A Conversation with Rosie Thomas

Puremusic: So how did your wedding gig go last night?

Rosie Thomas: It was great, actually. It was a long day. It was downtown, which was nice. I felt so J.Lo, I swear, because I got there, and it was a surprise for the bride so I was very top secret. I had to call the mother, she had to meet me on the corner. They had to kind of run me in without--like I came in disguise: I had a hat and sunglasses, I felt so J.Lo.

PM: So the bride's a super Rosie Thomas fan.

RT: She really is. Yeah, it was insane. And I had to kind of breathe. Like, okay, when she sees me, when the song starts she's going to freak out, and I have to know that that's okay, and that I feel comfortable and all of it. So I got there, and they hid me in this room. It was bonkers there. They had this security guy, and he kept saying like--

PM: What?

RT: It was nuts! Frank, I'm telling you, I was--

PM: They had a security guy?

RT: --you would think I'm Gwen Stefani, like what's going on? They had a security dude, and then they took me to this floor with an elevator open, obviously somebody had hit the floor to get on the elevator, when it opened, I think it was the groom and some of his guys--I don't know, the groomsmen--and the security guy was like, "Stay back! Get the hell out!" I'm hiding behind a guitar. I'm thinking, "What am I doing?"

PM: Dude, don't look at me or you'll turn to stone.

RT: [laughs] Yeah. It was fun. There was a lot of waiting around, and finally--she didn't even know I was playing until the song started. And then she looked kind of, "What's going on? That's not"--there's a piano playing, and there's supposed to be a CD or something. And she looked at me and then started bawling.

PM: Oh, my God, she started crying.

RT: I couldn't even look at her. I played the song "You and Me." I don't, again, know why they suggested--I had to change the end of it, whatever, to make it appropriate--

PM: You had to cheese it up.

RT: Oh, it was really kind of a cheesy change...

PM: They probably didn't even notice if she was bawling, though.

RT: Oh, no. That didn't matter. I did the first dance song, and then that was it. Well, we started getting bored. I mean, we didn't know anyone, so we were just kind of sitting in a corner drinking champagne.

PM: So did you meet any left-of-centers?

RT: No, it definitely didn't live up to that. The people were very nice, but I couldn't say left-of-center, no.

PM: Speaking of left-of-centers, you know who turned me onto you, quite recently? John Doe.

RT: Really?

PM: Yeah. I was interviewing him, and we were talking about music. And I asked, "Well, what are you listening to lately, who's turning you on?" He says, "I'm listening to this girl named Rosie Thomas. I like her a lot."

RT: No kidding! No way!

PM: And then I Googled my way into your life.

RT: Wow.

PM: And I found out that you were managed by my friend Chris Moon.

RT: That's crazy. Where does he live, John Doe?

PM: He lives north of L.A., kind of out in the woods somewhere, far from the madding crowd.

RT: Good for him.

PM: And he was a swell guy. So because he was such a down-to-earth cool person, I figured, well, if he's digging her, she must be cool.

RT: Oh, that's really neat. That's cool to see how--it's really funny, because you just don't know what kind of people really listen to what you do. And of course, as a girl, I just sort of assume, ah, girls like this stuff. I'm always flattered when men come to shows.

PM: Yeah. And he's not your classic sensitive dude, exactly.

RT: No.

PM: He's a very down-to-earth, far from the city kind of guy.

                          continue

print (pdf)     listen to clips      puremusic home