← Takin' A Walk - Music History with Buzz Knight
Takin' A Walk - Music History with Buzz Knight
"Strings of Independence" : Rising GlassNote Records Artist Cecilia Castleman"
00:14:37
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- [00:00]
Cecilia Castleman
Please welcome aboard the Johnson family.
- [00:03]
Buzz Knight
The whole fam's here for the Disney cruise. So you know, we came to play. And listen, the adults are gonna have a ball. First we're chilling in the infinity pool, onto massages at Sense's spa. Then gliding into Star Wars Hyperspace lounge for a toast. We're even gonna kick back with Mickey on Disney's private island. That's how we get down. Cause Disney Cruise Line is where we came to play. I'm Grant and I'm your new Bachelor. ABC Monday.
- [00:34]
Grant
Is this real? Is he real?
- [00:35]
Unknown
The Bachelor is back and the ladies.
- [00:37]
Buzz Knight
Are head over heels.
- [00:38]
Cecilia Castleman
Tall, handsome, smart. He's perfect.
- [00:41]
Buzz Knight
It's an all new season of romance.
- [00:43]
Unknown
I'm 110% ready to fall in love.
- [00:46]
Buzz Knight
My love story is gonna happen. And of course, drama.
- [00:49]
Cecilia Castleman
These other girls are dating my boyfriend.
- [00:51]
Grant
You act like you don't care. He knows how I feel.
- [00:54]
Buzz Knight
I did not know how hard this was gonna be. The Bachelor premieres Monday, 8, 7 Central on ABC and stream on Hulu.
- [01:00]
Cecilia Castleman
Where'd you get those shoes? Easy.
- [01:03]
Grant
They're from dsw.
- [01:04]
Cecilia Castleman
Because DSW has the exact right shoes for whatever you're into right now. You know, like the sneakers that make.
- [01:10]
Grant
Office hours feel like happy hour, the.
- [01:13]
Cecilia Castleman
Boots that turn grocery aisles into runways, and all the styles that show off the many sides of you. From daydreamer to multitasker and everything in between. Because you do it all in really great shoes. Find a shoe for every you at.
- [01:27]
Grant
Your DSW store or dsw.com right now.
- [01:32]
Buzz Knight
Get up to 25% off select online storage solutions. Put heavy duty HDX totes to good use, protecting what's important to you. This solid impact resistant design prevents cracking and the clear base and sides make items easy to find even when the totes are stacked. Find select online shelving and tote storage up to 25% off at the Home Depot. To organize every room in your home from your garage to your attic, visit homedepot.com outdoors. Get more done taking a walk.
- [02:02]
Cecilia Castleman
It's an out of body experience for me. I don't really know what I'm doing. I just have like the pen and the paper and I feel like it's a, it's, it's a spiritual thing, you know, no matter what you believe in, I feel like there's some. I always write on the floor. I don't know why. I think it's just energies and like, you know, something moving through you. But it always happens at the weirdest times and you never know when when it's kind of fun, you never know, like, if you're gonna write, you know, the best thing you've ever written someday. I think that's why I love it so much, because there's so much wonder in it, you know?
- [02:34]
Buzz Knight
Welcome to another episode of Taking a Walk with your host, Buzz Knight. Buzz speaks with musicians of all genres, from rising stars to hall of Famers and everyone in between. Today, Buzz is joined by a rising star from Glass Note Records who hails from Nashville, Tennessee. Cecilia Castleman is one of the most intriguing voices in music today. She's been making waves with her introspective songwriting and mesmerizing performances. She has new music produced by the legendary Dawn Was, and she's here to talk with Buzz on Taking a Walk right now.
- [03:11]
Unknown
Cecilia, thanks for being on the Taking a Walk podcast. So nice to meet you.
- [03:15]
Cecilia Castleman
So nice to meet you, too. Thanks for having me.
- [03:18]
Unknown
So how did growing up in Nashville influence your musical journey?
- [03:26]
Cecilia Castleman
Gosh, so much. I think I just. You grow up around some of the best songs in the world and some of the best writers, and I think it, you know, being in Nashville from the start, it makes you realize how you got to be on top of things. When you get into a room with people, you got to know what you're doing, or at least fake it if you don't. And so I think the musicianship was so high, and so it taught me to be hopefully, really good at my craft and always, you know, to be, you know, better than I was the day before. Nashville's very much so like that, and.
- [04:02]
Unknown
It'S a great place to sort of go to school, if you will, on the music business on so many aspects. There's the university side of things. There's so much of the history there as well. What parts of the history in Nashville have really influenced you?
- [04:19]
Cecilia Castleman
Gosh, I mean, you can drive down the road and all the studios. RCA is a big one. They recorded everyone. Elvis, Dolly Parton, Chet Atkins, all the records that I grew up loving and still love. When I drive by that place, you know, I get, like, the jitters because it's such a cool and inspiring place.
