Lucy Kaplansky

Lucy KaplanskyInterview by Joyce Peters

May 2000
Reprinted courtesy of Taconic Press

JP: What music excites you these days?
LK: I’ve been listening to “Alt Country” — Steve Earle, Buddy and Julie Miller. That’s some of the best stuff that’s out there.

JP: Whose praise is most meaningful?
LK: My husband’s because I respect his opinion and because he’s honest with me. He’d be completely honest.

JP: What are you most proud of?
LK: That I was able to summon up the moxie to go back to music at age 34 after having been away from it for so long. It would have been easy not to. I am proud of myself that I didn’t take the easy way out.

JP: How could you tell that music was your real calling (versus psychology)?
LK: I was seeing a new therapist and I had a revelation during a session — it became extremely clear what I wanted.

JP: How do you find relaxation time while on a tough performance schedule?
LK: I’m in my car a lot of the time aloneË‡some of that time is relaxing. I exercise pretty regularly and that makes me feel a lot calmer. When I’m on the road I try to go running a lot.

JP: Can you describe your ideal vacation?
LK: My favorite place for vacation and spiritual renewal is the desert–we love the desert in Arizona.

JP: How do you feel about the “contemporary folk” label as a way to describe your sound?
LK: It is kind of meaningless. It’s a marketing category and doesn’t really reflect the music at all. They would probably never call Lucinda Williams “contemporary folk” because she sells a lot of recordsË‡she’d be in the pop category.

JP: How would you describe your sound?
LK: I usually say a combo of rock, pop, folk and country.

JP: What do you want to happen next?
LK: What is going to happen is that I’m going to make another albumË‡it will be out next year sometime. What I’d like to happen is for things to keep getting bigger so I can bring musicians on the road. Playing with musical backup is a completely different ball game. I’ve always loved singing harmony and singing in bandsË‡it’s just more gratifying, fun and rewarding.

JP: What’s on your nightstand at home?
LK: Books — I’m in the middle of a biography abut Bob Dylan and I’m also in the middle of Catch 22.