WEBVTT - Sharon Van Etten 0:00:15.436 --> 0:00:23.076 Pushkin. Hey everyone, today we have Sharon van Etton on 0:00:23.116 --> 0:00:26.796 the show, the singer songwriter who Pitchfork recently crowned an 0:00:26.916 --> 0:00:30.876 indie rock institution. Van Etton was discovered in the early 0:00:30.956 --> 0:00:34.716 OTTs after performing at Open Mike's in Manhattan's Lower East Side. 0:00:35.356 --> 0:00:37.636 Her two thousand and nine debut album, Because I Was 0:00:37.636 --> 0:00:40.156 In Love was written as a way to process surviving 0:00:40.236 --> 0:00:43.636 a violent crime and an abusive relationship in her twenties. 0:00:44.596 --> 0:00:47.556 Over the next few years, Sharon continued her journey in music, 0:00:47.636 --> 0:00:51.076 releasing albums and touring internationally until on a whim around 0:00:51.116 --> 0:00:54.836 twenty fifteen, she auditioned for the Netflix show The Oa, 0:00:55.156 --> 0:00:59.196 landing a major role despite having no previous acting experience. 0:01:00.076 --> 0:01:03.316 In May, van Etton released her critically acclaimed sixth album, 0:01:03.556 --> 0:01:06.916 We've been Going about This All Wrong. In my opinion, 0:01:07.036 --> 0:01:10.196 it's her best. It's an album dedicated to the collective 0:01:10.196 --> 0:01:13.276 trauma amassed in the lead up to the Pandemic and beyond. 0:01:14.036 --> 0:01:16.996 On today's episode, Broken Record producer Leah Rose talks to 0:01:16.996 --> 0:01:20.556 Sharon Vanetton about some of those pandemic issues, like recording 0:01:20.556 --> 0:01:23.836 her new album in her LA based home studio during lockdown. 0:01:23.956 --> 0:01:27.996 While attempting to balance domestic life. Sharon also explains how 0:01:27.996 --> 0:01:30.916 her inner Jersey Girl comes out on stage and while 0:01:30.956 --> 0:01:34.276 wearing leather pants and heels on stage post pandemic feels 0:01:34.516 --> 0:01:40.636 so daunting. This is broken record liner notes for the 0:01:40.676 --> 0:01:45.516 digital age. I'm justin Richmond. Here's Leah Rose with Sharon Vanetton. 0:01:46.556 --> 0:01:50.116 Your new album, it's a pandemic album, but it's also 0:01:51.036 --> 0:01:54.676 a forced domesticity album. You record it at home, you 0:01:54.676 --> 0:01:57.276 have a studio at home, But that must have been 0:01:57.276 --> 0:02:00.276 a completely different experience on top of the pandemic, on 0:02:00.316 --> 0:02:03.476 top of you know, what was going on politically, on 0:02:03.516 --> 0:02:07.596 top of wildfires, on top of being a mom, a partner. 0:02:08.116 --> 0:02:13.436 How did the situation at home influence the recording? Well, 0:02:13.476 --> 0:02:16.436 you know, as a mom, you know that you find 0:02:16.476 --> 0:02:19.596 the moments you can to make shit happen. You know, 0:02:20.396 --> 0:02:24.876 like I have thirty minutes to make some magic. I'm 0:02:24.876 --> 0:02:26.476 going to go in there. I'm going to do the 0:02:26.516 --> 0:02:30.436 best that I can. And you set realistic goals for yourself. 0:02:31.156 --> 0:02:33.236 And when you have to be able to ask permission, 0:02:33.316 --> 0:02:35.276 when you really need to be the one that works 0:02:35.676 --> 0:02:39.316 more than the other, like today's today, I really need 0:02:39.316 --> 0:02:42.756 to be in there. I'm hitting a stride here, and 0:02:43.476 --> 0:02:47.476 you know, my partner has pretty set hours in his day, meetings, meeting, zoom, 0:02:47.516 --> 0:02:52.156 zoom zoom, and in New York, I didn't have a 0:02:52.236 --> 0:02:55.716 dedicated studio for myself, so in that way it was 0:02:55.756 --> 0:02:58.916 for the better. It was in my garage, going through 0:02:58.956 --> 0:03:02.156 my back in my backyard, so I was able to 0:03:03.396 --> 0:03:05.436 most of the time if I needed to go in there, 0:03:05.436 --> 0:03:07.396 I could. If I needed to put my kid on 0:03:07.436 --> 0:03:09.476 the TV in order for myself to work for an 0:03:09.476 --> 0:03:12.156 