A Conversation with Annabelle Chvostek (continued)

PM: So why don't we talk a little bit about the glorious chapter that's come up around A Prairie Home Companion, and Garrison Keillor. What's that all about?

AC: Well, we got a chance to play a show back in--gosh, when was that? It was kind of early on. We all arrived and had no idea what a big deal it was. And then we're in this beautiful theater in Madison with thousands of people in the audience that are super formal, and we're like, "Oh, my God! What is this thing?"

[laughter]

AC: I mean, I know my parents were so excited that I was going to be on the show, but I had no idea how huge it was. And then yeah, that got such an amazing response, and it was really fun to work with the whole team there, and the band.

PM: I mean, that literally has to sell records in a really traceable way.

AC: Yes, it does.

PM: Like, "There's the Prairie Home spike right there."

AC: Yeah, exactly--especially the television thing that we did recently. It's like, "Oh, look, we're number two on Amazon. What the heck? It's the Dixie Chicks, and then us."

[laughter]

AC: It doesn't last very long, but--

PM: Yeah, but it's there.

AC: Yeah.

[laughter]

PM: Wow. So what was the TV thing?

AC: Well, I guess this was the fifth opportunity we'd had to be with the crew. We did a tour that was off-air, just with the band--not the band, but the whole crew. And then it ended up at Tanglewood. This was in June, I think. My brain is such a blur at this point, so many places--

PM: I can only imagine, a different place every night, for so many nights.

AC: It was actually July 1st--July 4th was the celebration. And yeah, we were performing at Tanglewood. It was broadcast on PBS on a show called Great Performances. Meryl Streep was there performing as well. So I got to meet her.

PM: Did you get hang with her at all, or just get to meet her?

AC: Yeah, a little bit. She sat down for dinner with Nicky and I. We were just eating our dinners, and she sat down with us. I was like, "Oh, my God. I don't know what to say."

PM: She was nice?

AC: Yes, she was lovely, actually. It was great to meet her, even though at first I didn't know what to say.

PM: Yeah, well, if you got to get tongue tied around somebody, she's certainly a candidate.

AC: "My gosh, you're like the greatest actor in America."

[laughter]

AC: Yeah, it was quite amazing. So we did this thing, we did a few songs. We did a little single for Garrison. And we really sort of developed a lovely relationship with that whole crew, his bandleader, and--

PM: He's nice, right?

AC: Garrison is a really interesting guy, and just such a genius and so funny. And he's one of those people who--he really appreciates what we're doing and gets us in a certain way, and then just pushes us to do things that we didn't think we could. We did the Town Hall thing in New York in December, and we got there two hours before we're on, and he's sort of throwing songs at us to learn. And so I mean, it's just like, "Okay, let's figure it out." And we did. It worked out fine. [laughs]

PM: Wow.

AC: So it's always, from the minute we arrive, we're on our toes, and just working hard. And then the performance is really exciting. There's always a big crowd, and then you're being transmitted to four or five million people, or whatever it is. The first time we were on the show it was being piped up to some astronaut in a shuttle somewhere. And we're like, "Wow, this is huge."

[laughter]

AC: Yeah, but it's a really interesting experience being on that show. It's a lot of fun.

PM: Do you consider yourself to be a spiritual person?

AC: Yeah, sure.

PM: In any particular way?

AC: Well, I don't really go along with any regular religion. [laughs]

PM: Somehow I knew that.

AC: I mean, I think there are teachings within all the religions that are pointing towards what I believe in, in terms of aspiring towards love and compassion in the world, and in the universe. And yeah, so I--

PM: That's a beautiful distinction you just made. You said, "love in the world, and in the universe"--you actually went beyond the world. I don't think I've heard anybody say that before. Thank you.

AC: It's big. I mean, whatever you call it, God, or the universe, or whatever. But it's just an attempt to acknowledge that there is something huge that we're part of.

PM: Indeed.

AC: I have to think about the larger scheme--there's so much beauty in this world, and so many people who are amazing and working for peace, and working to help other people out of a sense of unconditional compassion. And then at the same time, there's so much insanity going on in the world that one has to wonder "Okay, there's got to be more than this, because what if this isn't here anymore? What's going to happen then? What happens to all our energy then?" So maybe I have some pretty esoteric ideas of how the universe works.

PM: Works for me.

AC: There's beauty in all religions, but it gets pretty warped, especially right now with all these wars going on in the name of various gods. That's really not what any of these religions are about.

PM: Agreed, and thanks for all that.

AC: Yeah.

PM: Well, it's an amazing rocket ship that you jumped onto with the Wailin Jennys. One never knows where one's life is going, right?

AC: Yep, that's right.

PM: But I'm very happy to meet you, and I'm really grateful for your time today. You're just as amazing as I thought you'd be.

AC: Oh, well, thank you, Frank. It's a real pleasure to talk with you. Thanks for the interview. It was fun.

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	Photo thanks:
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