Carie Diana Thompson

Kristen
Cothron

In
Control

Songwriter’s Monthly - Feb. ’11, #133 http://www.scribd.com/SongwritersMonthly

Nashville-born Kristen Cothron is sweet.
She speaks with a delicate tone and is
polite and gracious. In fact, she might
even be a little on the shy side. But
there’s another woman just behind the
curtain waiting to step into the
spotlight. When this other woman takes

“Music is definitely
my outlet to
showcase my other
side.”
the stage, all of her “sins and secrets
come out to play.” Kristen performs
with a primal come-hither force, raw
and sensual, confident and edgy, she
can let loose while remaining in
absolute control.

Cothron’s latest release is a drop-to-

your-knees sultry, soul-stealing 3-song
self-titled vinyl EP [digital download
available with purchase]. You can
enshroud yourself in the thick, soft fur
of her sound and relish the dark
comfort it offers.
Kristen started this project several
months ago and the three songs are a
purposefully limited release meant to
whet your appetite for the LP coming
out later this year. The concept and
design of the physical packaging are
absolutely stunning. Cothron went
above and beyond to immerse your
senses fully in her enticing world.
Currently, Kristen is gearing up for her
vinyl release party [March 3rd] and
preparing for her solo tour [which takes
her from Nashville to the SXSW and
Songwriter’s Monthly - Feb. ’11, #133
back]. She was kind enough to take
time out from her hectic schedule to
talk about her music and the power an
artist has to take her audience places
during a performance.
Songwriter’s Monthly: This EP is
great! The tracks are very original
sounding.
Kristen Cothron: I like to hear
that . . . a lot. I worked with Ben
Strano, he produced it — he produced
my last project, too — we had a lot of
fun making it.
SM: There doesn’t seem to be a single
aspect of this project that wasn’t
handled with care and nurtured.
KC: Thank you!
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Carie Diana Thompson
SM: The first track,
“Anthem” . . . it’s like when you
put on your favorite song and it
empowers you.

“Power. Having
control and being in
control.”
KC: Absolutely. That’s definitely
the energy that’s coming out of
that song.

SM: Where did you get the idea

for that song?

KC: You know, I probably wrote

it when I was 19. It was just
something that I thought was
pretty simple. I doctored the
lyrics up and it’s turned into a
completely different song, it
ended up meaning something
totally different.

SM: Anything in specific you’d

like to cite?

KC: Power. Having control and

being in control.

SM: When you sing that line,

“sell your soul for a taste of it,
but I’ll write the last check, the
last check” . . . Wow!

KC: Thank you.

SM: How did you come up with

that line?

KC: Honestly, a lot of times

when I’m writing, it’s just sort of
Songwriter’s Monthly - Feb. ’11, #133 http://www.scribd.com/SongwritersMonthly
free-form poetry and it just sort of
comes out. I’m not really sure where
that one came from, but I liked it so I
used it twice [laughing].
SM: I am very impressed by your word
choice, you always seem to have the
perfect word . . . and it’s not usually a
typical “songwriting” word. You don’t
use a word that fits the meter and kind
of means what you want to say, you
use the absolute right word. Would you
agree with that?
Songwriter’s Monthly - Feb. ’11, #133
KC: Absolutely. I’m really inspired by
writers like Elvis Costello, he uses
words so well. I really respect that.
“I was in a car
wreck a couple of
years ago . . .”
SM: And at the same time, you seem to
really enjoy playing with words. There’s
a line in “Maybe It’s You” that
goes “you’re reeling me in and
you got the wheel spinning.” The
structure and cadence of the
internal rhymes lock that line
together beautifully. It flows so
nicely.
KC: Words are a lot of fun. I
love piecing them together,
there’s an art to it.
SM: “Darkside” is a cool track
about letting a different, more
aggressive, sensual persona
take control. Did you write that
about yourself?
KC: Yeah, a little bit. All my
writing is pretty self-reflective. I
was in a car wreck a couple of
years ago and I had a lot of time
to think about where I was in
my career. The song is about
being a performer, taking on a
different persona and allowing
yourself to experience these
different emotions. You can put
them into a song and it’s okay.
SM: But which is the real
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 Carie Diana Thompson
Kristen, the girl watching from behind the curtain or
the girl who is center stage?

