Rose Cousins

Interview – Rose Cousins
Posted by Shawn Conner on April 22nd, 2010

Read the list of recordings Rose Cousins has appeared on and you might get the idea she’s the only back-up singer on the East Coast. But Cousins’ biggest break was her appearance on Joel Plaskett’s amazing and ambitious (and Polaris Prize-nominated) 2009 album Three. On the sprawling record, she and Anna Egge are like a Greek chorus to the singer; not singing harmony but the same register, which is a nice and distinctive effect.

Now, Cousins has just released her second full-length album. The Send Off, produced by Luke Doucet (who also makes it a good album for guitar fans), demonstrates that the East Coast singer is no slouch in the writing department, either. The stately midtempo pop song “Maybe I Knew”, the easy yearning of “I Were the Bird” and the lightfooted, folkie “Sadie in the Kitchen” are all accomplished songs in their own right.

We caught up with Ms. Cousins on her way from Halifax to PEI, where she was going to have dinner with her family, and just before she set out on a cross-Canada jaunt with fellow East Coaster Amelia Curran.

SC: I noticed on your website you mention Laura Veirs’ new album, July Flame, as something you’ve been listening to. I love that record. How did you discover her?

RC: Yes, my God, it’s so amazing. It’s a great record.

SC: How do you know her stuff?

RC: I think I was given a mixed CD or burned CD of hers, probably Carbon Glacier, however many years ago that came out, from a friend of mine, then I ended up buying it myself and all the records since then.

SC: I was looking at the list of records you’ve sung on. Is there a record recorded on the East Coast in the last few years you didn’t sing on?

RC: [laughs] Solid question. Great question. I’m sure there are. Uhm, I didn’t sing on Amelia’s newest record.

SC: You cover “I Don’t Care”, a Mary Margaret O’Hara song on the new album. How did that come about?

RC: A friend of mine was listening to Stuart McLean’s “Vinyl Café” [a CBC radio show] and he actually played it twice. He was using it as an example – at the end she does this vocalization thing that sounds like a theremin and he was talking about that. My friend heard it and found the song on YouTube and sent me the link, saying “Listen to it, don’t watch the video.” And I listened to it for like four hours straight, on a drive – from Halifax to St. John. It’s a painful song about something real and those are my favourite kinds. I was encouraged to put it on the record. I wasn’t sure and then we got in touch with Mary Margaret and she said it was cool.

SC: Did having a big role on the Joel Plaskett album open any doors for you?

RC: Well, we’ve been friends for a few years and live in the same place and cross paths all the time. As for opening doors, I think it got my name attached to someone who is very well known in Canada and whose work I really like, I’m a huge fan, and he’s probably one of the hardest working people I ever met. he’s very ambitious and he’s a huge music fan so it was inspiring to be around him, especially at a time I was writing for my new album. And it was cool to travel across the country with him because he has so many amazing fans. People spill over themselves waiting to talk to him. And he was really generous – we each [Anna Egge is the other backup vocalist on the album and subsequent tour] got to sing a song in the show. We weren’t just backup singers, we were part of the show.

SC: So is the Cousins name a big deal on the East Coast? There’s coastline named after the family name…

RC: Well PEI’s a small place. It’s not coastline, it’s just a beach – the Cousins Shore, it’s right beside the farm where I grew up. There are Cousins in the area and on the Island. I was recently to the U.K. for the first time and met a fellow in Manchester with the same name.

SC: Do you have a big family?

RC: I grew up one of five kids. On a potato farm, not to be typical…

SC: Are any of your siblings following in your footsteps?

RC: I’m the only professional musician in my family. But both my sister and mother are very musical, they both play piano. Everyone can sing and one of my brothers plays guitar a little bit.

SC: And you’re probably the only one in your family who has opened for Paul McCartney [Cousins was with Plaskett when he opened for the big cheese in Halifax last year]. Was it nerve-wracking?

RC: That’s one of the other things I learned being on the road with him, when I’m part of a band I’m not fronting the nervousness is different, it’s more like excitement, because I’m not carrying the show myself. I know Joel was nervous for sure. But it was really thrilling, the biggest crowd I’d ever played for.

SC: Was there any contact with Mr. McCartney?

RC: No, they had him cordoned off.

SC: Probably better that way.

RC: I wanted Joel to meet him but it didn’t work out. - Guttersnipe

Rose Cousins couldn't be happier, collaborating with friends and touring in support of her emotional new album, The Send Off
by Holly Gordon

Rose Cousins is glowing. Sipping on a coffee one wet Halifax morning, her bright eyes---despite the early hour---and warm smile tell the story of her last three years as a full-time musician, even before she opens her mouth to speak.

