A Conversation with Amy Correia (continued)

PM: "Hold On," that's an incredible song. What inspired that sad song?

AC: Oh, it was inspired by some people that I know, a young woman who is a heroin addict, who's in and out of prison, kind of in the cycle of using, and having to go to prison because she gets caught doing something or other. And the child, meanwhile, is waiting at home for Mom to get it together. So the story continues.

PM: Yeah, it didn't sound like something that you'd read in the paper, it sounded like something you knew for sure.

AC: It's some people I knew out in California. Yeah, it's a very heavy song. It's almost a hard song to pull off live, unless I'm--like I opened for Josh Rouse for about three weeks--

PM: All those guys are friends from Nashville.

AC: Yeah. I had a wonderful time with all those guys.

PM: So was there any interaction with that band on stage? Did you sing with them, or did he back you up or any of that stuff?

AC: I didn't have them back me up. As the opener, you kind of want to save that stuff for the headliner, so I didn't even ask. But I really would love to play with them. We've talked about it, but it didn't happen on the tour. But I usually would go out during the encore and sing "1972."

PM: Who's that singing with you on "Stranded"?

AC: Oh, that's Jonathan Rice. He's a new artist. I think his first record is coming out in May. He's on Warner Bros. And you know what? I just read a review of it in Rolling Stone. They didn't like it. And he's actually a very talented kid. He's only about twenty-two. He's got a very mature voice, I think. You know what I think? He's on a major label, and people love to hate you when you're on a major label. They just think, oh, you must suck. Because people are putting a bunch of money into you, you must suck.

[laughter]

AC: But yeah, I feel for him, because I read that review, and I thought, oh, God, he probably should have just signed with Saddle Creek or something--

[laughter]

AC: --and then they would have liked him a lot more. Because that's where he made his record, with all these people out there in Nebraska who worked with Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis.

PM: Right. Yeah, let them put it out. Or give it to somebody like Nettwerk. I'm sure it's a lot cooler being with Nettwerk than it was with Capitol or Virgin.

AC: Cooler in terms of what?

PM: I don't know, they just seem like a different kind of bunch, or at least from the outside they do. Is it actually more or less the same thing as it has been for you with other labels, or do they get kind of a different spin on the ball?

AC: I'll say this about Nettwerk, I think they will give the artist total freedom. I really think that. I mean, I literally gave them my mastered album, and that's what they put out. They didn't change a thing. I designed all of the artwork. I produced a photo shoot. You know what I mean? I had my friend take the photos. I just submitted them. I felt like they just totally give the artist complete freedom.

PM: That package is something else, Amy. It's really beautiful.

AC: It is kind of ghostly. I guess there is a theme running through there. I'm so glad you like it. Yeah, my friend, the photographer, is a girl named Chris Strother. She's this beautiful woman out in Los Angeles, an incredible photographer, and has done a lot of work with artists, but a lot of people who probably are not big artists. She did Vic Chestnut's recent package. She's just a great artist. continue

print (pdf)     listen to clips      puremusic home