Editor’s note: This interview with local band The Cannondolls kicks off a new Herald Arts & Entertainment feature called “Listen Up,” which will feature Durango’s local bands.
By Katie Chicklinski-Cahill
Herald Arts & Entertainment editor
One thing that strikes you when you first meet the four members of The Cannondolls – Caitlin Cannon, Kate Willyard, Alissa Wolf and newest member Amanda Fresh – is just how nice they are, and how they seem to really get along.
The band evolved from Caitlin Cannon and the Artillery, became a duo and then found itself in its current configuration as the four-piece Cannondolls.
The Herald sat down with the Durango band this week.
Q: There don’t seem to be a whole lot of female groups in Durango. Do you see that as an advantage?
AW: I think we definitely fill a niche. I don’t think there’s another all-female band in Durango.
KW: I hadn’t really thought about that in that way, but we like it.
AW: People seem to like it, too.
AF: We have lots of fun together.
AW: Yeah, our trips are not dull.
Q: Do you think that helps you get gigs?
CC: I think no. I think maybe I thought it would have. The people who like us, they like the music, the songwriting we do.
KW: I don’t think it hurts. I think it’s something that we can market, when people ask what we do, it’s kind of fun to say that it’s female-fronted.
AF: And I think the sound: The all-female with the harmony, and the country-folky kind of sound is unique, and that’s what people really like.
Q: For people who don’t know, how would you describe your music?
KW: It’s so hard to pin us down in one genre. It’s definitely indie, and I just call it “Quirky Americana.” Quirky because of the songwriting, the elements of when Caitlin and I do our lyrics, it’s definitely not traditional storytelling, which I think is another draw.
AW: I think a lot of the covers we do are folk and alternative country, but the originals are definitely quirky Americana.
Q: How did you guys end up with the glockenspiel?
CC: I have taught pretty much all of my best friends to play the glockenspiel. I used to say it sounds like angels barfed all over your song. It’s a surprisingly difficult instrument. It’s not an instrument you hear in country music. It just brings something a little different; it brings something rustic.
Q: It just seems like an odd instrument.
KW: It really brings a different sound. It’s very sweet and quaint; it’s an endearing instrument, and people go crazy for it. We do lead guitar solos on the glockenspiel.
Q: What are your day jobs?
CC: I just got my cosmetology license.
KW: I am actually getting ready to go back to teaching for this coming school year. I teach kindergarten in Ignacio. That’s my alter-ego.
AW: I have a lot of different jobs. I teach fiddle with the iAM MUSIC institute; I teach fiddle for the Be Frank Foundation in Bayfield ... And then I play in two other bands as well. I’m actually going to be looking for more work soon ... you can just say I’m a fiddle teacher, it’s hard to describe my life ... I teach tennis on the side, oh, and I house sit for animals.
AF: I’m kind of like Alissa, in the jack-of-all-trades realm. I’m a psychic medium, aesthetician and I make jewelry.
KW: We’re a very diverse group of people. We’ve got it all down.
Q: So what’s the best part about being in this band? It seems really cool. You really seem to get along.
CC: I think that we are all so different as people, we come from really different backgrounds, different life experiences, we have different taste in music, we have different political views, religious views ... but the common denominator is that we love singing and playing music together. We are all so different, but we prioritize the music – it’s a good life lesson, too.
KW: That’s such a hard question. The best part for me is actually when we get to play the music; it’s just such a release. It’s just a happy place for me.
AW: Sometimes when we’re playing a show, we get into this zone, and we’ll play like “After the Storm” ... there are certain songs where it’ll click – we’ll be playing and I know we all feel it. It’s like we’re in this ... this is powerful, and it’s building, building, building, and sometimes I’ll even get chills while I’m playing.
KW: And that translates to the audience, too, and it draws you in when we’re in that groove.
Q: What do you think the hardest thing about being in a band, or even being in an all-girl band, or even being in an all-girl band in Durango, has been? Has it been challenging?
CC: I think it’s growing all together. There was a time I wanted to just be a touring person, and then I said, now I want to focus on “How do I get this music licensed, and not kill myself on the road or living in my car?” And then finding other people to do that with you. I think the hardest part is aligning of vision, and the other side is you have to broaden your vision.
KW: I think because we all do hold down these other interests and jobs, it’s a really big challenge to make the music a priority and to get us all together at the same time. That’s definitely been a challenge: Just working schedules and that kind of thing. I’m sure you’re looking for a much more dramatic answer (laughs), but that really is hard, but I feel like we all really strive to make it a priority.
AF: I feel like that’s been challenging, but we’ve done it.
katie@durangoherald.com
If you go
The Cannondolls are celebrating their new album “Crumbs” with a mini-fest Aug. 27. The celebration will start from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Secret garden at the Rochester Hotel with their Picnic Party, with special guests Hailey Steele and Daphne Willis. For this part of the celebration, The Cannondolls will be unplugged.
The party then moves down the Animas City Theatre at 9 p.m., where The Cannondolls will be joined by Farmington Hill and Andy Rok & the Real Deal.
All day mini-fest pass is $18 in advance, $20 at the door. Tickets per venue are $10 advance, $12 at the door. Get yours at Southwest Sound or by email at cannondolls@gmail.com. For tickets for the Animas City Theatre show only, visit www.animascitytheatre.com.
LISTEN UP!
If you’re a local band that would like to be featured in the Herald’s “Listen Up” series, email katie@durangoherald.com.
