ARCHIVES - February 2010
February 26, 2010
Christina Ienna put together this lovely video of footage of me playing Coming Home at the Phog Lounge in Windsor on February 16th! Check out her blog here. Thanks Christina :)
February 24, 2010
Crissi Cochrane releases new music video for "Coming Home"
"Born in the Annapolis Valley, 20-year-old singer/songwriter Crissi Cochrane has been capturing the hearts of listeners around the maritimes and the world with her gentle, soothing blend of folk and pop. Now a resident of Halifax, her song "Coming Home" is a tribute to her home town, pointing out the landmarks where cherished (and sometimes not-so-cherished) memories were made. Today, the music video for Coming Home is officially online! Shot at the Alderney Landing Theatre in Dartmouth by Charlie Mac Productions (www.charliemacproductions.com) in August of 2009, the video combines photographs of the Valley with beautiful performance sequences (complete with a lovely dress and a microphone straight out of the fifties)."
Please tell all your friends to check out the video! Enjoy.
February 23, 2010
New music videos coming soon for both Coming Home and So Far Apart! Stay tuned.
Also, new shows coming up: I'll be playing at the 4th East Coast Uprising at Governor's Pub (233 Esplanade) in Sydney, Cape Breton on March 5th during the ECMA festival. Laura Merrimen, Danny MacNeil, Jon Hines, and a slew of others will be performing as well! The show is a matinee and runs from about 2pm-6pm. (More info about ticket prices to come, keep checking the shows section!)
I may also be playing a show the following evening with some fine alumni of the Nova Scotia Community College - that one's still in the confirmation stages, so I'll let you know as it develops!
Comme toujours, je vous aime!
February 17, 2010
New interview with Kathryn Price of OurStage.com! We chatted a bit about songwriting, love, and relationships, all before Valentine's day. The interview is below (and it'll be posted in the press section later on today unless I get really distracted and forget about it). And by the way, Windsor ON is great! Played a really fun show last night at the Phog lounge, and a good house show the night before at Mike Hargreaves' house. Looking forward to following them out on the road for a couple dates around Ontario (and hitting up Phog again tonight and enjoying some amazing poutine).
Folkin' Around: Falling In Love With Crissi Cochrane
Posted online February 13, 2010 at http://blog.ourstage.com/2010/02/13/folkin-around-falling-in-love-with-crissi-cochrane/
OS: First off, how's your new album coming along? What can you tell us about it?
CC: All the tracking is finally done, and we're into the last bit of the mixing now. I went down to Chicago last month for a week to make the record at Soma Studios. I had the pleasure of working with a great engineer, Tim Iseler, and local musician/long-time hero of mine Mike Kinsella (who performs solo under the name Owen) lent his talents on drums and guitar as well. The strings were recorded in Toronto at the end of last month - Drew Jurecka, who most notably performs with lovely Canadian songstress Jill Barber (who I also adore), played the parts of violin and viola on the record. I'm so honored to have such amazing people working on this with me! It'll be released sometime this April. I can't wait until it's finally out.
OS: You write a lot about love and coming home. Have you ever been in love?
CC: Certainly! To be honest, I don't know what I'd write about most of the time otherwise. In fact, I may have never even begun writing songs if not for wanting to convince certain boys to return my love.
OS: Do your relationships manifest often in your songs?
CC: They do. In the beginning, all I wrote were love songs. Even today, I have a hard time writing songs that aren't about things I'm experiencing first-hand, but the subject matter is at least beginning to vary: songs about my hometown, about my family, about the city. I do find that love songs are the most amusing to write, they're often a bit silly and overdramatic and - sort of gaudy at times, you know - but they're fun. The challenge comes in writing songs that are discreet enough to not divulge all the juicy details of your love life to the listener (especially when they know you aren't making things up!)
OS: How would you define love?
CC: Love is a most wonderful, sweet, beautiful state. It's perfectly selfless, and often in too short supply.
OS: What do you want people to get the most through your songs?
CC: When I write a song, it's usually just myself I'm writing it for (it's so therapeutic); otherwise, it acts like a sort of letter to the subject of the song. I don't think I've ever written a song while thinking of how to best cater to an audience - I don't really write anything with the assumption that it'll ever be heard. Most times, I have to have a serious debate with myself as to whether or not it'll be a song I want to share with everyone.
OS: One last question... Any plans for Valentine's Day?
CC: Well, my love will be out of the country, so I'll either be out enjoying drinks with friends, or at home writing silly, lamenting love songs!
February 11, 2010
I enjoy periodically going through the old silly home recordings I did back in highschool. One day, I came home from work (at Greco Pizza!) and sat down in front of my laptop to record, and put together this little cover song of "Oh Is It Love" by Hellogoodbye (all while still wearing my work uniform). This is the first time I ever played the mandolin, PS! It's pretty silly and childish (I'm 17, I think?), so, enjoy.
I'll be going to Ontario on Saturday to hang out with the boys from Michou! It'll be a short trip (I'll be back on Wednesday, Feb 17) but I'm hoping to cram some writing/recording in there too. I'll keep you posted.
So if you haven't checked those boys out yet, do it now! They have a great new music video for their song "Growing Younger" online, which has been charting on the Much More Top 10 (vote for the video here).