KC: The real Kristen definitely has a dark side being

the self-reflective artist who can go to that place, but
there’s definitely light in it and I guess that’s what I’m
trying to say. Exploring that stuff can be exciting and
positive.

SM: I noticed that there’s a darker, edgier persona

that has been developing in your music over the
years.

KC: Yeah, it’s definitely an evolution. I like

following that line.

“I had a lot of time to

think about where I was
in my career.”
SM: Will the rest of the album have this
exciting darkness?

KC: There’s some fun stuff on it, too, but the

title’s going to be SHOW ME WHERE THE EDGE
IS, so yeah, I’ll be looking for the edge and
still feeding into the darker side.

SM: There’s a line in “Darkside” about how

easy it is to seduce and manipulate people to
get what you want. Do you do that?

KC: You kind of get to do that on stage a little

bit with your audience . . . in a fun way. You
can take them places. I think that’s kind of
why I go to writing and art and music, I’m
more of an observer. I was really shy
growing up and music is definitely my outlet
to showcase my other side.

SM: Are you still shy? Do you need the

stage?

Songwriter’s Monthly - Feb. ’11, #133 http://www.scribd.com/SongwritersMonthly


“ The real Kristen bs tuat r ttehdi s woint he
definitely has a
dark side.”
KC: Oh no, I think through music and
through getting to share myself on
stage, I’m definitely more open and
comfortable.
SM: My current favorite song is “Maybe
It’s You.” It’s got a great groove, nice
John Barry-esque horns, and there’s a
wonderful hypnotic atmosphere to the
whole track.
KC: I loooove working with Ben Strano.
This song really set the whole album in
motion. He played all the horn parts
and had a great band involved. I
actually co-wrote this one with Megan
Kabir who is a great Nashville artist, as
well.
Songwriter’s Monthly - Feb. ’11, #133
SM: Did you write that one on
guitar?
KC: Usually songs start with
lyrics for me,
that intro
progression and
the melody and
then the
verses. It really took off and it
seemed like there were words
that were meant for it, you
know? They just came.
SM: Again, you came up with
some incredibly vivid lyrics for
this track. The song is about
falling hard for someone just
from that first impression and
not really knowing where it will
go, but feeling helpless to the
craving and being more than
willing to throw yourself in and
take a chance. Was this written
about a real person?
KC: Yeah, a little bit, absolutely.
SM: Is this person still in your life?
KC: Indeed, yes [laughing]. This is
actually one of the first real love-ish
songs I’ve written.
SM: Does this person know this song is
about them?
KC: Uhm . . . probably [shyly].
SM: Before we wrap up, I just have to
ask about the packaging. The vinyl, the
artwork, the whole look is so edgy and
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stunning, have you had much feedback
on it yet?
KC: I’ve used the picture for some
promotions, but I haven’t debuted the
“Exploring that
stuff can be
exciting and
positive.”
album art yet. The vinyl release is on
March 3rd so I’ve been kinda keeping it
under wraps, but I’m hoping folks will
like it. I actually did the art design
myself and Carie Thompson was the
photographer and she was great.
Songwriter’s Monthly - Feb. ’11, #133
SM: What happens next?
KC: I’m following up the release with a
solo tour in March, heading out to the
SXSW.
SM: Is there anything we might have
missed?
KC: No, you’ve covered some really
great things and I’ve enjoyed talking to
you. You’ve asked me some questions
that I haven’t thought about before.
For more information on Kristen, visit:
www.KristenCothron.com
www.myspace.com/KristenCothron
www.sonicbids.com/KristenCothron
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