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We are SO lucky to have such a rich talent pool in our humble little Santa Cruz community, so you can file this episode under “cool local people I finally had a chance to hang with”. Local songwriter Christie McCarthy is another one of those artists whom I’ve known of for years and share lots of real friends with. But we just haven’t had a chance to hang and talk shop. So we decided to remedy that.
We recently sat and did the “Songs and Stories” thing, discussing what went into “Big Picture”,” her newest (and fourth) album of original tunes. It was produced by Christie and local favorite and goto drummer Jimmy Norris, and was recorded and engineered by Keith Greeninger (no stranger to this podcast) at his Wind River Studios in Santa Cruz. This release also features two other powerhouse locals, Yuji Tojo (guitar and bass) and Patti Maxine (lap steel guitar).
Christie and I talked about what led up to this new record, including her time on a small label, and how she finally decided to balance a normal day job with her songwriting and performing, in lieu of trying to have music pay the bills completely. In her own words, “well, I like expensive wine.” (I can relate – it’s one of the reasons I like to play wineries.”) 😉
Christie has a knack for attracting the best of the best to accompany her. On May 31st, she’s doing a special show at Kuumbwa Jazz Center. Dubbed “A Celebration of Equality,” this benefit for the Pajaro Valley Pride Scholarship Fund will feature Christie and her band The Wielders which includes, Jimmy Norris, Patti Maxine, Rhan Wilson (bass), and Glenn MacPherson (lead guitar), and Stephen Bigger. Details and tickets are available at eventbrite.com.
You’ll find “Big Picture,” along with the rest of Christie’s music, at CD Baby, Amazon, and Spotify.