Music journalists often compare singer Grace Potter to a litany of blues mamas. Yet she feels more in-tune with sultry male vocalists, like Al Green, Robert Plant and Taj Mahal.
“Those are the voices I think of when I’m singing,” Potter says. “Aretha creeps in there every once in a while, but she’s the only girl allowed.”
Still in her mid-20s, Potter and her band The Nocturnals have established themselves as touring aerodyne. Later this month at Bonnaroo they’ll do three sets over three days. “We just want to play as opposed to be there for the social scene or the booze or drugs,” Potter says. “I wake up in the morning and I’m itching to get a guitar on me or get in front of the B3 or a microphone.”
Potter’s 2007 disc “This is Somewhere” set her vintage keyboards and feline vocals amid svelte, homegrown rock. She and The Nocturnals recently recorded their third LP, produced by T Bone Burnett, the man behind the Plant and Alison Krauss Grammy-magnet “Raising Sand.”
What’s the feel of the new album?
It’s kind of like an evil Motown record. It’s got that Dusty Springfield, Aretha, Al Green-kind of vibe, but backed by the Velvet Underground.
Was there a moment recording with T Bone Burnett where you were like, ‘Yeah, we’re making this record with the right guy?’
We’d been in the studio the whole day and he was taking a little cat nap on the couch. We came in after tracking, and we’re like, “What do you think man.” And he’s like, “Yeah that was great. But do it a little more like ‘The Pink Panther.’” And he was right. Whatever consciousness he was in, he was still listening.
What the worst thing you’ve forgotten to bring to a gig?
My underwear. I know that doesn’t sound like big deal but I tend to wear short skirts so undies are a key.
Why did you decide to make the B3 organ your instrumental home?
I was completely intimidated by the B3…Billy Preston, Garth Hudson. So I just started out playing it like almost like it was an orchestra backing the band. Then it turned into another voice, like a choir or horn section.
Last year you opened for both The Black Crowes and Dave Matthews Band. What did you learn most from those bands?
You’re there to be a part of something that isn’t daily life. It’s like Disneyland.