February 6, 2010
Back in the summer, I did an interview with Jason Peverett of blog The Peverett Phile. The article is up online now! A lot has happened since then - for example, I no longer perform under the name "Save September", and this was before I made plans to record in Chicago - the recording plans I was referring to included recording with Andrew Wiseman in Dartmouth (where we did actually record one of my songs, the version of Kinda Late that is up online now). Anyway, I apologize that some of my answers aren't relevant anymore, but here it is nonetheless (and it'll be listed in the press section within the hour)!
The Peverett Phile: Pheaturing Crissi Cochrane
Posted online January 31, 2010 at http://thepeverettphile.blogspot.com/2010/01/pheaturing-crissi-cochrane.html
Today's guest is a singer-songwriter who has been performing a unique and soothing blend of indie folk/pop since 2005. Now twenty years old and based in Halifax, this songstress mesmerizes her audiences with songs of heartache, homesickness, and love. She'll be playing next at The Company House in Halifax, Nova Scotia, so purchase your plane ticket now. Please welcome to the Phile... the cute Crissi Cochrane.
Me: Hello, Crissi, welcome to the Phile. So, how are you doing, eh?
Crissi: I'm doing well, thanks for asking! And also for inviting me for the interview. It's nice to meet you.
Me: So, you're Canadian, right? Do you say "eh" a lot, and do you hate it when people ask you that?
Crissi: Haha, I'm Canadian alright. I rarely say "eh" though, although I imagine it slips out now and then.
Me: You live way up North in Nova Scotia. Y'know, for ever I thought it was pronounced Nova Scot-E-AH. Have you lived there all your life?
Crissi: Yes, I've lived in Nova Scotia since I was born. I used to live in the Annapolis Valley, which is quite beautiful but not a place to make a living, unless your calling is farming. I live in the city of Halifax now; the music community is much stronger here.
Me: Is there a lot to do there? I heard it's really beautiful, Crissi.
Crissi: Nova Scotia is a great place. There's so many amazing natural wonders. If you ever make it up here, don't settle for a tourism booklet - ask the locals, they know the best spots.
Me: Okay, Crissi, it's unusual for a solo singer not to use his or her name, but a band name. What made you decide to do this? And what is the meaning of Save September?
Crissi: To be honest, I was pretty inspired by a lot of artists using stage names at the time when I began writing (Bright Eyes being the main influence). The name itself came from a mixed tape I made for a friend of mine who moved away at the end of September in tenth grade.
Me: You should do a version of Green Day's "Wake Me Up When September Ends" in concert. What do you think? Do you do any covers in your shows?
Crissi: Aw, I was never a Green Day fan. I do play covers, usually Ben Gibbard songs. I used to cover "Hallelujah" all the time, it was the very first song I ever performed publicly, back when I was fifteen years old. It's a pretty cliche cover, but it always went over well.
Me: Crissi, I looked on iTunes for your music but couldn't find it. Are you planning on putting your music on iTunes anytime soon?
Crissi: I'm not really pushing my old material too much right now, as my sound and style has since matured significantly - that's the reason for no hits on iTunes. Once my next release is finished, the tracks may make their way there. Currently, you can buy my music off-stage and online through MySpace and my website.
Me: How many EP's do you have out, and what was your latest one?
Crissi: I have one EP released, "The Bathroom EP", back in 2006.
Me: Anybody that has an album or EP called "Bathroom" is cool with me, Crissi. Explain the title to the Phile readers.
Crissi: "The Bathroom EP" was recorded over the course of ten hours with a laptop in the bathroom of my parent's house in my senior year of highschool. My friends had an EP called "The Kitchen EP", so the title was a bit of a nod to them.
Me: What type of computer did you use? A Mac I hope. And why the bathroom?
Cochrane: It was a PC actually, my brother's old computer. I'd heard that the acoustics in bathrooms made for a pretty neat effect, and plus I could lock the door and avoid any interruptions.
Me: That's going to be my excuse next time I am in the bathroom for a long time. "I am recording my EP." So, are you working on a new album or EP?
Cochrane: A new album! The first day in the studio is tomorrow. I'm so excited to finally have a release that wasn't recorded next to a toilet.
Me: Crissi, have you ever been to Florida or anywhere in the States, and are you planning to?
Crissi: I've only been in Florida as a kid, going to Disney World. I've never performed in the States, but once the new album is done, I'll be looking to get down there with it!
Me: One of my favorite all-time bands is from Canada... The Barenaked Ladies. Do you like them, and who is your favorite band, and or singer?
Crissi: The Barenaked Ladies have done some pretty great things. They've got some catchy tunes, but my all-time favorite band is, without a doubt, the Get Up Kids. I don't think I could pick a favorite singer, but the East Coast has been home to many amazing singer-songwriters that have inspired me - Rose Cousins, Joel Plaskett, Meaghan Smith, Christina Martin, Jill Barber...
Me: Crissi, I have to give you props... you are the first guest on the Phile I had that sells tote bags. Are they environmental friendly?
Crissi: Well, the first installment of bags, I made entirely by myself. They're more sweet and fashionable. The second installment of bags were purchased in bulk pretty inexpensively, and they make great grocery bags. To be honest, I've been using them myself!
Me: Crissi, thanks for doing this interview and I hope it was fun. Go ahead and plug your website, and let the pholks know where they can purchase your music and tote bags. I have one last question for ya, do Canadians really like it on top?
Crissi: Haha, you know it! Pick up "The Bathroom EP", the new sampler, or a super cute tote bag here: www.myspace.com/crissicochrane or here! www.crissicochrane.com.
February 1, 2010
Today's awesome content: a new song, new video! Started writing this last night and finished this afternoon, recorded it immediately after. It's called Go.