Kate Campbell
(Q)-One lyrical theme thread throughout many of the songs on,”Blues And Lamentations”,is the singer delivering a elegy. Oftentimes, the lyrics convey a sense that the singer is singing a poem lamenting the dead or the down-trodden near their dying moment. Agree? Disagree?
KATE CAMPBELL-The blues convey a range of emotions,from grief to sadness to an expression of relief, to what you are feeling. That’s the feeling I tried to capture in the songs.
(Q)-Do you feel that you’ve personally been on a long personal journey, as in a long walk, with your pursuit of the craft and art of country blues songwriting, as well as your study of history and playing modern era country blues music?
KATE CAMPBELL-Yes. The journey of a songwriter/musician is a continual process of growth and change. I’ve been recording and touring for over ten years now and try to make each of my albums a little different and I hope that each recording shows growth lyrically and musically. For sure, my live performance is probably much better now than it was ten years ago. So, yes, it’s a journey.
(Q)-Is the new release,”Blues And Lamentations”, a part of a larger ongoing work, one which you continue until your are no longer able to carry on? If so, is that work actually, simply, your life’s purpose?
KATE CAMPBELL-I continue to follow themes for all of my albums and there are a lot more themes and ideas in my head that I want to explore and pursue. In fact,as soon as I finish one recording, I’m already working toward the next idea that I may have had in my mind for years.
(Q)-Many of these songs, lyrically, seem to covey a sense of hard work not bearing adequate fruit. So inadequate is the fruit of the hard, honest labor, at times survival becomes the only focus. Survival is all that matters. Agree? Disagree?
KATE CAMPBELL-Yes. This album pursues the reality or economic disparity and how some people can work hard all of their lives and still have nothing to show for it, as is the case in the song,“Pans Of Biscuits,” which was the same theme of my song,“Visions Of Plenty”, from the CD of that same title.
(Q)-The song,”Shallow Grave”,lyrically, is a dark portrayal of betrayal and the personal aftermath in dealing with that betrayal. A sense of doom pervades the song. This is a dark path to walk. One which leads in, “Shallow Grave”, to a claustrophobic place. A metaphorical grave which leads to an emotional ruins, thus a, “Shallow Grave”. How much of this story is fiction and is any at all, accurate, in terms of your own life and the way your view your own self and personal life?
KATE CAMPBELL-This song was meant to capture the feeling one may experience when they’ve been betrayed by love.It’s certainly not an original idea as there are many songs that explore similar themes in pop and country songs. However,I wanted to dig into the depths of the pain associated with the experience and the metaphor of being tossed aside into a shallow (grave) seemed to work. Especially since I like to read mysteries where the darker side of humanity is often explored.
(Q)-Why is country blues or roots music becoming so popular in the USA today?
KATE CAMPBELL-I’d like to think that people appreciate music that is not so “perfect” and “glossy” and that the organic feel of roots music helps them to connect with something within themselves more natural and authentic.
(Q)-How do you,as a college educated individual,who works in the academic world and has a personal history rooted in the Deep South and the Mississippi Delta, convey so well, the world of the uneducated,blue collar laborer and farmer? Listening to your music,there is a strong impression that,living in the Deep South, has had a major impression upon your life and that impression carries over into the music and your songwriting.
KATE CAMPBELL-Anyone who is a recording artist for a label(record company),major or independent,that is not extremely successful, knows and understands what it means to be a sharecropper. People in the (recording)industry don’t like to hear this, but it’s true. There are many artists who capture very well the essence and authenticity of roots music, who did not grow up in the south or the delta, nor did they come from a rural background. Hopefully, art in all its forms gives us a way to connect with each other in a way that crosses cultural, racial, educational, and economic backgrounds.