extra hour, I would. Most of the time he was 0:03:12.196 --> 0:03:15.156 outside skating, and on early demos, you can probably hear 0:03:15.236 --> 0:03:17.636 him in the yard, and there's a window for my 0:03:17.716 --> 0:03:20.116 studio looking out, so I could see him going back 0:03:20.156 --> 0:03:23.116 and forth. And sometimes he would sit in there with 0:03:23.196 --> 0:03:25.356 me if I was just working on lyrics, and he 0:03:25.356 --> 0:03:29.276 would play the drums, and you know, other times I 0:03:29.276 --> 0:03:32.956 could just be reading to disconnect from an emotional place 0:03:32.956 --> 0:03:36.316 that took me too far, and we'd be hanging out 0:03:36.356 --> 0:03:39.276 in the living room just like talking and reading. But 0:03:39.356 --> 0:03:43.276 you just find whatever moments of inspiration you need. You know, 0:03:44.036 --> 0:03:46.556 do lyrics or do melodies come to you sort of 0:03:46.596 --> 0:03:48.756 like a flash of lightning, like you have to like 0:03:48.836 --> 0:03:50.956 go in and capture it, or is it something you 0:03:50.956 --> 0:03:54.156 can just sort of like work up and start with 0:03:54.196 --> 0:03:57.476 more like vowel sounds or guttural sounds and it turns 0:03:57.476 --> 0:04:00.716 into something. I mean, most of the time, melodies come 0:04:00.796 --> 0:04:03.796 as soon as I sit down to something, whether it 0:04:03.836 --> 0:04:08.676 be a piano guitar. Lyrics come way later, but I 0:04:08.716 --> 0:04:13.276 tend to sit down and create a chord progression and 0:04:13.436 --> 0:04:17.076 a melody, and I'll once I get from point A 0:04:17.356 --> 0:04:20.796 and point B, maybe there's a C. I don't always 0:04:20.836 --> 0:04:24.316 believe in the C, but I think if I find 0:04:24.316 --> 0:04:27.236 something interesting that can at least go to those places, 0:04:27.716 --> 0:04:31.396 I'll hit record and just let myself sing stream of 0:04:31.516 --> 0:04:36.796 consciously for about ten fifteen minutes, and I'll let myself 0:04:36.876 --> 0:04:39.276 wander melodically and see what it is that I find. 0:04:40.076 --> 0:04:42.836 And most of the time I just hit stop and 0:04:42.916 --> 0:04:45.356 I move on to the next thing, and I don't 0:04:45.476 --> 0:04:48.156 think about that too much, and I see if I 0:04:48.196 --> 0:04:52.676 can find another melodic idea on a different instrument. Sometimes 0:04:52.796 --> 0:04:54.996 two or three of those ideas in the same day 0:04:55.116 --> 0:04:58.916 ended up end up being married later on. Sometimes there 0:04:58.916 --> 0:05:02.356 are three different songs. Sometimes it's three pieces of garbage, 0:05:02.476 --> 0:05:06.076 but on moments where I can't even play an instrument 0:05:06.076 --> 0:05:09.676 and hear a melody. I go back to those songs 0:05:09.676 --> 0:05:13.276 and I listened back and pull out words and phrases 0:05:13.316 --> 0:05:15.836 and try to remember what it was I was going through, 0:05:16.356 --> 0:05:20.636 and then I'll shape words around them. On the rare occasion, 0:05:21.356 --> 0:05:24.836 the words just come out. Like the song Darkest came 0:05:24.836 --> 0:05:28.436 out in one sitting, and I just I let it 0:05:28.476 --> 0:05:32.436 live on its own. There's no like verse chorus situation. 0:05:32.476 --> 0:05:35.876 I don't know what that is, but it's like one 0:05:35.916 --> 0:05:39.036 solid piece and I don't know where it came from, 0:05:39.036 --> 0:05:41.676 but it just came out of thin air. What point 0:05:41.676 --> 0:05:45.236 in the pandemic did that come? That one was the 0:05:45.316 --> 0:05:50.196 probably the only one that was fully realized before the album. 