Colbie Caillat will leave her safe haven by the beach for the hills of Appalachia, bringing her award-winning island pop music with her.
“You have an artist like Colbie that has six or seven acts on the radio, so the whole show is going to be familiar,” said Andrew Holzaepfel, associate director for the Campus Involvement Center. “I’m excited about the amount of material she has that’s familiar.”
In 2010, Caillat was nominated for two songs in the category of Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for “Breathe,” shared with Taylor Swift, and won the Grammy for collaboration on the song “Lucky” featuring Jason Mraz.
Caillat’s newest song “We Both Know” was co-written with Gavin DeGraw for the movie Safe Haven, based on the popular Nicholas Sparks novel.
“I just try to relate to it in my own way,” Caillat said about her process of songwriting. “Everyone’s had their first kiss and everyone’s been heartbroken, so if that’s what the movie is about or what the artist is writing about, then that’s what I write about.”
But Caillat also steps out of her comfort zone to do songs like “Favorite Song,” which featured rap artist Common. She added that she loves rap and tends to stick to her favorite old school rap artists, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and The Notorious B.I.G.
The university paid $30,000 to bring Caillat to Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. on Friday with Noah Gunderson and more than 1,000 tickets have been sold for the event. Tickets are $12.50 for students and $25 for general admission.
Holzaepfel said ticket sales are close to what he had initially expected, but in order to fill up the house, student tickets have gone on sale for half price.
“There are a lot of (entertainment) choices this spring, so I think everyone has to pick and choose what they are going to see,” said Holzaepfel, citing The Convo Comedy Night with Jim Gaffigan, and 11Fest featuring headliner Kendrick Lamar, as their biggest competition for ticket sales.
Students and community members alike will get the chance to hear a few of the new songs Caillat has been working on for her new album.
“I’m going in more of an anthem- and acoustic-driven sound,” Caillat said, naming Simon & Garfunkel and The Lumineers as big influences. “I love writing by myself, I love being in my house, playing my guitar while no one else is around and say whatever I want without having to worry.”
wh092010@ohiou.edu
If You Go
WHAT: Colbie Caillat with Noah Gunderson
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium
ADMISSION: $12.50 students, $25 general admission
Q&A
William Hoffman: Do you have a favorite artist that you’ve collaborated with?
Colbie Caillat: Collaborating with Common was a really cool experience because our styles are so different yet our voices are very similar in tone. He’s one of the nicest people I’ve worked with and I really respect him as a person and as an artist. Jason Mraz too, I’ve been a huge fan of his forever, and now we’ve written a song together, and won a Grammy together, and perform it around the world together — it’s been pretty spectacular.
WH: Your style tends to be island pop and even with Common rapping you stuck to that style.
CC: I try to do that; I have my sound but I like to branch out with different artists, yet not stray too far.
WH: Who is your favorite rapper right now?
CC: I don’t know who my favorite is right now. I still listen to the old stuff. My favorite is Biggie … Bone Thugs, I listen to them all the time.
WH: You’ve also written with Taylor Swift before. Can you tell me what it was like to work with her?
CC: She asked me to write with her, so I went to Nashville and she brought in a song she had been working on that morning, so I helped her finish writing it. That was the first time we met and basically the first I had even heard of her because she was just breaking out. I just thought she was so pretty and talented and inspiring to watch.
WH: What is your process for writing songs in the style of other artists or for movies?
CC: I just try to relate to it in my own way because everyone’s had their first kiss and everyone’s been heart broken, so if that’s what the movie is about or what the artist is writing about, then that’s what I write about. That’s also what Gavin (DeGraw) and I did. He’s been a fun person to be around, and he’s definitely been one of my great friends over the years. Touring together has been a blast, and getting to sing with him is wonderful because his voice is just gorgeous.
WH: You’re well known for your collaborative work but do you enjoy writing together or alone more?
CC: I really do love collaborating because you help the person write a song and they help you write a song that neither of us would have written on our own. I feel like the work is really fast, just bouncing around ideas, and you create something instantly and it’s really just a unique process. But I also love writing by myself; I love being in my house playing my guitar while no one else is around and say whatever I want without having to worry if someone is going to like it or not — I just open up.
WH: What are your plans for the new album?
CC: It’s coming out in the fall and we’re recording it this summer. I know what it’ll be called but I’m not ready to release that just yet.
WH: Will we hear any of the new songs during Friday’s performance?
CC: Yeah, we’ve been rehearsing for a couple of days and our band is going to start learning five of the new songs. I don’t know if all of them will make it into the performance but you will definitely hear a few.
WH: Are you still in the process of writing for the new album?
CC: Yeah, I could be done because I have like 40 songs written for the record, but I’m not recording till the summer so I’m just going to keep writing with people and see if we can beat the songs that we already have.
WH: Is there any specific inspiration you are drawing from for this album?
CC: For this record I’m going for more of a classic rock sound. I don’t want to say folk because I say that all the time and it’s not going to be too country. But very anthemy and acoustic-driven like my other record but having the sound of The Lumineers, Simon & Garfunkel and Fleetwood Mac. I grew up on classic rock and it has always been an influence in my music, but I have gone more the pop direction over the years and for this record I just want to make something really creative.
