Photo Credit: Red Light Management
Sonic Live Media had the chance to chat with Madison Cunningham, 22-year-old folk artist from Anaheim, California and talk about her debut album, “Who Are You Now” along with being on tour in support of Andrew Bird at the Masonic Temple Cathedral Theatre in Detroit next week.
You're rolling through your tour in stride, what kind of things help to ground you during the the constant touring? Also, what do you do when you're in your downtime to keep you level-headed between all the hustle and bustle?
M. Cunningham: I try to run every day. It helps gets my mind clear and I feel the adrenaline rushing, It’s a very good feeling. I always try to have a book with me on tour, so I can just kind of stay involved in the singular story line because my mind's used to always be changing. Oh, and good coffee. That really keeps me on the ground!
Do you like to search out new coffee places to explore new cities, or is it something you bring with you on tour that you can't live without?
M. Cunningham: I am not at the level of bringing it with me; but yes, I do seek out coffee shops in whatever city I go to sing and see which one has the best pour overs or black coffee!
Your debut album, “Who Are You Now” is very rich sounding with an old soul feeling. I know you're 22, yet you seem so experienced. Your music is so cohesive and smooth, like someone who's been creating records for decades, It’s very reminiscent of Carole King.
I was listening to it to a specific song “Plain Letters,” and it sounds very person-specific. Do you care to share any details about how you wrote that song or if it's personal at all?
M. Cunningham: Yeah, I was reading Sylvia Plath’s “The Bell Jar,” and was just really overcome and moved by the whole story and the way she told it. It came together in about a day and a half and I realized that it was about her and her life and sort of sympathizing with what she went through. The line, “I hope you find a weakness that you're stronger than,” kind of like I felt like I wrote that for myself, but also for Sylvia, wherever you are now, I hope that you found a weakness, found an illness that you're stronger than. I think we all I wish that we knew how to overcome that and that was kind of where the song came from.
Wow, that's that's very moving that you were able to pull that from a book because the song sounds like it happened to you feels very personal to you.
M. Cunningham: Thank you. It’s very easy to personalize a story that I’m reading. I always do that when I'm reading a story or novel about a character. I feel that they’re me or I can quickly imagine what it would be like to suffer the way the character suffers or to celebrate the way the character celebrates. So, I feel that all my songs are whether they're about someone, about me, they tend to feel like I'm seeing the myself anyway,
Do you find that you write from more of an empathetic point of view rather than sympathetic?
M. Cunningham: Yeah, that's a really good question, I haven’t really thought about that. But yeah, probably both I would say. I mean for me I'm young and I have experienced a lot, maybe more than some and then I've really not experienced anything at all. So for me, when I write songs about people like Sylvia Plath, I feel like I'm learning from them and from their experience. I don't think it should be about you telling someone how it is all of the time. I feel like it should be that you're learning from them even if you're the narrator.
Do you prefer to write in the studio or on the road?
M. Cunningham: I prefer to write at home actually, to be next to a window of natural light and and write that way. Writing on the road is harder than I thought. It can be fun, but it can be distracting. You're in a new city and people have a different way of living and moving. I'm also trying to focus on the show. So writing, you’re just in a different headspace and I find that easily at home.
On the new album, songs “Pin It Down,” and “Beauty in Cliques,” are more well-known tracks of yours, they’re just blowing up on Spotify. What is song that’s not as well- known, that you'd like to share with your newer fans? Also, maybe something that's more personal?
M. Cunningham: I really like performing a song called “Something to Believe.” It’s one of my favorites on that record to sing live. It just it's very buoyant and there's a lot of room for movement and exploration. It’s just easy to sing, slower, a really enjoyable one for me and personal. I wrote it for my husband. We were just recently married!
“Song In My Head,” is really special, I’d really like to play live. It weaves in memories that I had of my parents and how they kind of give you a half-written story and that their life has kind of given that lineage to you. With your life you get to kind of finish it. I really need to start playing it, I think its my favorite!
You were playing music in high school, but you you seem very intelligent and very bright, you know, some could go to school anywhere and pursue anything else. When was it that you you finally decided to pursue music full-time? And if you weren’t going to do music and you were going to pursue college instead what might have you what direction might you've gone?
M. Cunningham: That’s a really good question. I mean, I'd considered going to school. I've been playing music since I was a kid and I considered going to school for that music. Something changed, I met my mentor, who has produced everything that I've ever recorded. Tyler Chester said “I would say that you that you are better off just moving to LA and kind of just really being thrown into the fire and figuring it out.” There’s definitely 90% hard work and then there's 10% percent luck. That 90% is so crucial in order to achieve the luck. So it's an interesting game. I like I really started to dig in and take music seriously by the time I was in my first high school band and like 15/16 because I realized I saw how seriously they were all taking it and I thought “I want to do this, I want to do and I'm going to be committed to this!” I end up like signing with the label when I was 20 almost 21, not that long ago at all and that was unexpected. I didn't seek that out, it just happened and I don't think I could have ever forced it.
Yeah, and being at the right place at the right time with the right people.
M. Cunningham: Absolutely! That's the most crucial part, finding your friends and finding the people who actually care about you and not just about what you can produce.
Yes, it can be difficult, but you're young and you're very talented. So, if things changed for you, it would it's never too late to go back to school but you have this chance now and this opportunity now, it's your passion. I think it's very brave of you to just go for it! You have a level head on your shoulders and you know, I'm sure you've you must have heard throughout your life that you're an old soul. It’s great that you know what you want and you’re going for it! You’ve got a lot of elements with guitar piano and your backing band it’s all very beautiful. I’m excited to see you perform next week.
M. Cunningham: Thank you I appreciate it I’m looking forward to playing in Detroit next week!
Don’t forget to pick up your tickets to see Madison Cunningham at the Masonic Temple in Detroit on Wednesday, September 25, 2019.
You can learn more about Madison Cunningham and check out her upcoming tour dates at: www.madisoncunningham.com
Follow her on Instagram at: instagram.com/madicunningham
Interview by: Brooke Elizabeth, Sonic Live Media