Coles Whalen – 7 Questions
by the Swami
Since she was seven, beautiful, haunting notes have been coming out of the vocal pipes of Coles Whalen. A songwriter at heart, Whalen followed her passion to Nashville to record her latest record, “I Wrote This Song For You.” Inspired entirely by personal experience, the enchanting and resolute vision not only from within the songs, but the excitement and dedication to a craft, confirm that Coles is one of Colorado’s true international breakout artists.
I got the chance to ask Coles some questions during via email during her tour in Australia so here we go…
CMB: So tell us a bit about your last two years and going on tour/Nashville, etc.
CW: The past two years have been a whirlwind! I decided early in 2010 to move back to Denver: my people are here, I feel creative here, I just like it here! But my record was already started in Nashville, so I decided to finish production there, even though that meant a LOT of travel. During the move and the recording we somehow managed to keep money coming in by touring the Whistle Stop record over the east coast, west coast, and the middle of the country several times in 2010 and 2011.
CMB: Being from Denver, how do the other music scenes you have been in compare?
CW: LA was exciting but, looking back, I was still trying to find myself musically, and too many people had “the hit making solution” for who and what I should sound like. I needed to get out of there to mold an identity on my own. Nashville is packed with talent. EVERYONE there can play and sing and do it well. Just being in a room with people of that caliber made me a better player, singer and writer. I had, and continue to have, lots of support for the live show down there and making a record in that town was a very cool experience. Charlie Sexton was just walking down the sidewalk, and the next thing I know he’s playing all over the tracks; Carrie Underwood’s keyboard player, Keith Urban’s drummer etc., etc., pretty sweet.
CMB: You have shared the stage with some great artists. Tell us a crazy show story and some artists you have met.
CW: We pulled up to the Pat Benatar show in Omaha and were told to park in the “tour bus ONLY” spaces. Well… we weren’t exactly in a tour bus (especially apparent when we pulled up next to Benatar’s two enormous rigs) but we went ahead and parked there anyway. Great pictures.
We also sold out of CDs that night and had to hole up in the dressing room during Ms. Benatar’s set and burn more to sell. (We sold all those too, half price.)
CMB: The new CD drops this month. You had originally wanted to release it late last year. Tell us about that.
CW: The CD was actually on its way to duplication when I finally admitted to myself that two of the songs were not good enough to be on a record. These particular cuts were a little too Nashville co-writer influenced, too country, not really me. I decided to halt the presses, call another recording session and head back to Nashville to lay down some new material. It was a hard choice, financially and emotionally, but I think it was the right choice. It made the record much better as a whole.
CMB: Your sound has changed over the years. What is the new definition of your influences?
CW: Singer-songwriter, and I have to leave it at that. Country, pop, jazz, blues… they all play a role in this record and I’m happy about the variety.
CMB: What is a little known secret thing about you?
CW: I seriously love electronica and pop music. You wouldn’t know it by what I write, but I listen to it all the time.
CMB: If you were to ask yourself one question, what would it be and what would the answer be?
CW: Q: Am I really lucky enough to be writing and playing music every day of my life?
A: Yes.
Category: Planet Buzz
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