22 questions with Wendy Colonna
1- can you describe your music to us ?
I would say my music sounds something like "Southern Soul." I draw upon on the melodic and rhythmic style of American Roots Music with my own little poetic twist in the lyrics.
I grew up in Louisiana listening to my parents vinyl and oldies stations on the rides home from my grandparents house in Cajun country. I graduated from folk and oldies to classical, and jazz, then punk rock and swing. . .
2- How old were you when the music bug bit you?
In utero. I think I had Judy Collins' version of "Suzanne" and Melanie's "Leftover Wine" memorized when I came into the world.
3- do you remember how old you were when you wrote your first tune?
I made up my first piano piece around the age of 7. It had 3 overlapping melodies and took an extra person to play all 3 parts. There were hundreds of baby songs I made up while doing my chores. My first composition with lyrics and music that I memorized was written when I was around 15. The next one I wrote a few months later,"Hey" I still perform.
4- tell me about these pet chickens. ever think about pitching a reality tv show based on them?
In the summer of 2008, a rooster showed up in our yard. We named him "Juan." He was beautiful, green-black tailfeathers, a hearty cock a doodle doo. . . He soon adopted our front oak tree as his home by night and juandered around the neighborhood by day. Every evening we were in town, we sat on our park bench in the yard and awaited his arrival. One evening he brought home a lovely golden chicken. We called her "Carmelita." She ended up spending several months sleeping on the old toile outside t filled with flowers and laying eggs in the front garden. She loved coming inside at dusk and jumping on our furniture and computers to roost. When she would try to leave the yard after dusk, Juan would swoop down and chase her until she turned around. We fed them grapes strawberriesThen, she stopped coming. We discovered about a month later that a woman up the street had four hens who looked almost exactly like Carmelita. We discovered that when Juan left us in the mornings, he was going to hang out with his girlfriends. About nine months later, he moved beyond his bachelor fever and moved in with the girls up the road.
It was awesome. Not sure about a TV show, but Juan and Carmelita's romance was unparalelled on our block.
5- at what age was your first real heartbreak, did it inspire you to write music,or was that later,or not connected to your music at all ?
My first heartbreak was my own doing. I was 17 and leaving for college. I did the breaking up. It was foolish. I chased after him for years to no avail. I was already writing, but the floodgates opened. He was definitely one of my first muses and will reside in a special place in my heart the rest of my days.
6- you are on a desert island with a solar -powered boombox. Name the 5 cds you have with you .
1. Otis Redding Greatest Hits (the yellow one)
2. Joni Mitchell's "Court & Spark"
3. Randy Newman's "Good Ol' Boys"
4. Patty Griffin's "1000 Kisses"
5. Jackson Browne's "For Everyman"
i would also want to have Beethoven's full Moonlight Sonata . . . all the movements. . . is that a CD?
7- who are your musical influences?
all of the above. Melanie taught me how to wail. Concrete Blonde taught me how to rock. Simon & Garfunkel, Peter Paul & Mary, Crosby Stills Nash & Young taught me how to harmonize. Etta James taught me how to growl and sing, Hank Williams taught me the power of a simple sad song. India Arie taught me that singing about spirit can still groove. Cat Stevens taught me the value of honesty. Joni Mitchell taught me about craft. Jackson Browne & Patty Griffin taught me about going so personal and yet being so accessible. Bob Dylan taught me how to emulate and innovate. Bad Religion taught me that passion and intelligence are not mutually exclusive. Lucinda teaches me of the mystery and magic made by vague references coupled extreme passion. Radiohead taught me about ambiance. Otis taught me about soul and inflection. Randy Newman taught me how to keep a sense of humor in my writing. Muddy Waters taught me about delivery. So many more. . .
8- name your 3 favorite female songwriters,and why.
read #7
9- name your 3 favorite male songwriters,and why.
#7 again plus Willie Dixon
10- name your 5 favorite Austin restaurants and favorite dishes.
1. Uchi - Shag roll
2. Thai Tara - Tom Ka w/ tofu
3. Polvo's - FIsh Fajita
4. Torchy's Taco's - Baja Shrimp Taco
5. Eddie V's - The Seabass cooked both ways
11- who engineers your recording sessions?
In Austin:
Red was recorded and engineered by Reese Perkins
Right Where I Belong was produced by Stephen Doster and engineered by James Stevens at "the Bridge"
My Cabin Demos were recorded by the sweet Chad Pope up in a log cabin in New Jersey
We Are One (the new album) was produced by Malcolm "Papa Mali" Welbourne and engineered by Matt Hubbard at "The Nest"
12- where do you record,mixdown,and master at?
see above- mastering of last two albums has been Jim Wilson's work
13- who plays on your recent release?
