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A little Q&A with singer-songwriter Caroline Baehner (aka Sweet Caroline). Caroline plays cello, African drums, guitar and keyboards, and her new album is called Skye.
Leicester Bangs: Tell us a little about yourself.
Caroline: Sweet Caroline got me out of a 9 year retirement from the music industry. I was previously a recording artist in San Francisco in 1997-1999. I composed and performed in high school, college, and grade school, studying voice since age 5.
LB: How did you start out making music?
Caroline: In fifth grade in South Carolina where we vacationed for the summer, I wrote my first song. It was very gothic. I was a depressed, gothic child obsessed with graveyards.
LB: Who did you grow up listening to and how do they influence what you’re doing now?
Caroline: Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Sting, Madonna, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Louis Armstrong, Peter Gabriel, and George Winston were some favorites. Also, The The, The Cranberries, Clannad, Enya, Loreena McKennitt, Peter Murphy, N.E.R.D. and Kanye West, Missy Elliott and Mariah Carey. I used to love Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan, Bonnie Raitt, Joss Stone, and Sharon Jones. Radiohead is one of my favs and The Police are my favorite band of all time.
LB: Tell us about your latest release.
Caroline: “Skye” is my heartbreak album about domestic violence. Every track is about a brutality which left me for dead, and it's long term effects. Inspired by a handful of national and international musicians, it is my best yet.
LB: Do you get out and play your music live, and if so, what can an audience expect at one of your shows?
Caroline: Yes, I go to jams and join in at Irish and blues clubs, and have a soulful voice. I usually get people to dance and get standing applause. My guitar player Robert Thursday is a blues guitarist so he plays on those kinds of tracks. I also love electronica like OM records artists such as Colette and Andy Caldwell and Kaskade.
LB: What aspects of playing and recording music do you most enjoy?
Caroline: The art of singing, of pushing air up from your belly and hearing it vibrate in the microphone. I used to enjoy playing the cello and guitar as well as keyboards but because of domestic violence, the art of performing and singing simultaneously escapes me still.
LB: Where can people find (and buy) your music?
Caroline: CDBaby, iTunes and it’s sold in Kansas City, Missouri at Streetside Records.
www.myspace.com/carolineboehner
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