0:05:50.876 --> 0:05:52.716 But I didn't want to put it on my last 0:05:52.756 --> 0:05:55.836 record because I thought it was too apocalyptic. And it 0:05:55.916 --> 0:05:59.236 was on a demo on my phone and you could 0:05:59.316 --> 0:06:02.996 hear the birds chirping through the windows, and I saved 0:06:03.036 --> 0:06:05.716 it and I put it in this folder because I 0:06:05.756 --> 0:06:08.836 thought it was just too dark for the context of 0:06:08.916 --> 0:06:13.196 the songs. And then this song kept coming up and 0:06:13.276 --> 0:06:17.636 the demos that I wanted to work on, and you know, 0:06:17.676 --> 0:06:20.796 I ended up rerecording that one in the studio. But 0:06:20.876 --> 0:06:23.116 the one thing I didn't want to lose was the birds, 0:06:23.836 --> 0:06:27.916 because there was this point in LA when people stopped 0:06:27.996 --> 0:06:33.276 driving and the sky turned blue and so many birds 0:06:33.596 --> 0:06:37.396 started coming out, And in the midst of what I 0:06:37.436 --> 0:06:40.556 thought was the end of the world, nature was coming back, 0:06:40.676 --> 0:06:43.116 and it gave me this moment. I don't know if 0:06:43.116 --> 0:06:46.276 you experienced the same thing, but in the midst of 0:06:46.316 --> 0:06:50.196 all this chaos and these fires and the earthquakes, I 0:06:51.316 --> 0:06:54.796 heard the birds and it made me remember this demo, 0:06:55.316 --> 0:06:59.156 and I thought, with how intense all my other songs are, 0:06:59.716 --> 0:07:04.356 this song now feels light and I don't want to 0:07:04.396 --> 0:07:07.276 build it up, and I want this one song to 0:07:07.356 --> 0:07:10.596 live on its song without any product action. And I 0:07:10.676 --> 0:07:13.316 knew that before I even built up the other songs. 0:07:13.396 --> 0:07:15.596 But I knew the other songs were going to go there, 0:07:15.996 --> 0:07:18.036 But that was the one where I just felt like, Okay, 0:07:18.036 --> 0:07:20.396 this is where everyone can kind of take a deep breath. 0:07:21.356 --> 0:07:24.196 I read an old Time Out interview that you did 0:07:24.236 --> 0:07:27.636 in twenty sixteen, and you said, I'm not a down 0:07:27.676 --> 0:07:30.676 in the dumps person. People think that I am because 0:07:30.676 --> 0:07:33.116 of the music that I write. Is that something that 0:07:33.436 --> 0:07:36.716 you feel compelled to tell people because your music is 0:07:36.756 --> 0:07:41.396 so emotional. Well, I definitely like reassuring people that I'm 0:07:41.396 --> 0:07:46.476 okay in number one, especially my mother, who at various 0:07:46.476 --> 0:07:48.916 points in my life, was like, I thought you were okay. 0:07:48.996 --> 0:07:50.916 I thought we were you know, I thought you were 0:07:50.956 --> 0:07:52.796 in a good place. I'm like, well I am. But like, 0:07:52.876 --> 0:07:55.676 this is my coping mechanism. This is my form of therapy. 0:07:55.876 --> 0:07:59.196 And if I didn't have music, I don't know where 0:07:59.196 --> 0:08:02.756 i'd be today. But I do have that outlet, you know, 0:08:02.996 --> 0:08:05.396 And I think that if any if you have an outlet, 0:08:05.436 --> 0:08:08.556 whatever it is, with being music or exercising or painting, 0:08:08.636 --> 0:08:12.196 it's like everyone needs to find their outlet to let 0:08:12.236 --> 0:08:14.596 out the side of them that is hard to communicate. 0:08:14.716 --> 0:08:19.436 And that's how I process my emotions. Yeah, So how 0:08:19.476 --> 0:08:22.636 do records usually start for you? Like, do you isolate 0:08:22.956 --> 0:08:26.996 certain sounds or feelings that you want to capture or 0:08:27.036 --> 0:08:29.436 is it more just you like noodling on an instrument 0:08:29.636 --> 0:08:33.036 or writing lyrics? How do they usually begin? Well? I 0:08:33.516 --> 0:08:38.076 tend to write and write and write and not think 0:08:38.116 --> 0:08:41.676 about the production part of it at first. And then 0:08:42.076 --> 0:08:45.236 when I have a collection of songs and I look 0:08:45.236 --> 0:08:47.436 at the entirety of what they are and what I'm 0:08:47.476 --> 0:08:49.876 talking about and what I'm going through in that moment. 