Drums- Robb Kidd
Bass- Mark Andes
Guitars- Chad Pope & Papa Mali
Keys - Dave Madden & Matt Hubbard
Percussion - Cyril Neville & Robb Kidd
Strings- Steve Bernal & Leah Zeger
Horns - Steve Zirkel, Matt Hubbard & Greg Williams (also flute)
Melodica & Harmonica - Matt Hubbard
Backing Vox- Candace Sanders, Chad Pope, Dave Madden, Papa Mali, Matt Hubbard
14- you need to submit 3 songs to my pirate radio station from it...what 3 songs are you going to pick?
Right Where I Belong & 2 tunes from the new album. . .
15- what are your favorite places to gig in Austin?
The Saxon Pub, Momo's, Antone's
16-...outside of Austin?
One of my favorites is The Blue Moon in Lafayette, LA. Priceless gig.
17- who do you do your publishing with...ex,is it a BMI, ASCAP,etc?
it's complicated. trying to get out of my current deal and into another. .
18- you are stranded on a remote isle with the 3 Stooges,Moe,Larry, and Curly. You must choose one as your mate,according to ,uh,tribal rituals... which one do you choose?
sorry, i don't know these guys well enough to play this game. Any others to choose from?
19- describe your current "family"... and you are from where ?
I'm from Lake Charles, LA. Mom, teacher & Dad, contractor & environmentalist & 1 brother, attorney reside there though not all together. Another brother in Lafayette who is a rapper. Lost 3 grandparents in one year last year. Dad's family is in Rhode Island, Mom's in Louisiana. . .
20- what music gear do you play on? guitar,amp,mic,etc?
I am playing my CA a lot lately- it's a carbon fiber guitar made by awesome folks down in Lafayette, LA. It's weather and altitude proof and sounds great. My Taylor is my sweet baby girl, but she's on hiatus. Not playing a lot of electric right now. I also own a sweet National Tri-cone that I play around on sometimes.
21- if you play in San Antone,Dallas,Houston,where do you play at?
Houston- The Anderson Fair, Various Wine Bars, I'll have my first Mucky Duck gig in Jan
San Antonio - Luna & Casbeers
Dallas - not really playing a lot up there.
22- ever tour Europe? if so,where,if not,maybe when?
I lived in the Netherlands when i was 19 for a year. For the last few years, we've toured some in Italy and Belgium. Next year I wanna be there a LOT!
I would say my music sounds something like "Southern Soul." I draw upon on the melodic and rhythmic style of American Roots Music with my own little poetic twist in the lyrics.
I grew up in Louisiana listening to my parents vinyl and oldies stations on the rides home from my grandparents house in Cajun country. I graduated from folk and oldies to classical, and jazz, then punk rock and swing. . .
2- How old were you when the music bug bit you?
In utero. I think I had Judy Collins' version of "Suzanne" and Melanie's "Leftover Wine" memorized when I came into the world.
3- do you remember how old you were when you wrote your first tune?
I made up my first piano piece around the age of 7. It had 3 overlapping melodies and took an extra person to play all 3 parts. There were hundreds of baby songs I made up while doing my chores. My first composition with lyrics and music that I memorized was written when I was around 15. The next one I wrote a few months later,"Hey" I still perform.
4- tell me about these pet chickens. ever think about pitching a reality tv show based on them?
In the summer of 2008, a rooster showed up in our yard. We named him "Juan." He was beautiful, green-black tailfeathers, a hearty cock a doodle doo. . . He soon adopted our front oak tree as his home by night and juandered around the neighborhood by day. Every evening we were in town, we sat on our park bench in the yard and awaited his arrival. One evening he brought home a lovely golden chicken. We called her "Carmelita." She ended up spending several months sleeping on the old toile outside t filled with flowers and laying eggs in the front garden. She loved coming inside at dusk and jumping on our furniture and computers to roost. When she would try to leave the yard after dusk, Juan would swoop down and chase her until she turned around. We fed them grapes strawberriesThen, she stopped coming. We discovered about a month later that a woman up the street had four hens who looked almost exactly like Carmelita. We discovered that when Juan left us in the mornings, he was going to hang out with his girlfriends. About nine months later, he moved beyond his bachelor fever and moved in with the girls up the road.
It was awesome. Not sure about a TV show, but Juan and Carmelita's romance was unparalelled on our block.
5- at what age was your first real heartbreak, did it inspire you to write music,or was that later,or not connected to your music at all ?
My first heartbreak was my own doing. I was 17 and leaving for college. I did the breaking up. It was foolish. I chased after him for years to no avail. I was already writing, but the floodgates opened. He was definitely one of my first muses and will reside in a special place in my heart the rest of my days.
