INTERVIEW: FRANCESCA BLANCHARD
The evolution of an artist is an interesting thing; to look at an artist’s body of work and pick out the changes in production and outlook, both professional and personal. Francesca Blanchard knows exactly where those changes took place. The singer’s debut, 2015’s “Deux Visions” established Blanchard as a talented singer and writer. Now, on the cusp of releasing a new EP, Blanchard is making a departure from her french-folk sound. Harmonies are bigger, lyrics are personal and biting, and the singer is more herself than ever. She hasn’t changed direction, but perspective, adding layers and depth with the help of a band made up of friends — a homecoming of sorts, both figuratively and literally.
Before the EP’s release in mid 2020, Blanchard released a celebration of her new sound with a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Streets of Philadelphia.” Springsteen wrote the song for “Philadelphia” directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Tom Hanks. The movie follows a HIV+ lawyer (Hanks) and his experience dealing with homophobia and the stigma of his disease.
We met with Blanchard to discuss her cover, the new EP, and The Boss himself.
hope: Jumping right in, tell us about your cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Streets of Philadelphia.” What made you choose that song?
I actually can't remember the first time I heard it. It's a song that I've always sort of known and loved. It's not one of those regularly played Springsteen singles; It's like a secret classic that I go back and listen to. It’s just so moving.
Last year, I was putting together my band and we wanted to throw a cover in and my drummer, Ezra, plays with such a classic punch. It made me want to cover Phil Collins or something huge where the drums are prominent and a driving force of the song. Then it just clicked — "Wait. Do you guys know Streets of Philadelphia by Bruce Springsteen?" — and then we played it for a show and it stuck. I won Advance Music's Singer Songwriter competition last year and was gifted studio time at Meadowlark Studios in Williston. I'd already recorded my new EP so I wanted to use the studio time for Streets and it made sense. I’m so grateful I got to make something in that space, the timing couldn’t have worked out better.
hope: Is there a specific part of the song that moved you most?
The way I relate to it — if you take away the context of the movie — the words are stunning.
To me, it's a song about utter loneliness, despair, and depression; about not knowing who you are or how to relate and feeling just separate from everything. I relate so much to those words. It speaks to a very specific mind space I fall into more often than I like to admit, and to hear those words be sung so bluntly feels like a saving grace. And then the “Nah Nahs” are so lifting… those stacked harmonies are like angels, coming to the rescue.
It's aporetic to me of getting back to music and putting together a new band and taking new risks with sounds I wouldn't have covered back in the day when I was starting out.
hope: Can you tell us more about taking new risks?
Honestly moving to Burlington and finding this community changed a lot in my life. Finding artists and musicians that are my age and having an audience of friends was a really big factor in me gaining confidence in performing again. This feeling of having a safety net has allowed me to keep working on new stuff. With this new music I wrote, was this kind of letting go that I'm so excited to keep exploring in my work moving forward.
A fun fact about the next single I'm releasing: I literally finished it just in time to perform it at Waking Windows 2018. I finished it so I could include it in that set. That show also marks the first time I was with this band.
hope: Back to Bruce, what do you think makes him “The Boss?”
I think it's his history and his long career of putting out album after album. And on top of that, his songs — his content — it stirs you. He writes what's specific to him but also to other people and whatever they may be going through. That's really good storytelling.
He also challenges the status quo and stereotypical tropes of being a man. I mean, he's a man singing about depression and mental health. It was groundbreaking then and it's still groundbreaking today. He paved a new direction for rock.
hope: That’s a great point. Springsteen is the classic American man but he really does push the envelope. That’s something I personally didn’t notice until much later in life.
I think that's something that comes with age; you put things in boxes more when you’re young. Those classic acts in music that I took for granted or just wrote off, you start to understand. Now that I've grown and ruminate language differently, as a songwriter I've evolved and realized what this artist actually does or what this song really means.
hope: Have you noticed changes in your own songwriting as you’ve gotten older?
I have a better understanding of what I want to do and sing about. I used to write songs based on what people wanted to hear but now it's the opposite. I had to practice being in tune and listening to whatever's going on with myself. It all goes back to storytelling — what are the stories that I want to tell? They're not always front of mind — you have to listen and dig.
hope: On your new EP, is there a main story you want to tell?
I didn't think initially it was going to be one cohesive body of work, but then I kept building off it. It's a collection of these songs that are just me listening to myself and not caring as much about genre or what it means to be doing this and not “french folk” or whatever. It's my — not to sound dramatic — it's my comeback to music in my own way. That's why this project is so important. It really represents this shift in my process and the way I've evolved.
hope: Bruce Springsteen’s latest evolution is his one man show on Broadway. Has your own acting experience influenced you as a musician?
I definitely play into my acting for live shows. Before putting on a set or a choreographed thing or a blocked out show, it's about relating to your audience. Before I even get on stage, it's about grounding myself and telling myself to have fucking fun with this show, and to be present with this audience.
More or less, the biggest thing I learned in acting school is knowing you are enough and letting go of that ego. The second you see someone on stage and they're checking themselves and staring at themselves, you can tell they're not fully telling the story through the work. But once that ego is gone that connection clicks. It's like forming a bond with the audience, an understanding, and a relationship. That's good storytelling — that’s theater. It's this palpable human to human connection; no words, no eye contact. We're all just people in a room together and when it hits right, there’s this really special chemical thing that happens.
hope: Is letting go of that ego something you can do naturally or is it something you have to practice?
It's definitely a practice and I'm still very much working on it. In acting class we'd do this exercise where, for 10 minutes, we'd do a countdown where we'd go on like, an adventure with your body. It’d be like a zoo of 10 people running around the room making crazy sounds. It’d feel incredibly liberating and grounding. It's like, once that shit is out of my system, I'm ready to work. Performing is letting go and seeking consciousness and having fun on stage. I want to have as much fun as possible during a show. That's the goal. I’ll go outside and do jumping jacks, or I'll stretch a lot — anything to let go of the ego so the work can speak for itself. I mean, it’s a very difficult thing to do. It’s definitely a muscle.
hope: You’ve been performing these songs for a while. Do you think you’ll have a different relationship with them once you’ve released the record?
Definitely. I've had them for a long time and I'm excited to release them. In a way, these songs are like a little thank you to Burlington. I would not have written them without Burlington. I took a big break and I essentially left music and then my song got featured on Grey's Anatomy and I came back to Vermont and I started meeting these people. It really picked me back up. I'm so so grateful to that time and this place. That sounds pretty cliche — like, it's not groundbreaking — but it's true.
Francesca Blanchard’s EP is set for release in 2020. She'll be on tour through February, including a Burlington residency at the Light Club Lamp Shop.
THIS ARTICLE WAS GRACIOUSLY CONTRIBUTED BY:
Ben Demars is a freelance writer based in Vermont with special interest in music, lifestyle, and mid 2000’s reality tv. Read his thoughts on twitter @ive_benjamin.