The Untitled Interview #119: Starring Beatie Wolfe

I want y'all to pay attention here for a minute. Trust me, you'll thank me later. Remember this name: Beatie Wolfe. This little lady packs a whallop of a voice, smokey and sultry and centuries wise beyond her years. Hers is no siren song, mind you, as instead of trying to lead your ship into a rocky doom her voice might just help you find your way home. And DC folks, Saturday is your lucky, lucky day, as Ms. Wolfe will be playing an early show at Axum's Level X Lounge, one of just a handful of US dates. Make sure to stop by and see what this sonic spellcaster has up her sleeve. Oh, and if that's not enough, she's got her own free iPhone app, for all you fancy phone types. Below, Beatie ponders the importance of Leonard Cohen and William Blake, and the occasional stresses of international gig-playing.

Les Enfants Terribles: How the hell are you?
Beatie Wolfe: I’m pretty damn good thank you.

LET: What was the last song you listened to?
BW: Cranberries – “Linger,” yesterday, to remind my brother of a girl he fell for in Portugal when we were kids.

LET: Playing music is:
BW: Infinite.

LET: What album most made you realize you wanted to make music?
BW: Blood Sugar Sex Magic by the Chili Peppers – first heard it when I was 7yrs old and it totally shook my tiny world.

LET: Beatles or Stones?
BW: Stones.

LET: Top 5 albums (of now, of this month, or of ever):
BW: Wow – impossible! Okay… off the top of my head…
1. Songs of Leonard Cohen
2. Lou Reed ‘Transformer’
3. Donny Hathaway,1972 Live
4. Blood Sugar Sex Magic - RHCP
5. Brothers – Black Keys

LET: Favorite music-related movie?
BW: I really enjoyed Ray, but always wanted to rock out on top of Empire Records…

LET: Half-full or half-empty?
BW: HALF-FULL, it has to be!

LET: Which of your peers do you think is making the best music these days?
BW: I think Warpaint, Kid Cudi and Black Keys are doing a pretty good job right now.

LET: What’s the first thing you think when you wake up in the morning?
BW: Of the dream I had and how nuts it sounds.

LET: Little-known Beatie Wolfe fact?
BW: William Blake’s poetry influences me more than any artist.

LET: The greatest record store in the world is:
BW: Hmmm…I don’t think I’ve been there yet.

LET: Shaken or stirred?
BW: Both please.

LET: Best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
BW: “No time to be scared, only time to be awesome!” (which came from my brother just before I performed my unplugged concert at St Pancras Church - oldest church in Britain - last month).

LET: How do you know when you've played a really great show?
BW: I feel awesome.

LET: If you weren’t in a band you’d be:
BW: Full-time songwriter/storyteller and yarn-spinner.

LET: What do you find most comforting/most disconcerting about going out on tour?
BW: Nothing disconcerting so far…oh except, playing a show in New York at midnight, and having just over an hour to make a flight back to London.

LET: If you were so inclined, whom would you form a tribute band in honor of?
BW: Leonard Cohen for songwriting, Roy Orbison for his perfect voice, Sly & the Family Stone for sheer fun factor!

LET: Best song ever written?
BW: Wow. What a question. Hmmm…don’t know if I’ve heard it yet (or written it – haha). I’d say… Archie Shepp’s “Contracts” - no words, but he doesn’t need them…

mp3: 1000 Kisses Deep (Leonard Cohen Cover) (Beatie Wolfe - buy stuff here)