Q &AT X BY DANIEL R AMIREZ | PORTR AIT BY ARIS TO MEDIA
Carrie Rodriguez If you can play a fiddle, sing like a siren and can hold the stage with the likes of Chip Taylor, Lucinda Williams, Alejandro Escobedo and, most recently, Jeff Bridges, then you might be able to keep up with native Austinite, Carrie Rodriguez. A Berklee College of Music graduate whose parents were both well-established artists in their own right (her mother is a notable painter, while her father is a folk singer), Carrie is riding a string of successful partnerships and releases that has had her touring in support of her latest project, “We Still Love Our Country.” Met with critical praise in Austin and nationally, the album chronicles a journey through traditional country and its effect on the musical DNA of Carrie and her collaborator, Ben Kyle of Romantica. Austin Lifestyle just managed to keep the musical powerhouse in one place long enough to talk music, the road and all things Austin. Since you’ve been on tour, what do you miss most about Austin? I miss the Mexican food, always. I do miss my friends and my family, of course. And I kind of miss Hyde Park, where I live. I miss going to Quack’s and getting my coffee and walking to Central Market. What keeps the tour fueled? A triple-tall Americano at Starbucks keeps it fueled. I hate having to support corporate Starbucks, but on the road, that’s the one thing that you can count on for being consistent for coffee; and I can’t function without it. That’s how I start all of my days, no matter what city I’m in, unless I can find a small mom and pop coffee shop, then I’ll definitely go there. You’ve mentioned a few of your neighborhood favorites. What are your favorite haunts in Austin? Barton Springs, for sure; and I love hiking in the greenbelt. The Continental Club never gets old. In fact, the day before I left for this tour, we went to see Alejandro Escovedo play down there. I love going to see Heybale! at the Continental, Sunday nights. My favorite Mexican [food] in town is still Fonda San Miguel. It’s been there forever. It’s an Austin establishment and I love their food. I really like Izzo’s taco trailer. What’s the first album or song you remember absolutely loving? I found a big pile of records in our attic, when I was about 12 or 13. It included a lot of Beatles albums and Joni Mitchell. I loved all of it, but the record that I listened to the most...I think I would say Beggar’s Banquet by The Rolling Stones. I loved how these guys from across the ocean seemed to have such a handle on playing country music. What are you listening to, right now? What can’t you get out of your ear? I’m listening to Jeff Bridges’ new CD, actually. I’m heading out his way tomorrow to do a gig with him and rehearse, so I’m trying to cram my brain with his tunes and they’re really good. [Author’s Note: Ms. Rodriguez appeared with Jeff Bridges in his Austin City Limits debut, shortly after this interview was conducted.] How did the “We Still Love Our Country” album come about?
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That came because my friend, Ben Kyle, has a band called Romantica. He’s a singer/songwriter from Northern Ireland, but he lives in Minneapolis. His band has been out on the road with me. We have done tours together, they’ve opened up for me, I’ve opened up for them. I’m a big fan of their music and especially his songwriting and his voice. We would always end up singing duets when we’d go out on the road together. We finished the show with them and we decided to make a little duet EP. We’re both big fans of country music, so we called it “We Still Love Our Country,” referring to good country music. It’s kind of like Gram [Parsons] and Emmylou [Harris] era duets. Is “Good Country” a genre that needs protecting? Unfortunately, what you hear on commercial country radio, these days, is not all awesome. There are still some good things, but so much of it is so manufactured to sell records and be hip. I just can’t connect with some of that new pop-country. So, we really wanted to highlight our favorite kind of country music and country writers, because that music is so good. And I think a lot of young people probably think they don’t like country music just because they hear so much [else] on the radio. So, we’re hoping that they would if they heard the good stuff. If you could play any venue in Austin, where are you playing? I don’t want to get anybody feeling bad. I love playing the Cactus [Café]. I’ll never stop playing the Cactus. It’s such a special room. It has so much history and I love looking up when you’re on stage and you see these old posters of Lucinda and Lyle Lovett, it’s really inspiring. I really like playing at Threadgill’s South. I’ve played outside there, recently and have been doing a little kind of residency in their back room. And number three would be the Austin City Limits stage, because who doesn’t want to play there. You’ve got some pretty great people you’ve worked with on the resume. What hero would you still like to work with? I’ve been so blessed. I mean, getting to play with Alejandro, Lucinda and John Prine has all been more than I ever could have dreamed of doing. I’ve never worked with Bob Dylan, so I’ll just put that out there, in case Bob should pick up a copy of Austin Lifestyle Magazine. I’ve never gotten to work with Dolly Parton. That would be fun.
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