"Writing", says Canteri, "(great, average or terrible) is therapy. It’s creation." The Australian singer-songwriter, who has released two solo albums, When We Were Young and Late At Night, in addition to three stellar records with the Alt. Country band The Stillsons, is currently at work on a new album with Jeff Lang. "Sometimes I feel it’s hard to quantify just how much of my life and relationships revolve around music," Canteri says. "Playing music definitely keeps you humble… one month you’re playing to an amazing huge crowd at a festival, next month you’ll be playing to one man and the bar tender." Canteri's songs bear incredible depth, range and eclecticism, an arresting array of bluesy folk, rock and roll, alt. country grit and tender introspection, songs that scratch beneath the surface and linger in your head long after you've heard them. After a decade in music I think it is safe to say that Cat Canteri has secured a unique and enduring place for herself in music. And to those on a similar path who are being swallowed by doubt, it's important to remember: "Be compassionate to yourself. Be kind to yourself," and most importantly, "Never give up. Never give in." AHC: What has this journey in music, so far, been like for you, the highs and the lows, and what life lessons do you feel you've picked up along the way? Cat: Playing music became an integral part of my life when I was around 14 years of age when I gave up skateboarding after several bad injuries. I’d been playing drums since aged 12, but once I gave skateboarding the flick, music became really central to my identity. Sometimes I feel it’s hard to quantify just how much of my life and relationships revolve around music. Playing music definitely keeps you humble… one month you’re playing to an amazing huge crowd at a festival, next month you’ll be playing to one man and the bar tender…. AHC: What first drew you to music and what was your early musical environment like growing up? Were there pivotal songs for you then that just floored you the moment you heard them? Cat: I always loved to sing as a young kid and I have an early memory of being at a family friends house who had a drum kit and an electric guitar and I was transfixed. Hanson’s (the band) huge popularity in the late 90’s is what attracted me to playing the drums and writing my own songs. I think more than anything the fact that the drummer was only a few years older than me made me believe that playing drums was totally something within my grasp. Really, Hanson was my first exposure to rock n roll. People still scoff when I attribute my desire to play drums as coming from that band, but their influences were really soul and RnB and coming from a house hold that didn’t listen to commercial or popular music (at all) the music from Hanson really set off a crazy musical spark for me… I was obsessed for years with the drums. It took 3 years of nagging before my parents they conceded to let me get lessons. AHC: Do you remember the first song that you ever wrote or played? Or that first moment when you picked up a pen and realized that you could create whole worlds just by putting it to paper? Cat: Ohhhh yeah! I think everyone remembers their first song, generally cause it’s so awful, well it was for me anyway. I started learning guitar and trying to write songs when I was about 14. I’d obsessively write everything down, diary entries, people’s conversations…. Gossip… It took about two years before wrote an actually song, front to back, with an actual melody, structure and (half) decent lyrics. I was playing drums in a rock band at the time, and the singer wrote amazing songs, he was a few years younger than me and I was so perplexed with how he somehow knew how to put a song together. AHC: Which musicians have you learned the most from? Or writers, artists, filmmakers, teachers/mentors etc? Cat: My early teachers were really important. Simon Chiodo my high school drum teacher, and Margi Gibb who taught me guitar, piano and really mentored me through my desire to write songs and sing. I learnt drums from Gerry Pantazis after high school and he completely changed my technique and practice routine which really paved the way to me being the drummer I am today. There are so many people who gave me their time and support as I was trying to make my way through the world as a young musician, they’ve all had had a huge impact on my life and the person, and musician I am today. AHC: What do you think makes for a good song, as you're writing and composing, is there a sudden moment when you know you've found the right mix, that perfect angle of light, so to speak? Cat: That’s a really hard question to answer because the answer is different for every song. A good song can be many things. Primarily I think good song makes you ‘feel’ something. I don’t think it matters what that is. It’s about human connection at the end of the day. I definitely write better when I have an intention, story, arc, emotion in mind, rather than searching for a meaning/direction whist writing. AHC: Do you consider music to be a type of healing art, the perfect vehicle through which to translate a feeling, a state of rupture/rapture, hope lost and regained? Does the writing and creating of the song save you in the kinds of ways that it saves us, the listener? Cat: Writing a song can save the writer in the same way it saves the audience. Likewise, what a song means to a listener can be far deeper and more profound than what it meant to the writer, and visa versa. Writing (great, average or terrible) is therapy. It’s creation. The need and urge to create is a powerful thing, and creative people tend to find each other and stick together… because there is strength, understanding and comfort for us in numbers. AHC: What are your fondest musical memories? In your house? In your neighborhood or town? On-tour, on-the-road? Cat: My fondest memories don’t translate to amazing stories on paper, but they’re mostly when I’ve been playing music with friends and hanging out in a really easy and care free way. Just being.
