The Cara Beth Satalino Interview
Photo: Chester Gwazda
When and where were born? When did you first begin to fall in love with music, more specifically songwriting and the guitar? Was this something that was relevant around your household growing up? Who were some of your earliest influences in your more formative years?
I was born in Bennington, VT and grew up just over the state line in the small rural town of Pittstown, NY. I’m the youngest of three siblings. My dad is a musician, playing fiddle, guitar and mandolin, so I was around music quite a lot growing up. I had dreams of being a songwriter for as long as I can remember, writing lyrics and poetry as soon as I could write. When I was thirteen my dad showed me a few chords on guitar, and from then on I was writing songs all the time and recording them on one of those chunky old Panasonic cassette tape recorders. It was pretty much a lifesaving creative outlet for me at the time. I think my earliest influences were probably the Beatles, REM and the B52’s. REM especially had a big impact on my songwriting style.
Photo: Chester Gwazda
When and where did you see your first show and what ultimately inspired you to pursue a life in music? Prior to releasing music under your own name you’ve played with groups such as Witches, Nana Grizol and Outer Spaces. Can you tell me about these projects and their origin?
My dad played in various groups, so I was watching him play from as far back as I can remember, but the first show I went to without my parents was The Violent Femmes and They Might Be Giants. It was at the SUNY Albany campus and I was 13. I am definitely a TMBG stan. I lived in a very rural town and went to a very small school, so I didn’t really see a lot of my peers making music, or playing in bands. I would drive to go to open mic nights and that led me to get some gigs playing around solo while I was high school. Growing up in a rural environment at a time that was pretty much pre-internet meant I wasn’t exposed to a lot of the music that kids in the suburbs were. So when I got to college and beyond, I sort of found my way into the DIY/Punk world. I started Witches in 2009, or so when I was living in Athens, GA. I wanted to play music with other people. I felt that playing solo was lonely, but in hindsight I think it also scared me so I avoided it. I never played in Nana Grizol, that’s Theo Hilton’s project, but they were friends and took Witches on our first tour. Witches was a scrappy, raw sounding rock trio. I yelled a lot in that band! It was fun and I grew a lot as a musician at that time, just trying new ways of playing and writing for guitar. Then I started Outer Spaces in 2011, as a return to a solo project. In the end it was pretty collaborative, but less pinned-down stylistically than Witches had been.
You released your debut back in ‘06 entitled “Crowded Mouth” on The Tone Library. What was your experience like stepping outside of playing with other folks to just you for the first time? What did you ultimately want to achieve and express with this album with it being the kick off for your career as a songwriter?
It’s actually not my first album. I made another record when I was in high school, though it’s totally out of print now. I guess Crowded Mouth is too, come to think of it. Crowded Mouth I wrote and recorded in college at SUNY Purchase. I was studying music there and was very inspired to write on piano because I had access to the practice rooms there. I taught myself to play and wrote most of that album that way. It was fun to make and it sounds so slick for an early effort because we were using the studios on campus and there was no shortage of time and of great players in the music conservatory who we convinced to play. I was really just experimenting and trying things out at that point. I was able to work on music very intensely with a lot of resources, and it was a great playground that helped me eventually find my voice and I’m grateful for that.
I’d like to jump ahead to your 2024 debut LP with Worried Songs entitled “Little Green”. What was the overall vision and approach to this record and how did you ultimately want to express yourself with this material? You worked with folks such as Dan Kassel, Nicholas Merz and Angie Boylan to help bring this record to life.Would you mind giving some background to songs such as “Wheel Song”, the album’s opener “Warmth Of A Golden Sun”, “Daylight Savings” and “Dandelion Weed”?
I wrote most of “Little Green” in the midst of a lot of personal upheaval that also happened to coincide with “the pandemic”. I found myself with a lot of time to think and my priorities were suddenly so different. My partner Chester and I were both unemployed in 2020 and I had all these songs, some older and some new. Chester is an audio engineer (among other things), so we decided we may never have this kind of free time again so we might as well make a record. I was lucky to call in some favors from friends as well, some remotely and others we masked up and got in the same room with. “Wheel Song” is a favorite of mine on the record. I very rarely write songs that are written from the perspective of an invented character. Things at that time during lockdown felt so weird and the future of music and performance felt so unknown, it felt almost like the end of it all. I sort of channeled that feeling into this scenario of a person looking back on their life and pinning the selling of this guitar as the moment they let go of their dreams in favor of security. It is so easy to look back on decisions as if we know what the outcome would have been had we chosen something else, but truthfully there is no way anyone could know. I wrote this song in ten minutes and didn’t change a single word.
“Warmth of a Golden Sun” is a song about my experience with breathwork therapy, which has been incredibly life changing. I like to reference previous songs of mine... I guess most of my songs are so personal that each one feels like part of a big book. I wrote a song called “Black Dog” while I was in Witches about struggles with depression and anxiety, and this song is about finally feeling like I had overcome some of that heaviness. “Dandelion Weed” is mostly about systems of oppression, abuse of power, and the distorted values that are a product of life under capitalism. Dandelions are a plant we generally look down on as a scourge and refer to as a “weed”. What we tend not to see is how incredible they are. They are unbelievably resilient and can grow just about anywhere. They have beautiful flowers. They can be made into healthy food, nourishing medicine, even wine. They bring endless joy to children. The dictionary defines a weed as “a wild plant growing where it is not wanted...” yet certain plants seem to be given that title regardless of context, including our friend the dandelion. It’s a metaphor. Insert whatever you like in place of the dandelion. “Daylight Savings” I wrote on a day many years ago now when we switched back to Eastern Standard Time and gained an extra hour. It was a work day at my service industry job so that extra hour just made me feel SO GOOD. I had extra time to make music before work. I was living in an apartment with amazing natural light on a very sunny day, sitting in my music making spot by the bay windows feeling warm and good.
I imagine you’ve got some shows/tours coming up soon to support the album. Anything else you're looking forward to this year? Is there anything else you would like to further share with the readers?
I do plan on performing and doing some short out of town gigs, but probably no real deal tours ahead. I’m the mom of a toddler which keeps me close to home and has kept me from performing much these past few years. But I’m really so excited and eager to perform these songs live and to finally be sharing them. It’s been a long time coming.
