SXSW Interview: Carlene Carter
Austin Convention Center, Friday, March 20
“I always wanted to be the rockin’est country chick in the universe,” Carlene Carter declared toward the end of the hour. Some would say she’s succeeded and on her own terms. Linda Ray, writer for The Tucson Weekly and No Depression, allowed Carter lots of room to roam through a retrospective talk of her career. A daughter of country royalty (June Carter and Carl Smith) who found some of her biggest success in England with pub rockers such as the Rumour and Rockpile and eventually married Nick Lowe, Carter blossomed into a contemporary country star in the 1990s only to bottom out and now re-emerge with new Yep Roc disc Stronger. The singer played songs from the album to underline her point, using “It Takes One to Know Me” as an example of how her family sometimes best communicated through music. Never one to shy away from speaking her mind, she claimed: “If someone gets married at 15, they’re either dumb or pregnant. I was both.” The 53-year-old singer-songwriter touched on her love for acting, being influenced by the Monkees, her quip about putting “the cunt in country,” and writing “Change” about the morning in 1986 when she decided to go into treatment. “I’m pretty much an open book,” she declared. “My songs are about who I am.” Then added with a laugh, “Hopefully I’m balanced today.”
This article appears in March 20 • 2009.