Today we’re turning the spotlight on Ithaca, New York’s Rose Alaimo; producer, songwriter, one-woman-band. Her most recent release A Place to Go When You Need to Hide was one of my favourites of 2023, so I had to reach out and pester her about how it all came together. We get into songwriting, learning instruments as you need to, home recording necessities and the challenges of being a solo indie artist.
CF: A Place To Go When You Need To Hide arrived in 2023, a self-produced production in which you take the reins on every instrument. How do you prepare or begin a project that you know will be so all encompassing?
RA: With a lot of trepidation! LOL!! 🙂 Honestly, before starting a new album I do get a little stressed. It just feels like such a massive mountain to climb, and it’s always most intimidating at the start. And, to be honest, I never know exactly what I am headed for when I begin. I always have a few songs ready but never the whole album or even really the theme (I have a thing for creating concept albums). I’m just starting album four now so I’m able to see the pattern… and this time around I am trying hard to trust the process and have faith that, once I get moving, new songs and paths will present themselves as I move forward. It has always been the case and I hope that trajectory works this time around as well. 🙂 So I guess I prepare with a lot of self-talk about taking one step at a time and trying to not look too far ahead.
CF: How long did the album take to put together from its inception?
RA: My last two albums took about two years each to create. One or two of the songs were written many years ago, but I did need to tweak and update them, particularly the lyrics, to suit the album story on “A Place to Go When You Need to Hide.”
CF: Do you have a particular way you like to begin the songwriting or production process?
RA: Not really? As far as songwriting, I feel like what I do is slightly unstructured and often not entirely under my control. I never, ever sit down to write a song with an instrument in my hands. It feels like the noise from the instrument is so loud that I can’t hear the song in my head. So generally the way it works for me is I will be hiking, or washing dishes, or often I will be asleep and dreaming, and a really cool song will just pop into my head. That’s my songwriting process. The biggest struggle for me is getting it out into the world as good as it sounds in my head LOL! Often I do sit and intentionally work on a bridge or some detail of the song, but the rest seems to pop in out of nowhere so I can’t take credit for any particular ways to begin the process.
As far as the production, this part is a bit more structured as I do have a partner for this part of it. I created my last two albums under mentorship from producer Jamie Hill (Department of Energy Management, Tacoma, WA). After my first album I knew I needed help with sound engineering, and was introduced to Jamie through artist Ben Shaw. Jamie knew I wanted to learn more about production so I could eventually do it myself and, rather than producing my albums himself, kindly offered to mentor me through the production of my work as I created it. So I will finish writing a song, record it in my home studio, and when I have it as good as I can make it, I send him an mp3. He writes back giving me ideas of what to improve, I make the changes, and we continue like this until we are both happy with it and then he masters the final project in his studio. In the process, I learn A TON about sound engineering and my songs come out sounding way better. It’s an awesome process and I am eternally grateful to have met Jamie.
CF: Did you go into this album knowing what songs would make the final cut and then produce the record, or are you someone that builds a pool of songs first and then decides later what best fits the theme or message?
RA: I definitely am not someone who has all the songs done when I begin HAHA! I wish I could be, but it’s just not how it works for me. Like I said above, I generally have a few ideas for songs, one or two that are pretty much done, and a vague idea of what I want the album to be like, and then when the voice of the Muse in my head starts to nag me (“Um… you have all these ideas? Why aren’t you putting them into the world!? HELLO?!?!?!?!”) I go into the studio and start working on the first song I have ready. In the past, once that’s done, the next step presents itself. I struggle with anxiety, and the creation of new music is always a really good lesson in ways to manage that. It’s just one step in front of the other and having faith that there will always be a next step that appears.
CF: How much time do you typically give yourself between finishing a new recording and beginning to mix it, or are you someone that mixes as you go?
RA: I generally track a song- get all the drums programmed, play all the guitars and basses and put whatever else in, then do the vocals- and then mix it. I do a bit of mixing as I track but the bulk of it comes after the tracks are in. Sometimes, after it’s pretty well mixed, I’ll add something else if need be.
CF: The instrumentation on this record covers a lot of ground, from guitars to keys, theremini and banjo, mandolin and midi instruments. When did you start learning instruments and what did you start with?
