In early October, pianist Brooke Waggoner's plumbing burst. Her Nashville home began flooding just as she was packing to go on tour and getting ready to attend a U2 concert that night. Later that afternoon Waggoner, 24, checked her e-mail and received a major pick-me-up.
Her new album, “Go Easy Little Doves” debuted at No. 1 on iTunes' singer/songwriter chart. “I thought, ‘This is the most insane day,' ” Waggoner says. “Other artists on (the chart) were, like, Simon & Garfunkel, Amos Lee and James Taylor, so that was a cool moment…and then you're back down to number 25.”
“Go Easy Little Doves” contains fluttering strings, soft-hued production and Waggoner's elfin vocals and piano. “I pretty much worked out the record on paper,” says Waggoner, who is classically trained. “We hired a quartet to play all the string parts and each instrument had about five parts and we layered them for an orchestral feel.” For now, Waggoner is playing solo shows to promote the record, accompanying herself on digital piano and synth. But on Nov. 19 she'll perform “Go Easy” in its entirety with a 14-piece ensemble at Nashville's Belcourt Theatre.
I read you have a “keepsake box.” What's in it? It's basically a gigantic old shoebox from when I got my first pair of boots, when I was 14 or 15. There's a bunch of magazine clippings, and it's full of old lyrics, photos and trinkets.
Do you really use an old Coronet typewriter to write lyrics on? Every morning I get on there and jot down some things from a journal perspective, but I don't really write lyrics on it. I usually scribble those down at the piano.
What sort of piano do you have at home? It's from 1913 or 1914…a French piano, the model's not too well-known. It's an upright and I found it at a moving-away sale in Franklin, Tenn., a couple of years ago. It's got good touch for its age.
A lot of the descriptions of your music use the word “ethereal.” What heavy or loud music do you listen to? I just saw Muse in concert a couple of weeks ago, and it was phenomenal.
On the other end of the spectrum, what's your favorite classical piece? One I love to play is one from Rachmaninoff called “Elegie.” And I love Brahms…and anything that's Greek.
Brooke Waggoner plays Furman University (with Tyler James) at 7 p.m. Nov. 12. Cover is $5. For more information, call 864-294-2068.