0:08:50.596 --> 0:08:54.956 Then I realize that I'm capturing a time period and 0:08:55.036 --> 0:08:59.036 it feels like a chapter. And this particular chapter I 0:08:59.116 --> 0:09:04.316 had about twenty demos and it was COVID, Yeah, and 0:09:05.036 --> 0:09:08.876 I was going to lean into all of the trepid 0:09:08.916 --> 0:09:13.516 day and the darkness and the doubts and the rollercoaster 0:09:13.676 --> 0:09:16.836 of emotions that we were all feeling in parallel in 0:09:16.836 --> 0:09:21.636 different ways. But I wrote all the songs on different instruments, 0:09:21.756 --> 0:09:25.836 so even the bare bones of the songs all started 0:09:25.836 --> 0:09:29.596 in very different places, and I just knew that it 0:09:29.636 --> 0:09:32.676 was going to be a very emotional, a very dramatic 0:09:32.716 --> 0:09:35.956 record before I added anything to it. Do you ever 0:09:36.196 --> 0:09:40.676 do like a gut check with friends or with your 0:09:40.756 --> 0:09:44.836 partner to sort of like bounce your feeling about a 0:09:44.916 --> 0:09:47.436 subject off of them to see if it's kind of 0:09:47.476 --> 0:09:51.876 like a collective feeling. Absolutely, I mean I write from 0:09:51.876 --> 0:09:56.476 a really personal place, and you know, even before Quarantine, 0:09:56.556 --> 0:10:00.836 I wanted to make sure that after I write personal 0:10:00.916 --> 0:10:04.036 songs that they feel universal in a way where anyone 0:10:04.116 --> 0:10:07.436 can connect to them on their own level. So you know, 0:10:07.516 --> 0:10:10.196 I checked myself there before I share it with anyone else, 0:10:10.236 --> 0:10:14.196 and I will say about of what I write, no 0:10:14.236 --> 0:10:17.916 one's ears hear them, because I always write from a 0:10:17.996 --> 0:10:20.756 personal place and it starts there without every thinking that 0:10:20.796 --> 0:10:23.356 it's going to be for anyone else. So that's my 0:10:23.396 --> 0:10:28.236 first filter. Second filter is my partner who is also 0:10:28.316 --> 0:10:32.636 my manager, and he also used to play drums with me, 0:10:32.716 --> 0:10:37.516 so he has a musician's ear as well as thinking 0:10:37.556 --> 0:10:40.676 of all of my albums collectively and what the trajectory 0:10:41.276 --> 0:10:44.596 of my sound has been or will be, or what 0:10:44.756 --> 0:10:48.596 kind of twists and turns are interesting just as a friend. 0:10:49.156 --> 0:10:52.396 But he listens to the content sometimes and asks me, 0:10:52.476 --> 0:10:55.756 like where I'm going? You know? How dark? How dark 0:10:55.876 --> 0:10:58.676 is this? There's even been a song on the record 0:10:58.676 --> 0:11:02.276 where he thought I was singing too low. He's like, 0:11:02.356 --> 0:11:05.836 it sounds uncomfortably low, and I was like, I want 0:11:05.836 --> 0:11:09.756 people to be uncomfortably low with me. What other types 0:11:09.756 --> 0:11:13.236 of feedback does he give you, like specifically when looking 0:11:13.396 --> 0:11:17.036 at the story of all of your albums together, sometimes 0:11:17.076 --> 0:11:19.876 he'll comment on the tempo of my songs and say 0:11:20.036 --> 0:11:24.556 they could be bumped up a couple you know, bpms 0:11:24.636 --> 0:11:28.076 or whatever, because my songs tend to be very mid tempo. 0:11:28.156 --> 0:11:32.116 I think I've honed in my mid tempo ballad for sure, 0:11:32.476 --> 0:11:35.156 and so he'll check me on and trying to give 0:11:35.476 --> 0:11:40.116 some tempo to the records and not laughing at myself 0:11:40.156 --> 0:11:43.436 when a song is too lighthearted, because I'm like with mistakes. 0:11:43.476 --> 0:11:46.716 I thought, is this one too silly to include, you know, 0:11:46.756 --> 0:11:49.756 because it's about it's about me being a bad dancer. 