"Since I've released my last CD I almost feel like the three years has been a university degree in how to be a working musician," she says. While being on the road and self-promoting had its lows, nothing about Cousins' outlook suggests anything but forward momentum.

Cousins' second full-length album, The Send Off, is what marks the maturity of the local musician's journey. Cousins' gorgeous voice fills each track with a sense of longing that will likely have you sitting on the floor crying.

"I've always been a fan of music that evokes some kind of emotion," says Cousins, explaining she's not in a sad place performing her newest work. "The Send Off is about letting go; all the things you try to let go of or you don't let go of, and how easy it makes things if you do and how hard it is to do it." Cousins adds that she feels you have to let some things go in order to move forward; this album is her step forward.

The title track is what started Cousins' road to letting go, a song that says goodbye to Grandma Cousins.

"She was the first person I lost that had been in my life for, well, ever. For all of my ever so far," says Cousins. The slow, almost haunting song evolves into a more produced and fuller sound, suggesting a celebration of life instead of a focus on death.

It's not all sad reflection. Cousins wrote the song "Celebrate" for her best friend's wedding, a catchy tune that ends each sentence with a rhyme for "celebrate." While the lyrics include words such as "fish bait" and "uncomplicate," Cousins admitted at a Deep Roots Festival performance that not all the rhymes were PG. She left those ones out.

Cousins' album isn't only about letting go; it's also strongly rooted in collaboration. Luke Doucet produced The Send Off, a detail Cousins can't be more excited about. "We were having a beer one night after one of the shows in Toronto and he just said, 'I'd really love to produce something of yours someday,'" says Cousins. "I was throwing up in my mouth I was so flattered."

Local musicians such as David Myles, Don Brownrigg and Jenn Grant can be heard on the album, as well as Tom Wilson (Blackie and the Rodeo Kings), Melissa McLelland and Kathleen Edwards from Ontario, where the CD was recorded.

"My favourite thing is collaborating with people," says Cousins. "I get overwhelmed with the amazingness of people helping me."

With the strength of her newest album, it sounds like Cousins is going to be overwhelmed with amazingness for a long time coming.

- The Coast

Cousins’ is one of the finest performers of our time. With her heartfelt sentiments and dry humour, she’s a natural storyteller.

Whether she’s speaking to the loss of her grandmother who passed away at 91, dedicating a song to one of her dearest friends (she covered festival organizer Don Brownrigg’s “Along, Too,” on grand piano), or commenting on the tightness of Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland’s jeans, it’s hard not to love her.

While Doucet artfully played electric guitar, Cousins performed a vast selection from her latest release, The Send Off, recorded this past September with the legendary guitar hero, including: “White Daisies,” “Celebrate,” “Mandolin Man,” Mary Margaret O’Hara’s “I Don’t Care and “I Were the Bird.”

“It was the last song written on the record,” says Cousins, recalling a summer week walking the north shore of her Prince Edward Island homelands —the place that sets her heart back in balance —watching the birds soar above the ocean.

“Halifax is the best place to grow and incubate,” says Cousins. “I’m so grateful to live here and to be a part of the In the Dead of Winter festival. I remember being one of the organizers in the first year with Heather Gibson, now I am just so lucky to be a friend of the festival.” - The Coast

My name is Cedar Pratt and I am 7 years old. My dad works at CBC Radio 3 and he took me to see two of my favourite singers, Amelia Curran and Rose Cousins, on Saturday night at the Media Club in Vancouver. It was my first concert ever!

My favourite part was meeting Amelia and Rose. There were really nice and funny. I got my picture taken with both of them.

The best songs of the night for me were "Julia" from Amelia Curran and "White Daisies" from Rose Cousins. "White Daisies" is my favourite song right now, so it was pretty cool to hear Rose sing it live. They both told funny stories about the songs before they sang them.

It was also nice that I got to sit really close to the stage so I could see them really well.

I found out Rose and Amelia have known each other for ten years. That's longer then I have been alive. That's amazing to me!

It was really fun. If you get a chance to go and see Rose and Amelia in concert, I think you should go. They are fantastic!

If you can't go see them live, here's a concert recording of Amelia that you can listen to right now:

Amelia Curran In Concert at Holy Heart of Mary Auditorium, St. John's, Nfld.

