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BRANDON CAULFIELD - UNCUT MAGAZINE INTERVIEW (PART I) “In an industry where influential songwriters are now a very rare thing and celebrities will use everything in their power to force their way into the public consciousness in order to prolong their fifteen minutes of fame, it’s quite refreshing to see a musician that’s just content with being a ‘good man’ rather than a mass-media figure. UNCUT MAGAZINE reporter Jakob Watson met up with Brandon Caulfield at his own recording studio in Southern California for a rare and candid one-on-one interview with the influential Americana singer-songwriter and he left no stone unturned”
Take a drive through the blazing streets of Southern California and you’ll notice the large number of billboards rising high above the metropolis, the images and the products that they are promoting change quite regularly, as of today the most recognizable faces are those of the members of boy band ‘Weekend’ promoting their latest record and another billboard nearby is that of Isabel Merjos which is promoting her world tour and latest album. It’s a large part of the entertainment industry and certainly in California it’s part of daily life, it is after all the unofficial home of celebrity and fame, perhaps a somewhat unlikely home for the often publicity shy alt-rocker ‘Brandon Caulfield’.
‘Brandon Caulfield’ has released three studio albums since first becoming signed to ‘Cosmic Records’ back in 2010, his most recent effort ‘Tales From The Heartlands’ brought a somewhat surprisingly successful period in his short music career which has included two number #1 singles ‘The Ballad Of A Vagabond’ and the Hurricane Sandy charity single ‘Wild Is The Wind’, both of which have gone some way to introduce new music fans to the music of ‘Brandon Caulfield’ and it would appear that he may be starting to get the recognition that many have said that he deserves.
Caulfield has often been championed by fellow artists, from Glamazon, Ryan Williams, JR Rhythm, Cristina Lake to people close to the musician Ellie-Grace Summers, Hayden, Hannah Beth and more and despite his music often going under the radar in the past, it seems like there’s a place in the industry for the songwriter who said of his recent album ‘I’ve finally found my voice’ and the success that he’s had in recent times have gone some way to proving that he may have indeed found his voice.
That voice is a raspy alternative rock voice that delivers lyrics drenched in emotion and deep-rooted Americana influences backed by the driving guitar playing. Not just content with playing guitar, Caulfield is a highly accomplished multi-instrumentalist from piano, drums, harmonica and more as well as a productivity that doesn’t appear to let up, he’s one of the most prolific songwriters of his generation with the potential to become an iconic figure in the landscape of rock music in years to come.
But there is more to the man than the music, the problem is that perhaps people don’t know enough about the man. He’s a figure that isn’t ever talked about in gossip columns and he has no presence on twitter which is a self-inflicted removal from that form of media on his part, the intimate details of his marriage to Hannah Beth and their relationship has never been spoken about or speculated about in any sort of depth and it remains one of the rare industry relationships without media intrusion.
There is a couple of new arrivals on the horizon for the pair however, some things are still impossible to remain untouched by the media but it’s now public knowledge that Brandon Caulfield and Hannah Beth are set to become parents in the new year, from early indications it would appear that they both have the same joys and doubts about their potential abilities as parents but it’s clear to most that they will no doubt rise to the undoubted challenge of parenthood as the Merjos-Caulfield family begins to grow, will this affect the productivity of Brandon? As a songwriter definitely not, but touring, it’s almost certain that the focus will shift entirely to family life, after all that is clearly all that truly matters to him.
Upon arriving at Three Crow Studios in Los Angeles, California with Brandon Caulfield, I instantly notice that it’s an old-fashioned recording complex that Brandon Caulfield had taken a shine to earlier in the year which in turn led to his purchase of the studio, “I quite liked everything about it, the appearance of it to that almost old-library sort of smell that it has. The fact that it’s about five minutes from home is rather ideal too.” he explains to me as he admires the building before unlocking the large doors and making his way inside. There is basically six rooms on the ground level and another six rooms located upstairs, a quick tour of the building shows rooms specifically used as recording booths and the mixing/production room but the interesting thing about it is that these rooms all surround a large open space, used as a rehearsal space by Brandon and the countless session musicians that he’s worked for in the past.
Upstairs is more of a relaxation oriented floor of the building, there’s a kitchen area that has recently been refurbished and as a large lounge room and Brandon’s very own room, his own is the largest room of the upper floor and is used as a haven for all of his own individual interests and achievements, a giant bookshelf, a perfectly crafted desk, an area in the corner which keeps a couple of acoustic instruments on hand for when inspiration may strike as well as a couple of platinum records hanging from the wall. There is also a large sliding door at the far end of the room which leads onto a balcony, which I must say is quite some view of California from here, it’s clear why Brandon fell in love with this place. “It is essentially my own little haven, everybody needs to get away from time to time and this is my refuge, it’s designed completely to my tastes and it’s a favourite place of mine … with the exception of home of course.” he chuckles lightly before adding, “I had to save myself right then”.
