Originally posted April 19, 2007 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Brandi Carlile in 2019 had one of the most notable performances at the Grammy’s singing “The Joke.” So I decided to resurrect my interview with her from 12 years ago. And yes, you can tell it’s 2007. She references TiVo:
Seattle singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile last Thursday received a bigger boost than any appearance on Jay Leno or "Saturday Night Live" could offer: her own video on broadcast network's most popular drama, "Grey's Anatomy," seen last Thursday by more than 12 million viewers.
"Dude, I'm not going to lie: I'm so into that show," said Carlile, who plays the Variety Playhouse tonight. "I TiVo it. When I go home, I have a 'Grey's Anatomy' marathon. It's me in bed all day with a box of tissues."
Carlile, who brings both drama and a raw sense of vulnerability to her songs, is getting exposure that helped propel Snow Patrol and the Fray to the top of the charts. "I got text messages from members of the Fray after the show aired that said, 'Get ready to talk about 'Grey's Anatomy' in every interview!" Carlile noted, with a chuckle.
The producers of "Grey's Anatomy" use six to eight songs every episode and are always seeking tunes from up-and-coming artists that fit the emotional resonance of the scenes.
"On the show, the music has become a character," said Alexandra Patsavas, owner of Chop Shop Music Supervision, which helps find appropriate music for shows such as FX's "Rescue Me," CBS' "Without a Trace" and the recently canceled Fox drama "The O.C."
Carlile has been a long-time "Grey's" favorite. The producers previously used three of her songs from her debut CD. But last Thursday, viewers got to see what she looks like, too, in a video interspersing scenes from the first three seasons of the show while Carlile sang her latest single "The Story," a love song that features her voice memorably breaking at an emotional apex.
"'The Story' is a perfect tune for us," Patsavas said. "And Brandi has an incredibly unique, beautiful delivery."
Indeed, the song's lyrics fit many of the show's characters, such as "You see the smile that's on my mouth/Is hiding the words that don't come out/And all of my friends who think I'm blessed/They don't know my head is a mess."
Carlile, 24, said she got into songwriting at the tender age of 11 because of one artist: part-time Atlantan Elton John.
"He totally changed my perception of what an artist is," she said. While her classmates were jamming to Nirvana and Pearl Jam, she was obsessed over "Tumbleweed Connection" and "Captain Fantastic."
"In seventh grade, on the inside of my binders, I had Elton John pictures. While other people had Johnny Depp and New Kids on the Block on their lockers, I had Elton and Bernie Taupin.
"Everyone thought I was weird."
She was also inspired to play the guitar, thanks to an Atlanta duo, the Indigo Girls. A couple of years ago, Carlile played Eddie's Attic in Decatur, and she told the manager, "I always wanted to play here because the Indigo Girls used to play here." He pointed to a reserved table with the placard: "Emily S." --- as in Emily Saliers.
"I was freaking out," she said. "I almost said, 'Nope. Not going on!' I got to meet her. It turned out she was awesome. We became fast friends."
Saliers said she had heard Carlile's first CD and "flipped over it. Her voice is a gift from God. It's got some Patsy Cline, some Tanya Tucker. She's completelly connected to her music. There's no artifice, no filter."
Carlile ended up providing backup harmonies for a song on the latest Indigo Girls' record "Despite Our Differences," and Amy Ray and Saliers returned the favor by singing on her song "Cannonball" off her CD "The Story."
Saliers said she'll be at the Variety tonight, joining Carlile for a song or two onstage: "She's great live. When her voice breaks in that way, everybody goes ballistic."
IN CONCERT
Brandi Carlile
Variety Playhouse, 8 p.m. April 19, 2007, $15, Ticketmaster, 404-249-6400
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