OUT OF THE CHUTE - Julia Kasdorf

 Good morning, everyone! I have an inspiring artist with us today. I hope you'll enjoy this interview. I know this is without a doubt the most fun 'email' interview I have ever done and I hope to have the opportunity to meet Julia in person.

Let’s open the chute!

Hi Julia,

Welcome to Kelly’s Country. Thanks for joining me today and taking the time to answer the questions.

You mention listening to Peter Paul & Mary… how you really connected with their music from a young girl. Can you share what your first impression was that has since influenced your own music?

I love this question. It really helps me think about where music first got in amongst me.  My dad played PP&M on the stereo everyday after we got home from school. Their songs were so beautiful, so full of vivid imagery. “Take off your old coat, and roll up your sleeves.” (Old Coat) That made a powerful picture in my mind. “A girl so sweet that when she smiled the stars rose in the sky” (Lemon Tree) I could see myself laying in the grass gazing at those stars. “I heard a man come a clankin’, he had a long chain on.” (He Had a Long Chain on) I see that meeting in the moonlight. Then when I found out that these were old, old songs, I loved them all the more. They tell history.

Your bio reads like a travel itinerary over a lot of different genre paths. Tell us what you can recall from the first time you performed with a band and thought ‘this is it’.

What a great question! It would be in early 2000s when I was in a Virginia band called One Horse Town. When we were at our peak with some incredible local players, it was as easy and fun as surfing waves in Hawaii (I speculate). That’s when I said “Hoo boy, this is IT!” Now I’m pretty ruined - I only want to play live with people who are better than me.

MOTEL released regionally a couple of years ago. Now you’ve sent the album into a wider atmosphere. Most artists just jump in the deep end. Why did you give this a regional release first?

Er, limited resources.  I couldn’t afford to do much more! By and by, I came into some dough and decided the album deserved more attention.

 In the songquibs you mentioned seeing a motel that made you just want to pull over, check in and close the door. Did you and how did Motel come to be the title of the album?

I never did pull over, Thinking about it was enough.  People always responded really well to that song, and it had something important to say about me. I loved the title “Motel”- such an open word, so many contexts, and easy to remember. And I knew I could come up with a killer cover for that title.

Les Thompson was one of the co-producers of this album. How did that come to be?

The crowd of musicians in western Loudoun County VA isn’t huge so most folks know each other. He knew my band and did sound work here and there. Les had a studio that Danny Knicely (one of the TOPPEST musicians I’ve ever met) recommended, so I made the call.

While nothing else about the track is reminiscent of him, the guitar intro to Cool Water had a John Denver vibe. Were you influenced by his music at all?

Ack! Help!I didn’t go for to do it!  Ok, truthfully,  I was influenced by JD now that you mention it, He has this song “The Eagle” and it starts with ringing, shifting E chord shapes down the neck, winding up on a richly strummed E chord.  That sort of attack intensity definitely showed up in “Cool Water”. Holy cats. Do I  owe him money now? You really ask some great questions.

 Of all the people/ bands on your musical journey, what area or artists to you think influenced you in developing your own style the most and why?

Early David Bowie. His songs are miraculous and surprising and run all over the place, style-wise. And he still revered the power of the well-strummed acoustic guitar. He gave me the courage to break out of established patterns and tread some shaky ground. And his voice was all his own. On Motel, I was seeking out some new ways to sing to explore some Bowie magic.

 According to your website, this is your fourth album. How do you think you’ve music has evolved throughout the process?

 When I first started playing live music, I was usually playing bass for someone. I didn’t have any confidence in my own stuff.  I’ve played bass on a ton of recordings  but I couldn’t see myself presenting my own music, much less recording it!

 When I met Janet Emma Garbe (co-lead One Horse Town) , one of the most influential people in my life, we were able to put songs together that were really fun to sing and play. We were better than the sum of our parts and,  working with her, I grew a lot as a songwriter. Janet had some great contacts, which resulted in Jon (Starland Vocal Band, Mary Chapin Carpenter) playing keys with us and producing our record, Dawn Will Deliver. Who knew that such an ultimate musician lived in our town! We were very lucky, and Jon made our stuff pop to life.  That guy leaks great music wherever he goes.

 I would say that Motel and Dawn Will Deliver are the only records I’ve been involved in that express who I am and where I came from. That’s what was most important to me when I set out to record Motel.  Thanks for your interest in my stuff. I appreciate you taking the time to ask me some cool questions.

I really enjoyed this interview and hope you did as well. I'm linking one of Julia's video below.  Tomorrow, I'll be back with my review of MOTEL. You won't want to miss this one!

You will find more of Julia on her WEBSITE as well as the following social media links:

Reverbnation    Facebook   YouTube   Twitter   Spotify   Soundcloud   Bandcamp

Country Blessings!

~ Kelly