On The Road With Caroline Rose

After releasing two albums on iTunes, the 23-year-old considers America Religious her official debut. The LP is described as “a gospel-meets-country-meets-blues-meets-alternative collection of toe-tapping, roadworthy stories and poetry set to music.” Rose wrote and arranged all of the songs, while her recording and touring partner, Jer Coons, handled engineering and mixing. The two musicians co-produced the album and played nearly every instrument with Rose on guitar, cello, drums and bass.

Although Rose has only been seriously touring for about four months, a listen to a few tracks from her album shows she’s been passionate about music and songwriting for much, much longer. She started writing songs and busking when she was 15. But it took raising more than $10,000 through a Kickstarter for America Religious to help convince Rose that she could pursue music professionally.

While she recorded the album at Coons’ studio in Burlington, Vt., and some publications have referred to Rose as Vermont-based, she says she doesn’t really have a homebase – and basically lives out of her car.  

When Pollstar chatted with Rose she was staying at her parents’ house in Long Island and was about to leave on yet another road trip.

Jer Coons – Caroline Rose

So, where are you going on this trip?

Well, I’m probably going to go up in the Northeast somewhere. I don’t exactly know yet but I’m just going to kind of fly by the seat of my pants. [laughs] So I will find out soon enough but I’m probably just going to hop in my car and start driving somewhere.

I read that you took a big road before you wrote America Religious. Did that trip start out the same way, where you just jumped in your car and didn’t know exactly where you were going to go?  

Yeah, that’s always kind of how it happens. … I pretty much live out of my car. I mean, I visit people all the time and I’ve lived in a bunch of different places at this point. … I have an insatiable appetite for roaming around and traveling. I guess I just like adventure – is that so wrong? [laughs]

That trip that you’re talking about, a lot of the songs [from America Religious] came from that trip in particular … I worked a handful of different jobs and stayed with a bunch of different types of people. It sort of transpired into this sort of narrative of all the different stories combined. So the way that I described it to people is it’s just this series of vignettes of stories and experiences melded into one album.

When did you take that specific road trip?

I don’t think a full two years ago but around that time. … I was working on a farm in Vermont and then the season ended for that and then I sort of accidentally bought this vintage sports car. I love that car. Of course it’s broken down like a zillion times but I just love it to death. It’s a 1975 MGB convertible that I named Tom Collins.

Is that the car that you’re still driving now when you go on your trips?

It broke down and then I was getting really antsy to keep traveling so I’m swapping cars with my dad right now. … I need to get a bigger vehicle because I travel constantly. And … when I say I’m living out of my car, I really am. When it gets cold, you can’t really camp. [laughs] You can, but it’s just really uncomfortable. So I’m going to try and find a van or something I can soup up to both travel in Jer and I perform together – and live out of, because I’m broke.

Jer Coons – Caroline Rose

What are you driving right now?

Oh, it’s a very, ultra fashionable and sexy Nissan Sentra [laughs].

So, right now, when you go on tour, do you use the Sentra? Or do you rent a car or van?

Well, right now we’re using [Jer’s] car because he drives … more of a van. We just got back from a really long tour and put quite a bit of wear and tear on his car so now I just feel obligated to get my own vehicle.

Going back to that big road trip – how long were you on the road?

I spent about a month down in Mississippi and … before that, working with a friend who owns a big farm … And then I just wandered around for a long time. My sister lives in Colorado and I was out there for probably about a month. I think total it was about five or six months. I was kind of exploring. And then right after that I sort of had this urge to come back East. And so I moved to New York and I lived there for about six months. And I got a little day job working in a grocery store. And then I got fired from that job [laughs]. … I was looking for another job and I couldn’t find one and I wasn’t totally satisfied there. … One of the things that I have an issue with is if I spend too much time in one place I start getting sedentary and it’s not good for me [laughs]. So from there I went up to Vermont and made [America Religious] with Jer. And the rest is history.

How long have you known Jer?

Almost five years. I opened a show for him and, like a typical musician, I didn’t really think he was going to be very good. There’s so much competition between artists but I guess he thought the same thing. [laughs]. So he heard me play and was just like, “Oh no.” Pacing in the back of the room, just like, “How am I going to top this?” [laughs]. And then he played – and he was amazing. We didn’t even actually talk that night but I sent him an email after that and was just like, “I thought you guys were really good. I wasn’t expecting too much and I was pleasantly surprised.” …

After that we just wrote emails back and forth for a long time. I sent him some of my demos and he had told me that he was starting a recording studio and had just gotten all of this equipment. He was like, “If you ever come up to Vermont, I’ll record you for free. We’ll make a really solid group of songs.” He didn’t know that I’m basically … a spontaneous person. A couple days later I was like, “Well, I’ve planned my trip to Vermont and I’ll be there in a couple weeks.”

So we made that first record and a year later I came back and we made another one and … a couple years later, we made this one.

Nancy Rose – Caroline & Jer
Caroline confirms those are french fries – not cigarettes.

You raised over $10,000 through a Kickstarter to make America Religious. I was wondering how you raised interest for the project?

Well, that’s a good question because I was very surprised by how many people supported us. And that actually is a big reason why I’m doing it professionally now.

I didn’t really have any intention of doing this professionally. I’ve toyed with the idea ever since I started writing songs but it’s always been a sacred thing to me. Just because I don’t want to lose the love I have, and need, for writing and being creative in some way. But when I saw how many people helped us with the Kickstarter, it kind of changed my mind about it – that maybe people actually care.

