Hearing the Emmylou Harris album Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town inspired North Carolina-raised Tift Merritt to write and perform her own brand of roots music. Merritt released her debut album, Bramble Rose, in 2002 and has since become an important figure in the singer/songwriter and “adult alternative” scenes. On Sunday, September 7, Merritt will perform at Workplay with Teddy Thompson. Merritt is currently touring in support of her latest release, Another Country, on Concord Records. Recently, Merritt spoke to the Weekly’s Brent Thompson.\
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BT: Tift, it’s great speaking with you. The reviews for your new album, Another Country, regularly mention its “blue-eyed soul” sound, notably on tracks including “Morning Is My Destination” and “Tell Me Something True.” Is that a vibe you were targeting on this record?\
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TM: It’s just natural – I feel soulfully about it, so I’m glad it comes across that way. On my last record, Tambourine, I threw myself into exploring a lot of the soulful singer/songwriters and soul music. I don’t want to be a singer/songwriter who’s songs fall apart in your hands. I want my songs to have a core of strength.\
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BT: Were these songs that had existed in various forms for a while or did the material come to you in a short burst of creativity?\
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TM: There’s a little story there. I took a hiatus and went to Paris\’a0 – this record was conceived during that time. I lived in a flat with a piano in it\’a0 – I lived there for four months and I’ve been back-and-forth since then.\
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BT: If you will, talk about [vocalist/guitartist] Charlie Sexton’s involvement on the record and how that came to be.\
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TM: The core of the band is my longtime band. I met Charlie down in Texas and we’ve all been in love with him for a long time after seeing him with Bob Dylan and knowing what an exeptional guitar player he is. When we became friends, I called Charlie up and told him that I would really love it if he would come out and he did. He’s such a lovely human being as well as a phenomenal guitar player.\
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BT: How do you feel about the climate in the age of iTunes, satellite radio, customized ringtones and [website] YouTube? Is technology a great thing or does it create over-saturation and confusion?\
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TM: I think it’s not a black-and-white thing – technology always has benefits and drawbacks. I think there certainly is a lot of information to weed through right now, but anytime you have a more direct connection with your audience, that’s great. I don’t think the album format is dying – I think that an MP3 is very similar to a 45 [RPM single] from 1955. The consumers have to choose how they want to come to your music and there are more marketing questions to answer. Finding music has always been like a treasure hunt to me\’a0 and now that treasure hunt isn’t that difficult. Luckily, my job hasn’t changed that much.\
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BT: Obviously, you have great affection for your material. That being said, how do songs stay fresh for you when you’ve performed some ofthem more times than you can count?\
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TM: I want to write songs that have legs enough to meet me halfway. I have a band that’s been with me for a long time and having a musical family keeps it fresh for me. When you factor in the venue and the crowd, it’s always a different soup. You get to a point where you don’t have to worry about playing a song physically which allows you to get into it on many other levels.\
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Tickets to the 8 p.m. show are $13 – $15 day of the show – and can be purchased at www.workplay.com or by calling 380-4082.