One year ago, Erin Costelo got a band together and spent 10 days in a wooden house in Nova Scotia, determined to record a new album. That album, Sweet Marie, was released Oct. 19, 2018, and Costelo is about to spend another memorable January week touring Saskatchewan. She will be in Yorkton on Jan. 20 at the Anne Portnuff Theatre as part of the Yorkton Arts Council鈥檚 Stars for Saskatchewan series.
This tour will be one of new experiences for Costelo, as she travels to towns where she has never been before, takes the stage in new venues and meets new people across the province.
Recording her most recent album was also a new experience, as Costelo decided to take a new approach to recording. Normally recording her albums over a long period of time, Costelo admits she could drag things out over years as she recorded, re-recorded and found studio time here and there.
鈥淎s I started to produce other people鈥檚 records and they couldn鈥檛 do it over two years, they had to do it in a short period of time, I started to realize that taking longer didn鈥檛 make it better.鈥�
The challenge was to record 10 songs in 10 days with a new band. To keep herself honest, she would also invite a film crew into the process, with Amelia Curran directing. A songwriter as well as a documentarian, Curran was the right choice for the project because she would know what Costelo and the band would be going through, Costelo said.
鈥淚 was filled with anxiety before it happened. But Amelia, because she鈥檚 recorded many albums herself, I knew she would be really sensitive to that. I also knew that she would know what to be looking for and looking at, in terms of camera angles and making people feel as though they were in the room... Really, as soon as we were recording, the cameras were on top of us. What you watch are takes that are used on the album. But... you just forget that they鈥檙e there after a while.鈥�
The band was new, and a bit of a leap of faith for Costelo, as she had not worked with the majority of the musicians before.
鈥淲e had 10 days to make this record. What if I hated everyone? What if the music wasn鈥檛 coming together? There was lots of anxiety leading up to it. But once we started it was incredible, and these people are my favorite people in the world right now.鈥�
The ten days wound up being nine days of recording, when a technical glitch wiped out a day鈥檚 sessions. Costelo believes that solidified the band鈥檚 bond, as they rushed to get the songs recorded again.
鈥淚 think that because the musicians were so good, and there was this imperative, we had to get this done, it bonded us together really well. Nobody had a freak out or a melt-down.鈥�
The album was also recorded in a unique location, a home with a unique wooden interior. She believes it was like being at camp with the band, leading to a relaxed feel to the album.
鈥淚t looked really great and it sounded even better, I really lucked out.鈥�
While she admits there was the temptation to go back and make changes聽 鈥� 鈥渨ho would ever know鈥� if she went back and did overdubs, for example 鈥� she鈥檚 glad she resisted the temptation and stuck to the rules she set out for herself.
鈥淚 am really happy I left it alone, it feels like a snapshot of a moment of time.鈥�
This tour will be a bit different than the recorded album, as Costelo has rearranged the songs for guitar and piano, and is touring with only her guitarist and partner Clive MacNutt. She describes the shows in Saskatchewan as more intimate and conversational.
鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of like these songs get born multiple times through the course of promoting the album, which is what keeps it interesting and fun.鈥�
Touring with her partner can be frustrating, she jokes, but she wouldn鈥檛 want to tour with anyone else.
鈥淪ometimes you really want to tear each other鈥檚 hair out, but most of the time it鈥檚 really comforting. This can be a lonely life, touring solo can be emotionally pretty draining. Clive is the biggest supporter of what I do and the biggest champion. He鈥檚 pretty great to have on the road, and he鈥檚 a pretty great musician, that doesn鈥檛 hurt either... Knowing that there鈥檚 someone out there who always has your back is pretty great.鈥�
Costelo plans on continuing to challenge herself with her next album, and continue to try new things on record.
