Carrie Rodriguez was first inspired to study music after seeing virtuoso Itzhak Perlman perform. She attended at the esteemed Oberlin Conservatory of Music. But today, she spends much of her time performing with singer-songwriter Chip Taylor, who composed the classics "Wild Thing" and "Angel of the Morning." And Lyle Lovett gave her one of her early breaks. So, seeing as she had one foot in each of two distinct musical worlds, there was something I was dying to ask Rodriguez: Does she refer to her instrument as a fiddle or a violin?
She laughs at the question. "I call it a fiddle. I had the same classical violin teacher from the time I was 5, up until I graduated high school. And he wasn't stuffy. He always called it a fiddle. I grew up in Austin, Texas, and we call them fiddles."
Rodriguez, who performs both before and alongside Taylor at the Tractor Tavern on Tuesday, October 10, may not have grown up to be the next Paganini. But she still wields her instrument to great effect on her solo debut, Seven Angels on a Bicycle; let's hope they had a fire extinguisher handy while she recorded the lightning-fast runs of "Never Gonna Be Your Bride."
Plus, after serving as Taylor's vocal foil on three albums of duets, she has also emerged as a captivating singer. Her performance of the frank, sexy "'50s French Movie" might make you blush. But she didn't set her primary instrument down when it came time to record her vocals for Seven Angels. "I actually had three microphones on me and the fiddle, and I did everything at the same time. It feels better to do things that way; it's hard to separate the two."
But she did strive to achieve a degree of separation in other areas. Even though it's Rodriguez's name above the title, Taylor contributed songs, production, and acoustic guitar throughout Seven Angels. "I didn't quite know if this would just come out sounding like a Chip and Carrie duet record, minus Chip, or something different."
To ensure the latter, she spent a lot of time developing individual relationships with each of the 12 songs. "Even the songs Chip wrote [alone], I would record him playing them, then take them home and spend a lot of time with my fiddle, picking them or strumming them, and finding my own way of playing the tunes. And figuring out how they related to me. That took them in a different direction."
As for reconciling her two worlds, Rodriguez credits Taylor for prompting her to loosen up and improvise. "For him, the most important thing is passion, singing and playing what you're feeling." But she is grateful she has precision to back up those gut feelings. "I would not go back and start my life over as a fiddle player who didn't put in all those years of orchestra and hours of grueling scales. I'm glad I did it."