What was your first show ever? - CBC Radio 3

Rose Cousins has burst into bloom on The Send Off, a sophisticated follow-up to her 2006 ECMA-winning debut, If You Were For Me. On her sophomore release, the Halifax, NS-based singer-songwriter breaks away from traditional folkiness to experiment with wilder sounds and a broader spectrum of emotional colours. She brings an excellent supporting cast to this second effort, including producer/guitarist Luke Doucet, cellist Matt Brubeck and backing vocalists Kathleen Edwards, Jenn Grant and Melissa McLelland. The album opens with the exquisite "I Were The Bird," the plucked strings and a touch of reverb elevating Cousins' luminous vocals to cruising altitude. From the electric blare of "Maybe I Knew" to the lullaby simplicity of "Young Once" and the cheeky jazziness of "Celebrate," the album weaves back and forth between electric and acoustic, from heartache to intense joy, with inventive arrangements that enhance the beauty of Cousins' fresh, sincere compositions. (Old Farm Pony) - Exclaim! Magazine

ROSE COUSINS
“I always feel the love”, says Canadian singer Cousins of her previous performances at the Cutting Edge of Campfire. It’s no wonder Cousins is the object of audience affection. Her songs are classic singer-songwriter fare, but stripped down to skeletal, sparse voice and guitar. Or, to borrow Cousins’ own words, “my music is folky.” Think of Cousins and the “Mood Indigo” girl of the festival.

- Christopher Muther @ The Boston Globe

Rose Cousins
If You Were for Me
CBC Recordings

Halifax singer/songwriter Rose Cousins is ready for the big time with this long awaited third recording. Intimate and inspired, If You Were for Me is subtle in scope, generous with gesture and reveals the soft soul of an artist finding her voice in full folk stride. One of the best local releases in 2006, this work puts her in standing alongside Joel Plaskett and Matt Mays as one of HRM’s finest storytellers. 4 stars (out of 5)
- Halifax Daily News

There was no pale love last night at the Sir James Dunn Theatre at the Dalhousie Arts Centre as Rose Cousins took the stage to launch her first full-length CD, If You Were For Me, produced in the famed Studio H, CBC Halifax. The love was bright and strong and mutual.

The audience did a bit of a double take as Rose strode from the wings in a black dress and glitzy shoes - leaving the cargoes and sneakers behind and taking on a slightly new persona for the night. Then, peppered in between with her accustomed humour and grace, she took us on a tour of the new album - accompanied by the eminently capable sidemen who helped make this CD such a winner - Ray Legere on fiddle and mandolin, Dave Burton on drums and keyboard, Jamie Gatti on bass.

With uptempo "Edmonton", the haunting "One New York Ago", the potential pop song "Pale Love" and the rockier "White Lies", Rose waltzed and rocked us through an unforgettable night, eventually covering the whole CD including the already acclaimed "Dance if You Want To."

Throughout the evening, Rose brought fellow singer-songwriters Meaghan Smith, Christina Martin, Jill Barber, and Brooke Miller out to add well-placed harmonies, while John Mullane (In-Flight Safety) provided electric guitar on the up-tempo tunes. A cover of "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" punctuated the early part of the evening, and the finale saw even more of Rose's musical friends and colleagues join her on stage, in addition to the afore-mentioned. Her sister Marilyn (Rose's very first singing companion), Jenn Grant, Jason Burns, Kev Corbett, David Myles, Dale Letcher, Caledonia, Tanya Davis, Don Brownrigg and many more brought the audience to its feet with a moving version of "Fall at Your Feet" by Crowded House. Answering the call, looking starry eyed and on top of the world, she slipped back to the mic to leave us with the graceful "Simple Thought."

We wish Rose well on her upcoming tour, and welcome her here on acousticroof.ca. As her career unfolds, we know she'll take time to do concerts in small venues and "homes away from home" across the country. Keep an eye on when she'll be passing through your neck of the woods.

Sometime later this fall, Rose will play a house concert in the St. Margarets Bay area. If your schedule is flexible, you can book tentative seats now for that show, and dates and confirmations will be made available as soon as possible. Based on demand, two shows on the same day may be possible. To send an expression of interest, view the house concert profile “Lift the Wind” here on acousticroof.ca.

Paula Fredericks, Lift the Wind Concert Series
- www.acousticroof.ca

Some voices hit you hard from first blush and this is one of them. Beautifully clear and instantly distinctive, this 25-year-old songbird from Halifax, NS cuts to the chase with the first lovely strains of “Good Enough,” accompanied by mandolin, pedal steel and guitar, which complement her powerfully feminine voice. Strong yet tender, “Edmonton” picks up the pace with an added rhythm section, and the absolute command of her vocals becomes clear. Neither folk nor country, Cousins straddles that middle ground blazed by strong, independent singer-songwriters like Shawn Colvin before her, a similarly fresh voice rising above cliché, one armed with an exceptional grasp of pop sensibilities. The 11 original, self-penned songs go a long way towards separating Cousins from the pack and her choice of accompanying musicians, particularly Ray Legere on mandolin and Danny Maillet on dobro and guitar, lift each composition skyward. Yet, Cousins’ highly individual sound rises further, capable of blending joy with wonder, innocence with experience, spurred on with a confidence that is instantly audible and refreshing. The clear focus of “Good Enough” sets the stage, while the upbeat “Pale Love” digs into your psyche like a burr. Irresistible.(Old Farm Pony) - Exclaim!

