Jul. 27, 2011 - Issue #823: The Naked Truth
Prevue
Charlotte Cornfield
Sincere folk alert!
Playing in a variety of ensembles on a variety of instruments—Cornfield drums for a variety of singer-songwriters as well as in an all-female jazz group, in addition to solo and full band iterations of her own material—the 23-year-old musician isn't picky about the way delivers her music, whether she's choosing a genre or a vehicle.
"The first big tour that I did across Canada I bought a Greyhound pass for two months and I booked as many dates as I could in big towns, small towns, all sorts of different venues from cafés to clubs to bars to festivals," she says. "This time I'm doing a lot of different transportation. I'm playing Hillside [Festival] this weekend with my band so we're taking a van. Via Rail hires certain artists to play on the train and then they get a free ride so I'm doing that to Winnipeg and then for a bunch of different stretches, Greyhounding some of it, driving some of it."
The flexibility Cornfield shows in her transportation choices extends to her music as well: she feels as comfortable playing her solo material by herself as she does with a band or in a duo.
"For me it's really important to have strong songs that speak for themselves, that can stand up solo or with a band or in any situation," she says. "Whoever I play with I just make sure they know the songs really well and they're people I really relate to and who can relate to the music."
At the heart of that music is simply her: Cornfield is the opposite of the detached cool of contemporary music, choosing instead to put every part of herself into her music and lyrics.
"Staying true to who I am is the only way I can write a song," she says. "Most of my stuff is autobiographical and I feel like I can get so deeply into the fusion of music and lyrics when I'm getting right into what's in my heart. It's heart-on-the-sleeve music; it's really sincere."
Sat, Jul 30 (4 pm)
With the Provincial Archive
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