On the song selection approach for the new Roadcase Royale album, First Things First, Wilson said, “We actually got together in rehearsal and we started with ‘Hold on to My Hand’ and we reinvented the groove to be what we thought our sound would be like, and it turned out so good. From there, we had original ideas floating around, and we stitched those things together, to make new melodies out of grooves and riffs that we all had. Most of our collaboration includes everybody in the whole band, all six of us. It is a really great democracy. I wanted to bring my players in as equals as opposed to sidemen, so we did this project with that in our minds. As soon as we heard how good we can sound, we decided to make it a partnership. This was the right way to approach it.”
On September 10, Roadcase Royale will be headlining Gramercy Theatre in the heart of Manhattan. “I am looking forward to that. Gramercy Theatre is such a cool, vibey place, with some great vibes. Theatres are usually so nice since they are built for sound. There is a lot of magic that can happen in theatres. That is going to be our first solo show, and we are so looking forward to that. I think we are going to rock some Heart songs and a few Prince songs, and a lot of originals,” she said.
Guitar queen discusses digital transformation of music industry
On the impact of technology in the music scene, she said, “Technology changed the music industry in the sense that it made it very automated-sounding. I come from an era of real players and real singers, and there are no tricks that you play with. You just play it yourself. These days, it is so automated and so tracked, and there is not very human believability. It sounds like a collusion of producers and machines trying to make somebody sound good. I admire good pop writing, good songwriting and singing and structure, since I am a songwriter and I appreciate the work that goes into a song. The technical sound of pop music today hides through the singer. The singers sort of sound all the same. That’s why I like John Mayer, Ryan Adams and a band called Haim. You can distinguish who they are, and they are really playing, and they are really singing. That is where the modern technology mist is for me,” she said.
When asked how she uses technology in her daily routine, she said, “I play through my phone into speakers. I just play the songs I want to hear, but I stay pretty low key with it.”
Most recently, Jeff Timmons, the founding member of the Grammy-nominated group 98 Degrees, listed Wilson as a female artist that he would love to sing a duet with, especially her classic rock power-ballad “These Dreams.” “Oh my God! Aw. Yeah, it’s a good song. Hook me up,” she said, upon hearing this news.
In return, Wilson complimented Timmons and 98 Degrees for covering Elton John’s “Circle of Life” for The Lion King. “Aw. That’s a good song. Elton did that song, and it has such a beautiful concept. It’s a gorgeous song for sure,” she said.
For her New York fans, she concluded, “I really can’t wait to get to the Gramercy Theatre, and kick off this amazing tour. Heart fans won’t be disappointed either, and they will dig the new music as well.”
First Things First is available for pre-order on iTunes.
For more information on Roadcase Royale, check out their official homepage.