As we make our way into Brandon’s own room with coffee’s brought in by the singer-songwriter, we both take a seat, I question him on the quality of his life, “I’m always fully aware of what I have and how blessed I am, I’m certainly never going to lose that appreciation to those that have helped make all of this happen” he gestures to the accessories and accomplishments that are hanging all around the room, “Without any of this, I don’t really have any clue as to where I would be … I mean, I’d probably have a job or something. But I’ve been lucky that I’ve been able to make a great career out of what little talent I may possess so far, the honest truth is that I don’t think I’d be very good at anything else.”
He thinks for a moment before laughing, “This man came up to me out on Mulholland Drive in Santa Monica a couple of weeks ago, he was talking about what my music meant to him and how it inspires him every day to put on those work boots for eleven or twelve hour shifts, he looks at me like I’m some greater being and says, “Man, you’re a hero!”. I disagreed vigorously and asked who he returns home to every night after work, he said his wife of eight years and his four year old baby girl. I shook his hand and pointed out that of the two of us, I’m not the one that’s the hero.” he takes a drink from his mug of coffee and sets it down, the square mug now placed perfectly symmetrical on the coaster before he looked across at me and continued, “And that’s true, you know? It’s what I find great about the human spirit, he works himself to the bone so that his family can have a better life. That’s the way it should be and in that one conversation I realised just how truly insignificant as a man I am.”
I found myself intrigued by that last statement, and pressed him a little further on why he feels insignificant as a multi-millionaire musician in comparison to a guy labouring through eleven hour shifts, “I wasn’t born into a wealthy family, my mother and father did whatever they could to provide for myself and my sister. They weren’t ever in work for long periods of time, my father in particular went from job to job, some periods he’d be out of work for half a year or more and others he’d find something within a couple of weeks of being layed-off from work.” he runs his hand across his chin and continues, “I know the value of hard work because I’ve seen it first hand, I’ve seen the pride that work brings and the depression that unemployment brings. To a man, there can’t be anything worse than the feeling that you’re failing in some way and I’m sure it was tough for him at times, but we always managed to get by on a month to month basis and I’m lucky that I don’t have those sorts of worries to contend with.” he shuffles agitatedly for a few moments before circling back to the topic in hand, “I think that what I do, doesn’t give me the same feeling that comes with hard labour. There are difficulties that come with being a musician, the constant travelling can be difficult and when things are really rolling along it can be difficult to remain rooted, it’s a very isolated job but deep down it’s nothing compare to what others have to go through to bring home some money.”
I think for a moment in order to try to understand how Brandon feels about himself as a person and then I push a question on him that makes him sit back and think about for a good couple of minutes, “I’m certainly under no illusions about myself, I’m an extremely flawed individual, I’m very aware of that fact. I can be very distant at times, I overthink things way too much which leads to me alienating the people around me and I’ve apologised a lot for that over the years. I like to think that I’m not as flawed as I have been in the past but it’s definitely still there. It’s an insecurity thing I guess, I’ve rarely gotten close to people for two primary reasons, the worry of letting someone down and the fear of getting too close to someone and losing them from my life. I’m quite messed up when it comes to human relationships, it’s no doubt something that stems from my youth but I haven’t quite figured it out yet. I guess it’s also a control issue, I like to be in control of all aspects of my life, but to have the things that we’re supposed to have like love and family means that we have to let the need to be in control fade away slightly.
It’s quite clear that I’m still learning how to be a good man … and I know that I’ve got a long way to go and a whole lot to learn still, but I’ll get there someday, I’m quite sure of that.” I quickly reply by asking him if he’s ever considered therapy to which he instantaneously responds, “God no! I’m a little messed up but we all are in some way.”
BRANDON CAULFIELD & FRIENDS
– Performing with Cristina Lake at the Chaos Awards III in August (left) and heading out of Three Crow Studios in July with iconic guitarist for ‘The Bards’ JR Rhythm (right) –
We take a brief break in order for Brandon to take a phone call from his wife and when he returns he smiles and sits back down in his chair, “That was Hannah, she says that the babies are kicking her like crazy. I think she quite likes to feel them kicking around in there, she’s always cheery when she can feel them.” I then change the planned direction of the interview slightly to talk about the impending parenthood and what family means to him, “Family is the most important part of life, it’s what we all do. Everything that we do in our life generally leads towards family. Starting my own is a scary thought, recent events have certainly proven that statement. But it’s also something that excites me more than anything, the thought of becoming a father pushes all kinds of doubts and insecurities to the forefront of my mind but it’s also an indescribable feeling.” I ask if it’s something that he had always wanted and he replies rather swiftly, “I had always thought about the future, having children of my own and such but it’s different when you know that it’s actually gonna happen and that we’re gonna have twins, it’s quite terrifying but it’s something that I couldn’t be looking forward to more, it’s gonna be an interesting thing to get used to and I just hope that I’m not entirely incapable of being a good father.”
