Devaki Knowles
Catherine Feeny drops the label and says Come Gather Round Us
We introduce you to one of our Fall Sonicbids selections
By Catherine McCarthy
Published: August 12th, 2010 | 2:30pm
Venus Zine caught up with Portland-based singer-songwriter Catherine Feeny just before her tour of the Southeast in support of her latest self-released album, People in the Hole, while her new band’s eponymous record, Come Gather Round Us, is being mastered. A touring veteran, Feeny has criss-crossed the U.S. and Europe after finding a fervent fan base in Belgium with her 2003 debut. Just last year, Feeny made the move from a label to independent status again, and tells us what it’s like to play a living room near you.
Venus Zine: When did you start writing People in the Hole?
Catherine Feeny: It was the second album I recorded when I lived in England for a period of three years. [Before the move], I was living in Los Angeles and had met a guy named Sebastian Rogers who was a big fan of my music, and he got me a job in England where I sang background vocals…and that turned into recording a full album together. Eventually I got a publishing deal there.
VZ: You have since relocated to Portland. How is your new environment impacting your work?
CF: There’s so much good music coming out of Portland, yet we don't have the industry part, which is the least fun aspect of making music. When my husband and I moved to Portland, we were inspired to start a band [Come Gather Round Us] together. We’d been on tour together playing lots of houses, and people would ask us, “Well, which songs are the songs you wrote together?” And we thought, “Those songs don’t exist yet—maybe they should.”
VZ: You were born, raised, and schooled on the East Coast; lived across the pond; and are now in the Pacific Northwest. What influences have geography had on your albums
CF: I love the West Coast. I’ve driven across the country back and forth many times, and whenever I’m driving west, I feel like the world is opening up and everything is really exciting. Whenever I’m driving east, the buildings are getting closer together and the streets are getting smaller. There’s the sense here that everyone wants the best for everyone else—a sharing, a love—that really infuses every aspect of life. People really care about what they’re doing, the food that they’re eating. Come Gather Round Us has quite a few political songs on it. There’s the feeling that people here are interested in those messages.
VZ: After the EMI takeover, you went independent for your third album. What's different about being an independent artist?
CF: With my first album, I didn’t really have any other option. I thought, “Okay, I’m going to put this out and maybe people will like it.” Every victory when you’re putting out your record yourself feels so personal and exciting. On a major label, smaller successes almost feel like failures. It’s not like people aim to make you feel bad, it’s just that it’s all about the bottom line. But there’s an element of magic that comes into things when they’re not so rigorously planned and dictated.
VZ: Are you finding yourself interacting with fans on a more regular basis than you have in years past?
CF: I think there’s a natural separation when you’re on stage and people are in an audience. Especially when you’re signed to a major label, it’s as if they are privileged in some way if they get a chance to talk to you. My mother warned me before we left on the [living room] tour, “Someone’s going to capture you and keep you in their living room!” But it’s not like that. It’s more, “Hey, we’re both people. I happen to write songs. You happen to like songs that I write. We’re hanging out and I’ll play you some music.”
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Find out more about Catherine Feeny
Interested in being profiled in Venus Zine or on VenusZine.com? Submit your EPK to us on Sonicbids for consideration. We are now accepting materials for our winter quarter. But you must submit by August 26!
See Feeny's video for "People in the Hole" right here:
Issue #31
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