by Barry Newman
Copyright 2002 - Cosmic Debris Musicians Magazine - #79 - July/02
Within the works of most great
artists, there exists some element of
weakness, which they eventually learn
to avoid or master.
If Sweetland has any weaknesses
along the traditional paths she follows
or with the musical hybrids she so ably
invents, then she must have dealt with
them long ago. This bold young artist's
writing skills, vocals and guitar
delivery are flawless.
The caliber alone, of the fine artists
who've worked with Sweetland is in
itself a testimony to her skills.
Enough! Let's explore this goldmine
of a mind...
Stephen Fearing is a monster of a
guitarist... as are you... any comments
on the recording chemistry there?
Stephen is officially one of my very
favourite people in the world... kind,
caring... very much my hero. On the
new album, Stephen sings with me on
3 songs and plays guitar on 1. There's
a track with a chorus in Latin (yep,
Latin...) and we've tripled his vocals so
there's three of him singing with me...
the "chanting Stephens". Also, we do
a mind-blowing version of the
traditional song "Bright Morning Stars"
which I learnt from Emmylou Harris.
Rebecca Campbell also sings on that.
Some of your vocal inflections, even
your promo notes, allude to Shawn
Colvin. Have you ever met her?
I've never met Shawn Colvin,
though sometimes I feel like I have.
Listening to Shawn taught me a lot
about songwriting during what was
probably the 'formative years' for me.
I started playing guitar when I was 13
and I listened to her a lot throughout
high school... into University. A great
inspiration. She sings on Fearing's
new album.
As for my current heroes and
inspirations I'm recently very much in
love with Nashville singer-songwriter
Patty Griffin. She'd for-sure win the
award for artist I have listened to most
in my car over the past year. My
favourite album of hers is 'Living With
Ghosts'. Listening to Patty has taught
me so much about songwriting, song
structure, melody and singing. I could
only hope one day to wail like her.
Any tips for aspiring artists on:
guitarpicks, fingernails, pre-show
meals or beverages?
AAhhh fingernails... now there's a
topic I can relate to. I'm the proud
owner of 3 acrylic nails on my right
hand (middle 3 fingers). These have
been my lifesaver. I don't use guitar
picks too often. It was getting to the
point where my fingernails wore down
to paper thin... cracking across the
part that still covered my skin (yeow)!
Not only do they work like a charm
and last forever, they look pretty hot
too... and I get to spend the afternoon
going to my nail stylist (yep I got a nail
stylist)! The rest of my nails I paint
with a thick coat of high-quality nail
polish & topcoat so they stay stronger.
Right now my favourite colour is
Vampire State Building by OPI... stays
on forever... and looks killer!
As for pre-performance meals and
beverages... I don't usually eat much
before performing but I've found that
tequila really works like a charm.
Any advice for female artists in a
male-dominated music industry?
The music industry is a tough
business to be in, whether you are a
woman or not. I find that many people
have a pre-conceived notion of what
I'm gonna sound like... expecting me
to strum some lamo chord progression
and croon some loser song. I enjoy
blowing those pre-conceptions right
out of the water.
It's hard to get people to pay
attention, especially when there are so
many singer/songwriters out there. My
advice would be persistence. Sometimes it's really important to know
when to fade into the darkness.
There's always the droolio guys that
just wanna grope; the jerk-offs who
hate you cause you're a little girl who
can play guitar better than them... but
who really cares. Stay strong and
believe in yourself.
Privacy is vital for the creative
process. How do you deal with
everyone wanting a piece of your time
at any given moment?
You're right. Privacy is key. I usually
like to hibernate as I tend to turn into
a total freak show... all melodramatic,
rolling on the ground screaming... then
procrastinating watching lots of Xena
...at some point I realize that I finally
have a song... and then I celebrate.
'Goodnight Irene' says a lot. Any
comments on this particular song?
When I was a little girl, my dad used
to drive me to school. We'd sing in the
car. One song was 'Goodnight Irene'.
As a teenager on one of my many
pilgrimages to the Newport Folk
Festival I saw a band called the Nields
perform a version of 'Irene'. It was so
beautiful I cried and have been playing
the song ever since. I love the dark,
dark heartwrenchingness of the lyrics
and the deep & profound desperation
of "if Irene turns her back on me, I'll
take morphine and die". Now there's
an emotion that I, as the Queen of
Melodrama, can relate to. I realize that
the lyrics have transitioned or "been
cleaned-up" since Leadbelly's original
version, "I'll get you in my dreams."
They substituted "get" with "see". I
think the somewhat aggressive
stalker-like quality of that lyric was a
bit much for pop culture at the time...
they just decided to neuter the song.
In my producer Ken Whiteley's
studio there's a poster of Leadbelly
looking at the camera with these big
intense eyes that seem to be staring
into your very soul. Ken says it's
Leadbelly saying "Do your best" and it
gave me so much strength during my
latest recording. I truly did my best.
You are very much involved in the
visual artistry on your CD, website...
I've always been a visual artist. I put
together a 16-page colour booklet full
of original artwork & photos for this CD. Oh-so-talented graphic designer Michael Wrycraft
helped me do the layout & certain things beyond my technical comprehension. For my website
I've taken over the web-mistress role mostly due to budget.
Please tell us about your new CD.
It's called 'Root, Heart & Crown',
produced by the wonderful & talented
Ken Whiteley. We started the project
last October, recording three songs for
grant & loan application (rec'd $0).
I was honored to have some of the
most stellar players in the country
participate in this project... {ed: Ken
W, Stephen Fearing, George Koller,
Anne Lindsay, David Direnzo, Roman
Borys, Ben Grossman, Sarah
McElcheran, Rebecca Campbell.}
It was all mixed n' mastered by early
May. I'm so happy with the finished
product, 14 tracks... {ed: Gregorian
chant by Peter Abelard; 'Chaconne' by
J.S. Bach... plus 11 originals}...
Beyond medieval tragic love, my
album thematically covers alchemy,
civil war battles, witchcraft, Vancouver
Island landscapes, Appalachian ghost
legends, forest fires, exploding
minefields, gypsies, Arizona desert
canyons, greek mythology and
traveling road warrior-ing...
by Barry Newman
