Carolee Rainey – The Wild Concert Unplugged

By starrymag | March 2, 2022

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

A) Raw, earthy, folk with a jazz blues spin

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

A) Many musical influences that are constantly changing.  I’m drawn to great lyrical writers like Ed Sheerin, Hozier, Billie Holiday, Rolling Stones and Leonard Cohen.

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your album The Wild Concert Unplugged.

 

A) The story behind Wild Concert Unplugged was that I was needing to break loose from the Pandemic claustrophobia and perform.  My team agreed that it would be a cool idea to take an afternoon and perform a bunch of my new originals while having it filmed. I got to be emotional and wild again during a very unruly and rigid time.

 

Q) What was the process for selecting the cover songs you would feature?

 

A) The two covers in the concert Ed Sheeran’s “Happier” and Rickie Lee Jones “Lucky Guy” were the ones I was working on at the time.

 

Q) How did you alter “Happier” and “Lucky Guy” to put your own spin on them?

 

A) I don’t do many cover songs but the ones I do I take very seriously as though they were my own children.

 

Q) There are also five new tracks on the song. What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?

 

A) My song writing process is that I like to wait for a song to find me as opposed to chasing down a song.  This means I might get a clue in the middle of the night in the form of an idea, a melody, a lyric. It’s never an exact science or formula for me. To be free and open to whatever comes into my mind seems to work well. There’s a lot of information out there to draw upon and I just think it’s about listening deeply as much as possible.

 

Q) How much of hand do you have in the production of your music?

 

A) I have been mostly the sole producer or co-producer on all my records.

 

Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you?

 

A) I don’t have specific places that are my absolute favorite because a lot depends on the bond I form with the audience. That being said, I really did love performing at Xfinity Hall in Hartford, CT.

 

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

 

A) If I had a choice of someone special, I would love to collaborate with on a song it would probably be Brandi Carlisle. She’s a magical thing.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

 

A) For anyone out there who is a fan and supporter of my music, I first just want to say thank you so much for having been a part of my journey. I hope in some way I’ve struck a chord in your soul, helped raise up your head to look around and possibly reassess stuff.  Hope I made you lose some fear and feel just a little better. Hold on to yourself and love yourself big.

Keep the magic flowing in all ways always…