RA: I had a few months of piano lessons when I was 5 or 6 which I LOVED, and my teacher believed I had great promise, but the lessons ended when we moved out of state. When I was 13 I learned the bass and quickly became absolutely obsessed with music. I tore through every CD in the house, teaching myself all the bass parts on them LOL! From there I started singing to the songs I was playing bass to. I wanted to be a guitarist because I could not write on bass and I tried and quit three times because I couldn’t play barre chords haha! But at 16 I committed to learning it, bought a Soundgarden song book, and taught myself to play guitar by learning the songs in the book. The other instruments came later and only as needed. About 10 years ago I found myself somehow fronting a contradance band. They needed a mandolin player and asked me to do it even though I had never played mandolin before LOL so I bought a mandolin and learned it. I was hearing some banjo parts in two of the songs on my new album so I asked around if anyone I knew had a banjo I could borrow and then learned the parts I was hearing well enough to record them. At this point, I learn a new instrument as I need it LOL! If I need a theremini part, like in the solo for “The Dark of Light,” I’ll find one and figure it out. It is a SUPER fun challenge and keeps things interesting for me. 🙂
CF: This is one of the most well produced solo efforts I’ve had the pleasure of hearing in the last year, but I feel like you still sort of shy away from calling yourself a producer. Your Twitter bio has you claiming you’re still in training, but I think you’re miles ahead of many. Can we geek out for a sec and talk about what you use to put everything together? What’s your recording rig like?
RA: Aw, this is super kind of you, and makes me feel really good! 🙂 Objectively, I think I am at a stage where I could put out music that I produced myself and it would sound OK, but it would still not be nearly as good as the stuff I am able to do with Jamie’s guidance. It probably never will be because he is literally amazing LOL! But for now I still have so much to learn from him and I still consider myself quite the student. 🙂
YES for geeking out! I use Reaper, and I LOVE IT for a million reasons. I have a small Focusrite Scarlett interface that has been a real workhorse. It’s a pretty simple rig which I like, and it’s all done on a MacBook Pro laptop. Recently most of my tracks have been recorded with a Shure sm57. I play as many live instruments as I can and tend to record guitars through miced cabinets rather than using DI and plugins because I lean toward being a purist and you can’t beat a good tube amp sound LOL! But, I do use EZDrummer2 (and now Superior Drummer 3) to program the drums from scratch. I can play, but I am way out of practice and not nearly seasoned enough to pull off a studio recording with the parts that I write. For my strings and synth sounds I use a MIDI keyboard and all kinds of sound libraries. My favorite sound library, however, is probably Spitfire Audio. They are a company based in the UK with some of the BEST libraries I have yet heard, and their libraries are insanely inexpensive. Many are even free! I’m obsessed with them. 🙂
CF: Did you take this record to a studio or is it all home recording?
RA: All home recording! And honestly my studio isn’t really all that dressed up either LOL I don’t have soundproofing or acoustic panels or anything like that. Not yet, anyway. 🙂 I did all of it in my home studio except the mastering, which was done by Jamie at his studio in Tacoma, WA.
CF: What’s one piece of gear you can’t produce without?
RA: My Auratone cube speaker. LOL!! When I started this most recent album, Jamie told me that I had to do a better job of making sure my work was mono compatible. He reminded me that most Bluetooth devices play in mono, meaning a large chunk of listeners would be having a mono experience with my songs. He explained that the best way for me to ensure a good mono sound was to spend a lot of time in the mixing phase working in mono through one of these old Auratone speakers. So I went and tried to find one… apparently the older ones are the gold standard for this, and I was appalled by the cost. I’m like, “You want me to spend HOW MUCH on a dirty old SPEAKER?!?!” LOL!!! 🤣 But I trusted him, invested in one, and I have literally never regretted it. It not only has my songs much more mono compatible but it makes my stereo mixes SO MUCH BETTER and I arrive at better stereo mixes SO MUCH FASTER.
CF: Do you have a favorite producer or someone who’s sound or style you look to for inspiration?
