Lindi Ortega Finds Inspiration From Singing Backup for Brandon Flowers

Lindi Ortega might call her music alt-country, but it's more mourn-country: fabulously dark, playful and cool. The Toronto singer-guitarist first reaped accolades from the four-song 'Drifter EP,' released on iTunes in 2008 and widespread in 2009 on Interscope/Cherrytree. But a song could've been written about what happened next -- delays, delays before being dropped from her label. No matter. She's since signed with Last Gang, the label responsible for helping to launch Metric, and just released a new album, 'Little Red Boots,' earlier this month. Spinner spoke with Ortega about weathering the storm, singing back-up for Brandon Flowers of the Killers, and hunting for her cowboy.

Was 'Little Red Boots' done before you took the gig singing backup for Brandon Flowers?

Yes, it was. There were a lot of legalities [involved in] getting out of the deal with Interscope so [I was] just waiting to get out of that. When the opportunity to tour with Brandon Flowers as a backup singer came up, I didn't really have anything going on at that time, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to get out there and experience that side of things with him; get a different perspective, learn a little bit. It was great.

What did you learn from watching someone else in the spotlight?

It definitely is a cool perspective. I'm used to being the one that's upfront on stage, playing my guitar and singing my songs. So to take a backseat and witness it all on that level was highly inspiring and a very big learning experience, just to see how he functions and how he conducts himself and how he conducts his band. He put his band together right before going out on tour and that is something that I was going to have to do and eventually ended up doing..."

Did it reinforce that this is what you want to do?

Yeah, absolutely. It gave me an even greater love for travel and touring. Being able to go to all those different countries and places and playing all those amazing venues and doing Jimmy Kimmel and Jay Leno and all that sort of stuff gave me the bug to want to get out there with my own music and see if I could do it and reach people in those parts of the world as well.

Was it hard for you to bounce back when your major label deal with Interscope didn't pan out?

It was definitely disappointing because I expected this record to come out at a certain time and I saw a few release dates come and go without a release actually happening. Finally, when it was apparent that it wasn't gonna happen, I was worried about what I was gonna do next, but it ended up being for the best ... Signing to Last Gang and the whole idea to have the freedom to do whatever I wanted, that idea was just beautiful to me and I thought, "I'm going to make something that I really want to make without anybody telling me how it should sound or how it should fit onto radio, or how to do this." I didn't even think about any of that stuff. I just thought about the fact that I was a big lover of old-school country, outlaw kind of music, and that I just wanted to make a record that was representative of that and pay homage to those old-school cats from back in the day.

Which song most defines you on this album?

'Little Red Boots' is probably the most defining song [laughs]. I wrote it as an introduction to me in a quirky sense. It's how I envision myself if I were to be in a spaghetti-western comic book or something. I'm always wearing those boots now, at all the shows I perform. Ever since touring across the Midwest, when I first started wearing them and started writing that song, people recognize me for wearing them. It started defining me -- and red is such a standout colour. It's a "here I am" kind of colour.

Is it the same pair you wear all the time?

Yeah, the same pair that I bought in Nashville when I did a songwriting trip and have been wearing ever since. I'm hoping to expand on my pairs of red boots and get as many as possible.

Watch Lindi Ortega Perform 'Little Lie'
You included 'Dying of Another Broken Heart' from your EP on the new album. Has your perspective on love and men changed since you first wrote that track?

It's very difficult doing what I do right now to actually be involved in any kind of relationship because I'm always taking off. I'm always either going out with Brandon or doing my own stuff so it's always a ships passing in the night kind of relationship that I've been having with people lately. I'm still looking for my cowboy. I haven't found one yet but I am going to spend some time in Nashville. Just as I envision myself as the red suit comic book girl, I also envision myself falling in love with a cowboy living on a farm."

Good luck to you.

I'm kind of looking for a rock 'n' roll cowboy.

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