0:11:49.796 --> 0:11:53.676 But he thought, He's like, this is the you know, 0:11:53.796 --> 0:11:57.716 as word as we start talking about sequencing of the record, 0:11:57.836 --> 0:12:00.156 and you know, this is a point in the record 0:12:00.156 --> 0:12:02.756 where that song comes in. We actually really need that 0:12:02.836 --> 0:12:06.356 one song, and it took us a long time to 0:12:06.356 --> 0:12:08.716 get there, but we did, and I found the confidence 0:12:08.756 --> 0:12:12.316 to sing something that lighthearted in the context of the 0:12:12.316 --> 0:12:14.876 weight of the whole album. I want to ask you 0:12:14.876 --> 0:12:17.676 about Home to Me. I believe it's a song about 0:12:17.716 --> 0:12:19.196 your son, but I just wanted to hear how it 0:12:19.236 --> 0:12:20.956 came to you and what you were thinking when you 0:12:21.036 --> 0:12:25.996 wrote it. Home to Me is definitely about my son. 0:12:26.156 --> 0:12:29.716 I have peppered in a couple of secret messages to 0:12:29.796 --> 0:12:33.836 him for when he's old enough to know better. He's five, 0:12:34.516 --> 0:12:37.876 and you know, he's only just starting to understand what 0:12:37.956 --> 0:12:41.756 I do. And it's interesting is he starts asking how 0:12:41.756 --> 0:12:44.756 many movies does it take to get to the city 0:12:44.796 --> 0:12:46.756 where you're going to go. It's all of like the 0:12:46.876 --> 0:12:50.356 increments are all about how many movies can I watch? 0:12:50.436 --> 0:12:56.076 On the way? You can watch The Sandlot four times? 0:12:57.996 --> 0:13:00.796 But you know, it's in the middle of the pandemic 0:13:00.996 --> 0:13:05.596 and writing a new record. I mean, it's very surreal 0:13:05.796 --> 0:13:09.836 to even imagine going on tour again. Yeah, I wasn't 0:13:09.836 --> 0:13:13.636 even sure if it would happen. Quite frankly, I'm scared 0:13:13.756 --> 0:13:16.556 to go back out, but I'm gonna do it because 0:13:16.556 --> 0:13:19.396 that's what I'm supposed to do and that, you know, 0:13:19.436 --> 0:13:24.676 because things are normal now, right so they say, But 0:13:24.876 --> 0:13:29.036 you know, I'm envisioning myself being on the road and 0:13:29.876 --> 0:13:34.636 my son's starting school, and I'm basically apologizing because I 0:13:34.716 --> 0:13:38.396 know how hard it is. But my I feel like 0:13:38.476 --> 0:13:41.116 my job is for him to grow up watching us 0:13:41.156 --> 0:13:45.276 figure it out, watching us make it work, and helping 0:13:45.276 --> 0:13:49.396 each other thrive even when it's hard. And I would 0:13:49.436 --> 0:13:51.676 not be my full self if I did not have 0:13:51.836 --> 0:13:55.996 music and my bond and the fans that support it. 0:13:56.556 --> 0:13:59.476 That's so important too. That's not a little point, right. 0:13:59.556 --> 0:14:03.476 It's so important to feel like yourself after you've had 0:14:03.516 --> 0:14:05.676 a child. It's just such a big deal. And I 0:14:05.716 --> 0:14:07.276 was another thing I was thinking about when I was 0:14:07.316 --> 0:14:10.356 thinking about you going on stage age after being home 0:14:10.436 --> 0:14:13.396 and being a mom and you know, wearing the pandemic 0:14:14.236 --> 0:14:16.956 clothes and whatever it is, you know, and all of 0:14:16.996 --> 0:14:19.596 a sudden you have to step on stage with maybe 0:14:19.676 --> 0:14:22.476 makeup or you have to do your hair and have 0:14:22.596 --> 0:14:27.316 like a cool outfit. That seems like such a big transition, 0:14:28.236 --> 0:14:31.076 and like, can you even like move your body in 0:14:31.116 --> 0:14:33.316 the way you want to move it? How do you 0:14:33.356 --> 0:14:37.436 get back into that mode? Let me tell you. I 0:14:37.596 --> 0:14:39.756 first of all, I got a pair of leather pants 0:14:39.796 --> 0:14:43.276 for the last tour, and I was nervous to put 0:14:43.276 --> 0:14:46.996 them back on. I was like, really, leather pants, Why 0:14:47.036 --> 0:14:49.276 did I do this to myself? Why am I going 0:14:49.316 --> 0:14:52.476 in this rock direction? Why am I trying to be 0:14:52.716 --> 0:14:56.196 Jane Jet right now? I really just I wish I 0:14:56.236 --> 0:15:00.356 could wear sweatpants on stage. You know. We just had 0:15:00.356 --> 0:15:05.476 our first warm up