An Interview with Lucy Kaplansky (1/2) By Steve Rudd

(1/2), (2/2).

New Yorker Lucy Kaplansky is a renowned Folk/ Country singer-songwriter who recently unleashed her latest album, Over The Hills. Born and raised in Chicago, Lucy moved to New York in her late teens, where she got involved with the Folk scene in Greenwich Village, going on to play with the likes of Suzanne Vega and Shawn Colvin. In 1994 she released her much-anticipated debut album, The Tide on Red House Records. Thirteen years on, Lucy continues to release her music on the same record label to huge critical acclaim.

In anticipation of her forthcoming UK tour in December, in which she is due to play dates in Belfast, Edinburgh, Bury and York, she chats exclusively to Steve Rudd about her latest LP, about her approach to songwriting, and about how the Internet has affected her music. Lucy plays at York's National Centre for Early Music on the 16th December.

Hi Lucy, how are things? Life is very very good, I have a wonderful husband (married almost 20 years), and a beautiful daughter, Molly, almost 5. And I get to sing for a living. You recently released your latest album, Over the Hills. How would you best describe the type of music and kind of vibes that grace the record?

It's somewhat more acoustic than previous albums, there's a lot of acoustic bass and acoustic guitars, dobro, pedal steel. The original songs are all about family; that wasn't something I planned, they just kind of came out of me and my husband that way (I write with him). The covers are a bunch of songs I love, most I've been singing live for many many years. It is your sixth album. Since releasing your debut LP back in 1994, have you found that the actual process of song writing has become any easier? The process definitely isn't any easier, but I have a little more confidence that somehow whatever I'm working on might end up being good. Although there are plenty of times when whatever it is ends up being lousy and I have to throw it away. It's very very tough for me to write.

Are there any special guest appearances on Over the Hills? Some of my favorite singers are guests: Jonatha Brooke, Buddy Miller, Eliza Gilkyson and Richard Shindell. I was very lucky to have them sing. What is your favourite track on the album and why? That's a tough question, but I think I'd have to say Manhattan Moon, partly because I'm proud of that song, because it's a very personal, joyful song, and because the production and the playing are so beautiful.

After touring extensively in the states, have you been looking forward to returning to the UK for your string of dates here? I actually came back to the UK in June 2007 after 5 years and it was wonderful to be back. I'm so looking forward to this trip. How do the UK crowds react to your shows compared to those back home in the US? They tend to react about the same, though sometimes the crowds are a bit quieter, a bit more polite. You grew up in Chicago but now live in New York. Which of those two cities do you most regard as 'home'? Home is definitely New York, I've been in New York for almost 30 years and though I love Chicago and have warm feelings for it I'm a real New Yorker now.

Continued .... Next Page (2/2)

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