A Conversation with Laura Cantrell (continued)

PM: Have you read anything lately that turned you on?

LC: Have I read anything? I've been on the road, so I've been doing some reading. I read a Richard Yates novel that was just heartbreaking.

PM: Wow, I haven't heard that name in the while. What title?

LC: It was the one called Easter Sunday. Someone I was being interviewed by in England mentioned Richard Yates to me, and I was like, "Oh, I'm not familiar with that name." And then I felt silly, because when I read the book, he turned out to be someone who had a lot of familiarity with New York. So I read that recently. And I read another book that's more of an entertaining read, one of those Jon Krakauer books, the Everest book, Into Thin Air. It's pretty devastating, also, in a different way.

PM: Right.

LC: Somebody also recently gave me--I don't know if you're familiar with John Wesley Harding?

PM: The singer/songwriter?

LC: Yes. He's also a writer. And he's written a novel under his real name, Wesley Stace.

PM: Really?

LC: Yeah. It's called Misfortune. I don't even know how to describe it. I've just started it. But it's fascinating to me when I find music people who are also really good writers in a literary sense.

PM: Yeah, prose writers. And it's rare, certainly, that a singer/songwriter turns out a novel and publishes.

LC: Yes. His book has actually gotten quite a big release. I think they're expecting good things from Wes, so it's very cool.

PM: Oh, good for him. I'm going to pick that up. In fact, we should we review it.

LC: You should.

PM: We like to review other things that musicians do sometimes, paintings or photographs, or Steve Earle's book of stories.

LC: Sure.

PM: But in this case, very impressive, indeed.

If it's a fair enough question, how would you describe your own personality, what kind of a gal are you?

LC: That's a good question. [laughs] It's funny, because I'm sort of a softy, I'm kind of a big pushover.

[laughter]

LC: But also I think I'm somebody who works really hard when I get something that I want to do, whether it's my radio show or with music. I just try to kind of keep plugging along. I think I'm pretty persistent.

PM: In either religious or simply spiritual terms, do you lean one way or the other, or not at all?

LC: I have a belief of some kind, I'm not sure what. [laughs] But I've not been into any sort of organized religion. I don't often end up talking about it. It's awkward.

PM: [laughs] Well, that's charming in its own right, actually.

LC: I did have somebody one time ask me because they'd been listening to my radio show and I had played some gospel music and spiritual stuff. And so one of my listeners took me aside and said, "Are you born again?"

[laughter]

LC: And I was like, "Do you think that from my program?" And they said, "Well, we thought you could be." And I thought, "Well, that's interesting."

PM: Do born again people listen to gospel music very much? That wasn't my impression...

Well, one last question: are there things in life that you'd like to try that you've not yet attempted?

LC: Oh, sure. [laughs] All kinds of things. All kinds of things. From pretty obvious things, like--I've been doing community radio and I'd love to do more produced type of radio with a little bit more forethought put into it. I'd love to continue developing as a writer. One of the most gratifying parts of the whole artistic process is when you come up with something that you've written that you really feel good about.

PM: Right. That's the best.

LC: And so that's something that I'm chipping away at, and feel could definitely get better for me. I don't know, lots of things.

PM: Well, thank you so much for your time today.

LC: Oh, my pleasure. I really appreciate the space. We'll see you down the road.

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