NW Noise Interviews
Libbie Schrader - NWN Internet Interviews
Photo by Robert Sanchez
Singer Libbie Schrader is a star on the rise with her pop melodies that have not only graced the Northwest, but the greater Los Angeles area, billings with artists Jewel and Poe, as well as the small screen on such shows as Gilmore Girls and The Hills to name a few. Along with newcomer Amy Jay, Libbie had sat down with NW Noise in early May 2008 at The White Eagle Saloon in Portland, but the audio podcast was lost due to an unfortunate technical anomaly. Like Amy, she was kind enough to answer some questions talked about on that “lost podcast” as well as a few new ones for your viewing and musician-learning pleasure. Enjoy some Libbie Schrader goodness below!
NWN
It was so great to meet you at The White Eagle in early May and see you perform in person. How long had it been since you’d been back to Portland prior to that show? You’re also originally from the Portland area. What part of town were you raised in?
LS
I come to Portland all the time. I’m often here for about a month out of the year! Before the White Eagle show I’d been in Portland a week and a half previously for about two weeks. And before that I was in Portland over the holidays for about three weeks. I am originally from Southwest Portland, near Lewis and Clark College.
NWN
At what age did music begin to influence your life? When did you begin playing piano and guitar? Which do you prefer playing and why?
LS
I first started playing piano at age 7, mostly because my mom made me. I didn’t really appreciate practicing every day until I was about 15 and I suddenly realized that I was good at piano. Thanks mom! I started playing guitar around my 17th birthday…I’ve never really devoted the time to it that I should; I’ve just played around with it occasionally over the years. I much prefer the piano, because I feel like I can fully express myself on that instrument. But sometimes it’s fun to write songs on guitar, because I end up writing in such a different style. Things occur
to me on guitar that would never occur to me on piano (and vice versa).
NWN
Who were your main influences growing up, musically? Did any of your family or friends have an impact on your musical aspirations?
LS
My main influence, by far, is the band U2. I am really drawn to their passion and by how earnest they are. Of course, I’m a girl playing the piano, so nobody is going to think of U2. But when I get my full band together, the arrangements I come up with are very U2 (lots of delay on the guitar, lots of four-on-the-floor drum beats, tribal sounding stuff, etc.) As far as singing, Bono and Sarah McLachlan have been my biggest influences. In piano playing, Tori Amos certainly had a big impact on the
way I play, though I suspect that the Edge did as well. Both of those musicians are very flowery in their playing styles.
NWN
Are there any instruments you’d like to learn and master that you haven’t dabbled in yet?
LS
I’d love to master the guitar! Especially the electric guitar with all of the pedals and sounds. I also like the cello, but that seems like too big of an undertaking at this point.
NWN
Your latest self-titled full length record, Libbie Schrader, was released in 2007, but you have two previous records; Letters to Boys (2004) and Taking the Fall (2005) that preceded it, as some may not know. What has your journey in music been like from making ‘LTB’ all the way to ‘LS’? How much has the process evolved for you as a singer/songwriter over the years and the albums?
LS
Oh my that’s a question that is too long to answer somewhere like here! The short version is that Letters to Boys was recorded shortly after my band Think of England broke up. (The Think of England album was released in 2002.) Taking the Fall was at a time when I was exploring who I was as a singer/songwriter, and Libbie Schrader is really sort of a best of. Sort of the culmination of all that stuff!
NWN
What has it been like to work with Grammy winner Brad Paturalski and also Erik Penny? You got to hold Paturalski’s actual Grammy,right? Do different producers bring a vastly different approach into the studio when working on songs that you’ve written or co-written?
LS
Brian Paturalski is a very talented engineer. He won the Grammy for (literally) working for one day on the Outkast record that won record of the year. Apparently when a record wins record of the year, EVERYONE who worked on the recording gets a Grammy! Brian is actually very good though. Very quick with good pop sensibility. Erik Penny is a little bit more my style… he has an alternative streak while still remaining melodic. He comes up with crazy stuff that I’d never think of. I’m really happy with how the latest version of “War on Science” came out….it has kind of a Simple Minds vibe. I think that if I wanted to really describe what my true sounds is as an artist, it’d be Simple Minds with a female singer.
