A Conversation with Nicole Atkins – HuffPost 2.1.11

Mike Ragogna: Hi, Nicole. How are you?

Nicole Atkins: I’m good.

MR: So? You excited about your new album, Mondo Amore?

NA: Not at all.

MR: (laughs) Of course not.

NA: No, I’m super excited.

MR: Are you going on tour for this record?

NA: Yeah, we’re going to be out in February and March. I think the tour starts February 11th.

MR: Where are you heading?

NA: I think we start in Seattle, then do the West Coast, come home for a couple of days, and then do the East Coast before we head out to South By Southwest down in Texas.

MR: Nice. South By Southwest is always awesome. Do you know where you’re going to be playing?

NA: I don’t know yet. I think they’re putting that together now.

MR: You’re a Brooklyn resident right now, right?

NA: Yeah.

MR: But you weren’t always.

NA: No, I was living in Asbury Park, New Jersey, for a while. I just moved back to Brooklyn last December.

MR: What was the music scene like in Asbury Park when you were there?

NA: There’s a great music scene down there. There are a lot of young, new bands doing some great original stuff. There are also a lot of Springsteen cover bands down there, but fortunately, you get to see some young kids that are doing some really great stuff. I don’t know if you’ve heard of a band called River City Extension–there are like twelve of them in the band–but the singer sings like this manic kind of creature. They have a cellist, a horn section, and it’s really cool.

MR: Nice.

NA: Yeah, the music scene down there is pretty good. Everybody pretty much are friends, and people are trading gigs and hanging out.

MR: How have you found the contrast with New York?

NA: New York is just bigger, you know? There are a lot of communities here and a lot of bands. I don’t think I have any friends that aren’t in bands here. I need to probably find some. MR: (laughs) Let’s talk about the new record. When you were writing songs for this, was there a particular theme in mind or did you basically just title it cleverly?

NA: How did I get the album name in contrast to how I wrote the songs?

MR: Sure.

NA: The record is obviously a love record–or an anti-love record. I was at a bar in Key West about a year and a half ago, doodling on a napkin, and I just wrote the words “Mondo Amore” down next to each other. I said, “Wow, that’s the title of the next record that I haven’t even written yet.” It kind of sounded dramatic and it looks really cool in type.

MR: Your first album, Neptune City, was on Columbia, right?

NA: Yeah.

MR: And now you’re on that feisty indie Razor & Tie.

NA: Yeah, everybody who works there is just great.

MR: What is the biggest difference between Neptune City and this new one?

NA: With Neptune City, one of the main focuses in the arrangements was keyboards and strings in this kind of orchestral thing. Mondo Amore has two main things going on in it which are psychedelic music and blues music. So, it’s just a bit more stripped down and raw, and it’s focused on the guitar more than the piano.

MR: Can you go into the story behind “Vultures”?

NA: Yeah, there is a lot going on in that song. I wrote it on the beach last year in Asbury. It started as me just humming a pretty standard blues melody. It’s about two different things–it’s about jobs and working yourself to death for some greater reward. The second part is about how different people’s families are and what they fear the most–the types of things that they put in you to be afraid of your whole life. Then, at the end, it’s saying that there might be some hope. It’s a pretty bleak song.

MR: You’ve been described by the press as an edgy artist–do you see yourself as that?

NA: Edgy? Yeah, I guess so. I would consider myself kind of edgy.

MR: When I listen to your album, I hear influences from folks like Blondie, Ronnie Spector…basically, the girl group and punky eras.

NA: Uh huh. It’s ballsy, I guess that would be a good word.

MR: Let’s talk about another song, “Hotel Plaster,” which is probably my favorite song on the album.

NA: I’m so glad you like that song. You want to know what that’s about?

MR: Absolutely.

NA: I was in a relationship at the time, and I was touring all the time. He was also in a band, so he was touring all the time too. We never really got to see each other, and it’s basically letting this person know what not to do with their next girlfriend. The chorus of the song says, “Think of me in a prison of hotel plaster, far from the shelter of your sight.” It’s an “I miss you” song.

