The former Shakespearean actress turned folk singer/songwriter Amy Speace rooted in East Nashville six years ago and this month releases her sixth full length album, That Kind of Girl, wrought with intimacy and heartache. A follow up to her critically acclaimed How To Sleep in A Stormy Boat, we took a moment to chat with Speace about the inspiration and collaboration on her March 3 release.
Your newest album, That Kind of Girl, is a very vulnerable look at your life after the end of a toxic relationship. Looking back, can you describe that 'kind of girl'?
She's in a situation that is overwhelming, but is also a pivot point in her life. It's like I wrote in "Three Days," 'No easy way out, no way but through.' I mean, life is full of moments of terrible grace. Inside the mess, we all want to run away, move to a different city and start over, lie about things, hide our heads in the sand, drink copious amounts of wine and fall asleep drooling on our couches watching sad Meg Ryan movies wondering why things aren't working.
I was that girl. I drank too much when I was confused and angry and sad over a relationship. I hurt people to get what I wanted. I walked through my life pretending to the outer world I had it together, knowing it was somewhat of a lie. Until I was tired of being tired and asked for help, which was the hardest thing for a self-proclaimed independent "I got it, leave me alone" kind of woman to do.
The journey of the girl on this record, of course, mirrors my own, but the reason I wanted to write about it wasn't to air my own autobiography and out myself as anything other than a member of the human race. I know so many women and men who have told me the same story. Different characters, different drugs, different boys or girls, different townsbut the same story of filling the void with toxic people and toxic behavior and getting stuck there.
For me, where I landed on the other side of the drama, it took a few years of deep deep soul searching, painful honesty, and a commitment to change. I didn't do it alone, that's for sure. So I know that hardship will come, because it always does, that's life. But I know that I have different tools now to use to get through the hardship and I'm comforted by the precept that 'everything changes.'
Would you share one of your favorite lyrics from the record.
Lyrically speaking, I think my favorite song is "One Man's Love." Maybe because it took so long to write it.
Beth Neilsen Chapman and I got together two years ago and talked about the subject matter, had the title, had the melody and a few lines but got stuck. We got back together in the Spring of 2014, two years later, and hammered it out. It was a hard subject to write aboutan affair, a triangle, a conversation about and to the other woman involvedwhether she's the wife or the mistress, and we took a few different approaches. We couldn't make the protagonist too defensive or too weak. I'm really proud of that lyric. It points the finger at everyone involved and forgives everyone, too.
But I also love the last song on the record, "I Don't Know How to Stop Loving You" because it fell out in about thirty minutes while I was sitting on a borrowed porch in Wimberely, TX with a few days off in between shows. I felt like I was transcribing rather than writing and didn't even realize it was a fully fleshed-out song. I actually almost threw it out! Then I brought it to my songwriting group and realized it was not only done, but that I'd been struggling to write the last thing I needed to sayand that this little song was it.
Talk a little bit about your collaboratorshow have they influenced its sound and direction?
I wanted to write differently for this record than anything I'd done before and so I reached out to people I respect and trust. These were people that really encouraged me to just cut through my own bullshit and fear and lay it out there, like Mary Gauthier, Tim Easton, Rod Picott, Doug and Telisha Williams, Jon Vezner. Since all the co-writers are all friends of mine, they helped me stay direct and truthful, rather than holding the subject matter at arms length with a lot of distancing poetry.
Neilson [Hubbard] is my main collaborator and has been a kind of architect of sound and heart for me for the past three records. We knew we wanted a very honest record, and to make the voice and its imperfections and vulnerabilities the main character. That's why he didn't let me play guitar or piano on the record. The band pretty much learned the songs right before we recorded. I'd play them acoustically, they'd chart them out, we'd talk a bit about groove and tempo, and then we'd get in the room and play together.
That's the main thing. I wanted to catch the moment. Rather than build the track, we played live, so in terms of my singing, I'm responding to everyone in the moment. That was something Neilson and I both wanted for this record.
You recorded live in Neilson Hubbard's East Nashville studio, describe the experience.
Neilson's studio is super vibey. Warm and cozy. As long as the Napoleon Dynamite bobblehead doll is there, things are a-ok. Plus, it's so close to my own house I could walk, so I could literally show up in my pajamas! We usually started early in the morning and took a lunch breakfor the last record it was all about queso dip at Las Maracas. This record we did curry at Thai Phooket. I think spicy food leads to good recordings.
Any places in town you like to go that always lift your spirits? I live in East Nashville so I'm partial to places over here. I am a regular at East Nashville Hot Yoga. I take my dog to Shelby Park Dog Run and I run and go for walks in the Shelby Park Bottoms. I love to hike in Percy Warner, too. I meet friends at Sip or at Barista Parlor for coffee/tea. My favorite restaurants here are Lockland Table, Mas Tacos Por Favor, Thai Phooket. My favorite hang was The Family Washsuper bummed they had to move and I'm looking forward to the new location! I also love to go to the Five Spot for music, if I'm in town I love to go for Derek Hoke's $2 Tuesdays show.