It’s quite likely that the name Cristina Vane may be new to you. Currently residing in Nashville, the Italian-born artist’s debut album, NOWHERE SOUNDS LOVELY, will undoubtedly turn a few heads on its release in April. Having studied classical music as a young girl, Cristina later became enthralled by country blues and old folk guitar styles. She mastered fingerpicking acoustic and slide guitar skills as well as clawhammer banjo technique. Her splendid album, which is an exemplary cocktail of traditional and modern roots music, highlights how adept she is as a songwriter and vocalist. We spoke with Cristina a few weeks prior to the release of the album.
Congratulations on the new album NOWHERE SOUNDS LOVELY. It’s a great listen and a perfect blend of traditional and modern country roots music.
Thank you so much. “A blend” is very much what I am going for in my original music.
You studied classical vocals, music theory, piano and flute in your younger years. Did you have ambitions of pursuing a career in music at that stage?
I did not have ambitions to be a performer or rock star, although I always was passionate about music. I had a lot of interests throughout my childhood and wasn’t sure which direction they would lead me in, and I secretly also didn’t really think being a ‘musician’ was realistic or attainable for me. It seemed like such a vague concept - how did one chance into being a musician outside of choir and band?
You have described yourself in the past as a ‘‘a rock kid who is obsessed with old music.” What sparked your appetite to explore American culture and music?
It started in London, when I was home for the summer and performing at a bar in Camden. I saw Sam Green playing lap slide and I had to have that sound but didn’t want to turn my guitar sideways so I settled for bottleneck. After graduating college, I found the music of Skip James and Blind Willie Johnson and then my interest was captured forever more. Working at a folk guitar shop in L.A. for a few years also opened up my world to clawhammer banjo, travis picking, and lots of other interesting things.
After graduating from Princeton University, you relocated to Los Angeles and worked at that store you mention, McCabe’s Guitar Shop. Was this pre-planned to further your education in developing different guitar skills?
I moved to Los Angeles because as a city kid I couldn’t think of another metropolis besides New York that I would enjoy and be able to pursue music in, and I didn’t want to be in New York–half of my school was there after graduating, so L.A. felt far away and a fresh start. My brother and cousin lived there so I had family, and all I knew was it was sunny, the food was great, and there were a lot of opportunities in the music industry there. Getting a job at a guitar shop was not “pre-planned” to help my guitar playing, it was just a logical step for me to be around more music and more like-minded people while earning money to do something I enjoyed very much. It was one of my many jobs while I lived in Los Angeles and at the time when I was working there, I had three other part-times. McCabe’s remains my favourite by far.
You worked with guitar instructor Pete Steinberg there. What did that experience bring to your playing technique?
Pete taught me how to fingerstyle. He taught me alternating/stride bass style picking, as well as the coolest riffs from different classic tunes. He worked with me every week for at least a year and a half because he believed in my passion for it, and even entered me in my first ever fingerstyle category competition at the Topanga Banjo & Fiddle Festival, working up a whole solo and coaching me through it for months. Pete taught me the foundations of excellent fingerstyle playing, but also taught me some patience and discernment, and also, how to be totally insane and still well liked.
Did you have regular gigs in Los Angeles and what type venues were available to you?
I started gigging about a year or so after arriving in L.A. – at first at tiny coffee shops and in the back of bars where I went to open mics. Little by little, a friend would hire me for a party, or I’d play a bigger bar and then I got my first band together. We played a lot of local Venice bars and also really random, far-away gigs. Basically, anything I could book. I remember my first big band show with a different line-up at the Mint, when we got 53 people there. That was a huge deal for me at the time and really warmed my heart.
You then basically booked your own five-month long tour. What States did you visit?
I went through California, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Texas, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Mississippi, and Georgia.
You wrote the bones of NOWHERE SOUNDS LOVELY while touring that summer. Explain the title of the album for us?
Totally. In the song ‘Travelin’ Blues’, the refrain goes “onwards and upwards, well this path leads to nowhere / nowhere sounds lovely, well I’d sure like to go there”. I felt that the sentiment in those lines, but even just those words, reflect how I felt about traveling that summer. It was wonderful to have destinations but to be totally honest, it was the act of being alone and doing what I loved for five months that really changed me more than having checked off a new place.
Did visiting and playing in certain places give you the ammunition to write particular songs for the album?
Absolutely. Even though I am half American, I grew up overseas and it was my first time seeing some of the most stunning and impressive natural phenomena across this vast country. There is nothing quite like the Rockies, the prairie, the southwest, the deep south. It was such an inspiring time, and I was so stimulated by all of these new scents, people, accents, foods, and sights.
Any particular locations or experiences that stand out?
The Dakotas are dear to my heart, Asheville was a very special time for me, Taos New Mexico also captured me. Camping in Utah for two weeks on my August break was amazing and definitely a highlight of the trip, as well as my hikes there and at Glacier Park. One of the absolute top experiences of my tour was my time in the south specifically, Clarksdale, Mississippi, and all of the nearby gravesites I visited of my blues heroes.
You knocked on Cactus Moser’s door to produce and play on the album. What drew you to him?
Cactus not only is a killer drummer, but he had also produced Wynonna & The Big Noises’ latest record at the time. I loved the way he balanced folk and contemporary influences, which really is why I went with him as a producer. And because he has great banter.
Artists such as Jake Xerxes, Rhiannon Giddens, George Mitchell and Art Rosenbaum are folklorist as well as recording musicians. Do you see yourself following a similar path?
I am obsessed with Jake Xerxes Fussell. I would be honoured to even be in a similar path to any of those folks, but I don’t know if I really will be following a similar one to be honest. My intentions with Instagram are simply to share my musical journey and shine a little light on whatever influences pop up along the way. However, my interests don’t lie so much in reinventing traditional songs as writing my own material that may have been inspired by these songs.
You appear highly organised, what are your career plans?
Oh gosh, I am glad it looks that way because at this end it often feels like I have no idea what I am doing and am late on everything. I would like to get to a level of touring where I can comfortably pay my band to come on the road as well as take care of my needs. I would like to expand my playing abilities for sure – trying to work on my playing on the guitar, banjo, and recently the mandolin. That’s a never-ending hustle. Other than that, I guess just keep making more music.
Is Nashville home now or just another stop on your life journey?
For now, Nashville is home, but I am starting to wonder if I’ve gotten so used to moving that I need to do it. Either way, I plan to be in Nashville for the foreseeable future.
Interview by Declan Culliton Photograph by Alex Skelton