MR: Nice. Who would you say are your musical influences?

NA: Traffic, Pink Floyd–I like Arthur Lee’s Love. I like a lot of Swedish folk and psychedelic music, I like Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, The Doors, and…yeah. I could go on.

MR: I hear you were also influenced by David Lynch.

NA: Yeah, I’m a huge fan of David Lynch movies, and the music in them. Angelo Badalamenti soundtracks are high up on my list.

MR: You were part of the downtown club scene in NYC, right?

NA: Yeah, in 02′ and 03′, I started playing in the Sidewalk Café scene. Sidewalk Café is an open mic, and it was a really cool summer. It was the summer that The Moldy Peaches record just came out, and I was playing with these people like Regina Spektor, Langhorne Slim, and I brought up The Avett Brothers from North Carolina to do it. It was just a summer where everybody just started doing it, met each other, and became friends, so that was pretty cool.

MR: Have you ever played Hotel Café out in Hollywood?

NA: I never played there, no. I used to play Largo out in California, which is similar. Largo is really cool. You know the producer Jon Brion?

MR: Yeah, love his work.

NA: He lives right above it. I went upstairs to where he lives, above Largo, and he gave me a bunch of suits. He was like, “I’m getting rid of all these clothes. Do you want any of them?” So, I came down with a big armful of suits and was like, “Hey band, I got you some clothes.”

MR: I hear you’ve performed with Sara Watkins as well.

NA: Yeah, she’s who I first played with at Largo.

MR: That was a great period in LA for…I don’t want to call them singer-songwriters, that’s not quite right.

NA: They’re musicians, real musicians.

MR: Yeah, everybody started to learn their craft better. Is there a song on the new album with a particularly interesting story to tell?

NA: The last song on the record, “The Tower,” is interesting in terms of how I made it. That song was more of a concept–I wanted to build the song like a building and then tear it all down. So, it would sound like you’re climbing and climbing, and then you’re blown off the building and fall all the way down. I was actually trying to write this song when I was recording Neptune City. I had two different melodies that I always loved but could never finish. And then two years later, I was on a treadmill in a Jersey gym, and the two melodies just clicked together. I jumped off the treadmill, ran into the bathroom, and recorded it on my phone. It took like two seconds to make, after trying to get it for two years.

MR: Do you ever go back and listen to your first album? And how do you think you have grown from your first album to now?

NA: I actually don’t really like to listen to my own music because it makes me feel weird. The main difference between the last record and this record is that I made this record myself, with my own money, and without the help of a label. It wasn’t until after the record was done that Razor & Tie picked it up, so I guess I had complete creative control this time. It’s like everything is on there because I made it be on there–there was no A&R person telling me how to do things, which was awesome.

MR: You also hooked up with an interesting producer for this project.

NA: Yeah, Phil Palazzolo, he’s wonderful.

MR: What was the dynamic like in the studio?

NA: We just did everything together, you know? It was like, “Hey Phil, let’s try this,” and he’s like, “Alright.” He super non-judgmental, very laid back, and every day in the studio was just fun–it was like hanging out with your best friend at a bar but we were at a studio.

MR: So, what does the future bring for Nicole Atkins? Got a five-year plan?

NA: My five-year plan would be to get the band in a spot where our shows could be a little longer and make a few more records. Nothing very lofty–it’s pretty meat and potatoes simple.

MR: Got any advice for new artists?

NA: I would say play as many shows as you can. Find some of the older musicians in your town that you respect and get as much information as you can from them.

MR: Cool. Nicole, thank you very much for this interview.

NA: Hopefully, we’ll get out to Iowa soon.

MR: Hey, when you’re passing through, consider Fairfield as one of your stops.

NA: We could stay at your house. (laughs)

MR: (laughs) You got it.

Transcribed by Theo Shier