Linda Draper

(May 2009)

Interview by Adam McKibbin

Linda Draper's Bridge and Tunnel stands among the NYC-based singer-songwriter's warmest and most accessible albums, polished with the help of producer Brad Albetta (who counts the Wainwright family among his return customers). Now a veteran of the "anti-folk" scene that pushed Regina Spektor and The Moldy Peaches into the national spotlight, Draper has a somewhat more conventional and commercial side to her folk leanings, as shown on Bridge and Tunnel standouts like "Time Will Tell" and "Broken Eggshell."

Draper took some questions from The Red Alert about anti-folk, covering the Stones, and making the adjustment to the big city as a young, aspiring artist.

Patchwork was my introduction to you – and in my review of that album, I tried to explain the difference between anti-folk and folk only to admit that, when it came to practice and not theory, I didn’t really have a very good idea.  Can you help shed some light all these years later?

When I moved to the city, I thought Antifolk was just a name associated with an open mike that took place at the Sidewalk Café (and for a while, another bar down the street called the Raven). The term Antifolk was coined by Lach (who ran the open mike and the festivals for many years) after he got ostracized from the traditional folk music scene in NYC, because his music was too loud for ‘em. So he said, “if they’re folk, I’m antifolk!” From what I understand, Antifolk is supposed to convey a more acoustic punk rock/DIY aesthetic. But you know, so many artists are doing their own thing (indie, lo-fi, no-fi, whatever you want to call it) these days anyway, I don’t think a label stating one’s anti-folk or anti-conformity or whatever is really necessary anymore…you know? Things change.

In the time between then and now, we’ve seen a few people from that anti-folk “scene” (for lack of a better word) find some crossover mainstream success – like Regina Spektor and The Moldy Peaches.  Was there a sense that they were going to make a break?  And is there anyone in particular that you’re surprised didn’t make a similar jump? 

With the Moldy Peaches and Regina, there was this kind of feeling you got at their show – like you and the crowd were in on a big secret, that you were witnessing something unique and special. I figured it was only a matter of time until they made it to the BIG time – or, at least, the bigger time.  With that being said, there are SO many talented people I have seen perform over the years, that one gets that same feeling with, like they are witnessing something pretty special, just watching them perform – like Dina Dean, Barry Bliss, Amos, Knot Pinebox, Danny Kelly, oh forget it, the list is endless. Most of the people that really inspire tend to be the ones that go by unnoticed in their own time.  So, because of that, it’s great when people like Regina Spektor, or Jeff Lewis, or the Moldy Peaches somehow find a way to break through that glass ceiling.

Picturing like-minded artists sharing the stage in solidarity makes me wonder:  have you ever been on a comically mismatched bill? 

Ha! Yes! One time I had to play right after this punk rock act, Joe Bendik. He is the LOUDEST solo punk-rocker out there. And then I, the Queen of Quietcore had to follow him. We were both laughing about it afterwards.

You got an early start in music and grew up in a musical home.  What kind of music were you exposed to at an early age?  What kind of posters did you have hanging up on your wall or in your school locker?

My dad is a professional classical guitarist so I grew up listening to some pretty cool music. Posters in my school locker? I actually don’t think I had any! In high school I was listening to mostly Black Crowes, Tom Petty, Pink Floyd, Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians, the Pixies, Indigo Girls, Nirvana, Mazzy Star…a very mixed bag music, but it got me through.

The big city can swallow people up pretty easily.  When you were starting out, how did you find your community?  When I hear someone is moving to LA to live the dream, I tell them that’s the big key – finding a pocket of the city that really becomes home. 

That’s a good piece of advice. Find a pocket of the city that you can make your home…I like that. I guess that’s just what I did, accidentally. When I first moved to the city, back in 1999 (I grew up in New York state, so the move for me was not too far away).  I was looking through the Village Voice and read about an open mike at the Sidewalk Café. I went there and signed up on a list to play a song. I stayed the whole night, and somewhere around 1 am, my name was called and I went up on stage and played “As The Story Goes” (from my first CD, Ricochet). When I finished, Lach invited me to play a show there. So, I kept coming back and people for the most part were really sincere – I felt like I was a part of something, at least for a little while, which felt good.

You get compared to a lot of fine singer/songwriters – I had a few flashes of Aimee Mann on the new record; your press kit also mentions Nick Drake, Joan Baez and Suzanne Vega, among others.  But do you ever get a comparison and think “Whoa, where did that come from?”

Hmmm…one review said I reminded them of a cross between Beth Orton and somebody else (probably one of the above mentioned). Beth Orton’s cool, but I don’t think I sound anything like her.  

You’ll be hitting the road to support the new album; I know you’re spending a few days out here – and playing a show with Parson Red Heads, one of our local favorites.  What’s the live setup going to be like – are the songs presented pretty faithfully?  Are you bringing along a band? 

For the first half of my tour, I will faithfully be playing my songs, solo :) I am very much looking forward to meeting and hearing the Parson Red Heads, Cotton Jones, Paula Kelly, Old Toy Trains and Jubilee singers when I am down in southern CA. My bass player, Rob Woodcock will be joining me for my gigs in Seattle, where I will be sharing a bill with Gabe Mintz (who I went to high school with – he rocks) and then in San Fran with the Corner Laughers and the Orange Peels as well as the radio show at KFJC in Los Altos Hills. 

There’s a lot of personal – or seemingly personal – subject matter on Bridge and Tunnel.  I know writing can be a healing process or provide closure and reflection; but what’s it like to revisit those songs night after night?  Doesn’t that keep some of the wounds open? 

I think playing these songs helps air out the ghosts. I actually feel better after I play em, less haunted.

Why “Mother’s Little Helper”? Great song, to be sure, but what made you to gravitate to that particular great song?  Was it apparent from the beginning how you wanted to treat it?  It’s a different kind of take; it reminded me a little bit of Petra Haden’s a capella renditions of The Who. 

I learned about [The Feminist Mystique author] Betty Friedan and her reference to “The Problem That Has No Name”, which inspired me to cover that song.

So many of us (men and women of course) today are told to take a pill and everything will be all right – it’s all over commercials, with the fine print and deadly side effects being drowned out by a soothing Lydian mode kind of tune in the background. It’s pretty disgusting. I thought the lyrics of Rolling Stones’ “Mother’s Little Helper” are so relevant today, even though the song was written back in 1965. Originally, when we recorded it, we had tried out a bunch of different instruments. They just didn’t seem to fit. We kept picking them away. Brad then suggested we just leave it with vocals and tambourines. The vocals on this song are not double tracked, that’s just me singing over and over again like 3 or 4 times. I was more interested in the lyrics of that song than anything else and that’s what I wanted to focus on.

What are some of your other favorite covers in your repertoire?  I was looking at your show archive on your website and I noticed a reference to some Tom Waits covers. 

Oh yeah, “Diamonds & Gold”! I have to dust that one off – I haven’t played that in a while, since Bob Fass’ show on WBAI. Thanks for reminding me. Recently, I have been enjoying playing a traditional folk song that Odetta did a beautiful version of, called “Sail Away Ladies”. My bass player Rob and I recorded that is for an  upcoming compilation CD being released this summer by a UK zine called “Wears The Trousers”. (On it, I have recorded my debut harmonica solo – hee!) Also, I haven’t recorded it, but also within the past year, I have really enjoyed covering Death Cab For Cutie’s song, “I Will Follow You Into The Dark”.