Danielia Cotton joins Preston Frazier for a Something Else! Sitdown that explores her brutally honest new EP, ‘A Different War,’ her songwriting process and the impact of the pandemic:
PRESTON FRAZIER: It’s an interesting contrast, as we just finished celebrating Juneteenth yet the country is turmoil due to the death of George Floyd.
DANIELIA COTTON: Yes, it’s been an interesting time releasing my EP, A Different War, given the unrest and the pandemic.
PRESTON FRAZIER: This is your first recording since your 2017 release, The Mystery of Me.
DANIELIA COTTON: Yes, and while A Different War has come out as an EP, we will release it as a full LP later in the year, with two more songs. We plan to also release it on vinyl. This one came out because it was time. Sometimes, one album can cover quite a distance. There are some artist who put out more singles versus albums. I’m heading toward releasing albums more frequently, but the timing has a lot to do with the changes in my life. The arrival of my daughter, and a lot of things going on in my life influenced the timing. COVID-19 has also impacted a lot of us artists, in that it’s made us more creative. While A Different War was done before COVID, I’m finding myself having a nice little handful of new music.
PRESTON FRAZIER: Small White Town was your first full album [in 2005]. You’ve toured quite a bit since that album. Do you write on the road?
DANIELIA COTTON: My writing process really depends on when a song comes. Sometimes, I sit down with the intent to write. Back then, in the early 2000s, things just came. There was no rhyme or reason to the process. Now, I’m more disciplined. Now, I’ll play with chord progressions, trying to keep my skill set fresh. I’ve taken piano and guitar lessons to work on my craft. It has helped expand my musical palette. Writing on a piano creates a whole new musical vocabulary than the guitar.
PRESTON FRAZIER: How about your approach to lyrics. How has that changed?
DANIELIA COTTON: “A Different War” was written a few years ago but it’s just as contemporary as today. My life experiences drive my lyrical content. Those life lessons are a huge part of my lyrical content.
PRESTON FRAZIER: What was the first song you wrote for the EP?
DANIELIA COTTON: “Cheap High” came first. Then “She Too” and “A Different War.” “Cheap High” was written maybe three years ago, but it took a while to come into its own. I played it a while live with the band. It evolved after playing it for a while. “Cheap High” was written on a resonator-type guitar, and the sound influenced the development of the song. My band, the Church Boys, never heard it and when we played it, the song took on a different feel with them. When we recorded it, the song fell into place with new ears and new players.
PRESTON FRAZIER: How about “Better Off Without You”?
DANIELIA COTTON: That and “If You Don’t Want Me” are songs which I wrote in rehearsal. Those were both spontaneous. Those songs came quickly to me. “Cheap High” is about addiction, and it talks about how a person’s addition can shift and be replaced with another addition. The song talks about money, but it could be replaced with anything. The song is pretty intense.
PRESTON FRAZIER: You co-wrote the first single “Forgive Me” with Catherine Fulmer-Hogan, who’s your sister. How did that collaboration happen?
DANIELIA COTTON: When I was writing the song I was in Woodstock. I sometimes call my sister, which I also did on the song “A Different War,” and reach out to my sister for input on lyrics. I’ll play her the music I have, and she’ll come in and give input. She’s an extremely talent writer. It’s great to collaborate with her. She has a strong voice on social issues.
I also co-produced the album with my manager and though I had the band on two songs, I also have Aaron Comess of Spin Doctors on drums, Ben Butler [Sting] on guitar and Andy Hess on bass.
PRESTON FRAZIER: I imagine you don’t have any tour dates scheduled.
DANIELIA COTTON: No, we had a live stream at Sellersville Theatre with the band, on June 26th. We hope to do more live streams this year. As performer, I feed off the audience – so this is a new world for a lot of artists. I really want these songs to be heard. The subject matter is so timely, given the racism on display now in the country. I really wanted to get my voice out with these songs.
PRESTON FRAZIER: Before you go, please tell us your Top 5 favorite albums.
DANIELIA COTTON: In no particular order, Stevie Wonder – Songs In the Key of Life; Prince and the Revolution – Purple Rain; the Rolling Stones – Gimme Shelter; Bonnie Raitt – Nick of Time; and any album by Nina Simone!
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