6- you are on a desert island with a solar -powered boombox. Name the 5 cds you have with you .
1. Otis Redding Greatest Hits (the yellow one)
2. Joni Mitchell's "Court & Spark"
3. Randy Newman's "Good Ol' Boys"
4. Patty Griffin's "1000 Kisses"
5. Jackson Browne's "For Everyman"
i would also want to have Beethoven's full Moonlight Sonata . . . all the movements. . . is that a CD?
7- who are your musical influences?
all of the above. Melanie taught me how to wail. Concrete Blonde taught me how to rock. Simon & Garfunkel, Peter Paul & Mary, Crosby Stills Nash & Young taught me how to harmonize. Etta James taught me how to growl and sing, Hank Williams taught me the power of a simple sad song. India Arie taught me that singing about spirit can still groove. Cat Stevens taught me the value of honesty. Joni Mitchell taught me about craft. Jackson Browne & Patty Griffin taught me about going so personal and yet being so accessible. Bob Dylan taught me how to emulate and innovate. Bad Religion taught me that passion and intelligence are not mutually exclusive. Lucinda teaches me of the mystery and magic made by vague references coupled extreme passion. Radiohead taught me about ambiance. Otis taught me about soul and inflection. Randy Newman taught me how to keep a sense of humor in my writing. Muddy Waters taught me about delivery. So many more. . .
8- name your 3 favorite female songwriters,and why.
read #7
9- name your 3 favorite male songwriters,and why.
#7 again plus Willie Dixon
10- name your 5 favorite Austin restaurants and favorite dishes.
1. Uchi - Shag roll
2. Thai Tara - Tom Ka w/ tofu
3. Polvo's - FIsh Fajita
4. Torchy's Taco's - Baja Shrimp Taco
5. Eddie V's - The Seabass cooked both ways
11- who engineers your recording sessions?
In Austin:
Red was recorded and engineered by Reese Perkins
Right Where I Belong was produced by Stephen Doster and engineered by James Stevens at "the Bridge"
My Cabin Demos were recorded by the sweet Chad Pope up in a log cabin in New Jersey
We Are One (the new album) was produced by Malcolm "Papa Mali" Welbourne and engineered by Matt Hubbard at "The Nest"
12- where do you record,mixdown,and master at?
see above- mastering of last two albums has been Jim Wilson's work
13- who plays on your recent release?
Drums- Robb Kidd
Bass- Mark Andes
Guitars- Chad Pope & Papa Mali
Keys - Dave Madden & Matt Hubbard
Percussion - Cyril Neville & Robb Kidd
Strings- Steve Bernal & Leah Zeger
Horns - Steve Zirkel, Matt Hubbard & Greg Williams (also flute)
Melodica & Harmonica - Matt Hubbard
Backing Vox- Candace Sanders, Chad Pope, Dave Madden, Papa Mali, Matt Hubbard
14- you need to submit 3 songs to my pirate radio station from it...what 3 songs are you going to pick?
Right Where I Belong & 2 tunes from the new album. . .
15- what are your favorite places to gig in Austin?
The Saxon Pub, Momo's, Antone's
16-...outside of Austin?
One of my favorites is The Blue Moon in Lafayette, LA. Priceless gig.
17- who do you do your publishing with...ex,is it a BMI, ASCAP,etc?
it's complicated. trying to get out of my current deal and into another. .
18- you are stranded on a remote isle with the 3 Stooges,Moe,Larry, and Curly. You must choose one as your mate,according to ,uh,tribal rituals... which one do you choose?
sorry, i don't know these guys well enough to play this game. Any others to choose from?
19- describe your current "family"... and you are from where ?
I'm from Lake Charles, LA. Mom, teacher & Dad, contractor & environmentalist & 1 brother, attorney reside there though not all together. Another brother in Lafayette who is a rapper. Lost 3 grandparents in one year last year. Dad's family is in Rhode Island, Mom's in Louisiana. . .
20- what music gear do you play on? guitar,amp,mic,etc?
I am playing my CA a lot lately- it's a carbon fiber guitar made by awesome folks down in Lafayette, LA. It's weather and altitude proof and sounds great. My Taylor is my sweet baby girl, but she's on hiatus. Not playing a lot of electric right now. I also own a sweet National Tri-cone that I play around on sometimes.
21- if you play in San Antone,Dallas,Houston,where do you play at?
Houston- The Anderson Fair, Various Wine Bars, I'll have my first Mucky Duck gig in Jan
San Antonio - Luna & Casbeers
Dallas - not really playing a lot up there.
22- ever tour Europe? if so,where,if not,maybe when?
I lived in the Netherlands when i was 19 for a year. For the last few years, we've toured some in Italy and Belgium. Next year I wanna be there a LOT!
