Singer Cassidy Catanzaro: from Antigone to UCB to Rehoboth
Singer-songwriter Cassidy Catanzaro traveled the world for years as a member of the all-female rock act Antigone Rising. After a brief hiatus from the music world, she is back in action.
Her new group, Cassidy & the Music, will perform at the Dogfish Head brewpub in downtown Rehoboth Beach on Saturday, Dec. 26. She answered a few questions about delving into the world of live comedy, recording as a solo artist and dividing her time between Los Angeles and her native New Jersey.
Q: How did your studio sessions go earlier this month?
A: It was possibly the best studio experience I’ve ever had. We did it at PondeRosa Studios in Lafayette, New Jersey with Tom Askin from The Samples. We played in our church rock band together for a brief time. I love telling people how we’d play “Thank You” by Led Zeppelin during communion. Anyway, the studio is beautiful and it’s out on a farm with horses and green acres. I had players who’ve worked with everyone from Gov’t Mule to American Babies.
Q: What musical direction are you headed toward with these new songs?
A: I write about things that matter to me. The things I think maybe someone can relate to or be moved by. I tell stories, and I sing from the deepest part of myself. Good, bad, ugly. I go all the way there, every time. So I guess the sound is, great musicians playing drums, bass, piano, guitar, bouzouki, cello. The players were stellar and I think it may be my best writing overall, as far as all of the songs on one album being of equal caliber.
Q: Congrats on Demi Lovato covering “For You” on her latest album; do you perform it live at your shows?
A: Thank you. No, it’s Demi’s song. Not mine. I wrote it about something very close to my heart, but Demi took it and made it 100 percent hers, and I cry whenever she sings it. It’s like watching a baby I gave up for adoption have a better life than I could have ever given it.
Q: A few years ago you delved into the improv comedy world for a while and performed shows with the Upright Citizens Brigade. Was it scarier to be on stage talking instead of singing?
A: I love improv — and, I might add, the fierce, funny, intelligent, sexy women I met doing it. You know, it’s not really scary because my brain is a mile-a-minute and yet I’m hyper-present. Which can be annoying in life, but in improv it was awesome. It’s total intimacy because everyone has to be completely present and listening. And willing.
It’s like Buddhism and a relationship and having a one-night-stand all at the same time. It isn’t scary unless you’re scared of the truth. But I live for those moments and in life, and they are, so sadly, rare.
Q: What was it like opening for the Rolling Stones?
A: Opening for the Stones gives me incontrovertible permission to retire at a moment’s notice. I have my “grandkids” story. Touring with the Allman Brothers also blew my mind.
IF YOU GO
What: Cassidy & The Music
When: 10 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 26
Where: Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats, 320 Rehoboth Ave., Rehoboth Beach
Cost: Free
More Info: 302-226-BREW, www.dogfish.com
