Folk Roots Radio Episode 618: feat. Caroline Marie Brooks – Everything At The Same Time & More New Releases

Caroline Marie Brooks, from Canadian harmony trio Good Lovelies, joins us on Episode 618 of Folk Roots Radio to chat about her first solo album “Everything At The Same Time”, a wonderful recording with a lovely laidback reflective feel to it. It’s a fabulous conversation, and very inspiring. A nice glimpse into what drives an established artist, who has been very successful as part of a group, to step out on their own. We also check out new releases from Forest Sun, David Stone, Serious Child & Andy Ruddy, Dreamers’ Circus, Pat Byrne, John Hiatt with The Jerry Douglas Band and Janis Ian. Check out the full playlist below.

Interview

Caroline Marie Brooks (better known as Caroline Brooks) is one third of the very entertaining Toronto based harmony trio Good Lovelies – with fellow band mates Sue Passmore and Kerri Ough.

Finding time during the pandemic to tackle something on her bucket list, Caroline’s first solo recording “Everything At The Same Time” features 10 original songs and a cover of Roger Miller’s “Oo-De-Lally” (from Disney’s Robin Hood).

Everything At The Same Time is a storytelling album that’s wreathed in memories, taking its inspiration from Caroline’s own experience growing up in tight knit family in Whitby ON, alongside her own family life in Toronto – with her partner, two children and dog, Jim.

Determined to get as much from the recording experience as possible, Caroline co-produced the album with Jim Bryson from Fixed Hinge Recording in Stittsville Ontario. Studio sessions took place in Stittsville as well as Dream Date Studio (Joshua Van Tassel) in Toronto – and pandemic style, in many of the featured musicians’ homes, across southern Ontario.

‘Everything at the Same Time’ is a pandemic record only in time, recorded in the midst of an age when sometimes living through our memories of easier days may be all that we have. It asks only that we live and be present in the moment and to remember that though the days are long, the years are all too short. The inevitability of change looms in the distant, and Caroline Marie Brooks challenges you to hold on to the gift of the times we are in.

“I wrote ‘I Can’t Always Be There’ one morning last September after dropping my four year old off on his second day of school. After that very emotional drop off, I was thinking about how much of parenting, how much of life actually, is a process of letting go, of knowing that while we’d like to be, we can’t and won’t always be there. It’s painful, but also that’s just the way of things and makes me want to hold on for dear life. I hope my kids don’t really “hear” this song for awhile – that they don’t digest what it truly means… but that when they do they feel the complexity of emotions and my deep love within these lyrics.”

Caroline Marie Brooks is still very active with Good Lovelies, who were back out on the road with their annual Christmas tour just before the holidays . Sadly it had to be cut short because of the recent COVID resurgence. However the band will be back in the studio working on new material later this year, with, hopefully, some more live dates later in the year.

You can check out our interview with Good Lovelies, chatting about the return of their Christmas tour HERE.

For more information about the music of Caroline Marie Brooks and some upcoming solo shows, visit carolinemariebrooks.com.

Show Notes

We started off the episode with singer-songwriter Forest Sun from San Francisco and his latest single “Embers”, which will appear on his forthcoming album – the follow up to 2020’s “Stubborn Breathing Heart” which was just named as one of Our Favourite Albums of 2021.

“The Moon & Back” is the latest single from Barrie ON singer-songwriter David Stone, who continues to write some beautiful songs.

“Satellites” comes from another of Our Favourite Albums of 2021, “Talk About The Weather” from UK based singer-songwriters Serious Child & Andy Ruddy who collaborated on the album over Zoom in 2020.

Highly rated Irish singer-songwriter Pat Byrne, who is now based in Austin TX, has released a great new single – the beautiful “Only A Man”.

The instrumental on this episode comes from Dreamers’ Circus who are developing quite a buzz in their native Scandinavia. They feature Nikolaj Busk (Denmark) on piano and accordion, Ale Carr (Sweden) on Nordic cittern and Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen (Denmark) on violin. “North of Trondheim” is a traditional Norwegian tune. You can find it on their latest album “Blue White Gold”.

“Light Of The Burning Sun” is a deeply personal song that John Hiatt wrote about the suicide of his elder brother. you can find it on “Leftover Feelings”, his cathartic 2021 album with dobro master Jerry Douglas and his band which was recorded in real time in historic RCA Studio B in Nashville – 50 years after they first met in the studio to record together.

We wrapped up the episode with “The Light At The End Of The Line”, the title track from Janis Ian‘s latest studio album – her first since 2006, and likely to be the last one she releases.

“I love this album. There is an element of… this is the absolute best I can do over my 58 years as a writer. This is what I’ve learned. I realized that this album has an arc, and I’ve never really done anything like that before.”

That’s all we have time for. Thanks to all the artists who share their music with us, and thank you for listening. We have lots of great music and interviews to bring you on future episodes.

If you enjoy the music we play on this show and want to support the artists – many of whom aren’t able to play live at the moment because of the Covid-19 pandemic, don’t just stream their music – that earns them much less than a penny per play. Instead, buy their music – and really make a difference to their income. They’ll love you for it!

Stay safe and well everyone!

Image credit: Jen Squires.

Listen

You can listen to this episode again on Soundcloud by following the link below. You can also listen to episodes of Folk Roots Radio, on demand, via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and Tune-in Radio. (Click on the highlighted link to reach your chosen platform.)

Playlist

Nicolas & The Iceni (Theme)
Lucy She Rises
Roll Right (2019, self)

Forest Sun
Embers
(single) (2021, Self)

David Stone
The Moon & Back
(single) (2021, Self) CDN

Serious Child & Andy Ruddy
Satellites
Talk About The Weather (2021, Four Left Feet)

Pat Byrne
Only A Man
(single) (2021, Self)

Dreamers’ Circus
North Of Trondheim
Blue White Gold (2020, Vertical Records)

Caroline Marie Brooks
Vitamin
Everything At The Same Time (2021, Self) CDN

Interview: Caroline Marie Brooks chats about her first solo album “Everything At The Same Time”.

Caroline Marie Brooks
I Can’t Always Be There
Everything At The Same Time (2021, Self) CDN

Caroline Marie Brooks
Song For Fred (Excerpt)
Everything At The Same Time (2021, Self) CDN

Caroline Marie Brooks
To The Waves
Everything At The Same Time (2021, Self) CDN

Caroline Marie Brooks
Night Drive
Everything At The Same Time (2021, Self) CDN

John Hiatt with The Jerry Douglas Band
Light Of The Burning Sun
Leftover Feelings (2021, New West)

Janis Ian
The Light At The End Of The Line
The Light At The End Of The Line (2022, Rude Girl Records)