Dave’s Photo Blog

I’ve been hanging out at the Lizard Lounge on Monday nights recently because I find myself needing to see live music. Open mike nights are an interesting way to do this because you see all different kinds of musicians playing a broad range of music very inexpensively. And there are always a few moments on each night that are inspiring. It might be watching someone get up for the first time and conquer their fears or it might be a stellar performer that you wouldn’t otherwise see. There’s great people watching to be had as well. The audience at these events is typically composed of musicians that are either playing or supporting one another with some friends and family thrown in. And it’s a very accepting crowd. You can generally get up and do just about anything and people will hang in there with you to see where it goes. Last month I happened to be there when Nicole Berke played a couple of tunes with Jesse Cafiero on upright bass. It was a great performance and they gave me a copy of their recent CD Frondescence after the show.

The full band includes Nicole Berke (piano, vocals), Jesse Cafiero (upright bass) and Rory O’Connor (drums). There are five songs on Frondescence and they range from the pop appeal of Come On to the much deeper title track, Frondescence. It’s a remarkable album from a young set of musicians – go listen to their work on MySpace and then buy the album if you like what you hear.

Last night, Nicole played Johnny D’s as part of the New York Songwriters Circle and I had the opportunity to stop in, take some pictures and ask Nicole a few questions about her music. But first a little history. Nicole has been playing and singing since she was very young – both of her parents are Berklee-trained musicians. She started writing songs when she was just 13. She met Jesse Cafiero at UMass Amherst and they started playing and recording together. Frondescence is the second CD she has recorded and it adds Rory O’Connor on drums. She recently moved to Cambridge and is now playing locally in places like the Lizard Lounge, Toad, and Johnny D’s.

Dave: Frondescence has five really great songs on it and a range of styles. How did you write them?

Nicole: My ideal approach to writing songs (the way that the better songs tend to get written) involves a primarily unconscious process. Of course there are many times when I’ll sit down with the intention of writing a song with a particular characteristic: maybe something more upbeat or poetic or bluesy. But most of the time, I try not to force it. There is a certain feeling I get sometimes when I know a good song is about to be written; it’s almost like the song is already there and I just have to bring it to life by putting music and words to it. This often means that I won’t write for a month and then will write four songs in a week or two. Inspiration can be funny like that.

Dave: You seem to always be working a couple or three melodic lines between the chord progressions you are playing and what you are singing. How deliberate is that and do you think of your voice as an instrument in that process?

Nicole: I am not really consciously thinking of particular harmonies between piano and voice; most of the time that sort of happens naturally, although in general, I absolutely do think of my voice as an instrument. I like to add melodic lines which don’t have any words to a lot of songs because it can give the music an extra layer.

Dave: There are some songs where you just jam the lyrics in – literally. You sing so quickly and fluidly on some songs – I get the impression that you have a lot to say and really can’t get it all out in five tracks.

Nicole: You are absolutely right. I do have so much to say, and it’s hard getting it all out! I think a lot about what I need to say and what words to use to get my point across. The Beatles were absolute masters of this. Lately I’ve been reading a lot of Haiku. Haiku are amazing because they can say so much in three lines and this is something I am trying to work on in my own writing.

Dave: How do you approach writing lyrics and do you feel tension about trying to say all that you need to say within a particular song or chorus?

Nicole: I’m very interested and in love with poetry, which has a huge influence on my lyrics – especially Frondescence. Those lyrics came before the music and began in sonnet form after I read an Edna St. Vincent Millay poem. If I can’t finish the lyrics to a song, I’ll usually just let it rest until something comes along. Sometimes I’ll wake up in the middle of the night and get it, other times it takes months. But all of the songs that are on the EP were lyrics that sort of came fast and furious, like I needed to say those things.

Dave: I believe you wrote all the lyrics and music for the songs on the CD. How does working with Jesse and Rory influence what you originally envisioned?

Nicole: I did write all of the lyrics and music for those songs. Usually the more conscious part comes around when I bring the songs to Jesse. We tend to go over the song together and try to come up with something that compliments it. He is really incredible at quickly learning the song (he has a great ear) and he’ll come up with an initial bass line. When he gets added into the mix, songs definitely get taken to a different level. Usually the lyrics and general progression won’t change, but oftentimes we’ll change around the form a little bit or add a different ending. Rory lives in Brooklyn, so we don’t get to play with him as much as we’d like. Usually the songs are pretty much finished when we take them to him, but he is a phenomenal musician and a lot of the times when he plays a beat to a song, it changes my initial perception of how the song should sound.

Dave: How about Frondescence?

Nicole: Frondescence was a song that changed a lot from the initial version to recording; when we brought it into the studio, our engineer added backwards reverb onto it (which is what you hear especially at the end on the vocals), and it was really fun to hear the song transform.

Dave: You cover a number of different themes in these songs and you don’t treat them casually but with some depth.

Nicole: When it comes to putting lyrics and music together (sometimes the music comes first, sometimes the lyrics come first, and sometimes they come together) I am very intent on getting out and working through whatever intense thought or emotion or situation is going on in my mind at the moment. Writing music is an outlet for me to figure out things about myself. All of the songs are absolutely true in some way or another; they are extensions of who I am, good and bad, in the truest form I can produce.

Dave: Thank you so much for sharing this with us tonight.

Nicole: You’re welcome, and thanks again for your interest and your support.

Nicole Berke will be playing Toad on December 28th and January 24th (Toad has no cover). She’ll be at the Lizard Lounge on January 3rd and in Providence at Jake’s Bar and Grill on January 28th.