Rachael Cantu Interview: SXSW 2010

There's an almost spiritual nature to singer-songwriter Rachael Cantu's folk-tinged pop that makes it easy to see why artists like Tegan and Sara, Ben Lee and blues legend B.B. King have asked her to join them on tour. Cantu's powerful vocals and atmospheric songs pull you in immediately. Her second album "Far and Wide" was released last year and Spinner caught up with the SoCal native before this year's SXSW.

Describe your sound in your own words.
A little old-time folk-y with a little blues. It's more lyrical; I like to focus on lyrics. I'd say also mixed in with some pop and some indie rock.

How did you get started in music?

I started playing guitar at 16; I kind of taught myself. I'd always taken lessons, I took piano lessons for five years so I had that instilled me but I stuck with guitar because I didn't have to take lessons and I was actually at the point that I had a band that I liked. I joined a band at 17 with a bunch of guys and ended up singing and writing songs for the band, where I was supposed to be the guitar player, so I got thrown into that one. Then I just kept going, discovered I kind of liked it. Never thought it would be a career path, I just kept doing it because I liked it so much and it just turned out that way.

What are some of your musical influences?

Let's do big ones – there are so many – Tom Waits, Bjork, Harry Nilsson; those are some big ones in my past.

What's your biggest vice?

I'm not gonna lie – I don't have many vices. I have the least addictive personality you will ever meet.

What's in your festival survival kit?

I'm honestly just gonna go and see what happens. I'm not preparing for anything other than my showcase. Maybe I'll print out every single piece of paper that's been sent to me with suggestions, so I'm prepared. I'm literally hopping in a car, driving over there and coming home.

Who was your first celeb crush?

It's gonna sound so cliched, but Angelina Jolie – c'mon. In "Hackers"? There it is, out for the world.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

Tatu, you know the, what are they, Russian? They actually had a pretty fun album and that was definitely a guilty pleasure.

Beatles or Stones?

Beatles. I love the Stones, too, but the Beatles, production-wise and instrumentation-wise, I think it's a little more intricate. I'm not necessarily a straightforward rock person, but I appreciate the production quality of a lot of their songs.

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour?

This is the time when I realize how boring I am. It's funny – the first tour I ever did was with Tegan and Sara and they're still good friends of mine to this day, but they kind of instilled in me a very "business" mentality of touring, which I thank them so much for. Instead of the rock 'n' roll [thing] of everyone getting drunk and waking up at 8 a.m. to drive eight hours, I'm pretty business when it comes to touring. I have fun and what I do is a fun job, but I don't – nothing that crazy.

Are you working on any new material?

I am, actually, but it's more – I'm working with a writing partner; he's my guitarist, also, a very talented guy that has his own band. We're writing together, we'd like to license stuff for TV, film and stuff. So we're doing a lot of that writing. And usually that sparks my own stuff so, in between my own writing, we're doing that. [If you'd asked] me that a few months ago and I'd be like, "No, not at all."

What are you most looking forward to about attending SXSW?

Just the madness and trying to figure out which shows to go to and which ones you can get into. I always hear the horror stories about shows being too crowded to get in. I'm looking forward to discovering artists or bands I've never heard of; I'm hoping to stumble upon those. It's nice to have the liberty to wander into a showcase.


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