Artist Spotlight on

Tristan Prettyman Keeps It As Simple As It Should Be

By: Nicole Roberge

When she wasn’t surfing, San Diego native Tristan Prettyman was honing her musical talents, and with her debut release on Virgin Records, twentythree, it seems as if the combination paid off for her. Her laid-back songs with their sunny feel are both inviting and charming, and her sweet vocals to match give us the perfect music for any occasion. Prettyman has toured with artists ranging from Howie Day to Jason Mraz to John Mellencamp, but it was at her first New York show that she got the attention of the major labels. It got the attention of fans too, and now with a strong following and solid debut, Tristan Prettyman is out to show the world all she can do at the young age of 23.

I caught up the songstress before a sold out show at the Hotel Café in Los Angeles, where she filled us in on the album, the fans, and staying true to her coffee shop roots.

Tuned In: Congratulations on the new album. One of the nice things about it is that it’s not hyped up with added production and all the little extras they generally try and throw on new artists albums. It’s good in its simplicity. Was that your goal when you made the record?

Tristan Prettyman: Yeah, about a year or two years ago I made a CD of my own. And that was really stripped down. It was like drums, bass, pedal steel, a little bit of piano. So I wanted to do like a sort of demo-feel on this CD, where people would think, “wow, a major label’s producing this?” So it worked out, and we added the band, and had the same pedal steel player who was on my first record, so he was all excited. He was like, “Oh my gosh, you’ve come so far!” So we had a good time. We definitely wanted to keep it mellow.

TP: It was one of those songs that I would play live that I’ve gotten the most response out of. People would come up after shows and be like, “Love, Love, Love” is so good and I was like, “Okay, that’s the single!” And I wanted it to be the single forever, before I even released this second record. And the label was just like, “yeah, we totally love it, let’s try it.” That one we kind of spiced up a bit more than the others, but that songs so fun that I think the production on it is good for it.

TI: One of the things that I noticed from the album is that you’re very honest in your songwriting. Is that something you strive to do or does it just come out that way? And do you ever worry about being too honest?

TP: I’m always really annoyed by songs where people are like trying to tell you something and they’re trying to describe it in a manner that’s like… "I'm in the clouds...” and it’s like, just say it already, buddy. They’re like trying to describe it in this way and they’re just leading you in circles. And you’re like, Okay so what you really mean is that this girl broke up with you? Alright. I just hate it.

Even in my writing, since I was younger, I’ve always been like: Dear Diary, Today I went to ___ and I saw Ryan and he totally was with another girl and blah blah blah. So it’s always been very honest. I haven’t been much of a poetic kind of writer. I found that the more honest I can be, the more people can believe in something. Even if it’s really honest, it still can be interpreted the way somebody else feels it is. I think it works. I don’t know how to say it except for this way.

TP: Kind of ignoring all the other things in my head and letting the song come out. Sometimes I’ll start writing a song and I’ll think, should I change that so it’s not so specific, so I’m not giving it away? I had to say no and just write the songs how they’d come out.

TI: A lot of people when they’re asked to describe an artist, they’ll say, oh female singer-songwriter and leave it at that. And I’ve heard some people say that they don’t like that expression because it doesn’t really say much about them. How would you describe yourself and your music?

TP: I get the female Jack Johnson a lot. I always say, if you like Jack Johnson and Norah Jones, then you’ll probably like this. It’s not Michelle Branch-y or Maroon 5-y, but it kind of could be. I’d rather downplay it so it’s more mellow.

TI: There was definitely a surge in male singer-songwriters and females are starting to get out here more. Do you think that they will have the same popularity?

TP: I hope so. There’s not very many. I really like to encourage girls at my shows. I’ll say, “Is anybody learning how to play an instrument or writing music? Keep doing it! Because we need more.” There’s a lack of girls who compose everything—who write, sing and play guitar, or sing and play piano. There’s so many females but they’re just singers. They’re not writing their own stuff, so I always encourage that. I always encourage girls to take girls on tour. Girls can be catty. But the girl I have tonight opening (Kate Earl), I love her to death. Everyone’s like, “she’s really good though” and I’m like, “I know! I want to see her play!” She’s like my hero. When I met her I was like, “I love you,” and she’s like, “I love you,” and I’m like, “I love you more!” And it was back and forth like that.

TI: That’s good though, because a lot of people getting really competitive with other artists who could be put in the same category as them.

TP: They do. And even I get competitive sometimes. But it’s if you’re insecure in what you’re doing. If it’s new and it’s honest and you believe that it’s good and know that you’ve got fans that love what you do, then you shouldn’t be worried about some other person stealing your fans. The only reason someone else is gonna like them more is probably because you’re too worried about this person stealing your fans. If you’re just mellow, and we can all just get along. I know some girls who won’t take other girls on tour with them. It’s definitely less competitive to have a guy and a girl on tour together.

