Brandi Carlile – HuffPost 5.9.11

Mike Ragogna: Very nice. This seems like a perfect spot for this question — what advice do you have for new artists?

Brandi Carlile: Well, my greatest piece of advice — and it’s not taking a shot at individualism — is to band together with other artists, and to completely abandon the idea of the competitive nature of music. Don’t let the business infiltrate your creativity. Make friends, write songs with other people, play with other people, and develop a community around you like they did in the ’70s in San Francisco and like they’re doing in L.A. and Nashville now. Join that community because it’s hard enough to make a living and make a name for yourself, but it’s a lot easier with friends.