Interview: :Laura Veirs

Photo credit: Autumn De Wilde

http://www.lauraveirs.com

Laura Veirs is part of a new wave of great US musicians. She has a clutch of highly rated albums behind her, has collaborated with The Decemberists and just finished a huge European tour. We review her latest album Saltbreakers very soon . . . without giving the game away too much, I can say you'll be hard pushed to find a better album out this year.

HOLV: First off Laura, how are things?

LV: Pretty good except that the hugest cockroach in the universe just crawled by in this little place we're playing in in Charlottesville, Virginia.

HOLV: Saltbreakers is an excellent record and probably your most critically acclaimed to date. Have you noticed a commercial knock on from the press reaction?

LV: I haven't heard how it's selling but there seem to be more people at the shows than ever before, so that's something!

HOLV: You have said that some of the album's songs came about through exploring your 'darker' side. Was that difficult to do and would you use it again for inspiration?

LV: It wasn't difficult because I was forced to look at my darker side due to a bunch of crazy emotional ups and downs I was going through. I like to draw from all aspects of life and all kinds of human emotions in my work. Trying to avoid darkness never works, but focussing on it too much is a real downer. Striking a balance between light and dark seems like a good idea for art in general.

HOLV: 80's influenced, guitar/synth heavy groups seem to dominate the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. Yet artists like yourself, The Decemberists, The Shins, Rogue Wave etc seem to be creeping up on the public. Do you think that over the next few years we will see a shift in the music scene away from current trends?

LV: I think people are looking for authenticity in whatever form it comes. If people get a sense that musicians are being honest and straightforward -- without a lot of artifice -- they'll listen up.

HOLV: Lastly, many of the North American artists we interview who have toured Europe complain that they didn't get to see much of the countries they visited. Did you manage to see anything interesting when you were last over?

LV: Yes, we really enjoyed climbing the cathedral spires in Koln. And some of the drives through France and Scotland were stunning. People can get an idea of what we did by going to the news page of my website www.lauraveirs.com, look at the "Best Of" lists to see what we found interesting on our last EU tour. Also, the photo page tells a lot of funny stories.

HOLV: Thanks and all the best!

LV: Thanks to you!

Interviewed by Hammond