A Holly Golightly Interview – HuffPost 2.28.14
Mike Ragogna: Holly, how are you and the Brokeoffs–Lawyer Dave–lately?
Holly Golightly: Hi Mike, we’re doing well down here, thanks.
MR: New album…All Her Fault. Who’s fault is it exactly?
HG: Dave would probably say it’s my fault, but it’s actually his fault.
MR: What was it like creating the music and recording the album?
HG: It was business as usual, in terms of getting the songs together and working out how they would be arranged. That’s usually something that goes pretty smoothly here. It did take quite a bit longer when it came recording this time though. The delays were mostly due to intermittent weather-related (power) issues which affected studio use, so it was a fragmented adventure at times. I think it may have worked out to be a really good thing for us, in the end, since the breaks from recording gave us plenty of time for scrutiny and assessment of how we thought it was (and/or ought to be) going. We got to make necessary amendments along the way, rather than waiting until the last minute to race through it all, one song after another. Too much time between sessions can sometimes be a bad thing too, but the enforced gaps in working gave our ears regular rest, which was a luxury. The end result is nicely in keeping with what we have done before, at least we think so, and we’re really, really happy with it.
MR: What’s the story behind “Pistol Pete”?
HG: It’s an equine escape story. I suppose it’s what we wish could happen, for all abused horses. We take them in–rehabilitate and re-home horses that is–and have had many arrive that had drawn the short straw in life, prior to landing here with us. So, it’s an homage to them and to all the others like them.
MR: “Bless Your Heart” calls out phoniness. Is this story a personal one?
HG: We each had our own thoughts as to who the lyrics might most likely apply to when we were putting it together, but as we formed it into a song we honed it to make it all the funnier–to us. It is really just a patchwork of snippets of both of our individual experiences of a certain type of person, rather than one person in particular, and it’s not intended to be too specific, on purpose.
MR: Which songs on the album that best describe your attitude these days?
HG: Oh that would be KIng Lee, without a doubt. He’s got the right idea.
MR: What’s the touring going to be like?
HG: Well, here’s hoping it’s plain sailing. We haven’t been out on a full US tour for a couple of years now, and we’re really looking forward to doing it again. It will be a treat to visit some new places and play for people who may not have been able to get to a show of ours before, and we will be getting to see the familiar faces too, in the places we have stopped and played before. We tour fairly modestly, traveling in a small vehicle and driving ourselves… We’ve virtually gone pro this time ’round and got a roof cargo box. We’re feeling ready to roll and it’s going to be a lot of fun!
MR: Are you satisfied with the way you’ve controlled your career to this point and is there anything you would change if you could?
HG: I’m really happy with the way things are. I have done just as I please, pretty much, so I cannot complain about anything at all. It still feels like a huge privilege to me, to be able to do this. I don’t think there’s anything much I’d change… Though I sometimes think that I ought to have got a tuner a little bit sooner.
MR: What’s your advice to new artists?
HG: I would recommend, no matter what else they may or may not get out of making music, that it had better be really good fun to do. Oh, and don’t sell your publishing. That’s my advice.