Q & A with Laurell

YT: Your new album, “Can’t Stop Falling,” came out this March. Can you tell me more about that?

The first single off the album, which is actually the title track “Can’t Stop Falling”, [was] selected as CHUM Radio’s Indie Artist Initiative Winner [for March].

How is this new album different from the other three you’ve released in the past?

Well actually, this is the first album that has any songs that I’ve co-written. So, all the other albums I’ve written on my own. I was actually thinking about that on my way here, about how much more of a growing process this album was in that I’ve risked a lot more. I travelled to Toronto and to L.A. and I kind of shared my writing ideas with other writers and kind of let them into the process. It kind of really made my music grow in new ways, stylistically and lyrically and musically. People kind of really challenged me and, I don’t know, it just kind of felt like new leaves turning, you know?

Looking back to when you were named “Vancouver Idol” in 2001, did you ever know that you’d be where you are now?

When I was going through that, I guess you could say that I always knew I wanted to write songs and I knew I wanted to record music and I probably had a better idea of what I would look like then than I do now. I’ve learned along the way that in this industry nothing actually kind of pans out the way you planned, and I’ve seen in so many singers’ and singer-songwriters’ careers that nobody has ever walked the same path, unlike other jobs in different industries, right? So I guess based on how unpredictable the last few years have been, I sort of have no idea where I’m going. I have an idea where I’d like to be, and am really happy where I am right now, but I certainly didn’t expect it to look this way. But I’m happy about it.

How has life changed for you from then to now?

Well, I guess life is different now because I’m doing music full-time, I’m touring a lot, more people are recognizing my music, which is really cool. They’re connecting with it on an emotional level, which is just honouring for me. And I guess, along the way, I’ve sort of got more credibility and recognition through winning certain competitions and being nominated for Western Canadian Music Awards for top pop album. I guess you just never know who you’re gonna end up working with, or end up crossing paths with.

If you could go back and give one piece of advice to yourself prior to joining Canadian Idol and jumpstarting your singing career, what would you tell your past self?

I think that I would have told myself to collaborate earlier on in music, because I’m realizing now that the more people you can have involved in your music, the more invested people will be. Back when I first started music, I guess I thought that I was going to have to do it all on my own and make it happen all on my own, whereas I’m realizing just the power of friendships in this business and how encouraging that can be to kind of propel you on. So I guess I’d just tell myself to be open. It took me a while to kind of realize, especially the song writing thing, to realize that nobody’s gonna steal my idea, it’s not the most amazing idea anyway. I would just tell myself to experiment more.

How has the way you grew up, in the West Coast as a first generation Canadian, influenced your music?

I grew up snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing, wakeboarding… board sports were just something I fell in love with early on. And there’s a music, a culture that surrounds that, that I was attracted to at a young age, so I think that naturally worked its way into my music. And I’ve always been a kind of rhythmic guitar player, so even that I think kinds of just transpires into grooves and beach vibe and that kind of culture.

I read somewhere that you listened to a lot of the Beatles at a young age because of your parents. Who else are your musical influences?

It’s a lot of the legendary bands that I’m into. U2 is another great example of amazing songwriting and also a band that has done so much through their music. I really try to glean a lot from them, and from the Beatles, and certainly I had a very big Sarah McLaughlin phase as well when she first came out. I’ve never heard anything like her and seen any female, especially along this area, moving along her career like the way she was. It was incredible to just watch her rise to success, and again she’s an amazing songwriter. I’ve always been influenced by great songs, no matter what the genre.

I noticed that you write your own lyrics – that is rare in the industry these days. Would you sing a song that was not written by yourself?

I think just because I’ve grown up doing poetry and having piano lessons at such a young age, just making music from really early on, it was such a natural progression for me. Looking back we can see how everything in my life pointed me toward being a songwriter and was equipping me to do that. Even composition classes in my college and studying jazz, it all kind of added to that skill without me even recognizing it. I had a desire to song write because to me it was therapy, it was a way to express and process my emotions. So I can’t say that I would be super exciting about singing someone else’s songs, but if I was asked to I would certainly try to put my own interpretation of the song into the performance of the song. But it’s definitely much more easy to connect with a song that you’ve written yourself.

You’ve toured numerous locations in Canada and the USA. Do you have any favourite locations to perform in?

Definitely Santa Barbara, California. It’s a little, well I guess it’s not that little… it’s a small-ish beach town. It’s beautiful, it’s warm, they have birds of paradise growing on their sidewalks, it’s so amazing. I’m a big fan of there. That’s by far is my favourite place to play.

Are there any locations you would like to perform in, in the future?

There’s not one particular place. I guess I picture a certain kind of venue all over, which would be kind of a theatre style venue, intimate, where people can really connect to your music and it’s kind of a non-distracting sort of environment. I picture playing shows like that. People would be able to be moved by the music. I guess I feel that my audience gets the most out of my music when the venue is smaller.

What’s been the coolest part of being a professional singer for the past 9 years?

Being a recording artist happens in cycles – you write your album, you record it and then you promote it and tour the record. I guess in the songwriting aspect, the highlight would definitely have to be all these creative thoughts that are emerging and springing out of your brain, you know, just the chemistry you can have with the other writers in the room and you know that it’s working and you’re writing a great song, it’s practically writing itself. So when I have a really clear vision for a song, and it just happens that way, it’s the biggest high, it’s the most amazing feeling.

What would you have done, if you weren’t singing?

Well I jokingly say that if the music thing doesn’t work out, I’d really like to go work for Disney. Because I was so in love with The Little Mermaid when I was growing up and I pretty much know all the words to all the Disney Princess songs. But I seriously would love to do it for just a week. If not that, then I would probably fall back on my previous job, which was as an Autism Specialist. I love working with kids with special needs and it’s something that’s really, really close to my heart. I think that even with doing music, there’s an avenue for me to advocate for, build a platform for these kids.

If you could collaborate with any artist, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

I would love to write with the guys from Death Cab for Cutie. I think they have such amazing songs. Probably them the most. Oh! And Martin Sexton. That’s who I would song write with. He’s amazing. He goes to play venues, they’re packed. And before he even starts playing songs, or singing, people start singing in the audience. His songs are just that memorable.

Do you have any advice for young, aspiring singer-songwriters out there?

I would say, basically experiment as much as you possibly can, both with instruments and ideas and with other people and be open to learning what you love and what you don’t love about certain songs. I think that really helps develop a personal style and just helps you to think with a more critical mind to write a song; [it] really helps you define what you want the song to sound like. And I’d also encourage them to know that there’s room for all of us songwriters, and regardless of whether you do it full-time or [as] just a hobby, their song is going to mean something to someone, if not just themselves.