BABE #326: CAROLINE JONES - Singer-Songwriter
Before she even had an understanding of music, Caroline spent her days writing poems and short stories. By age nine, she started taking singing lessons, realized that she could turn those poems and stories into melodies and songs, and the rest is history. Today she’s a singer-songwriter, and along with her business partner, she runs all business operations independently. So far, she’s shared the stage with The Eagles, Zac Brown Band, Kenny Chesney and Jimmy Buffet—to name a few. We’re wishing her all the best in the recent release of her new EP, “Chasin' Me”, and in all of her future musical endeavors to come.
The Basics:
Hometown: Connecticut
Alma mater: New York University (NYU)
Degree: B.A., Creative Writing and Anthropology
Very first job: Honestly, my job has always been music. I've been very blessed. I've been gigging since I was 17 years old. My very first job was teaching and mentoring kids in music.
Hustle: Singer-songwriter
The Interests:
Babe you admire and why?
One I admire a lot is Jewel. She was one of my biggest inspirations when I was a teenager because she's a singer-songwriter, but she's also an entrepreneur and a wellness advocate who has been very vocal about mental health and wellness. She really inspired me to be not only a great singer, songwriter, and artist, but a well-rounded person as well. Those life skills are something artists really need and don't always have, being so creative and so emotional by nature.
What are your favorite ways to unplug?
I love to exercise and work out. I love to just take time literally doing nothing, just drinking coffee to reflect and write. I love being in nature and I love to hike. I really need that time to reset my creative center.
Current power anthem?
Probably The 1975, “It's Not Living (If It's Not With You),” or “Happy Now,” by Zedd.
If you could have coffee with anyone in the world, who would it be?
Probably Tony Robbins. I've been enjoying his talks for a while. I would love to have coffee with him.
The Hustle:
Tell us about your hustle.
I’m a singer, songwriter, performer, and producer. And I am also the co-CEO of True to the Song, which is my music company. My partner Ric Wake and I run everything independently. And while I'm not part of a record label or a conglomerate in that traditional way, I do have a distribution partnership with the fantastic team at Mailboat Records, who really respect my voice as an artist in control of my career. It's kind of like a startup; a musical startup. We all run it ourselves. There are quite a few business responsibilities in addition to obviously the creative ones that come first.
What does your typical workday look like?
When I'm at home, a typical work day is I'll get up, meditate and work out, then I'll spend a day rehearsing and writing. I'll be working on various aspects of my craft from singing and songwriting, vocal warmups, vocal coaching, working on arrangements, working on production, practicing my different instruments for a few hours. Kind of intermittently comes dealing with all the business stuff—planning tours, planning press, etc. We just released an EP, so a lot of the content around that—overseeing video content, overseeing graphic design, social media plans, all that kind of stuff is just intermittent all the time. That’s a great advantage of this world. It's a nice balance, because you're always dealing with that, but always doing the creative thing as well. On tour, it's totally different. I'll wake up in a new city, and because the show is in the afternoon and night, I really start working around 3:00 or 4:00: have a sound check at the venue, do meet-and-greets, interviews, warm up, get ready for the show, play. I have the great privilege a lot of times of sharing the stage with the headliner after my show. Normally I'm opening for someone—Kenny Chesney, Vince Gill, and Zac Brown are some from this year.
Have you always had a passion for music?
I think I was born an artist. I mean, before I could sing or knew about music, I would write poems and short stories all day, as soon as I learned how to read. When I was 9, I started taking singing lessons and realized subsequently that I could put all of those stories and poems to music and melody and write songs. That was it for me. I never wanted to do anything else after that.
Tell us about your new EP.
I'm actually donating all the pre-sale proceeds to HeadKnowles Foundation, which is an organization that's providing volunteers and relief and aid to folks affected by the Hurricane Dorian in The Bahamas. It was just a no-brainer for me. It happened around the time we had just announced the presale. It was something my team brought to me, because they're close to this organization. It's a beautiful thing to have the opportunity to help out and have a platform. The EP is called “Chasin' Me.” It has six songs on it. It's the next step in my artistic evolution. I released my debut album, “Barefeet,” last year. This project is much more romantic and mature. The production is a little more succinct and hits harder. We've been playing these songs live for a year, so people have not been able to get the song they've heard at the shows until now. It's exciting to be able to put them on tape and and let people hear them. In this day and age, we're always recording. We're always writing. We're always performing. To be able to continue to put out a steady stream of music that evolves with you artistically and with your fan base is a very unique thing to 2019 and something I'm going to continue.
What’s been your biggest career milestone?
For me, it's being on these bigger stadium tours, like with Kenny Chesney, and Zac Brown, and the Eagles, and Jimmy Buffett. Those are my biggest milestones, because I've dreamed about getting on tours like that and being in front of thousands of people since I was a little girl. But I would say, for other people, it's probably Jimmy Fallon. We just did “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” and that was a huge milestone for us. I'm making my debut at the Grand Ole Opry on November 16, which is a huge milestone for us as well.
How has being a woman affected your professional experience?
Being a woman has allowed me to stand out in being unique as a musician and producer and entrepreneur—someone who's in charge of her own career. I've always looked at being a woman as advantageous. Whatever hurdles or obstacles or challenges I've encountered, I've done my best not to put like attached gender to them, but just focus on what I can control—which is my craft, and my work ethic, and my dedication, and authenticity to the song that's in my heart, as cheesy as that may sound. I don't think twice about any disadvantages to being a woman, because to me it strips a little bit of power away from what I can control. There are lots of things we can't control, right? In terms of how we can create more opportunities for women, and for women to see themselves in a more powerful light (and then to see women in a more powerful light): I think it's happening. I think people are just becoming more aware. But I think the most important thing is to lead by example, because I know I had amazing women as role models who have caused me to see my gender as an advantage and not a disadvantage. The biggest thing is to teach little girls, to give them role models and then teach little girls how to not limit themselves in their thoughts and their behaviors and their worldview.
What are some common misconceptions about your job?
The biggest struggle of being an artist is that when you're an artist, by definition, you're the leader of an organization. You have to be kind of a little bit self-centered and have your head in the sand a little bit, creatively, to be a great artist. You just can't care what everybody thinks if you want to be a great artist. The balance between that, but then also learning how to lead an organization, how to serve your fans, how to give your all (which all requires that connection with a lot of other people who have their own lives and their own opinions and their own perspective). I would say that's a balance that I'm trying to learn, and that's a very fine balance.
Who are some women in your field that you look to for inspiration?
I mean, Jewel is one for sure. I have some kind of leaders in the spiritual world I look to for inspiration, like Esther Hicks and Marianne Williamson. But in terms of artists, there are so many great female artists out right now. I love Alessia Cara. I think she's a brilliant songwriter and singer. In country there are so many. I mean, I love Maren Morris. I love Kelsea Ballerini. I love Kacey Musgraves. She's really inspiring to me. I look up to women who, like Sheryl Crow, play their own instruments and produce and write and are really great live performers and run their own business. Beyoncé is a big one, but there are more and more as we progress. I think that's a great thing.
Career and/or life advice for other babes?
Make your primary goal to be happy, self-fulfilled and authentic, rather than to be successful, famous, or acclaimed. Focus more on taking care of yourself and developing your craft, whether it be music or otherwise, and commit yourself to excellence in that craft. Tend to your dreams with care, and don't ask for other people to approve or understand them. Have courage and integrity, and most of all, do whatever you do for the joy of it rather than any other end.
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