shows recently, and they're on one hand, 0:15:05.476 --> 0:15:09.596 it's nice to shake it off, and I'm I'm glad 0:15:09.676 --> 0:15:13.556 that I'm as my partner calls elevated, Sharon, you know 0:15:13.876 --> 0:15:16.636 you're still yourself. It's just like if you were going 0:15:16.636 --> 0:15:20.116 out on the town or something, and it helps to 0:15:20.116 --> 0:15:24.916 get into this alter ego ish in order to disconnect 0:15:25.276 --> 0:15:29.196 from that person. Yes, even like practice, Like I was 0:15:29.396 --> 0:15:32.556 practicing walking in heels again around the house because I've 0:15:32.596 --> 0:15:37.956 been wearing my bloodstones every day every day, Like Okay, 0:15:37.996 --> 0:15:40.556 well maybe I need to see if blunt Stones will 0:15:40.556 --> 0:15:44.436 collaborate with me on like a Chelsea boit because that's 0:15:44.476 --> 0:15:47.596 going to be my transition. Yeah. I was looking at 0:15:47.636 --> 0:15:50.196 your European tour dates last night and I was just 0:15:50.276 --> 0:15:53.996 thinking about it, like it must be such a singular 0:15:54.036 --> 0:15:57.396 experience for you, just as a mother and as a partner, 0:15:58.116 --> 0:16:01.556 how to figure out how to balance the domestic side 0:16:01.556 --> 0:16:03.636 of life and also like show up and be on 0:16:03.756 --> 0:16:07.156 stage and be so super present to the fans. Is 0:16:07.156 --> 0:16:10.316 there anybody in your life you can talk to about that, 0:16:10.396 --> 0:16:12.556 like how to balance that and how to sort of 0:16:12.556 --> 0:16:15.476 like come to terms within your mind. I mean I've 0:16:15.476 --> 0:16:18.356 talked to different parents for sure, And I think what's 0:16:18.356 --> 0:16:21.116 so unique is that any rigid parent would see my 0:16:21.196 --> 0:16:23.996 career and just be like, oh, yeah, your kid's never 0:16:24.076 --> 0:16:27.076 going on the road. I've never been like that in 0:16:27.076 --> 0:16:29.836 my life, But as I'm getting older, I know that 0:16:29.916 --> 0:16:33.676 I want some structure for my kid because I don't 0:16:33.756 --> 0:16:38.396 naturally have it as a musician and a pisces and 0:16:38.556 --> 0:16:42.636 I'm just a dreamer and I thrive in structure, even 0:16:42.636 --> 0:16:45.796 though I fight against it all the time. So I'm 0:16:45.796 --> 0:16:48.756 trying to find the best of both worlds. Yeah, most 0:16:48.796 --> 0:16:51.836 parents that I know that are on the road or dads, 0:16:51.916 --> 0:16:54.516 and they have a very different kind of attachment to 0:16:55.556 --> 0:16:59.236 kids that there's a separation a bit more where I 0:16:59.876 --> 0:17:03.996 feel constantly connected. And the mothers that I talked to, 0:17:04.956 --> 0:17:08.156 they again, they have different styles and they tend to 0:17:08.716 --> 0:17:12.276 be able to bring a nanny on tour full time, 0:17:12.556 --> 0:17:15.676 and I can't do that either. I love when my 0:17:15.716 --> 0:17:17.716 son comes out and he sees what I do. I 0:17:17.756 --> 0:17:19.516 want him to know what I do. I want him 0:17:19.516 --> 0:17:21.516 to know that I'm available. I want him to be 0:17:21.556 --> 0:17:24.396 able to visualize what my schedule is every day. So 0:17:24.436 --> 0:17:26.476 if I tell him I'm sound checking, he'll know what 0:17:26.516 --> 0:17:28.716 that means. If I tell him I'm just backstage with 0:17:28.796 --> 0:17:32.076 the guys, he knows what I'm talking about. And when 0:17:32.076 --> 0:17:34.036 he knows that I didn't sleep well through the night 0:17:34.036 --> 0:17:36.196 because of the bunk. Then he'll know exactly what I'm 0:17:36.236 --> 0:17:38.236 talking about because he knows what the bunk is, and 0:17:38.316 --> 0:17:41.036 he knows the backstage is, you know. But I also 0:17:41.196 --> 0:17:45.436 he starts kindergarten in August, and I realize that I'm 0:17:45.436 --> 0:17:47.356 going to be on tour for his first day of school, 0:17:47.356 --> 