The Internet is a powerful thing. A lot of people, a ton of the people I didn’t even know spread the word around. But of course, friends and family help you out. … The music had been passed around to my family and then on to [outside] people and there were a few people in the music industry that heard it. And I got a lot of constructive criticism through that and used it to make this record. …

I started performing when I was about 15. My first actual, well-paying job was street busking. And I did that for many years so that was always a good way of making money for me. And that’s about the same time that I started writing songs. So people had heard me play through that. And my friend, who’s also a professional musician now, I’ve played a bunch of songs with him. He always invites me onto his tours, so I’ve done that. I guess those first two CDs floated around and people eventually heard them. At least enough people to want us to make another one.

You started performing and busking when you were 15. How long have you been touring?

Touring? About four months? [laughs]. All this has happened really fast. And it’s continuing to kind of gain momentum, which is really, really great because we’re hugely proud of this record. And I’ve already got future records on my brain so now I’m at a point where I’m just trying to work towards being able to make more records. But yeah, the touring is very, very new. And we’re planning on signing with a booking agency to work with us in 2014 so next year is going to be a very, very busy year for us.

We’re got a little run in September and we’ve got some dates we’re looking to confirm for October and early November.

Nancy Rose – Her favorite diner food?
“If pulled pork is on the menu it will be on my plate. The two of us are very much greasy spoon kind of folks. Burgers are a constant in our weekly diet.”

Before you did the Kickstarter project, you said you hadn’t really considered a career in music. Did you have any idea about what kind of career you wanted to do?

I had tried about 70 zillion different things and none of them really clicked. I knew I wanted to do something different, something alternative to an office job. I did an architecture program and then, like I said before, I worked on a farm. I tried a handful of different things and I always come back to music because it always seemed like something that I just sort of need to do. … I tend to have sort of insane mood swings [laughs] and it just manifests in really weird ways so it’s a good thing for me to be able to release a lot of different emotions through something. … It’s very therapeutic.

Have you been able to quit working day jobs to focus on music yet?

I’ve always been a big saver so I’ve had a bunch of money saved up that I had been coasting off of when we made the record together. And then I basically used up almost all of that money. So right when we started playing gigs was really when I needed the money most. I mean, I’m constantly worried about money. All the time. It’s like a constant harassment in my mind. … The last job I applied for was working as a housekeeper in a nursing home and that was back in February. And that was right when we started playing gigs. Once we started picking up gigs … we went to South By Southwest [and] got into a couple showcases down there. That was so early in the beginning, I don’t even know how we got that. So, I couldn’t get a job. … Nobody would hire me because I wouldn’t be reliable [with the tour schedule]. I’m really glad nobody would hire me because it would be the worst if I started a job and had to quit because I’d be away all the time.

So, it worked out for the best.

It did. As much as I worry about money, I’m also learning a lot. So I can’t really complain too much because if my life was a lot cushier, I’d probably wouldn’t have as much adventure and thrill for living right now. It’s both a blessing and a curse to have no money.

I’ve read that you’re a Vermont-based singer-songwriter. But you also told me that you live out of your car. So would you say that it’s true that you call your homebase Vermont?

It’s hard to say because Jer lives in Vermont, and obviously I spend a lot of time with Jer. So I do spend a significant amount of time there. And when we were making the record, I actually did live there. … But I would not call it my homebase now. I would say I don’t have a homebase at this point.  … I don’t think we’ll be touring in the wintertime. We’ll pick up again next year. So I’ve been thinking about going down South where it’s a little bit warmer and there’s more sunshine. … Maybe sublet a place for a month or two. And then I don’t know, maybe travel elsewhere. Maybe by that time we’ll be back on the road so I won’t need anything like that.

Facebook.com/CarolineRoseMusic – Caroline Rose
A snapshot from Joshua Tree

Does touring appeal to you because it’s similar to a road trip?

It’s different because you have to be at a certain place at a certain time and everything’s scheduled. … But touring makes you really appreciate days off because you kind of have the freedom to do whatever you want. This last tour, my manager and I planned it. Half of it was house concerts and the other half we were kind of getting our feet wet playing venues and headlining small clubs or doing support slots. So I had a bit of leeway to factor things in.

Both my parents are like me – artists, and very much adventurous. We would always have our family vacations going to national parks and camping or doing things like that. And I very much inherited that. [However], Jer’s family is totally different from mine. They would just do completely different things so he never really got to see a lot of National Parks. So this tour, I think we factored in maybe four of them. We had a day off in Virginia [and] we went to Shenandoah [National Park], which was amazing. That was actually my first time going there. And then we went to the Grand Canyon. … We went to Joshua Tree the next day. … and then we saw Yosemite on the way back.

Do you always tour with just Jer or do you bring along other musicians for back up?

For local gigs we’ve got a little trio that we play with [featuring double bass player Pat Melvin]. And we’ve done a couple gigs that way. But for the more part, traveling, Jer’s very much like me. He doesn’t mind sleeping in a car when we have to or sleeping in a dumpy little motel. He likes that stuff like I do, so it’s just very easy to travel with him. And we get along very, very well.

Don’t get me wrong – I would love to play with a full band. And a lot of the music really calls for it. But the duo show, we actually – surprising – get a really big sound between the two of us. So I don’t think that we really need a bigger band just yet. Maybe come next year it will be something to look into.

Please visit CarolineRoseMusic.com for more information.