- [04:42]
Unknown
You talking about the Quonset hut?
- [04:44]
Cecilia Castleman
Yeah. The RCA Victor suit?
- [04:46]
Unknown
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's. Have you been inside?
- [04:50]
Cecilia Castleman
Yes. Yeah.
- [04:52]
Unknown
Did you. Do you feel a aura, a spirit in there?
- [04:57]
Cecilia Castleman
Yeah, there's. There's such a presence and just all the pictures on the walls and. Yeah, it's such a beautiful, beautiful place.
- [05:06]
Unknown
Yeah, that one is a special one, but there's so many special places. The Ryman, obviously, is like going to church, right? I mean, it's pretty, pretty incredible. What were some of the earliest shows that you saw in Nashville that had great impact on you?
- [05:22]
Cecilia Castleman
My mom took me to see Stevie Nicks. She took me to see Tom Petty on his last run. I've seen Darrell Scott. He's incredible. Gosh, there's so, so many. Allison Krause. I got to go to Willie Nelson's, one of his birthday tribute parties at Bridgestone, and everyone played. Gosh, there's so many. And there's some that, you know, happen every night. You go down to the Bluebird, and. And there's incredible writers who play Riders rounds every night. So there's. There's always something.
- [05:57]
Unknown
Could you have imagined when you saw Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers play that a few years later that you'd be putting out music and Benmont Tench from the Heartbreakers would be on your album?
- [06:14]
Cecilia Castleman
No, never in a million years. No. That was such. That was like, one of the coolest days of my life. Yeah. When Don west, who produced the record, we were in there and he was like, this needs, like organ. And I'm like, okay, who do you want? And he goes, bend my attention. I'm like. And I just remember thinking, like, can I be there? You know, because I didn't, you know, they're all so big. I never know. But, yeah, we got to go. And I remember seeing the coolest thing to me, which is so dumb looking back, was the, you know, the reserve parking spots. It said Don was Cecilia Kaufman in Bedmont Tench. And that was like the coolest thing to me. I have pictures of it on my phone. But, yeah, he. He's the best. It was such an honor to just watch him do that.
- [07:00]
Unknown
And how did you get connected with Don was who produced your album? He's a legend.
- [07:07]
Cecilia Castleman
Yeah, he is. I always knew I wanted don't to make my record. I would, like, look at the backs of CDs growing up, and his name would always be on it. So it seems, you know, sort of a long shot, but I was like, what the heck? So I asked my manager, and he sent Don some of my music. And I don't know how it happened or why it happened, but, yeah, we got to go in for a month and make a record.
- [07:36]
Unknown
So. Are there particular learnings from Don was that you picked up that you could share?
- [07:43]
Cecilia Castleman
Sure. He's very much so about the artist's craft, and he doesn't try to change anything. He Just tries to enhance. He's very good. It's almost like herding cattle. Like, he's just very good at his presence in the room, but he's not. He just sits back and sort of watches and he sits in the room when we track live and he just sits there with his blueberries and no shoes and he's. I know there's no one like Don. Those were the main things is he's just kind of an observer with little touches here and there. And he knows. And he knows how to. He's so kind. He knows how to say things. And everyone feels good when you're in a room with Don. And he's good at lifting spirits and lifting the music.
- [08:29]
Unknown
A bit of a Zen master, I might say.
- [08:32]
Cecilia Castleman
Very much so, yeah.
- [08:34]
Unknown
I've never had the good fortune, but I've loved everything he's been involved with throughout his career. Can you walk us through what for you is a typical songwriting process?
- [08:47]
Cecilia Castleman
Gosh, I mean, it's different every time. I mean, some nights I'll just won't be able to sleep and I'll pick up with a guitar. Some nights I know if I have an anxiety attack, I know a song's coming about an hour later. It's like those kinds of things. It's a super quick process and I don't really know how to explain it. It's just sort of there. But normally it always starts with a guitar and some sort of melodic hook. And then I try to mumble. I'm a big mumbler. I just record when I'm mumbling and then I listen back and figure out what I'm trying to say. It's super subconscious. Yeah. I always write with my heart first and then I go back and I edit.
- [09:27]
Unknown
Well, you are a guest on our companion podcast, Music Saved Me. And it feels like what you're talking about in terms of that process is kind of the mystical aspects of what music is about. Is that correct?
- [09:45]
Cecilia Castleman
Oh, yeah, yeah. I don't know where it comes from or why, but. But there's. There's plenty of reasons.
- [09:51]
Unknown
Do you think, to some degree. You know, they talk about athletes who get into the zone and they're. They're sort of. Their subconscious really takes over their athleticism. Do you feel there's a similar zone of performance or writing that takes place?
