You know I was reading an article the other day about how people are less concerned this election year with gay marriage, because they’re far more concerned with the pratfalls in Iraq. Like people have finally figured out that there are more pressing things.
Oh really? That’s so great. I hadn’t heard about that, but how great to hear that people are figuring out there are just more important things to be upset about. Maybe things are changing.
Maybe. Or maybe it was just the source of the article.
Well, yeah.
So [back to music], do you identify as a folksinger?
Yeah, I do consider myself a folksinger. Sometimes people don’t understand what that means. So if I say I’m a folksinger and I get kind of a blank look, I’ll say, “You know, folk-rock …” and then I’ll name some artists, and they’re usually okay with it then. Because, you know, essentially, I make a life from driving around to folk venues that always have folk music. [Folk music is] really about being acceptable to people and trying to sing lyrical content that reflects people’s lives.
What about the Boston scene? Do you feel like you’re a part of all that’s going on out there? There are a whole lot of songwriters in Boston.
Well it’s not just Boston. It’s beyond Boston. All over New England, really, there are folk clubs and venues or places that have these monthly folk music series. And it’s really a great area for folk music.
What do you think it is about New England that is so full of folk music?
Oh good question. I don’t know.
Do you think it’s the weather in the winter?
I don’t know. I guess that may be part of it. You know folk music, those type of lyrics always remind me of sort of poetry of plainspoken poets like Robert Frost … people [in New England] are very plainspoken. And then the winter weather tends to demand that you find something to get out of your house and go sing songs. So there’s that need for a community, a sort of tradition; because in the summertime, the folk clubs are dead.
Catie Curtis is on a rather extended tour that will take her all across the US. For a full list of dates and venues, visit her Web site
