An artist who follows her inner voice
by Emily Meenan
Tift Merritt is a uniquely enchanting singer and songwriter, with everything that she does very clearly coming straight from the heart. She has been compared to many largely influential artists throughout her career, including Joni Mitchell and Emmylou Harris. Not only is Merritt talented, but she’s humble. “It certainly is flattering and we all have heroes who inspire us to look for the best in ourselves,” Merritt begins in response to these comparisons. “But Joni Mitchell and Emmylou Harris have had astounding careers and the importance of their work only grows over time. I just keep my head down and keep my work growing. There’s no true way to compare my career to something like theirs in this moment.”
Photo by Parker Fitzgerald
Merritt is known to have incredibly emotionally evoking lyrics in everything that she puts out. It is in no way forced, though. “I think you do want your work to evoke feeling – but not with artifice or because that is your only intention,” Merritt explains. “I try to make things that ring true to themselves. I don’t think you can control writing, you can only do your best. If you are trying to control it, you are putting its power in a seat belt.”
Since she is such a talented writer, Merritt has recently worked to write two songs for the upcoming movie Dorothy of Oz, expected to be released sometime in 2013. “I loved writing for this film, most of all because I worked very closely with the director who had a real vision. I really enjoyed the task of trying to get that vision just right for him – even when we had to backtrack or didn’t have the works or know just what we were getting at. I learned a lot from watching him serve his vision,” Merritt says about this experience. “I love the way music and picture can work together and I’d love to do more of that kind of writing – serving a story and a point of view that has a deep feeling for where it is going.”
Just as Merritt likes the way music and a picture create a story, she also clearly enjoys making her records tell stories. “I think this record is an album – a sort of cowboy journey from start to finish. I’ve always liked making albums and viewed the songs as chapters in a story.” Not only does her upcoming record, Travelling Alone, tell a genuinely enjoyable story, but the sound itself is genuine as well. “We also made this record live off the floor and I like the unapologetic, unadorned quality it has. A group of people really listening and responding to each other.”
Photo by Parker Fitzgerald
Travelling Alone, which will be released on October 2, was produced differently than Merritt’s previous records have been. “I made this record with just me, the band and Tucker. That was really important. I was able to really do exactly what I wanted to do. I was picking up the check. That weight and freedom was a feeling I really wanted and needed to have.” Making and paying for this album herself wasn’t just fun and games, though, Merritt tells. “It was a risk, it took some guts. I liked that.”
Merritt is now touring almost all fall and also spent the majority of the summer on the road. She truly enjoys touring and is able to find many awesome upsides of living that lifestyle. “I love being with my band and exploring new places. I love finding vintage stores, farmer’s markets and natural food co-ops. Sometimes my dad comes out and that is especially fun, too.” There are, of course, a few downsides, Merritt explains, “The hard part is the lack of sleep, the grueling travel, the kind of not grown up way you end up living.” It’s especially tough for someone who juggles so much, like Merritt. In addition to being a musician, she’s also a photographer and a wife. She explains how she handles it all, “We all do a lot of juggling these days. I just follow my fire. I try to feed that fire alive both in my work and in my life.”
Not only has Merritt been playing lots of shows, but she also makes quite a lot of stops at festivals. “Festivals are fun because you see your friends, but you have to let go a bit and be a part of something larger when you are at a festival because there is so little time and so much going on all at once,” Merritt says when asked about that kind of setting. She continues on to talk about her seemingly favorite performance setting, “I really love playing in theaters, when the acoustics and effort all come together to serve the song and the smaller gestures carry weight. That kind of scenario brings the best out in everyone. It is nice to be in a space that challenges you to do all you are capable of musically.”
Tift is making a stop at the World Cafe Live in Philly on October 9th. Although she’s on a tight schedule, she still has some excitement about Philly. “I probably won’t have a lot of time while I’m in town, but I’ve had some really lovely memories of playing with the Jayhawks and Nick Lowe in Keswick at the Keswick Theater. And Philly is home of World Cafe and Terry Gross! “
Merritt began going to college to be a writer but soon found her way to being a musician. It wasn’t easy for her to know where to go, but she leaves with some words for the wise, “Finding your work is not a light bulb that goes off one day or a secret door that you stumble upon. It is a process, a series of decisions that unfold over time. The key is to make each decision or each step of the searching as truly as you can. Then at least you know you are heading in the right direction, even if there aren’t any streetlights.”
