SPOTLIGHT overall aesthetic. The breakthrough came after she and British musician Kid Harpoon penned “Burning Gold,” a triumphant pop anthem unlike anything on her 2011 debut, Lovestrong. “I remember staying up the entire night, freaking out with my manager,” risman says Perri, 27. “I put the headphones on and C was like, ‘Oh, my God—this is it!’” hris C Later, Perri connected with British producer Jake Gosling and wound up R oss staying in England all summer recording H alfin nine songs. “I caught a vibe,” she says. “I found myself in a little family who knew exactly what they wanted to do, and we had the perfect kind of mix going on.” Perri is no stranger to collaboration. TESLA On Lovestrong, she teamed with co-writers on eight of the 12 songs, including “Jar of Whatever the format, the durable hard rockers Hearts,” the piano ballad that kick-started keep the music playing Troy Luccketta, Brian Wheat, Jeff Keith, Frank Hannon, Dave Rude her career. The song was featured on a 2010 episode of So You Think You Can ISSUE #35 WHEN YOu’ve bEEN A SUCCESSFUL It’s not that the self-professed That’s how itMMUSICMAG.COM was with “Life Is a River,” ISSUE #35 Dance, and within days, it shot upMMUSICMAG.COM the rock band for as long as Tesla has, you “dinosaur” is afraid of technology. He the first song they wrote for the record. “I iTunes charts, earning Perri a deal with wind up with all sorts of stuff on your wall. recently got an iPhone, and he says social always say about life, ‘Let it flow,’” Keith says. Atlantic. In 2012, she scored another key Frontman Jeff Keith’s home boasts gold- and media “can help in so many ways.” Keith “[Guitarist] Frank [Hannon] and I worked placement, landing “A Thousand Years” platinum-plated records, CDs and cassettes, simply leaves that stuff to his bandmates. He on the lyrics after I got a melody going. We sai T on the soundtrack for The Twilight Saga: u representing the various formats in which prefers to handle the words and melodies. stayed at it until the sun came up.” Y Breaking Dawn—Part 1. the California rockers have sold millions Tesla wrote Simplicity—their seventh Simplicity runs the gamut from With success came loads of touring— of records since the band’s formation full-length album—during a series of weeklong computers to ghosts, and in keeping enough to leave Perri burned out. Since in the early ’80s. retreats at longtime friend and producer Tom with the old-school vibe, they recorded Head or Heart arrives without a reality In fact, musing on the progression Zutaut’s secluded Virginia farmhouse. Last one song a day, keeping overdubs CHRISTINA PERRI show or teen vampire flick to generate buzz, from vinyl to digital downloads inspired time they made a record, in 2008, scheduling and tech wizardry to a minimum. she’ll once again play road warrior—not that Keith to pen “MP3,” the opening track obligations prevented them from doing “We think it turned out to be a well- The piano-pop songstress adds a British accent she’s complaining. “It’s so great to build on the band’s latest LP, Simplicity. True to much preproduction, and they wrote half of rounded album,” Keith says. “We made to her latest set something from the ground up,” Perri says. its title, the album is timeless, no-frills, Forever More in the studio. This time they sure we didn’t get too crazy. With Pro Throughout her travels, she’s met T-shirt-and-jeans rock—and even if today’s went slowly and steadily toward their goal. Tools, there’s no limit to what you can CHRISTINA PERRI LITERALLY WEARS As Perri explains, she’s got London many diehard fans—some with tattoos of listeners mostly consume music digitally, “Out there, there’s not even an internet do. You’ve got to be careful with that her passions on her sleeve—as well as on to thank for the wide-ranging sound of her her lyrics. “I’ve been signing so many arms, Keith and company have done nothing connection—no distractions,” Keith says. kind of technology. You can literally put a other parts of her body. She’s got dozens recently released sophomore album, Head and they get it tattooed the next day, which to modernize their approach. “I’m the “You’d go to sleep playing music and wake thousand tracks on your song, and then of tattoos, many referencing the books, or Heart. The Philly-born singer-songwriter freaks me out,” she says. “Then again, I’ve kind of guy where it’s like, give me a pen up to music. It was awesome—like a music it’s like, ‘Wait a second—how are you going records, films and foods that have shaped found herself in the U.K. midway through last got Johnny Cash’s signature on my arm, so and a pad of paper when you’re writing boot camp. Some nights, we never even to do this live?’” her life. If space permits, she might consider year, and although she’d already written the I understand wanting to do that.” a song,” he says. made it to bed.” —Kenneth Partridge a beefeater—or maybe Big Ben. bulk of the record, she’d yet to decide on an –Kenneth Partridge JACK WHITE buying albums,” he says. “T Bone Burnett made a great comment a year restoring a 1947 recording booth,” he says. “When I was years ago when he said that music started getting bad when record younger, I always wanted to find one. The Voice-O-Graph machine Nashville’s ambassador of hip does his part companies started making music for people who don’t like music. was finally discovered after a decade-long search. “I got in touch to keep the music playing That’s a really great point.” with a lot of coin-operated machinery/gadgetry people and ended While others sound a death knell in the streaming era, White up finding this—it’s a great one,” he says. In fact, Neil Young’s new JACK WHITE HAS HEARD ALL THE TALK ABOUT THE DEMISE is celebrating the fifth anniversary of his Nashville-based record album A Letter Home—which includes songs by Willie Nelson, Tim of the music industry—although he’s not entirely convinced it’s label Third Man Records. On Record Store Day—observed the third Hardin, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Bert Jansch and Gordon true. “I think for a while there a few years ago it was starting to Saturday of each April—he performed a short set that included the Lightfoot—was created entirely in the lo-fi retro booth. become a joke that record stores don’t exist anymore,” he says. Jo McCaughey title track to his latest album, Lazaretto. The recording was then Although White has become a standard-bearer for analog “Tower Records closed, and that was a big moment when everyone pressed and packaged to become—unofficially, at least—the world’s recordings, you won’t find a fat stack of LPs in his home. “I’ve never been thought this is really getting bad. Stores in the mall weren’t there fastest-released record. “Singles don’t really mean as much to me an actual record collector, a guy who hoards them and gets every digit anymore. People were having trouble even buying CDs at Best Bu y.” in a commercial sense, except this one was the best trick to get and serial number,” he says, “but I do appreciate the history of vinyl— Beyond changing technology and challenging economics, perhaps people into the record, to lure people in,” says White, 38. the Americana history of certain items. I don’t want it to get lost. I feel the problem remained the music itself. “People who have always Before recording the follow-up to 2012’s Blunderbuss, White like I’m protecting it, like in taxidermy. I’m protecting and honoring it.” been real music lovers never went away, and they never stopped had embarked on an entirely different project. “We spent more than –Blake Boldt 18 19 M mag 35.indd 18 7/13/14 8:56 AM M mag 35.indd 19 7/13/14 8:56 AM ISSUE #35 M MUSIC & MUSICIANS MAGAZINE.