NWN
Are there any tracks off your new records that stand out to you on a daily basis whether you’re on stage, driving somewhere or even at the grocery store? If so, which ones resonate with you the most and why? Does it change frequently?
LS
Well, my favorite recording is definitely the latest version of War on Science, for the reasons I just described. But I also really like “Wish you were the Woman” because it makes a point that I think comes up for a lot of women, but has never really been articulated before (that “it’s no good being a woman when you’re wanting to pursue”).
NWN
The track San Francisco was a crowd favorite at The White Eagle show Northwest Noise attended. Can you elaborate on your Los Angeles experience that led to the inspiration to write San Francisco?
LS
Um…mainly that I lived in LA for waaaay too long while really disliking it. If you live too long in LA you start to think thoughts that just aren’t true (“I’m too old!” “I’m not skinny enough!” “how come this person has moved farther ahead in their career than I have?”). Just silly thoughts that it helps no one to think. I visited San Francisco a lot when I lived there, and every time I did I felt so much better. San Francisco was always a relief. I’d still be open to living there someday!
NWN
You expressed interest to Northwest Noise in possibly leaving L.A. and continue making music in another city? Can you share with the viewers which cities are pulling at your heart strings at this moment and why those cities appeal to you?
LS
Oh I’ve already left LA! I did at Christmas. Whew! At the moment I’m choosing between Portland, Seattle, Nashville, and New York. I love love love the Northwest, but there isn’t much record industry here for singer/songwriters. And I love love love doing music for a living. So it’s a tricky choice. Not sure yet what’ll happen!
NWN
Okay, Libbie. Let’s get the scoop on your inspiration behind writing a song about that monthly cycle that women go through. Blood Red Moon, Libbie. It’s a terrific track, but how did the lyrics, music and everything come together? Thanks for the little smile and glance to Northwest Noise prior to the first verse of the song at The White Eagle, by the way!
LS
Um….that song was about an incident where my period was late. ‘Nuff said! I actually wrote most of the music for that when I was studying in Ireland, and then when I came back to college (Pomona College in Claremont, CA) my band helped me finish the lyrics in the spots where I could have done a better job. It’s funny because back then I felt that my lyric writing was my weak point, but now it’s actually my strong point! I guess it just goes to show that practice at anything makes a huge difference.
NWN
I found that when listening to your latest record, I often ask myself the question, “Are men and women supposed to understand each other? Can they understand each other?” It’s such a broad topic, but can you give your take on how or if both guys and gals can truly comprehend, accept and be willing to adjust their mindset into their partners’ way of thinking, all in the hopes to strengthen and nurture that relational tie?
LS
You’re asking the wrong gal mister! If I could get guys to understand me, or if I could understand guys, I wouldn’t be writing these kinds of songs. ;)
NWN
Back to the White Eagle show on May 7th, 2008 in Portland, OR. You had the chance to headline and also sing with your long time friend, Amy Jay. What are your thoughts on Amy’s first club performance, and how much fun was it to have her singing background vocals on a few songs in your set?
LS
It was great! Amy and I go so far back that I just feel completely relaxed with her on stage. It’s just fun, like old times, for us to get to perform together.
NWN
How long have you and Amy been friends?
LS
Probably for about 16 or 17 years. But we weren’t friends for about 10 years…we had a fight back at music camp in Salem! Basically she asked me if I thought she was going to be a counselor, and since she’d just gotten caught breaking the rules I told her she shouldn’t get her hopes up. (Yes I was overly, brutally honest back then!) She was so angry at me that she pretty much cut off our friendship completely. It was sad. I tried to apologize but she wouldn’t accept it. Of course the irony is that she got to be a counselor and I didn’t!! Finally 10 years later she e-mailed me out of the blue and asked what I was up to, and since then we’ve been hanging out and making music together just like old times. It’s almost like that 10 year gap never happened.
NWN
How’d you two connect musically and, can you explain the role you’re playing in Amy’s debut record?