Photo by Lilli Waters. Camp Eureka, June '11
AHC: When you set out to write a song, how much does ‘where the world is’ in its current moment, culturally, politically, otherwise, influence the kinds of stories you set out to tell? Cat: That’s the great question. The answer for me is, that changes all the time. These days I would say I’m really interested in telling human stories from the more narrow time and place setting… trying to set a really strong scene, and sense of time and place. I’m trying to work on writing songs that have strong characters that engage the listener which turn into human interest stories rather than the listener literally injecting their own experience onto the lyrics. AHC: Do you have any words of advice or encouragement for other musicians and singer-songwriters out there who are just starting out and trying to find their voice and their way in this world? What are the kinds of things that you tell yourself when you begin to have doubts or are struggling with the creative process? Or what kinds of things have others told you that have helped push you past moments of self doubt/creative blocks? Cat: a) Always strive to improve at everything you do. You can always develop and you can always improve. There’s more than one way to do/play/sing everything, and there is no right or wrong, just aesthetic choices. There is always more to learn and experience in music. Once you delve in there is no end, it’s a life long pursuit. b) Be compassionate to yourself. Be kind to yourself. Development as an artist takes time, energy, focus and determination. I would say TIME, and FOCUS are the main ones. Development is a process. Every step, every new milestone is as important as the next… try to remind yourself to ENJOY the steps. There is no ‘END GAME’ to being an artist. It goes on until you die. You may as well try to get some pleasure and satisfaction from it each step of the way. c) Doubt. Everyone has doubt. Never give up. Never give in. Never listen to anyone who says your creative pursuit will never make you money or is a “hobby”. Those people will never understand your art/vision/dream so don’t waste your breath on them, and don’t waste your headspace dwelling on their options. AHC: Your latest release, 2016's Late At Night, came out of working with a new band and playing sometimes up to three hours a night in the bar circuit, did the overall energy of this record feel different from When We Were Young and how did you channel the energy of those nights into the songwriting process for this album, were some of the songs written after shows, etc? Cat: Actually none of the songs were written on tour. All the songs on Late At Night are songs Justin Bernasconi and I had written and recorded previously with our band The Stillsons...
The Stillsons - Photo by Lilli Waters. Warehouse in Brunswick, Melbourne - April '13
So they were all old songs that had been floating around for years. We were heading out on tour and needed extra material, essentially what we did was ‘cover’ our own songs. There was a definite sense of throwing caution to the wind, the premise behind the recording was actually to capture this particular group of songs the way the band (Justin Bernasconi, Justin Olsson and Daniel Hobson) had being playing them on the road. The whole thing was done in three days, six songs tracked live on the first day, second day I overdubbed a few guitar solos, third day mix. When We Were Young was very considered and planned, Late At Night is totally unconsidered and on the fly. They’re worlds apart. AHC: Do you have any new projects in the works or musical ideas percolating for the future? Cat: Yes! I’m currently recording my new album with Jeff Lang. It'll be out in 2018! For More visit www.catcanteri.com/ The Stillsons: www.thestillsons.com/ Cat Canteri catalog available via catcanteri.bandcamp.com/music The Stillsons catalog available via thestillsons.bandcamp.com/music
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