She named herself after a children's-book character who gets caught in time but she herself seems to know where she's going. Her music is easily relatable but clever and edgy and possesses at times a dark tone. Charlotte Sometimes knows what she's doing... and she's got everybody interested. When I spoke with her (before her record came out) all there was of her music to go on was a self-titled EP containing three songs, but even then it was easy to tell that this one was not, and for that matter is still not, destined to be deemed "just another female singer". In this interview we discuss Jersey, the 1960s, and bra-burning... briefly.Hi, Charlotte?
Hi!
How are you?
Good, how are you?
I'm good! Where are you right now?
We are driving to Virginia.
Oh, sounds like fun!
[laughs]
You are doing your own tour before the Warped tour this summer, right?
Yeah. Well, we're on a tour right now, and then I'll be doing this other, and then I'll be doing the Warped Tour.
Has this one been going well?
The tour's been great. The tour's been awesome and we've definitely had a really fun time with every band on the tour and… it's been great. But definitely every day it's been a lot of work.
You're from New York, right?
I actually grew up in New Jersey, but I was always there a lot.
Oh, so you grew up in Jersey near New York.
Yeah, I grew up on the Jersey Shore.
Oh, my dad too! How did you get into songwriting growing up?
You know, it was basically the only thing that could ever calm me down when I was younger, so it was always a big way to calm my emotions. And I used to be a dancer but that was pretty much over and then I picked up a guitar when I was fourteen, and that's how it started.
And how did your songwriting develop?
I think of it as the result of listening to so many different types of music. Like, I listen to the oldies station and then in my dance classes there'd be hip-hop and ballet music, and then my dad listens to other records so I listened to a lot of that. So I have so many different influences and inspiration that because of it my songwriting style kind of just became everything that I heard, you know?
Right. And in the music on your EP it seems like there's a big jazzy influence.
Yeah. I definitely think I'm influenced by jazz as well. But not like I've ever really owned a bunch of jazz CDs. I've always gravitated toward that from when I did theatre and because of my musical theatre background.
Right. So let's talk about your background in theatre.
Well, I started doing theatre when I was six and, you know, I just used to do a bunch of plays, and I was really into Broadway, and I wanted to do Broadway stuff in theatres— [laughs] But I kind of figured it out by the time I got into high school and I started playing my own music. But yeah, I definitely have been influenced by musical theatre. It's been in my family. My uncle's toured in a lot of Broadway shows.
Theatre itself has becomes more modern lately, too. Spring Awakening, Passing Strange…
Yeah. Which I think is really cool. Which changes it from when going to theatre or seeing theatre was not "cool" to like or something, you know? It's great.
Of course! So I wanted to ask a couple of questions about the songs on your EP. First there's "How I Could Just Kill a Man".
[laughs]
How did you develop that song?
My producer and I—the whole CD was already finished and he came up to me and asked me if I knew the Cypress Hill song "How I Could Just Kill a Man". I was like, "Yeah, what about it?" And he said, "Well, I think you should write a song with that title but make it a completely different song." I was like, "Uh… okay." I kind of went into the other room and wrote this song really quick about what I was going through with this guy I was dating and ended up being, instead of about gangsters who would kill someone, about being gangsters with someone's heart. So that's kind of how that song came about!
And your other two EP songs are "Waves and the Both of Us" and "Sweet Valium High". I actually wanted to have you talk about the latter…
That song was pretty much a direct reflection of what was going on when I was dating this guy… Basically I felt that I was almost being drugged by this person because I was getting happy so much and how sometimes I want to be controlled and let this guy walk all over me and I'll still love him, but basically the song became about how I don't want that to happen—like, I don't feel safe with other people in control of my life. And so yeah, it's pretty much about how some love is like a drug in that, you know, it calms you down but it's not really something you should look to, to solve your problems.
Could you discuss the other music on your album as well?
Yeah. Um… it's coming out May 6th; the songs on the album are all really different. They're all about life and trying to get to work through your problems, but there's dance beats in the background so you can have a good time. There's definitely some songs on the CD that are particular—like the song "Army Men" is all about not losing the battle and not losing the war to yourself; it's a song about the pressures you put on yourself and that society puts on you. And "Pilot" is the song I end up playing most. It's a good track.
So, wait, I want to know if there are other influences besides music that—like I know your stage name is taken from a book.
I'm inspired by film and literature but I think life inspires me, on good or bad days. I have a huge attachment to, um, inanimate objects. Like anything that doesn't move for some reason attracts my attention. I'll often look at the floor and for some reason—if it's a penny I'll go get it, or if there's a certain color… or I'll look at the shitty clock, or door, or fridge… things that often are very open-and-closed are very interesting to me. So I also have this obsession with flying things and airplanes, I guess because of the idea of being able to just be in the cockpit. So I get caught up in my own thoughts with these things. They're kind of a recurring theme, you know, in my music.
I generally make the assertion that most musicians either try to portray emotions or to tell stories through their music. I mean, I know that you do the former but I was wondering if you ever wrote about other characters.
