100 Musicians Answer the Same 10 Questions

Part Sixty-Eight: Linda Draper

instigated by dave heaton

In November the NYC-based singer/songwriter Linda Draper is set to release her fourth album. If it's anything like her third, the Kramer-produced One Two Three Four (2005), it's an event worth marking your calendar for. That 2005 album was especially haunting, filled with human-interest songs cloaked in a stark, melancholy mood. It was released by Planting Seeds Records, who are releasing the new one as well. For more information, check out her website and MySpace.

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What aspect of making music excites you the most right now?

Anytime I just finish writing a new song. The thrill of that never gets old.

What aspect of making music gets you the most discouraged?

The "having-a-day-job" part.

What are you up to right now, music-wise? (Current or upcoming recordings, tours, extravaganzas, experiments, top-secret projects, etc).

I have a bunch of shows lined up in the next few months I'm really looking forward to - one at The Bitter End on Oct. 19 (at 7:30 PM), another at The Knitting Factory, on Sat Nov 25 (at 8 PM). The Knitting Factory gig especially, I'm really excited about because it's also going to be the official CD release party/extravaganza, for my Traces Of EP -- the title track of that EP is the first single off of my upcoming length CD, called Keepsake which is due out early 2007 on Planting Seeds Records.

What's the most unusual place you've ever played a show or made a recording? How did the qualities of that place affect the show/recording?

The most unusual (and slightly depressing place) I've ever played a show was in the parking lot in front of a mall somewhere in Rockland county (aka suburbia), New York. It was a fundraising event for cerebral palsy. The guy who put it together tried to get media exposure by confining himself to this small platform, where he stayed for like 3 days. But it was kind of gray and rainy the day I played, and out in the suburbs especially back then (this was around '98, I think?) nobody really cared or showed up, except for the people involved with the event. That was one of my first gigs...chalk it up to another one of those "character building" moments.

In what ways does the place where you live (or places where you have lived), affect the music you create, or your taste in music?

Since I have an introspective approach to my writing style, I'm not sure that my physical location really plays much of a part in what kind of music I create, since I'm usually just kind of lost in my own head anyway.

When was the last time you wrote a song? What can you tell us about it?

About two and a half weeks ago I wrote my most recent song, called "Among the Sharks and the Royalty". I wrote it in two days, which for me, is a relatively short time. I usually spend weeks, months, even years writing other songs. This song kind of has almost a country feel to it. I've been trying to expand the style of my finger picking lately, and change up the rhythms -- just a bit. The song itself came out real easy. It practically wrote itself.

As you create more music, do you find yourself getting more or less interested in seeking out and listening to new music made by other people...and why do you think that is?

I definitely go back and forth between phases of absorbing new music up like a sponge to not listening to anything much at all. I don't listen to new music now as frequently as I used to, I think, because I just don't have as much free time as I used to. Also, because my iPod's battery died and I've been too lazy to go get it fixed. Although I really should, because listening to Fugazi, to and from work on the subway (the "Waiting Room"song especially), or anything by Cake, or White Stripes is ultimately what I think will help restore my sanity during the rush hour traffic madness.

Lately what musical periods or styles do you find yourself most drawn to as a listener? (Old or new music? Music like yours or different from yours?)

Hmmm...see above answer...

Name a band or musician, past or present, who you flat-out LOVE and think more people should be listening to. What's one of your all-time favorite recordings by this band/musician?

I recently saw Neko Case and Joanna Newsom play live and I was just blown away by both of their performances. It was a very inspiring show. Although I don't yet own it, I heard Fox Confessor Brings The Flood by Neko Case is supposed to be amazing, so that'll probably be my next purchase. Though for some reason, whenever I'm trying to remember the title for that album, I remember it all wrong at first-- it's a weird association of words for me -- "Fox Fur Coat Brings The Blood" for some reason is always the first thing that pops in my mind. Strange huh? I'm probably alienating myself from PETA and other animal rights activists right now by even saying that. Oh well. And Joanna Newsom, I think Sprout and the Bean will also be one of my next purchases; even though she's coming out with a new album, I want to dig into her earlier releases a little first, see what I've been missing out on.

What's the saddest song you've ever heard?

"Angie" by the Rolling Stones.

Photo above taken by Neil DelParto.

To check out the rest of the Q&As, click here.