0:17:50.276 and my heart's already broken, you know. But I want 0:17:50.316 --> 0:17:54.436 him to have that, So you can't have both. Yeah. 0:17:54.516 --> 0:17:57.796 We had Michael Stipe on the show recently and he 0:17:57.876 --> 0:18:01.756 was talking about the postpartum period after you come off 0:18:01.796 --> 0:18:04.236 of a big tour or after you finish an album, 0:18:04.516 --> 0:18:06.436 and I was curious to know, since you've actually been 0:18:06.636 --> 0:18:10.116 through postpartum, are those sort of like feelings when you 0:18:10.156 --> 0:18:18.156 finish a big project. Absolutely not, I mean yes, I 0:18:18.236 --> 0:18:21.276 mean your soul is torn open, you like, give all 0:18:21.316 --> 0:18:24.356 these socks. I mean, anyone that's gone through thirty four 0:18:24.476 --> 0:18:28.196 hours of induced labor then to be cut open and 0:18:28.276 --> 0:18:30.916 then takes months to heal. And I'm you know, my 0:18:30.996 --> 0:18:33.436 son is five and I still feel my incision and 0:18:33.476 --> 0:18:36.196 I'm numbed down there and I pee every time I laugh. 0:18:36.356 --> 0:18:39.236 I mean, yes, but it's intense. When you make a record, 0:18:39.276 --> 0:18:41.356 it's intense. When you go on tour and you come home, 0:18:41.396 --> 0:18:44.636 it's intense, and it's like it's more. It's not postpartum. 0:18:44.996 --> 0:18:47.956 It's like you need a nap and you don't want 0:18:47.956 --> 0:18:51.516 to be bothered, and the things that people don't tell you. 0:18:51.636 --> 0:18:54.916 The healing process is different, and with touring, it's like 0:18:55.596 --> 0:19:01.636 you come home and you're exhausted. The physical, physical aspect 0:19:01.836 --> 0:19:04.716 is real. We have to pause for a quick break, 0:19:04.956 --> 0:19:07.036 but we'll be right back with more from Sharon Vanetton 0:19:07.196 --> 0:19:14.036 and Leah Rose. We're back with more from Leah Rose's 0:19:14.076 --> 0:19:17.916 conversation with Sharon Vinnett. Let's talk a little bit about 0:19:17.996 --> 0:19:22.156 your background growing up in Jersey. Do you remember like 0:19:22.196 --> 0:19:25.356 the first artist or the first piece of music that 0:19:25.476 --> 0:19:29.036 you really connected to. The first song I ever fell 0:19:29.076 --> 0:19:32.036 in love with was Unchained Melody. I just thought it 0:19:32.076 --> 0:19:33.956 was one of the most beautiful songs I've ever written. 0:19:33.996 --> 0:19:36.876 I still do. But the first thing I sought out 0:19:36.916 --> 0:19:40.916 on my own was Elastica. I found it a Sam 0:19:40.996 --> 0:19:45.916 Goodie in the mall, and I remember that I wanted 0:19:45.916 --> 0:19:48.516 to be them so bad. That was like, they look 0:19:48.636 --> 0:19:52.316 so cool. It was like the connect you know connection, 0:19:52.916 --> 0:19:55.276 uh huh. I didn't know a lot of female rock 0:19:55.396 --> 0:19:58.356 musicians that were modern, but that kind of opened up 0:19:58.356 --> 0:20:02.756 this whole other gate as soon as my schoolmates were 0:20:02.756 --> 0:20:06.836 a here, like we're trading Walkman and sharing the cassettes 0:20:06.836 --> 0:20:10.556 were listening to and I was like, Oh, Sonic Youth cool, 0:20:10.836 --> 0:20:14.196 Nirvana cool, you know, Liz Fair cool. But that was 0:20:14.316 --> 0:20:18.756 kind of my gateway into getting into with the cool 0:20:18.836 --> 0:20:21.116 kids because I listened to a lot of classic music 0:20:21.236 --> 0:20:23.716 leading up to that. So were you listening to stuff 0:20:23.756 --> 0:20:25.916 that your brothers and sisters were hearing or what was like? 0:20:25.996 --> 0:20:28.396 What was music like in your house? It was all 0:20:28.436 --> 0:20:31.156 over the place. So I was one of five kids, 0:20:31.596 --> 0:20:35.316 and my dad had the final collection that he had 0:20:35.436 --> 0:20:38.316 since he was a kid, so it was a lot 0:20:38.356 --> 0:20:43.316 of sixties, sixties seventies rock. His favorite band is Jethro