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Carlile relishes the road

February 2, 2006 6:59 am

By EMILY GILMORE

Singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile is constantly being compared to other folk-rock musicians, including Melissa Etheridge, Sheryl Crow and Bob Dylan.

The Seattle Times went so far as to call her "Maple Valley's [Wash.] Bruce Springsteen" for her "hard-working, blue-collar" style.

She's not necessarily influenced by any of these people, but she does take the time to find out why her music is likened to theirs, she said this week in a phone interview. And sometimes she'll realize she's influenced by them after the fact.

"Some people compare me to Jeff Buckley, which is so flattering now that I know why," she said.

Before her music was mentioned alongside that of the singer-songwriter with the angelic four-octave voice, Carlile hadn't ever heard of Buckley, who drowned in 1997.

Now, though, she loves his music and is obsessed with his 1994 album "Grace."

Backed by her bandmates, twin brothers Tim and Phil Hanseroth, Carlile has embarked on a nationwide headlining tour, which will stop at the Rams Head in Annapolis, Md., on Feb. 8, and Jammin' Java in Vienna on Feb. 14.

This is the first headlining tour where a number of venues have sold out, Carlile said, not only in her native West, but also in Eastern cities like Newmarket, N.H., and Cambridge, Mass.

Those who attend her upcoming shows can expect to hear music from Carlile's 2005 self-titled release, as well as other tunes that have yet to be recorded but have been integral to her set lists for so long that people already know them. She's also broken out some new covers by Willie Nelson and Elton John.

Carlile has built a fan base by touring with such acts as the Dave Matthews Band, Chris Isaak and James Taylor, and she posits that she spends about 90 percent of the year on the road, with just a few days at home here and there.

"At least it feels that way," said the 24-year-old country girl who lives in a log cabin in the woods south of Seattle.

As much as she loves what she does, she admits that there are times when she wishes she could stay home a little longer.

"I forget what the inside of my house looks like half the time. I come home and my dog's like, 'Who are you? Don't tell me to sit,'" she said.

Still, Carlile thrives on traveling and performing live.

"I think it's taxing not to be on the road for me," she said. "I hate things like nights off when we don't have shows. I've never done anything but play music, and it seems only natural to me to take it on the road."

Carlile, whose emotion-filled vocals range from gritty to ethereal, loves headlining, but "it's not a challenge to play in front of a room of people who are there to see you," she said.

What she really loves is trying to win over audiences who have never heard of her.

Touring with others also helps her become a better musician, because she's learned most of what she knows about singing and playing guitar by observing others.

Mysterious singer-songwriter Ray Lamontagne is probably her favorite of the artists she has shared a bill with, she said. Late last year, she went with him on a solo acoustic trek, which "knocked me over," she said.

"When I went out with Ray, it was like I was just a sponge for learning about what he was doing," she said.

Carlile's future plans are bound to include more touring, of course, and she said she hopes to get into the studio by May to begin recording her next album.

It's onward and upward for Carlile, who has been named as an artist to watch by numerous publications in the last year or so, but has been committed to performing ever since she first got on stage and sang Roseanne Cash's "Tennessee Flat-Top Box" when she was a little girl.

"It was a decision I made when I was 9 years old and I'm not much of a mind-changer," she said.

Another thing that hasn't changed much since she was that age is her list of top five artists of all time. Elton John comes in at No. 1, to be followed (in no particular order) by Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Freddie Mercury and Queen, and Roy Orbison.

Part of her penchant for classic country and rock comes from the music she heard during her childhood.

And part of it comes from her attempts to find out who influenced the artists who influence her.

"If you listen to k.d. lang," she said, "you have to listen to Patsy Cline. If you listen to Thom Yorke, you have to listen to Freddie Mercury and Queen."

To reach EMILY GILMORE:540/374-5426
Email: egilmore@freelancestar.com Read her blog at fredericksburg.com/blogs/view?blogger_id=3