This Year marks the 20th anniversary of This Fire, an album that marked a huge turning point for Paula Cole, arguably containing three of the best songs of the 90's, Where have all the cowboys gone?, Me and I don't want to wait. In 1997 she won a Grammy for Best new artist of the year, although, by that time, she had already cut her teeth on a massive tour with Peter Gabriel and one of the most powerful, hauntingly poignant debut albums ever produced from a young singer-songwriter, 1994's Harbinger. The songs on that album, much like the songs on This Fire, were confessionally fierce, they didn't quiver as much as they roared, sometimes softy, sometimes loudly, or both at once. Paula Cole was and still is a writer who just tells her truth, laying her sorrows, joys, and transformations on the table, because to do anything else would be unthinkable. The mark of a true artist is, in part, their ability to make us feel something, to give us the words we were looking for, and Paula has spent a life in music doing just that. Not an easy life or an easy task as she sings in 'Pearl' "There are no role models in rock n' roll, no women who could have it all, the long career, the man, the happy family, and here I stand and God I do demand it", she didn't just demand it, she lived these things as well and as true as anyone could. If a single sentence could say it all, which may be impossible, it would be what she wrote in 'Somethin' I've Gotta Say', "Don't confuse positivity for naivete, the great ones walked through hell to become that way" and there's no doubt that Paula Cole is one of the great ones. AHC: What has this journey, this life in music been like for you, the highs and lows, and what life lessons do you feel you’ve picked up along the way? Paula: That, my dear, is my autobiography. I’ll be working on that next, I think! I’m getting close to fifty years of age and there is just too much to say. I think philosopher/poet Rumi said it well when he contemplated and posited that if you wish to do something well in this lifetime, then do just one thing, Devote yourself to the one thing. It is natural to compare ourselves to others, but it’s a waste of time. Really we have our one life. Hopefully we make life better for others while we are on the planet, that’s the point, really. 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? Paula: Music was a fun, joyful daily expression in my home. My Dad played multiple instruments and played bass in a band on the weekends. It was so natural and it made me happy. I didn’t realize then, of course, how special it was. My Dad was a huge influence. From his perfectionism, his work ethic, his soulful musicianship, his joy, his sensitivity and proclivity to anxiety and depression, his intellect, I am my father’s daughter. AHC: Do you remember the first song you ever wrote? Paula: I remember, yes. It was called “God May Take the Earth”. Maybe I was five or so? Though I was raised with questioning, scientific, atheistic tendencies, I felt deep spiritual connection and was contemplating the impermanence of the Universe! AHC: Who are some of your musical inspirations? Paula: My Dad, my female legacy of grandmothers and great-grandmothers who weren’t allowed to be professional anythings. My beautiful artist mother. They were secretaries or teachers or housewives – their art was private and uncelebrated. Also Peter Gabriel, Aretha Franklin, Kate Bush, John Lennon, Joni Mitchell, Dolly Parton, Emmy Lou Harris, Chaka Khan, Bob Marley, Miles Davis, Stevie Wonder, Ella Fitzgerald, Neil Young, Billie Holiday. 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? Paula: Hopefully I’m moved or interested in my burgeoning song. If not, I’ll scrap it. There are a lot of scraps by the wayside. It’s joyous when a song comes suddenly and urgently. There have been periods of my life when I was extremely dedicated to the craft and tirelessly persisted. I do that much less now. It’s important to my psyche to do other things, too. By living life consciously, sensitively, reading books, being the best person I can be, journaling, being respectful and in reverence to planet earth, by being a loving partner and mother I am being the best songwriter I can be. Great work emanates from that. AHC: Many of your songs are incredibly therapeutic, as a listener I know I’ve returned time and again to certain songs of yours for that healing effect, in writing and composing these songs through out the years, has it been similarly therapeutic for you to create through these sometimes painful experiences that mark our lives? Paula: I’ve needed to express the hurt. It feels less toxic to my soul if I blood-let through writing and singing about pain I’m carrying. It is absolutely therapeutic to me. Amazingly, I discover it’s therapeutic for others. AHC: Could you talk some about your time with the Lilith Fair, it was an amazing moment in time for those of us watching, I wonder what it was like for you, as an artist, to be sharing the stage with so many incredibly gifted songwriters and surrounded by the huge reception and celebration for women in song that was taking place then? Paula: Lilith Fair had some of the best audiences I’ve ever, ever experienced. It all felt like hope. The energy was conscious, awake. The initial intention was that we wanted to make the world better. A lot of the great music of the 90’s just happened to be by female artists. And so we gave percentages of ticket sales to local women shelters. It changed communities. It opened radio playlists and hearts and minds. However, Lilith Fair became increasingly corporate and money-seeking, a vehicle solely for Sarah McLachlan and I wanted out by then. Initially, however, it was fantastic. AHC: You have a very intimate approach with your audience that is really unparalleled I think, I was once back stage and noticed how authentic and kind you were with everyone, treating them each like family really, I noticed how interested you were in other people’s lives, you wanted to know more about them, who they were, that is so rare, music is a very intimate format but I think that moments like that, between artist and listener are few and far between. What drives you to reach out to your audience in that way, with such an incredible level of attention and compassion? Paula: Simply it’s Act II and it feels as important as Act I. AHC: Do you have any words of advice for young musicians and singer-songwriters out there who are trying to find their voice and their way in this world? Paula: Listen to many different artists from different continents and decades. Be humble, learn from the masters. None of us would be here without Bessie Smith or Billie Holiday creating her path. Learn an instrument, learn more than one instrument, if possible. Listen to all aspects of the music, from the kick drum up. Know a little about a lot: Production/engineering, music business, entrepreneurship, being a good leader, a good hang in the van. Emotional intelligence is probably the highest indicator for success. Elevate yourself and others through your art. AHC: Do you have any new projects in motion you’d like to tell people about? Paula: I’m happy to say I’m working on an album I’ve waited thirty (yes THIRTY!) years to make. I started as a jazz singer, rejected a couple of record deals with jazz labels because the circumstances needed to be right for me to make the work I really wanted. Though I’ve sung with other jazz artists, I’m finally making my own jazz and roots album. It’s very exciting and I hope people give me a chance and just listen with an open mind. I am not just my hits, I am so much more. Visit paulacole.com/
Catharine Clarke
10/1/2016 07:28:09 pm
Very moving, took me to the marrow of the oldest wound. Thank you. I can bear it better now Comments are closed.
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