Words by Carol Wright | Photographer: Tanya Long
We got to chat with singer/songwriter Caitlin Quisenberry about her song “Get Loud With Me” and her advice for aspiring singers.
When did performing become a passion of yours?
Singing has been a passion of mine since I was old enough to remember, starting in church (my grandpa is a Southern Baptist minister). That passion has followed me my entire life. But my passion for performing is much more recent. When I was younger, I was actually very shy and would get nervous to sing in front of others. That started to change at the age of 14, when I was offered the opportunity to record with Grammy Award-winning producer, Robert Cutarella, for an EP. The following year, I won a golden ticket on American Idol and went to Hollywood. I think that catapulted my confidence to enjoy singing in front of others.
From there, I won Miss Colorado’s Outstanding Teen, as I sang to a sold out crowd at Denver’s Ellie Caulkins Opera House. I received a standing ovation, and that was a very pivotal moment for me. I had never had that kind of connection with an audience before. In that moment, I was filled with passion to perform. This helped me decide to put vocal performance in classical music as my focus at Pepperdine University. Once there, I was given many performance opportunities, one being to sing lead vocals at the Harbor Unplugged Bluegrass Concert in Smothers Theater. I sang with Nashville based musicians and the crowd really got into the concert. I had so much fun. My love for performing country music was born on that stage.
What is your songwriting process?
My songwriting process is quite different than most. Because I’m not proficient in playing an instrument, I use my voice for everything – song lyrics, melodies, chorus, etc. I sing the words as I’m writing them. Some write a song like a poem, then put their lyrics to music. I do it all together at the same time. It works for me because there are times I find the perfect word for a line, but don’t like the way it sounds when its sung, so I come up with another line. Every writer has their own unique way of doing things that work for them. I record everything I sing, put it together, then take it to my producer and he charts out the instruments underneath it. I have a songbook that I put all my ideas into. Now that I’m in Nashville, I’ve met some great writers who I will be working with – so that will be an entirely new adventure for me to write with others.
Tell us a bit about your recent single “Get Loud With Me”. What inspired the lyrics?
“Get Loud With Me” exudes energy and quickly creates an environment to have fun. It’s a song guaranteed to get the crowd dancing or to help you finish a tough workout. The lyrics are inspired to send import life messages, like be yourself, don’t let haters get you down, take care of people who are part of your journey, and life’s clock is ticking by, so live it to it’s fullest! This is cleverly paired with beats found in a nightclub, creating that energy felt deep in your soul. After we cut it, I had my producer add in a banjo to give it my country flair. I love the way it turned out with the genres of pop, country, and EDM perfectly blending.
How involved are you when it comes to the creative process behind making music vidoes for your songs? What has it been like working on the “Get Loud With Me” music video?
I’m very involved in the planning and implementation of my music videos. With my first, “Blue”, I wrote the storyline and planned out every detail. With “Imogene”, I wanted a cartoon to tell the story, so on that one, I gave the cartoonist the gist of what I had in mind and he took that and really got creative with it. Now with my newest, “Get Loud With Me”, I had envisioned partying in a nightclub, but the producer I hired, Daniel Catton, had a completely different idea that didn’t follow the lyrics, but instead followed the cool vibe of the song. He created something way out of the box.
He is a producer/director in LA, and I love his work, so I completely trusted him and let him have creative control. He also brought on an incredible cinematographer, also based LA, Moises Barba. The video is in editing now, so I haven’t seen the completed project yet. Filming the video was so much fun. Some of the highlights were driving my jeep around as I sang my song with a camera tied to my hood. Then we (me and my co-star, Will Parks) jumped into Rutledge Waterfall for one of the scenes. The water was absolutely – take your breath away – freezing! That part was a little stressful because we jumped in with our clothes on and only got ONE TAKE (since we were then soaking wet!).
During quarantine how have you kept yourself motivated to continue creating music?
I didn’t release my first single, “Blue” until February 2020, with its music video that followed, by videographer, Monico Candalaria. Since then, I’ve released 4 more songs, “SOS”, “Let Love Die”, “Imogene” and my newest, “Get Loud With Me”. Once the quarantine started, everything I had booked with my band was cancelled as well as my plans of shooting the music videos for “SOS” and “Let Love Die”. However, “Imogene” was able to be completed because it was a cartoon. Hollywood cartoonist, Tom Schneider did an amazing job on that one. Just recently, I was able to shoot “Get Loud With Me”, and this week, I’m performing at Pucketts in Leapers Fork, TN! This will be my first live performance since moving to Nashville from Denver two months ago.
During quarantine, my life was still very busy. I was a full-time nanny and since that was considered an “essential job”, I was able to continue working. On top of that, I was still releasing songs and connecting and building a fan base through social media. I did live streaming concerts on Facebook and Instagram, posted singing videos, did Instagram takeovers, and used any extra time I had to write songs. I wrote my next song to release within the next couple months, titled, “One Line at a Time”.
What advice do you have for aspiring singers?
Be authentic, true to who you are, and the type of artist you want to be. Social media is a tool you must use to connect with your fan base and get your music circulated, but remember your main focus is to put out good content. Then be patient, and let the other pieces fall into place. Study and learn from other artists who inspire you. Always be a student and keep learning; this business is one of the fastest-changing, and to stay on top of it and be relevant, you must adapt (like artists did during quarantine).
Advice I just got from a very accomplished songwriter today was, “creativity is an act of courage- build up your brave”. So put yourself out there and take risks. I came to Nashville to give it my all. I never wanted to look back on my life and think, “what if I had…” Lastly, always be very appreciative of anyone who shares your music, writes an article about you, or gives you an interview. They are who give your music wings. With that being said, I want to thank you, Carol Wright, for interviewing me for Nyota Magazine.
