of cookies for my neighbors but like the bringing that park back to life. It wasn't just me it was a lot of people around here just felt like let's do it.
Thomas Mooney 1:09:23
Yeah, yeah. Well, like that's I've heard some other kind of stories that have you know, happened out of Nashville post tornado. I there's been some some good journalism, some good media, you know, like no one wants to bash the media but there's been some great stories coming out of Nashville as far as community goes and rebuilding efforts and a sense of place I guess.
Caitlin Canty 1:09:48
Absolutely. What in What a ridiculous moment to to feel like, you know, there's such a outpouring of volunteer spirit, you know, right. When you you feel it's different. Kind of dodging a bullet like you feel? What is a survivor guilt? I guess I understand that that means like your neighbor's house is ruined. And yours. We had a dog toy, a stuffed Red Lobster that a friend had tried to throw in the door and she threw it on on the roof, the porch roof and she took a picture of it saying like, oops, sorry about that. In the tornado left that there like that. It left the bird feeder on its little hook. Meanwhile, like huge trees, a few yards away, were flat out and is just like how how is one thing untouched and one thing polished and so okay, well, we can do something about this twist of fate we can, we can all get together. And you should have seen the foot traffic of people just run around with like brown bag lunches, trying to help feed the volunteers. I saw a woman with a she had a baby a toddler on her back. And she was using some like major clippers, cutting the branches off a fallen tree in your yard with someone else's chainsaw. Like it's just a massive amount of change a choir. And I know there were so many things in East Nashville, I mean more chainsaws, and I don't know, bicycles, it seems like and people just elected to action. I heard that when the like there are a lot of contracted out of state tree crews that have to come in before any power can go back on. And before you know the cleanup of houses can happen. It was really like the tree debris lining the streets and blocking the streets had to get out, it hauled out. And so many of these guys came with chainsaws, and their job is already getting done by just the neighbors who were leaping into action. And so I think you're right, that was a really, really sweet outpouring of support. And then you're told to actually go home and stay home because you can't gather together at this moment. It was just like, such whiplash like, but the only thing I want to do is go check out your neighbors and like, get get a party together and feel like, you know, feel good again. And it was definitely an intense moment. And I was pregnant at the time too. So I was trying to like not, you know, read too much. dive too much into the dark hole because it wasn't just me. I was dragging there with me, you know. And so I had this reason to not despair. But boy, what, what friggin massive of March and 2020 it's going to I don't know if that's gonna fall right on the calendar.
Thomas Mooney 1:12:40
So heavy. Yeah, it's this year has been surreal and strange. And I don't know, just all the above. So it's, I don't know, it's, it's a it's just gonna be that year, I
Caitlin Canty 1:12:57
guess. You know, but when have when? When do you remember in your lifetime? It's certainly not in mine. When everybody's been suffering from the same thing at the same time. You know, like, when has it feel like music used to be something that like, maybe when the Beatles played you, when they released their new song everybody listened to it, like music has become so fractured. I have no idea. What's the hit and what's not an error if there even is a hit anymore? You know, like, there's we're not all reading the same news. We're not all tuned into the same news channel or anything like there's just such a fractured existence, but this this virus and the reaction to it, and certainly has been something everybody is dealing with in in different ways, but it's not who's whose life has not changed. Maybe someone who's hiking the Appalachian Trail and hasn't, you know, reserve as yet but otherwise, everyone's life has been altered. And that's, I mean, that's something Yeah.
Thomas Mooney 1:14:03
Yeah, like the, like, what you're talking about there with is that there's a lack of like, monoculture. Like everyone, you can just kind of like fit into your own. If there's a whatever you like, there's you're gonna find your people like that's like, right now obviously, that's like there's not a hit television show per se. There's a billion minor hit television shows with like, you know, a fan base that are diehard but like, yeah, like there's, I guess, like the last time there was something even remotely close to a hit show was
Caitlin Canty 1:14:42
911. Oh, are they gonna say? The cultural thing 911 affected everybody?
Thomas Mooney 1:14:48
Yeah, like that. Definitely. What I was gonna say is Game of Thrones. That like Game of Thrones was not like, it wasn't like Seinfeld or friends or I don't know what other You know what I'm saying?
Caitlin Canty 1:15:01
Titan back to the deck? Yeah.
Thomas Mooney 1:15:05
Yeah, so like, I don't know, I guess like, what is definitely like 911. But now like, even at 911 you felt like your world is had changed, but
Caitlin Canty 1:15:19
maybe the idea of your world rather than your immediate world for most people
Thomas Mooney 1:15:22
zactly it's kind of like I What is it like whenever, I guess like if they if they go back through the layers of, of and I like the shock courts, right? Like, whenever there's been like a giant comet that's hit the Earth or something like that. I think it's like shocked courts where they're able to, like, tell the difference between the the aeons if you will. I've been in collagen forever. So like, retro Lego what that was what that is. But yeah, like that. This is like the the watershed moment of our, of our lives, you know, that's just kind of this, like, you're not gonna forget? So it's just, I don't know. I don't even know how like, I don't know, like, it's it's hard to like, try and process and put it into words in the moment.
Caitlin Canty 1:16:14
Absolutely. I think that's it's hard to process and put into words and artists and writers, songwriters, I always think of, I'm not, I don't react immediately and write a song The next morning, you know, when john prine died. I know a lot of people who wrote songs right then. And for me, that's something that I will filter into the songs that I'm writing, and the things that I'm thinking and feeling like, grow in my arms, like groundwater, you know, it takes a while for stuff to come on down and filter through for that stream underground. Like, it's, it's just, it's not an immediate, reactive thing that I do. It's not like, I usually write out a protest song or something. And but I think, I know, a lot of a lot of my friends are eating musicians, or working in restaurants, and everybody is, is dealing with, like a change in their identity. You know, it's not just, like filtering what's going on in the world and trying to find their, their take on it and, and share it, you know, that's usually what a song is, I guess. But they're really struggling with like, a absolute, changing identity and anks and wondering how their jobs didn't work, you know, wondering, when they're able to tour again, if those places that they've spent visiting all the time, and all the small clubs and in bigger clubs, if there can still be there, if the restaurants where you got the right, your favorite, you know, meal before? Or is that still gonna be there? You know, and? And are they still gonna be able to tour You know, there's just like, it's a real, there's a real moment of questioning, like, Who am I and what am I doing here? And so I think it's hard for folks to be writing about it. At the same time, I don't think I would have written a song. Post, March, you know what I mean? Like, I'm glad I wrote it, and I'm glad I still feels like it needs this world in place we are right now. But I don't feel like I can write something until I let it filter through that more. And, you know, I think we're all kind of still reeling from all the the change in reality, and it's hard to have a take on it if you're just kind of off balance. Yeah, it's, it's amazing. What's, you know, I don't know where to place my bets, how the world's gonna change further, but it is definitely a moment that we're all reckoning with. Yeah.
Thomas Mooney 1:18:59
Yeah, you know, it's been really, really great talking with you today about just all kinds of stuff. Alright, that does it for this episode. And for this week, go check out Caitlin Cathy's latest song where's the heart of my country? Go visit our presenting partners over at Desert door and the blue light live stopped by the new slang Patreon if you're interested. And yeah, we'll see y'all next week. Thanks.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai