Sera Cahoone has a very non-traditional trajectory, even for a folksinger. Cahoone has been performing in country bands since the tender age of 12, when she would play the drums in dive bars in Colorado After growing up in Colorado, Cahoone moved to Seattle in her early twenties and got involved with the thriving music scene there, first as a drummer for local Carissa’s Wierd (yes, that’s how they spell it), and then later playing drums with one of the city’s breakout folk-rock bands, Band Of Horses.
Still, the urge to write and perform her own songs lingered, and Cahoone gradually began shaping the tracks that would become her debut self-titled album. Released over a decade ago in 2006, Sera Cahoone‘s gentle, hushed and wiry folk caught the attention of Sub Pop, and they released her next two records, Only As The Day Is Long in 2008 and its follow-up Deer Creek Canyon, in 2012. In the last five years, Cahoone has been relatively quiet, but she’s returned this year with another independent release, From Where I Started that will be out next Friday, 3/24.
As the title suggests, Cahoone has been drawn back to her own roots, playing country songs in Colorado dive bars, and the record is steeped in sweet Americana, lingering country melodies, banjo, fiddle, steel guitar, and of course, her ever-present drumming. Cahoone’s voice has long been a staple in the folk community, particularly in the Northwest, but here she expands out of folk and into more traditional country on songs like the heart-wrenching first single about unrequited love, “Up To Me,” and addressing the specter of domestic violence that took the life of her cousin on the haunting “Lady Bug.”
Today, we’re premiering another new track off the record that’s filled with a similar longing. If “Up To Me” imagines a potential future with someone else, “Better Woman” finds love and relationships as motivation to pursue personal growth. Listen to the song below and read a conversation with Sera about drumming in Seattle’s indie rock scene, growing up with a father who was a traveling dynamite salesman, and the kind of country music that moves the heart.
ᐧAs someone who came up in Seattle, do you feel a connection between Colorado and the Northwest?
I do yes. The mountains especially. Both Colorado and Seattle are so beautiful.
It’s pretty rare to run into female drummers, why do you think that role in particular remains so male? And how did you get into it yourself?
As a kid I was always obsessed with drums. I would constantly bang on my desk at school etc. Getting kicked out of class for it. I knew I wanted to be a drummer. So when I was 11 I convinced my mom that if she bought me a drumset I would be able to stop hitting my desk at school. It worked, she bought me a drumset but I couldn’t stop hitting my desk. Haha I tried. And, yes I agree there were not many females drummers when I was growing up. I always had to prove myself to all the boys that I was better than them. They didn’t like it. But that has changed a lot-there are way more female drummers these days. So many amazing ones. It’s so cool to see.
Before your solo career you worked with some pretty iconic Seattle bands, can you talk a bit about your experiences with Carissa’s Weird and Band of Horses?
I was a huge fan of Carissa’s Wierd before I joined. They called me one day and asked if I would want to drum for them. I was so excited. Right away went on a crazy 6 week tour. I’m pretty sure I never drank that much in my life — lots of Old Crow whiskey and sleeping on people’s floors. But, I just love those guys. They are all such incredible musicians. I was sad we broke up. Then when Ben and Mat were recording the first Band Of Horses record, Ben called me and said Sera we need you. So I went in and played some drums on their first record.
What led you to start your solo career? Technically it hasn’t been that long in the grand scheme of things, only the last decade or so really.
I started teaching myself guitar in high school. I never in my life would have thought I would be a singer. But it just slowly started coming out and I started writing songs. When I moved to Seattle in ’98 I didn’t even bring my drums because I wanted to force myself to go to open mics and try to write more music. I always had a vision to record a record and play all the drums — which I did that on my first record. I didn’t expect people to like it so much, but here I am. I mailed it to or local radio station KEXP hoping maybe they would play it on their local show and the next thing I know I’m hearing my songs played on John Richard’s morning show. I’m very thankful for that.
Do you play drums on your new album?
Yes, I played all the drums. I’m really happy with the way everything turned out.
From Where I Started is your fourth album, but the title is obviously pointing back toward your roots, what prompted that direction?
Well one thing is just that I played all the drums again like my very first record and kind of thought out more of the instrumental parts before going into the studio like I did on my first record. I guess my writing process was similar to my process with my first record. I wrote a lot of the songs sitting at a drum kit playing my guitar and bass drum with my feet. Also, the very end of the last song on the record is actually from one of the first songs I ever wrote. So that played a part in naming it.
Obviously, the “Ladybug” single has some difficult personal connections for you involving violence and death. What made you want to address those issues publicly?
Well, I lost my cousin Tawnee to domestic violence. I never planned on speaking out about it but I ended up writing Ladybug for Tawnee and really had no plans to put it on the record. Then I thought about it and talked to Tawnee’s family and decided to put it on the record to memorialize her and also I just want to raise awareness any way I can because it is so important. I do feel raising awareness can save lives.
Does it feel differently releasing a song like that now, that deals with the queer community and domestic violence, in an era where Trump is president?
Yes, absolutely. Especially with a bully awful president like him. We need to keep fighting the fight. We need to speak out and protect our communities.
This album is decidedly country, a conscious songwriting decision on your part. Why did you want to explore that side of things even more specifically?
I think all my records have a lot of country. I have always been influenced by old country music. I think for me this record was just a natural progression.
The current conversation about country is an interesting one, people think the radio is too pop, there’s talk of the rise of bro-country, but then at the same time you have guys like Sturgill Simpson and Jason Isbell rising to prominence. Do you have thoughts on the context of the genre in 2017?
I love both Sturgill and Jason. There is a realness and obviously extreme talent with both of them. Their music is so raw. I think there is so much bad country out there. Somehow country music ended up going from this very folky, simple thing to crazy over-produced and fake. I think musicians like Sturgil and Jason bring it back to more of an old country feel but have been able to reach mainstream audiences. I’ve never heard the word bro country but I like it!
Part of your press release briefly mentions your dad was a dynamite salesman, and that just sounds too surreal to be true in 2017. Can you flesh that out a bit?
Haha, yes, this is true. My dad sold dynamite for blowing things up for mining and construction. Growing up my dad would take us to these crazy mountain mining conferences where he was trying to sell dynamite to people. It was really fun for us kids because we would just run around and be maniacs while he did his thing. There would be country music and line dancing. I recall at one point we had dynamite in our garage growing up. Although I probably shouldn’t let people know that in case he gets in trouble.
I really loved the melancholiness and longing of “Up To Me,” can you talk about the songwriting process behind that one a bit?
I wrote that song alone in a cabin. In 4 hours, which I never do. It was just one of those songs that came right out. Also one of my favorites. It’s about falling in love — how risky that can be to your heart.
You chose to do this record self-released, how has that process been different for you?
It’s been really great actually. My manager is a huge help. Along with Burnside in Portland and Hearth Music In Seattle. Thankfully I have some great help, otherwise I would be a little overwhelmed!
I know you worked with quite a few collaborators on this record, can you talk about the process of joining that community together and what it meant to you to work with them?
John Askew brought in a few new player this record. I still had Jeff Fielder and Jason Kardong of course on there. But I wanted some new textures. I wanted piano and fiddle to be featured more. So John brought in Rob Burger who is so amazing. He really brought my songs to life. Then Annalisa Tornfelt came in and was a fiddle goddess. I feel very fortunate to have the players on this that I did. They all blew my mind.
From Where I Started is out 3/24. Pre-order it here.
