| On the road with BROOKE FRASER... |
| Written by Shahlin Graves |
| Tuesday, 17 May 2011 12:14 |
 Not because it's NZ Music Month, but because she is genuinely one of our favourite people in the whole wide world, Coup De Main caught up with BROOKE FRASER to find out all about her latest American touring adventures... COUP DE MAIN: What's been your favourite memory from touring your latest album 'Flags', so far? BROOKE FRASER: My first tour of the record was October 2010 in New Zealand... it was pretty exciting to have new stuff to play after four years, and to have it so well received at home - well, I was relieved and chuffed! Australian tour was good. The Winery tour in February/March was also a highlight - best people, best scenery, best wine, best month for sunshine! And SXSW. And Europe. Heck, it's all been sweet. CDM: How many different states have you been to in the U.S. so far? Which states/cities are your favourite and why? BROOKE: On this tour about seventeen - but over the years I've frequented forty-five of the fifty-two. My faves: Portland because it's a little like New Zealand both in scenery and culture - down to earth, creative, hipster-but-not-too-much nature lovers who make AMAZING coffee. I like the Carolinas and Georgia for their beautiful scenery and Southern hospitality. And I adore NYC of course - have some of my besties living there and my MUM is about to move there in a couple of months. She's lived in Wellington her entire life and now she's off to New York. So proud of her, she's a hot gypsy mama.  CDM: Have you ever gotten lost traveling between shows? BROOKE: The time gets lost! I wake up most days having no idea what day it is, but I kinda love that feeling. CDM: What's the weirdest food-item you've seen in the 'States? BROOKE: This:  So wrong. CDM: On your off-days on your current American tour, what have you been getting up to? BROOKE: On non-show days we're hauling ass in the van to get to the next show... it's pretty fun! We revolve shifts at the wheel, watch movies (pimp van has a DVD player), eat at truck stops and visit side-of-the-road pawn shops or vinyl stores to add to our bulging suitcases. These were my finds [see below for photo] from a pawn shop in the middle of Kansas yesterday. I also held a gun. I didn't like it. Tomorrow we have a twelve-hour drive to Arizona, so we bought Keith Richards' biography as an audiobook (Johnny Depp reads it) so we're going to get amongst that.  CDM: What books would you recommend to read, for those that want to go on travel-adventures of their own? BROOKE: 'On The Road' by Jack Kerouac is a good travelling book and a classic in general - it was one of the pioneering pieces of literature of the beat generation. At the moment I'm reading 'Three Cups Of Tea' by Greg Mortenson - his account (the accuracy of which has recently come under fire) of his failed attempt at climbing K2 and then stumbling into his life's vocation building schools for remote villages in Pakistan. On this tour I also read 'Half The Sky', a brilliant book on women and women's rights issues/initiatives around the world. Travelling is wonderful, educational and eye-opening... and I always think if you can make some of it volunteer work or have some sort of give-back element in there, the experience will be far, far richer.  CDM: Keeping in mind that it is getting into Winter in your homeland... what would be your top five songs/albums to recommend for playlists? BROOKE: As I tweeted you guys recently, I have a growing Lykke Li obsession... So the albums I'm going to pump are: Lykke Li/'Wounded Rhymes', Fleet Foxes/'Helplessness Blues', Delta Spirit/'History From Below' (came out last year but still loving it), The Civil Wars/'Barton Hollow' and some classic Emmylou Harris/'Wrecking Ball'. CDM: What do you miss about New Zealand the most? BROOKE: Family, friends, food, coffee, Coup De Main, of course.  CDM: What are you most looking forward to about your UK/Europe tour in October? BROOKE: Two things I'm psyching out about... 1. Playing the SWR3 New Pop festival in Baden Baden (big deal - pinching myself) and being near Munich for Oktoberfest. 2. I'm playing a show at Milan Fashion Week. TRUE STORY! Amaze. CDM: Favourite thing that has happened to you in 2011 so far? BROOKE: I have at least ten favourite things that I won't bore you with right now. Needless to say, I am the luckiest girl in the whole wide world and I know it! :)  |
