How did you and Sera Cahoone (see Sera interview here) decide to work together and have her produce your records?
I was getting a batch of songs together for what would be my debut full-length album, Pohorylle. I'd made a lot of EPs through the years, but it was always, "I have a grand and two days off of touring." I was tackling what to do about having a producer, or not having a producer, and how to approach this. It takes out some of the guesswork when you don't have a label budgeting $50,000 for a record.
Does anyone?
Let me believe, Larry.
Sorry![laughter]
Let a gal dream, right? I watched a video of Sera that I found on YouTube, and the way she performed really spoke to me. It resonated immediately. I checked out her album that she co-produced and played drums on, 2017's From Where I Started. I could feel how intentional the percussion was. In the world of singer-songwritership, percussion makes or breaks the record. Most songwriters that I know of are not drummers, so pairing with someone who has a different angle is helpful. I'm all about complementary situations. In the studio, too, I love it when people that have different strengths end up complementing each other.
We need someone there that can pick up the slack.
I can't believe how much trust I put in Sera. I am surprised at how I just trusted the process. She had the vision, and we both committed to trusting each other and getting to the end goal. It works out because Sera and I both have similar tastes; a good palette to start from.
Did both records start by meeting up and working on the songs in person?
