.png)
Interview by: Camila Molina / Photos by: Kelsey Runge / May 10, 2024
Caroline Romano, the emerging alternative and pop artist behind tracks like "Doesn't Matter," is gearing up for her tour, supporting notable acts Grayscale and Smallpools. From the unforgettable moment of receiving the offer, to exploring different creative approaches, Caroline reflects on her journey from her very first live performance to now in an exclusive interview with Hazze Media Magazine.
Tell me about your upcoming tour. What was your initial reaction when finding out about the possibility of this tour?
This tour supporting Grayscale and Smallpools will be my first tour ever, so getting the initial offer was an insane moment for me. I got the call when I was sitting in the parking lot of a Kroger before a recording session, and I remember just saying “no way, thank you so much” over and over again. Then, I called my mom and told her I was going on tour.
How have you been preparing for the tour? Do you have any “pre-show rituals” you want to share with us today?
There have been a lot of rehearsals and rearranging the setlist to be the best possible. I love preparing for any show, and prepping for this tour has been such an incredible experience. I’d say my favorite pre-show ritual is just sitting anywhere alone listening to a song on my headphones. Those moments kind of feel like a walk out song moment to me, and they really help put me in the right headspace.
Tell me about your first time performing live. What has changed over time? What do you love and hate about playing live? What do you plan to change regarding performing when it comes to this tour?
My first memory performing live was at a local showcase in Mississippi when I was 10 or 11 years old. I played “Mean” by Taylor Swift on guitar, and I remember my hands shaking every time I switched chords. I also remember just feeling more free and like myself than I ever had before. My show now is definitely a lot more confident and dynamic, but I still get that same feeling of total freedom every time I perform. The biggest thing I hate about performing is when it’s over. It’s a comedown from this indescribable high, and all I can think about is when I get to do it again. I love everything about performing live. Whether it's for 25 minutes or an hour, it’s the time where I most feel like myself. I’m not changing much for this upcoming tour besides the songs I’m playing. Every time I step on a stage, I just try to make it better than the last time.
You're playing at some really iconic spaces often referenced in music history when it comes to emerging artists, such as your last tour stop at Antone’s Nightclub in Austin. What are you most nervous about? What are you most excited about?
I’m always nervous about how the set will be received and if people like the music. That’s also the exciting part though, getting to play in front of brand new audiences and crowds for the first time.
How does it feel to be touring with two other notable emerging artists in pop, indie, and alternative music? What is your relationship with both Grayscale and Smallpools?
It’s an incredible feeling and such an honor to get to support these two incredible bands on tour. They’re both so influential in the sphere of music I make and listen to, so it's genuinely crazy that I get to go out on the road with them.
Your recent press release through Tallulah mentions that you have “effortlessly transitioning between misty-eyed ballads and fiery alt-rock anthems.” What would you currently describe your music as?
I would describe my current music as very extreme in its range of emotions and overall sound. I definitely gravitate towards writing either really sad and angsty built-out songs or ones with minimal production and strange cadences. I feel a little bit all over the place in my life, and I think my songs definitely reflect that.
Your newest song, “Doesn’t Matter,” is drawn from personal experience. Do you ever feel anxious to release something so vulnerable to the world? Are you ever nervous about the reaction? How do you overcome the fears, if any, that come with releasing music that is so raw and authentic?
There’s definitely some level of anxiety for me that comes with releasing any song, as anything I write is tied to some level of vulnerability. I think I’m able to overcome that though just by reminding myself that the most vulnerable, raw music from other artists are the songs I hold most dear to me. That’s the kind of music I want to be releasing.
How is this release different from your previous work? What makes it so special to you?
“Doesn’t Matter” is very different from the past few previous releases of mine production wise. It’s very minimal and odd, and it’s sort of a long, run-on sentence of a chorus. The song itself sounds sort of undecided as to what it actually is, and that’s the emotion I wanted to capture. It’s like, “I’m not really sure what this thing is, but I think I like where it’s going.”
You’ve mentioned using a “stream of consciousness” style of writing, expressing whatever you're mentally grappling with in lyrics. Tell me more about your songwriting process, specifically, the process for writing “Doesn’t Matter.”
“Doesn’t Matter” was a really fun song to write because I didn’t try to make it anything it wasn’t. My friend John and I sat down one day in January, and he started making this super cool loop. I wrote the entire chorus in a few minutes just based on how it made me feel and what those sounds reminded me of. We recorded the whole thing in just a few hours. It was one of those songs I didn’t premeditate writing, it was really all just a stream of consciousness, in the moment thing. I love that the end product reflects that.
You use music to communicate with your audience in really honest and profound ways. However, what is some advice for those going through heartache right now that you may not have already said through your songs? Conversely, what advice do you want to give to fans nervous about falling in love as they enter new relationships?
I can’t claim to be the best at dealing with heartache, but what I think I have gleaned from my experiences with it is that hope isn’t a bad thing. It’s very easy to become closed off after a wound like heartbreak and, at least for me, very discouraged at the thought that something better could ever come along. However, I find that hope and faith is the one thing that continues to open the door to healing and in time, new opportunities and relationships. Faith doesn’t make you naive, it makes you brave. I think the same thing goes for people falling in love or anyone currently entering into a new relationship. It is okay to be cautious, but hope and walls falling down isn’t always a bad thing. Sometimes things just are good and they do work out. I’m someone who often assumes the worst, so I have to remind myself of that.
Are there any other projects you’d like to share with us today?
I’m currently working on another EP for release later this year, so I’m excited to start rolling that out in the next few months!
You can listen to "Doesn't Matter" here! It is available now on all major streaming platforms.
Comments