An interview with Nadine Goellner

New York based singer songwriter Nadine Goellner's new release "Remember My Name" is filled with thoughtful lyrics and melodies that will have you hooked after the first track. Nadine's vocals are rich and diverse, lending themselves effortlessly to everything from straight ahead jazz to soft ballads.

CW: How old were you when started playing guitar? What inspired you to learn?

NG: I took a maybe a total of 3 guitar lessons when I was about 8 or so and I hated it! I think I learned how to play "Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" and "The Little Drummer Boy". Years later when I was in college and everybody was hanging out and playing guitar. I spent most of my class-cutting and late night learning, teaching myself as much as I could. Eventually, I wound up taking a few lessons, but ultimately I just learned how to play the music I like to listen to.

CW: I noticed in your liner notes that you thank members of your family. How has their support helped you in your career as a musician?

NG: My family has been such an amazing source of support and encouragement for me. There really are one of the main reasons that I keep doing what I'm doing. They're definitely my biggest fans. It's a good feeling to know that they'll always be there for me.

CW: "Remember My Name" is your first release, what has the response been like? How are you going about promoting it?

NG: So far the response has been really positive and I'm so thankful for that. I felt really good about the time and effort that I put into the making of this CD, not to mention all of the talented musicians that I had playing with me on it, but you never know how folks will respond. So far, so good... As for promoting it, that's always a tough one for the indie musician, but I'm giving it my all - getting a little bit of radio play, some good reviews, while promoting it at my shows and online.

CW: One of my favorites on the disc is "Sailing Away". What was the process for writing and recording that song?

NG: I think "Sailing Away" might be my favorite on the disc too, for a few reasons, but mostly because I was glad to be able to put in that second guitar part. I really enjoy improvising, and while I've been doing that for a long time as a singer with the scatting and all, I'm just branching out and finding my own with taking some leads on guitar. It's so much fun! I also love the sound on the recording of that track. The drums were recorded so warmly and the upright bass adds a beautiful tone to round out the bottom. I knew I wanted that kind of a mellow, soft, but soulful sound when I started to write the tune. It's a real freeing-of-the-soul kind of song. I'm really happy with the way it came out.

CW: What I really enjoy about your style is the Jazz influence that comes through in your writing and vocals. Can you tell me more about your influences?

NG: I've dabbled in a little bit of everything over the years. I listened to a lot of R&B and used to sing a lot of blues when I was younger, I've sang in choirs, played some folk music, sang in a rock band for a short while, and then in college I sang on some house tracks and got into a lot of dance music before I really started to branch out into jazz. It's the improvising that really got me. While I don't play a lot of the standard straight-ahead jazz repertoire these days, some of that element inevitably found its way into my songwriting. I love the art of writing a good song, but that spontaneous music that kind of just spills out of you, that's where all of the good stuff comes from. And, in fact, that's how a lot of my songs start out-as improvisations that I wind up expanding on later.

CW: You mentioned that you just got back from a summer tour with some other very talented female musicians, what has your experience been like on the road?

NG: I just got back from a month-long tour in July with Abi Tapia and Natalia Zukerman. We had a blast! I've done some regional touring before, but this was the longest time I'd spent out on the road. We covered the East Coast from Portland, Maine through to Nashville, TN and made stops in Philly, DC, NYC, tons of cities in North Carolina and South Carolina too. I've been back a few weeks now and all I can think about is getting back on the road. It was great to be sharing the travels with two really great songwriters and musicians; Abi and Natalia are both so talented. It's a different thing to do it alone. But we made a pretty fierce combination, played some incredible music, had a lot of fun, and met some great people and got a lot of good feedback along the way. You'll definitely see us out there again. I've got a few road stories for you, but maybe I shouldn't mention all the details here. You'll just have to catch my show the next time I'm on the road to find out...

For more information visit: www.nadineg.com or www.cdbaby.com/nadineg.

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