NPR’s Scott Simon speaks to Canadian singer/songwriter Julianna Riolino about her new solo, self-released album, “Echo in the Dust.”
(SOUNDBITE OF JULIANNA RIOLINO SONG, “SEED”)
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Julianna Riolino has a poet’s eye and the spirit of a ringmaster. Her second album, “Echo In The Dust,” draws from doo-wop to country rock to show how a heart and soul can change.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “SEED”)
JULIANNA RIOLINO: (Singing) Think my mind is made up. When I look in your eyes, ooh, I see nothing…
SIMON: And at the center of the album is her own singing and guitar. The deluxe edition came out this week. Julianna Riolino joins us. Thanks so much for being with us.
RIOLINO: Thank you for having me, Scott.
SIMON: And we hear the name of the album on a song called “Seed.” What does that signify? What’s the meaning there?
RIOLINO: I wrote “Seed” after I disbanded from another band in hopes of setting out on my own path and carving my own way. And…
SIMON: You were in the band called Daniel Romano’s The Outfit (ph), or just The Outfit now.
RIOLINO: Yes, it was with Daniel Romano. And I wrote the song in a way to process putting myself first and standing on my own two feet. And I didn’t have a name for the record. And a lot of times when I’m writing, it’s this kind of subconscious train of thought. I just allow my intuition to take over. And the line, echo in the dust, came to me, and I thought it had a nice ring to it and also kind of explained itself to me throughout the process and kind of kept reoccurring, and it felt right.
SIMON: Let me ask you about some of the instruments that we hear – pedal steel guitar, saxophones. Is that a Mellotron?
RIOLINO: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “LET ME DREAM”)
RIOLINO: (Singing) A lover, a liar, a fool. A beast, three heads.
I love a Mellotron.
SIMON: Oh, tell us why.
RIOLINO: Because it has this very analog tone to it, sonically, and it reminds me of a lot of songs that I listen to that are from the ’60s, a lot of Beatles songs, something comforting about it and almost dreamlike. So any chance I can put Mellotron on something, I’m going to take it.
SIMON: Let me ask you about a song like “Smile.”
RIOLINO: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF JULIANNA RIOLINO SONG, “SMILE”)
SIMON: What’s it like to write about heartbreak?
RIOLINO: I think it is, like, second nature. And I feel like it is such a universal feeling. It’s funny. We’re on our second-to-last show, and every night, when I introduce this song, I say, are there any lovers in the audience? Are there – anybody who’s had their heart broken in the audience? And, you know, nine times out of 10, the majority of the room lifts up their hands.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “SMILE”)
RIOLINO: (Singing) But it never made sense.
SIMON: There’s a line…
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “SMILE”)
RIOLINO: (Singing) When you look at love, you’re only looking at you. Baby…
SIMON: How?
RIOLINO: I kind of think a lot about the song “You’re So Vain.”
SIMON: The Carly Simon standard. Yeah.
RIOLINO: Yeah. I mean, I wrote that line as a way to talk about how unfortunate it is when a person can’t get outside of themselves, wasting something that is beautiful, which is love.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “SMILE”)
RIOLINO: (Singing) Hey. Pick up the pieces. Don’t throw them away.
SIMON: Another line I’m struck by – “On A Bluebird’s Wing,” the song has the line, to grow is to be the fruit of our lowest lows.
(SOUNDBITE OF JULIANNA RIOLINO SONG, “ON A BLUEBIRD’S WING”)
SIMON: What are we hearing there?
RIOLINO: We can’t become better versions of ourselves without dealing with pain or looking in the mirror at some of the aspects of our own character that maybe need improvement. If you’re able to be honest with yourself, ultimately, you’ll be able to become a better version of yourself. And that’s kind of like the crux of this entire record, you know?
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “ON A BLUEBIRD’S WING”)
RIOLINO: (Singing) To grow is to be the fruit of our lowest lows.
SIMON: What’s it feel like for you on stage?
RIOLINO: Performing is the best part of this job. It’s only about an hour of my night. And it’s what I look forward to the most. I feel so lucky and grateful to be surrounded by such talented musicians and exploring these songs every night and connecting with people who come to the show and hearing them sing my songs. I love performing.
SIMON: Any performer’s style particularly influence you?
RIOLINO: I grew up a lot listening to and watching The Who. I remember the moment when I saw “Live At The Isle Of Wight.” I was just awestruck. And I would say performers like Loretta Lynn or Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Tom Petty. I get some crazy comparisons sometimes. I had someone the other night compare me to Alice Cooper.
SIMON: Oh.
RIOLINO: Which I thought was hilarious.
(SOUNDBITE OF JULIANNA RIOLINO SONG, “BE GOOD TO YOUR MOTHER”)
RIOLINO: (Singing) St. Peter, open your gaze.
SIMON: We’ve read that you grew up in southern, industrial Ontario.
RIOLINO: Yes.
SIMON: And started taking guitar lessons at a local music shop. How old were you?
RIOLINO: I want to say I was maybe 11, 11 or 12. Yeah. So I was born and raised in Welland, Ontario, Canada, which is, like, a blue-collar steel town. I took guitar lessons at Central Music. That’s like, you know, the one music store in the city.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “BE GOOD TO YOUR MOTHER”)
RIOLINO: (Singing) So take care and be good. I know you’ll be fine.
SIMON: What did music offer you? What did it mean to you when you were 11 and 12?
RIOLINO: I was always singing. You could ask my parents. Like, from a very, very, very small age, I was always humming along or singing things or just remembered lyrics to songs all the time. It was the connective tissue I needed in order to get the melodies in my head out. It has always just been a calling. You know, I remember listening to a lot of Sheryl Crow, and as soon as I saw another woman playing guitar and singing, it was exactly the type of representation I needed to understand that I could also do that. And I just followed my heart straight to the Central Music in Welland.
SIMON: (Laughter).
RIOLINO: (Laughter).
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “THE LESS I KNOW”)
RIOLINO: (Singing) If distance makes the heart grow fonder…
SIMON: Julianna Riolino. The deluxe version of her album “Echo In The Dust” is out now. Thanks so much for being with us.
RIOLINO: Thank you for having me, Scott.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “THE LESS I KNOW”)
RIOLINO: The more I see you, the less I want, the less I want.
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