Okay guys so this is a new format. An actual interview with someone I know reeeeeally well and have no idea how. Caroline Cotto added me to her weird film club and we got chatting and it turns out she is a big fan of England, Englishmen, even the Beatles. But more than that she teaches special needs in a French school in Louisiana and is fluent in Spanish and French. Not very good at English of course. (My little joke.)
Originally from NYC, Caroline studied music, French and creative writing at NYU before embarking on the maddest adventure since Warren Zevon fucked off to Sitges in Spain for months on end.
We will be doing an audio podcast special interview when time permits, but this was too good to either keep back or edit. It is verbatim. I started calling her "Springsteen with Pink Hair" (#SwPH) on Instagram and it has stuck for some reason. By the way, Calmer Sounds and myself spent a very odd evening watching the film choice of this week which is below.
DETTMANN: Why did you leave the US to tour the world and what was your number one takeaway?
Since I was young, I have been on a quest for beauty, love and truth through the footsteps of my heroes and dreams. I fell in love with the stories of artists who left their homes and discovered artistic communities in foreign places. Inspired by Hemingway’s “A Moveable Feast,” I moved to Paris on my own. I left to find my freedom in the cafes of Paris where Rimbaud ran madly writing his poetry and Picasso painted the sky with doves on the hills of Montmartre. I spent my time in movie theatres watching classic films, reading in bookshops and meeting strangers in the moonlight. Then, I moved to London and sang in bars where Hendrix roamed in his magnificence. I even performed in Brighton and St Albans. My number one takeaway is to follow your heart and go where the winds take you. In a romantic sense, I’m a musical archaeologist unearthing jewels from the past and adding it to the tapestry of life. I wasn’t satisfied with just playing music. I had to go to the places where my inspirations lived, breathed and created their art. I had to live in these places, feel their essence and forge my own path.
DETTMANN: Describe your music for me. I find it hard. It's just so good!
Thank you! My music is the sound of wild hearts and burning spirits howling on Highway 61 in the night. It is the mix of desire and sin in smoky bars with untamed saxophones and blazing guitars. It is the stuff that dreams are made of with a touch of red lips and philosophy. It is the blood of my Latin people.
DETTMANN: Tell me what Springsteen means to you personally and in your music.
Throughout my travels from NY to Paris to London to New Orleans, Springsteen’s voice was a strong masculine presence. His lyrics provide a roadmap to life. I remember first hearing the album, “Born to Run” and finding the strength to leave New York. Through Springsteen, I learned that I was born not to run away but to run towards my dreams at full speed. His songs of romance, desire and rock n’ roll give me faith and make me dream. You feel his passion deeply from his music about human life - and that’s important to me as a songwriter - to get to the heart of life no matter how beautiful or grotesque.
DETTMANN: I struggle to see past the pink. We love it. How did you get there?
I was a young girl from New York of Puerto Rican descent with big, brown, curly hair searching for more, pondering my purpose and in love with the golden age. A lot of children my age didn’t have the same interests as me so I felt alone. Pink represents my paradise and happiness. Pink inspires me creatively and spiritually. It embodies joy and love. I did it for my younger self who needed that color and inspiration. When I started to express myself more, pink felt like home. It is my love for myself and the world.
DETTMANN: I warmed to you when I realised you know England. What is your favourite thing about the UK?
The UK gave me a home when I had no other place to go. They understood what I was doing with my music and how my influences were from the blues tradition. One of my favourite things is how they embraced American music in the 1950s and 1960s. The first sounds of my childhood were from The British Invasion. Hearing The Beatles for the first time was just as impactful to me as people who first watched them on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964. More so through British Blues, I discovered Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Otis Rush and Willie Dixon. I listened heavily to Peter Green, The Yardbirds, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton and John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers. I studied all their albums. I am grateful to the UK for my education in music.
