Graham Reid | | 3 min read
I Believe You Tonight
Singer/songwriter and drummer Caroline Easther can hardly be called a late bloomer given she was there in the early Verlaines and Chills back in the Eighties and has been in a number of bands since.
But it has taken her until now to release an album under her own name, Lucky.
With nine originals and a cover of I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (with Barry Saunders), the album has a lovey, understated country-meets-indie vibe across songs which touch personal places for her and the listener.
It appeared on bandcamp when she toured recently with Beat Rhythm Fashion but we bring it to greater attention now because it is more widely available, and she has dates supporting it.
Time then for Caroline to answer some questions . . .
The first piece of music which really affected you was . . .
Neil Young’s whole After The Gold Rush album. I couldn’t believe all those unconventional powerful harmonies and that huge beautiful acoustic guitar and how they were right in the room with me. Incredible.
Your first role models in music were :
Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Cat Stevens.
Lennon or Jagger, Ramones or Nirvana, Madonna or Gaga, Jacko or Jay-Z?
Lennon, Nirvana, Gaga, Jacko.
If music was denied you, your other career choice would be –
A racing car driver. Or a photographer. Or a really good writer.
The three songs (yours, or by others) you would love everyone to hear are .
That’s too hard. There are too many of course. I’ll blow my own trumpet.
Heart Of The Matter (mine), Find Me (mine), Someone Else’s Eyes (Sneaky Feelings)
Any interesting, valuable or just plain strange musical memorabilia at home..
Not really. I have a handsome green melodica I bought on Trade Me that I’m not allowed to play and a very lovely old classical Maton guitar that looks like it was dragged behind a tractor for about 20 miles but sounds beautiful. I’ve also got and still often play my first proper guitar – a Yamaha FG300 that has a missing scratch plate ( I bought it in 1973) and I’ve got a great photo album Martin gave me when I left the Chills signed by them all. It has a picture of an igloo Martin did on the front. He often did that on the walls of green rooms at gigs. The album is full – I used to take loads of photos. I still do.
The best book on music or musicians you have read is
Frank Zappa’s autobiography. But I don’t read books on musicians often.
If you could get on stage with anyone it would be?
Easy. Neil Young.
The three films you'd insist anybody watch because they might understand you better are . . .
Oh god how embarrassing. The Castle. Love Actually. The Green Book. Sensitive stuff. I’m very shallow. (I’m a very non-political animal and I like to laugh. It’s important.) .
The last CD or vinyl album you bought was
The Great North –their 2nd album . . .
(And your most recent downloads include..)
No downloads. I don’t actually listen to a lot of music. Including my own.
One song, royalties for life, never have to work again. The song by anyone, yourself included, which wouldn't embarrass you in that case would be . .
Imagine – John Lennon
The poster, album cover or piece of art could you live with on your bedroom forever would be . . .
Any of the Go Between’s album covers. I have a great photo of the band on my bedroom wall.
You are allowed just one tattoo, and it is of . . .
A hummingbird.
David Bowie sang, “Five years, that's all we've got . . .” You would spend them where and doing what?
With my best friend my husband Chris on the houseboat we are building. Working on it then having adventures exploring all the watery parts of New Zealand, meeting people along the way, gathering stories and hanging out with any animals we can find that’ll let us. Land animals are easier and horses are my favourite but I’m sure we can befriend the odd fish two with the right technique. We could become fish whisperers.
And finally, in the nature of press conferences in Japan, “Can you tell me please why this is your best album ever?”
Because it’s my only one ever.
Lucky album release tour dates
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