LS
We had fun writing a couple of songs together, and I also gave her a song to sing that I co-wrote with my friend Kat Parsons. I sang a lot of harmonies on her record, and I also played a bit of piano. Oh and I got a group of gospel girls together in LA for one of the tracks, that was fun!
NWN
Have you had the pleasure of co-writing with any musicians the indie music world should know about? Who would be an artist or two you’d absolutely be thrilled to co-write, perform or book a show with?
LS
The indie music world should know about: Erik Penny, Alissa Moreno, Annmarie Cullen and her band Saucy Monky, Andrea Wasse, Kat Parsons, and Dave Lichens. I’ve written with all of those people except for Dave Lichens. I’d love to co-write with Kara Dio Guardi, she’s the most incredible songwriter in the world. Check her out.
NWN
Pantene Pro V. Tell us about the contest involving this company and you! Did you have to do one of those commercials where you wave your head back and forth in slow motion, all the while showing off that glisten and shine of your hair?
LS
When Think of England won we asked them that same question, but they told us that we wouldn’t have to make a Pantene commercial. It was a pretty cool contest actually; they just gave us lots of prizes. Plus I got two years’ worth of free Pantene!!
NWN
What was it like being involved in the “Soul City Café” program as well as the “This Way Tour”, which mainstream artist Jewel was behind? What was Jewel like in person?
LS
That was lots of fun. I like playing to thousands of people, I like selling hundreds of CDs at a single show, I like having dressing rooms with fruit baskets, I like having catering backstage. It was rad. I met Jewel a couple of times. I’m not going to say that she was particularly friendly…but honestly, if I were Jewel I’d be pretty guarded too. I think it was awesome that she let us open for her as a completely unsigned act.
NWN
The Libbie Schrader goodness that is “Sweet When You Wanna Be” was on full display in the season 6 finale of the show Gilmore Girls. How did this come about, and did you actually get screen time singing the song or was the song just heard in the episode?
LS
That was fun. My friend Oren was dating one of the casting directors for the show, and he recommended me when they were looking for independent musicians to appear in the season finale. I did get screen time, both in the background and while singing my song. I appear in a few scenes wearing a blue coat, and my song appears when the mayor enters the plaza and is upset about all the musicians that he finds there. I’m in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. There are a lot of musicians playing at the same time, but my song is definitely in there.
NWN
We asked Amy this question too, in a different way. You’ll remember we talked about this in our “lost audio interview”. Smoky bars and venues. Would the world be a better place if they didn’t exist?
LS
Smoke is not so good for singers’ voices or for the scent of their hair. I definitely prefer venues without smoke.
NWN
Is there a venue(s) in any city in the country or world that is your dream venue to perform at?
LS
Well I’d love to play on the Crystal Ballroom’s main stage! Other than that, maybe the Greek Theater or the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Those are beautiful outdoor amphitheaters.
NWN
When you were a kid, were you more of a Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood or Sesame Street kind of girl? Feel free to add anything not mentioned in the question or tell me that you were writing songs at age 5 and too busy for such things! Now that’d blow our minds!
LS
I liked both.
NWN
Do you have a favorite movie? TV show? Book? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle? Brand of toothpaste? Car? Oh, how about favorite kind of guitar? Any preferences on any of these things?
LS
Wow that is a lot of questions. American Beauty is my favorite movie. Lost is my favorite TV show. The Alchemist is my favorite book. I have a Toyota Prius and I love it. I like Tom’s of Maine toothpaste. I don’t have an opinion on the turtles.
NWN
Back to music on this final question. What can we expect from you in regards to touring during summer 2008 and beyond?
LS
Lots more college and club touring, I’m sure! Wherever my travels take me.
NWN
Libbie, thank you so much for essentially sitting down with Northwest Noise for a second time in the month of May to talk about your life, your music, and your favorite toothpaste!!! We hope that we’ll get the opportunity to sit down with you again; this time with podcast equipment that doesn’t lead you to believe its recording! Thank you for your time, candor and music that truly can bring a listener like me and others on the emotional journeys you’ve been through; even Blood Red Moon for me and men everywhere!
Please check out the Amy Jay interview by clicking here.
Take a listen to Libbie Schrader’s single War On Science from her LP, Libbie Schrader which is available at CD Baby
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