TI: What do you think is the biggest obstacle then for female singer-songwriters in today’s music industry?

TP: I don’t care what anybody thinks. I’m just gonna play my music and to hell with the rest of you. You just have to go for it. Women are sensitive, you know? We get all emotional around our period, and start freaking out. Women are a different species. So I think that sometimes we get intimidated by a number of different things. So I think that it’s important to encourage each other. You have to be strong to make it, because it is dominated by men. But we can change that if we all just get together.

TI: Have you had any moments then of frustration where you’d just want to give up?

TP: All the time! I mean, I’ve called from the road and been like, “I’m over this! I’m coming home! I can’t handle this, I’ve had a really bad show and the audience was talking.” There are shows when just everyone’s talking, but what can you do? Especially playing solo, I’ve learned. I know the situation. You’ve gotta love what you’re doing and just play for yourself. Sometimes those shows are the best kind because you know if you screw up what you’re trying to do, nobody’s listening anyways (laughs). So I try to look at the brighter side.

TI: You’ve toured a lot with many different artists in different sized venues. What is the performance experience like for you?

TP: The one thing I’ve learned about performing live is that what really makes the show is your audience. If they’re not there…I mean, you can just feel when someone’s energy is there. So if the audience’s energy isn’t there, it’s really tough to run through it. But if they are there, it’s just amazing. If you can get all their attention, it could be a really great show. But if they’re talking, you’ve just gotta play it for yourself. The art isn’t even a part of it anymore. And I would say that the hardest part about being a female is playing solo without a band. I get it all the time, “are you gonna get a band?” Yes. I don’t know when. Why do you need a band? I’m trying to bring it back to the old days—Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan. People didn’t have bands, they just played. I think people are so used to bands these days. Everybody has a band, nobody plays solo.

TP: Oh no, I’d rather be somewhere else. I get so scared when I come home. I’m always like, “hey guys, okay, you’ve already seen this show like twenty times.” When you’re traveling, you’re playing different each night because it’s for people who haven’t seen you before. It’s really exciting. There’s like a security blanket there.

TI: I’ve read that when you had your independent release you wrote little thank yous on post-its…

TP: Whenever I come home and my Mom’s got orders, I’m always like, “Mom, let's get those five orders that you have to send out to write notes on.” I’ve started to do postcards though, which is really fun. I’ve become like a postcard maniac because I get so many emails and it’s so hard for me to keep up with them. So I have a little thing on the website saying, Tristan will send you a postcard from the road. I won’t guarantee when, but at some point you might get a postcard. They go in this bank and wherever I go I’ll take like five addresses with me.

TI: I also noticed that you have lots of pictures with your fans on your website and you update your journal a lot—so is the artist to fan connection very important to you?

TP: Definitely. There are so many websites you go to and they haven’t been updated in like, 3 months. And especially if I can’t respond to all the emails I get. It’s right up there with my ADD, I have to keep changing stuff. So I’m always making a new front page, when you first go to the website, different, and uploading pictures. It’s just fun when you go to it. It keeps people coming back because it’s like, what’s gonna be up next week?

I feel like if my fans can grow with me over time, then when they look back they’ll be able to understand me better and what I’m about. Instead of me just telling them, “Read the bio!” (laughs) I want them to kind of get to know me in that way. Or if you keep everybody on the same level, I feel like when I meet fans they’re not like, “Oh my God, I love you!” They’re more like, “Hey, how’s it going? Great show.” It’s more normal. I don’t want to be put on a pedestal.

TP: It’s great when people get it. The reason I started in music was because I heard it, and it was like when you’re having a bad day, there’s that one song you just turn on and it speaks to you. Or you’re driving home late at night and that one song comes on and you just want to put it on repeat because you just want to scream it at the top of your lungs. And music has always spoke to me and I think that my music can get through to people and they can relate to it like I did when I was younger and growing up on music, before I actually started playing it. That’s my biggest goal. Letting people know that they’re not alone in what they’re going through. Especially girls, to have a good role model.

TP: It can be kind of easy to get caught up in playing music that’s popular or what everybody else wants to hear, or what your peers are doing. No matter what other people said, whether it’s “you need a band” or “you should write happier songs,” I always kept doing what comes out of me naturally. I think it’s important to find that in yourself and use that. Just stay true to yourself.

TP: Working at the pizza place still. (laughs) I never understand the people who say, yeah I’m not really into music. So…I don’t know. I was going to college before to do business communications, so maybe that. It would probably definitely be really frustrating because I wouldn’t have an outlet. I’d have to be a feminist. And working at the pizza place.