Dan's Papers - March 13, 2009 - Back Beat - Brandi Carlile comes to WHBPAC

Seattle-based songwriter Brandi Carlile, whose brand of folk rock meets alternative rock, soaring vocals and knack for writing harmony laden melodies you find yourself humming for days after hearing them, will bring her band to the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center on March 28.

With a new album due out in August, Carlile's most current tour, traveling with her longtime musical collaborators, twins Tim and Phil Hanseroth, as well as a new addition to the group - a cellist - is stripped down, acoustic and much more intimate. "It's kind of an opportunity to get out and try our new songs out acoustically on our fans and just focus on making harmonies," she said. "We're going to set up rugs and candles up on the stage and pretend it's our living room."

Carlile, 27, has been performing and writing music since she was a teenager (getting her start as a back-up singer for an Elvis impersonator), steadily growing a fan base in the Northwest, as well as the rest of the country. After being signed by Columbia Records in 2004, two years ago she was thrust into the mainstream spotlight when a few of her songs were featured on ABC's "Grey's Anatomy," and then the show aired the debut of her music video for her single "The Story."

Her last record, also called The Story, was released in 2007, so this upcoming, yet to be named album is her first release of new music since then. "It's a more extreme version of what we're doing. We're not branching out, it's definitely still us - me and the twins," she said, "but this record has some really big moments. You can kind of hear big moments on the last record, but they're not really that big. On this one, there are a few really gigantic songs and some so small and intimate they make you uncomfortable."

Though Carlile had T. Bone Burnett produce her last album, this time around she brought in Rick Rubin and Jason Leder, arranging the songs and harmonies at Rubin's house before heading into the studio with Leder. Carlile and the twins are still working on the record, which they recorded live to tape as much as they possibly could, and overdubbing whenever they had to in order to avoid using programs like Pro Tools. She also has plans for a couple of well known guest artists on this album, including Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls, who she's toured with and performed with before, and possibly Elton John, an artist who has very much influenced her musically. "I'm begging Elton John to do a song with me. I mean, he said he'd do it," she said, adding that they just need to be able to work with his busy schedule in order for the appearance to happen. "I love Elton John. I hope. I hope. I hope."

The past two years have been a whirlwind for Carlile, spending much of her time on the road. Many musicians have a hard time writing while on tour, but Carlile, instead, was rather prolific. "We wrote so much. We were so inspired on the road. We just write and write and write all the time ... We write the songs on the road and then we start playing them immediately."

The twins also have discovered other music passions - Tim has developed an interest in recording music, constantly buying new pieces of equipment, while Phil has taken to learning new instruments - banjo, ukulele, mandolin - some of which make an appearance on the new record.

With a couple of weeks to rest after the seven-day Cayamo music cruise, featuring performers such as Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin, John Hiatt and Lyle Lovett, Carlile will hit the road again towards the end of March. She'll be performing at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center on March 28 at 8 p.m. For more information, go to whbpac.org or brandicarlile.com.