Interview: Caitlin Krisko of The Broadcast


Women on the Road

Caitlin Krisko provides vocals and soul for her band, The Broadcast.  She sat down with BanterGirl to share her experiences with touring, booking, and being a woman on the road.  


When did you start singing and how did you know that you wanted to do it for the rest of your life?

I was lucky to have incredible teachers and mentors from a very early start in my life. As a child, I was an apprentice at the Michigan Classic Ballet Company where my passion for being on the stage really blossomed.  When I was 13, I auditioned for the professional performing arts school in New York City and was one of two students out of the 4000 who auditioned to be accepted into the program. Going to school surrounded by Broadway theaters definitely brought out the singer in me! I'm pretty sure the first time I climbed up to the roof of my first apartment in New York City was the moment I knew that I would be a creative person for the rest of my life.

How did your band, Broadcast, come together?

I went to a private arts conservatory called Circle in the Square for college. I had this incredible music theory teacher Mary Ann Ivan who pulled me aside one day and planted an unexpected seed by asking me if I had ever considered being the frontwoman of a rock band.  After I graduated, I just kept going back to that conversation over and over in my head and realized how much power there was in creating an outlet like that for myself. It was a platform where I never had to audition or wait for someone else to give me an opportunity to step onto the stage. So, I started going to open mics and jam sessions in the village where I lived and met some incredible musicians who pointed me in the direction that I am in today.

What do you think the hardest thing is about touring?

I think the hardest thing about touring is accepting the reality that live music isn't necessarily a focal point for all cities in the United States. Don't get me wrong, there are some incredible venues and fantastic cities with incomparable communities for live music, but admittedly I hear artists disappointed more than I'd like with the turnout at their shows. Bands can sell out in one city and barely draw in another. The ups and downs of that can become a little exhausting at times. That's why you really have to love the people you make music with!

You are also a booking agent.  What do you look for in an act?

Throughout the years, I've cultivated meaningful relationships with buyers and bookers at festivals and venues. Looking back at my own career, I wish that I had someone to assist me in the beginning with creating and developing these relationships, someone who actually understood what it's like to be out on the road. The biggest things I look for in artists that I want to work with is not only a passion and drive and belief in the music they're making, but also a realistic and healthy perspective and expectation of what it means to be an original band in the 21st-century. Too many times, I encounter musicians who have an unhealthy entitlement toward money or opportunity, and I see it sabotage their career before their career has even started.

If you could cover one artist, who would it be?

We have a tradition for our Halloween and New Years shows to cover artists, so I've been lucky enough to tap into a lot of the legends: Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Talking Heads, Fleetwood Mac, David Bowie, The Beatles, George Michael, and once I even got a shout out from Mavis Staples herself for covering an Aretha Franklin tune!

If you could only take three things on the road with you, what would they be?

My pillow, my humidifier, and some heady herb!

What are you working on right now?

We just wrapped our album release tour that we've been on since last June. The tour took us all across the United States and also across seven different countries in Europe! It was a whirlwind adventure that I will never forget. There was so much inspiration in the experience that we are now heavily involved in writing sessions for the new record that we are aiming to release in early 2018!  

What brings you the most joy in life?

It may seem simple, but I think one of the things that brings me the most joy in life is sending surprise snail mail to people. There's just something so magical about the anticipation it gives me knowing someone's going to open their mailbox or front door to a care package or handwritten letter in a few days. I love the connection it creates!

 

Caitlin Krisko 

Website: CaitlinKrisko.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CaitlinKrisko/

Twitter: @CaitlinKrisko

Trish NelsonComment