- [10:12]
Cecilia Castleman
For sure. I think it's always like it's an out of body experience for me. I don't really know what I'm doing. I just have the pen and the paper and I feel like It's a spiritual thing no matter what you believe in. I feel like there's some. I always write on the floor. There's some sort of. I don't know why. I think it's just energies and something moving through you. But yeah, it always happens at the weirdest times and you never know when it's kind of fun. You never know if you're gonna write the best thing you've ever written someday. I think that's why I love it so much because there's so much wonder in it.
- [10:53]
Unknown
So let's talk about the new music. Maybe you can highlight some of your favorite songs that are part of the project. Your self tit album.
- [11:03]
Cecilia Castleman
Some of my favorite. Oh gosh, I. I've been living with them for so long. That's kind of a new one every day right now. I, I love. There's a song called Waiting on youn that I, I. It's super guitar heavy and jamming and, and that's mine right now I think. Cuz I'm just raring to go and, and get this record out. But there's a song called Cadillac and then Pick and Lose that closes the record. It's. It's sort of all my secrets are in that song. Like I kind of give everything away at the end.
- [11:40]
Unknown
How do you deal with any moments where you've got creative blocks or you're going through self doubt in a. In a process? How do you sort of break out of that? Do you go take a walk? Do you. How what's the method for you that sort of frees you when you need to be freed?
- [11:59]
Cecilia Castleman
I love to paint. I love to, you know. If I'm not coming up with anything musically my mind's probably on like films or photography or painting or. Films are a big one for me. There's like you know, two that I watch over and over that I. It just keeps. I like to keep my mind just so I don't get blocks. I sort of try to always be taking in something creatively so I always have something to pull from. So I'm lucky at least. And plus too everything's so new to me and I'm lucky that I'm so inspired right now that there's so much to this world that I haven't seen. There's a lot to take in and so I haven't had a lot of blocks recently. Knock on wood. But yeah, if I do it, it's movies.
- [12:46]
Unknown
What are the movies? Just curious.
- [12:48]
Cecilia Castleman
There's two or there's three. I love Call Me by youy Name. I think that's such a beautiful film, and I just. I love the words, and I think it's. It's. It's so beautiful. And I love Dead Poets Society. That's another one that keeps my mind going good while hunting. I love finding Forester. That's a great movie. All them Tootsie, you know, those are like the ones I always watched, I think, as I watched him growing up.
- [13:24]
Unknown
So how do you envision that your evolution as an artist is going to take place?
- [13:31]
Cecilia Castleman
Oh, gosh, that's such a hard question. I think just overall, just being true to who I am and not compromising and. I don't know, I want to make a lot of records. I want to do a lot of things. If I can have people come to my shows and listen to me live, I think that's like, my dream is, like, you know, playing substantial venues and keep that sort of live base going. But I think just me evolving, you know, as a person and growing and getting better and learning about myself and writing better songs, and. I don't know, I think the music will evolve with me, with how I evolve.
- [14:15]
Unknown
You ended up with a tremendous label in Glass Note Records. How did that come about, that you got connected there and ultimately became part of Glass Note?
- [14:27]
Cecilia Castleman
I got a publishing deal when I was 18. I got signed to Big Yellow Dog Music here in Nashville, and that's all thanks to Carla Wallace. She sent my music around to some labels, and I loved Class Note. I thought they were the coolest, and I love so many other artists. And, yeah, that's how all that happened. But it took a hot second to get everything going. But, yeah, I love them. They're the best.
- [14:59]
Unknown
So, in closing, is there anything that you wish you knew when you were first beginning this musical journey that you now know?
- [15:08]
Cecilia Castleman
I wasn't real good on the patience. I was pretty. Still am. I'm very restless, and I don't realize that, you know, things need to take time. And I was just so raring to go. And, like, somebody asked me yesterday, like, what would you tell your younger self back then? And I was like, I wouldn't tell her anything because she wouldn't have listened. But I think it's just that things take time, and they're meant to take time. And I'm 23. I got a long way to go. But, yeah, that's probably it. Just, like, calm down for a second.
- [15:43]
Unknown
Well, you have a tremendous calming force about you in the midst of your brilliant creative force as well. Congratulations. On your new music. Cecilia Kasselman Good luck on it and here's to many more successes and I hope we can have you on as a returning guest and hear about, well, your new collaborations, whoever they might be with and all your brilliance. But thank you so much for being on Taking a Walk. Cecilia thank you.
- [16:14]
Cecilia Castleman
Thanks so much for having me. This was awesome.
- [16:16]
Unknown
Appreciate it.
- [16:19]
Buzz Knight
Thanks for listening to this episode of the Taking a Walk podcast. Share this and other episodes with your friends and follow us so you never miss an episode. Taking a Walk is available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts and wherever you.
- [16:34]
Grant
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- [17:09]
Buzz Knight
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- [17:44]
Grant
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- [18:44]
Buzz Knight
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- [18:50]
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- [18:59]
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- [19:02]
Buzz Knight
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- [19:09]
Buzz Knight
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