I find it fascinating to the see that the real roots of Brandon’s personality generally relates to things that we all think about, his life is basically about being a good man, pretty soon a good father and a good husband, but he seems to understand just how lucky he’s been on the relationship front, “A couple of years ago, I didn’t expect marriage or children or any of that any time soon. But it’s another blessing really, I’m lucky that I have an incredibly strong marriage and relationship because it’s not something that comes easily to some people.” He stares off out of the large sliding doors at a bird that has landed on the balcony are before continuing on from his previous thoughts, “Relationships can be difficult for people because it’s often not an easy thing to let yourself be completely vulnerable and basically let someone else have some sort of control over your own emotions, but that’s just the way relationship have to be. There has to be a certain amount of freedom and trust. I’m probably one of the least qualified people to talk about relationships. But the way I see it is that if it’s easy then it’s right.” he stops to preference the issue of trust, “A musician friend of mine from back in Seattle was married for three years and had major trust issue’s. With jealousy and all kinds of things, he was married to a model so obviously there’s looks and interest from other people, but my buddy couldn’t get past that and just wasn’t able to trust her, he was constantly jealous of her relationships with her male colleagues and that marriage ended, she never cheated on him, she went through lie-detector tests and stuff in order to prove in the divorce proceeds that she never cheated, but it was just a jealousy that ended that marriage.”
He sits forward slightly and adjusts his dangling wrist accessories before continuing, “Should jealousy ever come into play? I don’t think so, if you think that your significant other has the capacity to cheat then that doesn’t exactly say very much for how you feel about that person, love is a combination of all kinds of things that includes trust and without that then there really can’t be love. For example, I’m fully aware of the beauty that my wife has, I know that guys will look at her and show interest in her but that’s not a problem because there’s a huge amount of trust. You can’t go into a marriage without trust, if you do then you’re in for an extremely paranoid life together.”
I mention that there is likely to be a lot of trust issue’s within the music industry and ask whether he thinks highly of the industry and the way that it’s currently seen, “It is what it is, in all walks of life you come across people that you have little respect for, it’s the exact same for those of us in the music industry, nobody can like everybody else’s work. The modern music that I enjoy listening to is generally unrecognized by the mainstream and the music that I tend to avoid appears to be much more recognized by the mainstream, in fact it’s almost worshipped. But the industry has always been and will always be an ever-evolving thing, what was considered ground-breaking in times gone by wouldn’t be able to find a place within the mass market of the music industry in the modern day.
I do however like to believe that music will always come full circle, artists that time has forgotten will come back around once more in the distant future and the songs that they brought to the world will once again reign supreme. I’d like to believe that because if I didn’t then I’d have little faith in the future of music, but thankfully there’s always reason to believe.”
An ever thought about question is whether the ‘celebrity culture’ is ruining the music industry, I’ve spoken to many people within the industry about this issue and it’s often quite a balanced argument, but never has anyone been as blunt about the perceived importance of being a celebrity over being an influential artist, “In my opinion I think that the wrong types of people have too much influence. I don’t believe that the youth have the right sort of influences, they are out there I’m sure but they don’t have the right sort of people to look up to and instead it’s unworthy ‘celebrities’ that are influencing the future generations, there are young people who look at their favourite pop acts as an influence and therefore a moral guidance and then you can read about those same ‘celebrities’ having an affair, being part of a sex scandal, being arrested, encouraging violence and all sorts of things that the impressionable youth can read about. I don’t see many people in the industry carrying themselves in the right manner and what is even more troubling is that they appear unapologetic for the negative influence that they exude on their fans.”
Being influential can be quite a debatable topic and opinions vary as to whether musicians do actually have an obligation to their fans to be a positive influence, Brandon went on to shed light on that, “I’ve heard fellow musicians talk about how they are in fact musicians and shouldn’t be looked upon as an influence or moral guidance to their fans which infuriates me to an extent, because if you’re lucky enough to have the attention and influence on a large amount of the future generation then there is a certain amount of responsibility for you as an influence and there’s not many people using this influence to better the moral capacity of their fans and encourage the right sort of morals within that fanbase that they’re so lucky possess. I encourage fellow musicians to prove that the entertainment industry is actually a respectable thing and not just a place for the lazy, uninterested and morally loose individuals.”
Brandon clearly believes that musicians are in a privileged position of power to an extent, but what’s more interesting to me personally is that he actually considers himself to be rather untalented, “I don’t particularly consider what I do to be of any real significance, I’m thankful that I have some sort of fanbase and it’s something that I’m always thankful for, my lack of ability is always clear for all to see but there appears to be a core of people that want to and enjoy listening to what I do, which I think is something incredibly humbling. I work hard at what I do, whether I’m good at what I do is irrelevant, I put a lot of effort into my own work and that’s the bedrock of my music. It’s nothing that’s gonna change the world but it’s just a man trying his best to create something that maybe someday will be considered worthwhile. The fact that people are buying my music is just as much a surprise to me as it is to everybody else but it’s certainly a nice feeling to know that it’s being well received.”
NEW SINGLE, ‘BETTER DAYS AHEAD’ … COMING SOON! ‘Better Days Ahead’ is the final single from Brandon Caulfield’s recent studio album ‘Tales From The Heartlands’ and is set to be released sometime in December, 2012. Keep your eyes peeled for the official release of the single, but until then feel free to visit us online at uncut.co.uk Edited by user 28 November 2012 05:24:12(UTC)
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