Tull, 0:20:44.036 --> 0:20:46.876 and he was listening to music constantly in the car. 0:20:46.956 --> 0:20:51.116 But it was Jethro Tull, the Beatles, Rolling Stones, The 0:20:51.276 --> 0:20:56.716 King's smot the Hoople, and then my older brother who 0:20:56.796 --> 0:20:59.316 was super into that music as well, because we all 0:20:59.356 --> 0:21:02.596 listened to what my dad listened to. Yeah, my older 0:21:02.636 --> 0:21:05.436 brother gave me his box of tapes when he left 0:21:05.676 --> 0:21:08.156 for college as a going away present, and it was 0:21:08.196 --> 0:21:13.676 like n inch Nail's Pretty Hate Machine, Ned's Atomic Dustbin, 0:21:14.356 --> 0:21:19.556 Jin Blossoms, sol Asylum. My mom was like folk. She 0:21:19.676 --> 0:21:24.556 likes Joni Mitchell and m Melanie and she got me 0:21:24.636 --> 0:21:28.796 into Married Shapin and Lucinda Williams. So like I feel 0:21:28.836 --> 0:21:31.796 like I'm so I'm inspired by so much that I 0:21:31.876 --> 0:21:36.156 get I get confused. Yeah, was the house loud? Like 0:21:36.236 --> 0:21:38.356 was there always music playing? Like? What was the regular 0:21:38.436 --> 0:21:41.316 vibe in the house? Oh? Absolutely, I mean my dad 0:21:41.396 --> 0:21:45.436 was blasting records downstairs, and then when there wasn't music 0:21:45.476 --> 0:21:47.716 going on in the basement, then the drums were probably 0:21:47.756 --> 0:21:50.916 being played or my brother and his friends were probably jamming. 0:21:50.996 --> 0:21:54.436 And like with road trips, especially when there's like seven 0:21:54.516 --> 0:21:57.596 of us in a car when we drove my brother 0:21:57.716 --> 0:22:01.396 cross country to go to Arizona State. We're in my 0:22:01.476 --> 0:22:04.396 parents green mini van and we have one of those 0:22:04.476 --> 0:22:07.476 max on the top of the car and the whole like, 0:22:07.796 --> 0:22:10.076 there's certain things that I was to remember from this 0:22:10.156 --> 0:22:14.076 road trip is that we all had our Walkman and 0:22:14.876 --> 0:22:16.996 neutral grain bars. I will never be able to eat 0:22:17.036 --> 0:22:19.516 one again in my life because I smell them forever 0:22:20.676 --> 0:22:23.076 or are you who did that prepare you at all 0:22:23.156 --> 0:22:26.636 for going on tour, especially early tours, just like being 0:22:26.676 --> 0:22:29.316 packed into a car with your family or just living 0:22:29.356 --> 0:22:32.076 in the house with a lot of things going on, 0:22:32.196 --> 0:22:35.156 like I'm sure at times it was chaotic, Like did 0:22:35.196 --> 0:22:38.596 that prepare you for that life? Oh? Absolutely? I mean 0:22:38.676 --> 0:22:40.796 I was a you know, I was raised as a camper, 0:22:41.156 --> 0:22:43.996 and you learn how to share space and not to 0:22:44.036 --> 0:22:46.556 take up a lot of space. And I also learned 0:22:46.596 --> 0:22:50.116 to be like a listener and not a talker, although 0:22:50.156 --> 0:22:53.356 I'm talking a lot right now, but I'm a better 0:22:53.396 --> 0:22:56.876 listener than a talker. I'm kind of indecisive because there 0:22:56.876 --> 0:22:59.516 were so many of us that I never I let 0:22:59.556 --> 0:23:01.996 everyone else make the decision because if I was another 0:23:02.076 --> 0:23:04.956 opinion in the mix, I just it stressed me out 0:23:04.996 --> 0:23:08.276 too much, and so I would I would just kind 0:23:08.276 --> 0:23:10.156 of let everyone else to side and deal with it 0:23:10.196 --> 0:23:12.636 because I didn't really care. Okay, I just learned to 0:23:12.676 --> 0:23:15.396 not care. So when did you start actually playing? When 0:23:15.396 --> 0:23:17.276 did you start picking up instruments and what did you 0:23:17.316 --> 0:23:20.996 play first? Instruments were encouraged at a really young age. 0:23:21.156 --> 0:23:25.596 I remember when I moved in about I think kindergarten 0:23:26.316 --> 0:23:28.796 and there was a it was like a fixer upper 0:23:28.876 --> 0:23:32.716