RA: Not particularly, though I do generally like Daniel Lanois’ work. I feel like I mainly identify as a writer. I’m learning production in order to get my songs into the world as good as they sound in my head. I enjoy it a lot, but it is more a means to an end for me if that makes sense? In my 20s I identified mainly as a performer. I LOVED playing live and would do it as many nights a week as I could. At this point in my life, my favorite thing is to focus on writing and arranging. I definitely look to different artists’ writing for inspiration but I don’t really turn to a recording specifically for production inspiration unless I’m mixing and need a frame of reference or something.
CF: In speaking to the title of the album, when you’re feeling particularly overwhelmed or anxious, how do you unwind and center yourself? Other than music, how do you decompress?
RA: I find that exercise really helps. I love to hike in the forest and do yoga in particular. I have a meditation practice which helps especially if I am really regular with it. I also find that I center really well in my vegetable garden haha! I have a massive veggie garden on my property and grow most of my own food- it probably takes up about half of my lot. I find the cyclical nature of it really grounding and beautiful. I love spending time in it planting one seed at a time and thinking, “There’s no way this will grow in this rocky soil!” And then it does! Seeing this is always a good exercise in faith in something outside of myself. Like, it feels like I can let go and not have to take care of everything and things will still be ok and function (or grow) as they should.
CF: What would you say is the most challenging part about being a solo artist today?
RA: For me the hardest part is the promo LOL! There are SO MANY OTHER artists out there that it is really hard to stand out, especially for someone who does not particularly LIKE standing out much LOL! To me, streaming platforms were both a blessing and curse. A blessing because how ELSE would someone in Africa or India hear my music? But a curse because it allowed so many OTHER people to put their music out there that things became a bit saturated. This time around I decided to hire a PR company and have been working with Shauna at Shameless PR. She has been AMAZING and it has been super nice having someone help out so much with getting my work heard.
CF: Have you begun producing other artists yet or is that something you’re interested in pursuing further?
RA: Yes, I have! A few years ago I actually left my job (I am a part-time relief veterinarian) after a massive burnout and supported myself doing music full-time for a while. I was super lucky to have a bunch of session work lined up (which I LOVE doing!) and I was recording and producing demos for artists who were mainly writers and doing some mixing for a few others as well. This in addition to playing a bunch of live solo shows was, shockingly, enough to keep me going financially while I sorted things out. I loved doing it and keep thinking of officially offering it more, it just becomes a time issue since taking on other artists’ production cuts into the time I have to do my own work. I am open to taking on the right project though and occasionally do a song or two for someone who asks.
CF: You’re from Ithaca, NY – locally, who can you recommend to us from your music scene?
RA: My live drummer is a good friend of mine and he is a BANGIN’ jazz guitarist. He is not quite up and running his own live shows yet but when he starts he’s going to be something to see. His name is Colwyn Gulliford. There is another small indie named Jaclyn Marie (this is her artist name on Spotify, etc) that I met randomly and was blown away by her voice and her songs. I also just met and have started having fun improv jams with a local artist named Stan Stewart who is an amazing pianist, vocalist, and producer.
CF: What’s the best live concert you’ve seen recently? Who was it and where?
RA: This is going to sound really weird but I’m not one to go to shows much LOL! The last show I saw was a year and a half ago and it was Robert Plant and Alison Krauss in Canandaigua NY and it was amazing! Prior to that the best show I saw was Guster at the State Theater in Ithaca a few years ago and it was THE MOST FUN show I have ever attended. 🙂
CF: What else have you got coming up for 2024? Shows, more writing?
RA: My big decision for 2024 is that I am going to be really changing up the shows that I do play. Let me clarify- I do not have a band, so when I have played out the last few years it has just been me on acoustic guitar, which is not an ideal OR rewarding way to present my work. I found I just was not enjoying any part of the process so finally decided I would cut it out indefinitely. I AM, however, in the process of getting a little acoustic trio together to do my originals and THAT has been fun, so I am hoping we can get it officially moving so any live shows will be in band form. 🙂 The other realization is that playing live has lost its luster for me over the last ten years or so- I really just want to write and record, so I’m finally admitting this to myself and am going to focus mainly on that. That being said, I officially started my next album this week (yay!) and also have had this wild itch to do an ambient side-project focused on piano and strings, so hopefully I can get both of those simmering soon! 🙂
CF: Thanks very much Rose!
Keep up with Rose Alaimo by following her social media channels.
Looking for a little more? Here are some recommendations based on the interview.
Crooked Forest 