Sharon Van Etten Performs 'Tramp' Hits, Comedy Routine on The Interface (VIDEO)

One of the great things about being a music fan is getting to see an act you like reach new heights of success, both in the business and in their craft. Such was the case with Sharon Van Etten, whose music I was first introduced to a couple years back by a colleague. I enjoyed the Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter's second album, 'Epic,' but it's her latest, 'Tramp,' that made me fall in love with her as a performer (and not romantically, because I'm pretty sure my fiancée wouldn't be cool with that).

Produced by the National's guitarist Aaron Dessner, 'Tramp' shows the edgier side of Van Etten. Written while she was living an itinerant tramp-like lifestyle -- not the slutty kind, naturally -- the songs reflect Van Etten's maturation and increasing comfort with herself, her voice and her personality.

During the week of the album's release, Van Etten and her band stopped by Spinner's New York studios for a special acoustic session and interview on The Interface. Check out the performance and Q&A below!



You've spent a long time making this record, but you've only just started performing the songs. What's that been like for you?

It's been a lot of fun. I was nervous at first because I've never produced a record in a way that it's beyond the bare necessities of having a band. But I have a really, really talented group of people that I'm working with right now, so it's been jumping around onstage, playing with multi-instrumentalists, being able to juggle instruments and making the live show a lot more fun and interesting. You know, not just standing in one place the whole time.

The buzz around the record has been growing and growing. Have you been paying attention to the reviews?

Well, my friends will send me funny ones, like somebody from American Songwriter compared me to the guy from Alice in Chains covering an Arcade Fire song. I was like, [sarcastically] "OK, Alice in Chains. I get that entirely." At least it's a '90s reference.

And my Mom and Dad have me on Google alert, so they'll say, "Did you read this? Did you hear that? Did you see it?" It's a little overwhelming and I'm kind of scared how people are going to see it, how it's going to translate live and everything. I'm just looking forward to getting on the road and just forgetting about all of the other stuff.

Some of the songs on the album have this more aggressive sound than some of the stuff you've done in the past. Was that a conscious decision on your part or a natural progression?

A little bit of both, I guess. I didn't intend it at first, but when I was getting songs together to record, I realized that they were much more confident. I mean hopefully as you get older you grow as a person, and I feel like after living in the city and learning through your struggles and all that jazz, I feel like I'm a stronger person, and much more secure with who I am and what I'm doing. I don't have a lot of time to waste, so I feel like a lot of the songs capture that really well. And I'm also a lot more in touch with myself, so I'm not always singing sad songs. I feel like now I'm a lot more honest with myself and to other people by allowing myself to be angry or show a little bit of regret, and also being happy even. Not being afraid to show all of the different sides of myself that I was before.

On the subject of sad songs, do you think there are any parts of the record that are funny, or funny to you, or potentially funny that people just kind of miss because of the overall vibe of it?

I'm going to sound like a total cheese ball but my favorite line that I wrote was, "Tell me I'm wrong, tell me I'm funny, even when I'm not." Because I make jokes all the time, and even my friends, they kind of roll their eyes, but they love it you know, because I like puns. I like Charlie Chaplin. I'm a physical comedian [laughs] on the side, so I always slip in a little joke here and there on my records. It's only usually my friends that get it.



Can you give us an example of some jokes you've done that have gotten lots of laughs?

Apart from my Gallagher routine, I can quote a lot of comedians. Ricky Gervais is one of my favorite comedians, as well as Mitch Hedberg and Mike Birbiglia. So whenever I'm bored, I'll just spout off lines, I won't even realize I'm doing it sometimes. Like I'll quote movies all the time, forgetting that people have no idea what I'm talking about, just like a total spaz.

You spent a year kind of bouncing around from house to house, apartment to apartment, couch to couch. You finally put down roots, but now you're about to go on the road for about a year. Do you dread that, or are you excited about it?

In a lot of ways, touring has turned into my most consistent routine, so at least it's a set of hours. I know where I'm going everyday, I know what I'm doing, whereas since I've been home the last few months I don't know if I'm going to have a 12-hour day or a two-hour day. I don't know if I'm getting up early or staying up late. Right now my schedule's is, I wake up at noon and I'm up until 6 AM and I can't maintain that, so I'm looking forward to getting into a routine of touring. I just moved into a place in October but it'll be nice to have a place to come back to, whereas I didn't have that before, so I'll have more of a sense of home in between tours, which will be nice.

You wrote this album over such a long time. Are there a lot of songs that you have leftover or stirring? Is there any new material coming any time soon?

I've been writing a lot still, when I have a little down time. I've been writing a lot more electronic music lately because it doesn't bother anyone else. I could just have my MIDI keyboard set up to my headphones and rock out on my own, and write my own drumbeats with two keys. But, I'm constantly playing just to play because it feels really good. I don't know if it will turn into anything but I'll always be writing.

With your popularity growing, do you feel like you need to have more of a rock star persona or or do you just stay yourself?

The only thing I think I'm changing is I want to just look a little nicer. I'm like, "Maybe I'll tuck my shirt in for this show," or "Maybe I'll look to see if I have dandruff today." You know, like, maybe I'll just check myself before I get onstage, otherwise I don't want to appear better than anyone that's coming to my shows -- I just want to be responsible about being a performer.

So what's next? What are your plans? What do you want to do, where do you see the next level in terms of what you've already accomplished?

Just going to get the touring down. You know, tour like hell and get the live show down. Maybe grow as a band together. I mean, this will be our first tour together, and we'll know after the first couple tours if we'll want to add another member and really flush out the sound to see if that'd be helpful, or if people would appreciate that more at a live show. My friend is also going to be doing projections for us, so it'll be the first time that I'll have like visuals attached to the show to entertain people a little bit more. Just trying to push myself a little further every time.