Not really. I think that I have so many different personalities and I'm so many different characters that different songs tell kind of different stories. My biggest motivation is the emotion connecting to it, so I really choose to write emotionally and not so much in a storytelling way, so it's like if I can convey an emotion that's kind of the most important for me. I think if I feel detached from something, if I'm like, "Oh," then I didn't do a good job.
Right. So let's go back to talking about your tour. Do you perform songs differently live from when you recorded them?
Yeah. Because, I mean, when we were recording this CD I didn't have a band and now I have a band, so we definitely add our own little flair to all the songs. But nothing ever sounds so different from the CD that you can't relate to it, it's just that it's a lot more current, there's a lot more attitude. Sometimes I sing it differently, or I ad-lib here and there—you know, I forget words… [laughs]
Then what's your favorite part of touring so far?
I think my favorite part of touring's being able to be more in tune to my music… Also I really love having a pack of boys as my bandmates. We just learn so much from each other every day, and they're such a good support system to have around all the time—like if you're having a bad day everyone's there to make you feel better, and everyone's kind of cheering each other on, and it's a really nice family to have.
Have you been stopping in a lot of cities where your family and friends live?
No, not really. I feel like we've been so far away from where we all come from. [laughs]
You've been mostly on the east coast for your own tour. Do different audiences react differently to your music than other audiences…?
Yeah. Definitely. I think the east coast responds a lot better to our music, and the west coast as well, and middle America sometimes is just—but definitely.
Any favorite places so far?
I think our favorite places are… San Francisco— [to her bandmates] boys, what are our favorite places to play? Yeah, San Francisco—give me another. Where? Seattle. New York.
About New York—I mean, you didn't grow up in New York City, but you grew up on the Jersey shore so you were right nearby. Did you spend a lot of time in the city?
Yeah, yeah. I mean, my mom grew up in the Bronx, so she's attached to the city. And I've been taking voice lessons in New York since I was fifteen so I was up there all the time.
Oh, I see. What's your favorite part of the city?
Probably where I live, over on the Lower East Side.
Come visit Brooklyn.
I do! I love Brooklyn!
Most of the time when I say that people are like, "…What? Why?"
What? Who would say that? That's so sad!
I know! Okay, let me change the subject: how have you been entertaining yourself on the tour bus?
I just finished a book called… Him Her Him Again The End Of Him. [laughs] I really enjoyed that. And… we don't really watch movies, to be honest. We're always too busy to really—we don't get to do much. And, you know, I catch up on my gossip… mags. [laughs] Beyonce and Jay-Z just got married so congratulations to them! And yeah, I mean, there are other things. I mean, we don't get to do much of anything.
I like how brave you are in admitting you read gossip magazines. I'm generally too scared to admit that. [laughs]
I try not to admit it to anyone! However, now that I'm on the road it's really a good escape. And whenever I'm feeling down on myself I can look down on other people! And I'm very okay with that.
[laughs] So I just want to know what your favorite thing is right now. Anything.
What is my favorite thing? Like, right now, what is my favorite thing?
Yeah.
Oh wow. What… is my favorite thing? Um… you know, I guess definitely all the laughing on this tour. Also coffee. Lots of coffee.
Coffee is great.
Coffee is great. Yeah, I would totally enjoy a few days off, a few nights… watch some TV, have a cup of coffee… [laughs]
I've recently been hitting the coffee pretty hard. My mom doesn't want me to but I am.
Me too. I'm not supposed to drink coffee either because it dries my voice out but I just can't seem to care because it's really good. [laughs] And it really sucks sometimes because you've played seventeen shows in a row without a day off and you're sitting in the van like, "Uh… how can I survive without coffee!?"
[laughs] Before we go I'd also like to ask you about your stage name. I know the name "Charlotte Sometimes" comes from the 1960s book of the same name.
Yeah. The basic idea in the book is the girl gets trapped in time and has to learn to be someone else in time while trying to get back to her original self and I feel like that's kind of like me every day. I'm constantly trying to find the balance between who I am and who I want to be and how people perceive me. So I think that one of the main reasons I chose to be Charlotte Sometimes is kind of like a statement saying, "I'm not sure who I'm going to be yet. Or who I want to be."
You're not trapped in the 1960s though.
No, I'm not trapped in the 1960s! [laughs] But I feel like in the 1960s that sort of thing paved—it just rejects the sort of idea of a woman's role and the art of manipulation and how to get what you want. And it's also a reflection on the idea of the character in "Bewitched" where Darren asks her to be anything other than who she is and how ultimately you should never give up who you are for someone else.
Right. I get you. The 1960s were cool though. Wouldn't you like to be trapped in the 1960s?
I would. I like the clothes. [laughs] And it's right on the cusp of life. The movement. I'd get to burn my bras and nobody would give a damn.
[laughs] Thank you so much for doing this interview!
Thank you so much for calling! Take care!
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