Though still a relative newcomer to the scene, Halifax-based Rose Cousins (Sunday, August 19, 6:15 p.m., Main Stage) has turned some influential heads of late. Her 2006 effort If You Were for Me picked up two East Coast Music Award nominations for songwriter of the year. She also got nominated for the CBC Galaxy Rising Star Recording of the Year - that led to becoming the Canadian regional finalist in New York's Mountain Stage New Song Contest next month. Her resumé shines, but her songs are the real story, as Cousins, whose voice rings as true as a bell, spins forlorn folk dissertations on fear, desire and love that burn with a quiet, spine-tingling intensity.

"I think the creative well from which I draw is a melancholy place," says Cousins of her penchant for sorrowful balladry. "I enjoy so much music, but I think that whatever reaches into my chest and squeezes my heart to make me feel something is the stuff that I seek out." - Ottawa Express

If there is one artist who epitomizes the spirit of the East Coast Music Awards, it's Rose Cousins. With humble beginnings in Prince Edward Island, then creative blossoming in Halifax, the 29-year-old singer-songwriter is a working artist who has chosen music as a career. She's by no means rich with money, but she's rich with dedication to creating and performing original and heartfelt music.

Known in music circles simply as the ECMAs, the awards weekend is a celebration of the best music from the Atlantic provinces. It's very different from the bigger and more visible Juno Awards, which acknowledge music on national scale and showcases the flash and pizzazz of Toronto's—er, Canada's—biggest, some might say most commercial, artists and celebrities.


2007-02-15 FEATURES
February 15, 2007
Rose's garden
The witty and sensitive singer-songwriter has come into her own since the release of her first LP, If You Were for Me, nabbing ECMA nominations for Songwriter and Rising Star. She's ready for all that's come her way, and anything after.
by Johnston Farrow
Listen to "Good enough" by Rose Cousins

If there is one artist who epitomizes the spirit of the East Coast Music Awards, it's Rose Cousins. With humble beginnings in Prince Edward Island, then creative blossoming in Halifax, the 29-year-old singer-songwriter is a working artist who has chosen music as a career. She's by no means rich with money, but she's rich with dedication to creating and performing original and heartfelt music.

Known in music circles simply as the ECMAs, the awards weekend is a celebration of the best music from the Atlantic provinces. It's very different from the bigger and more visible Juno Awards, which acknowledge music on national scale and showcases the flash and pizzazz of Toronto's—er, Canada's—biggest, some might say most commercial, artists and celebrities.


photo Scott Munn

The ECMAs tend to focus on the talents and achievements of more humble acts who have a calling to write, perform and lead the life of musicians. Instead of Fergie and Pam making out in the bathroom of a dark nightclub, one is more apt to see Matt Mays and Joel Plaskett strumming their guitars in an impromptu, late-night house party jam, surrounded by ale-fueled revellers. In other words, the ECMAs are a celebration of our music.

Up for the CBC Galaxie Rising Star Artist Recording of the Year for her full-length debut If You Were for Me, as well as SOCAN Songwriter of the Year for the album's opening track "Good Enough," Cousins's nominations speak volumes about her as an artist and as a person. She didn't receive the nominations by taking the most trodden and easiest path. It was a journey of determination and faith in her abilities, and it's her talent that found her scheduled to play in Sunday night's awards gala with some of the best artists the region—and the nation—has to offer.

"This is the first year that I've really participated as an artist," Cousins says of the ECMA weekend. "It's kind of like band camp. You get to hang out for three or four days with all the people you don't necessarily get to hang out with because we're all on tour during the year. It's a party at night, a little work during the day. You get to play, you get to hear your friends play, you get to play with them. Really cool stuff happens."

Like a modern-day version of a character from a Lucy Maud Mongomery novel, Rosanne Millicent Cousins grew up in a potato farm on the north shore of Prince Edward Island, not far from Kensingston. She came from a big family—an older sister, three younger brothers—and when she wasn't swimming in the pond by her house, playing in the woods or taking walks on the beach, she found her alone time where she could, mostly at the household piano. It's where she started creating music at a young age.

"I would sit in the living room by myself and play," she recalls. "I'm one of those people, to this day, that needs a lot of reflecting time. When I was a kid I might have found that under my bed or I might have found it sitting in my living room."

After she graduated high school, she attended Dalhousie and played volleyball, rowed and participated in whatever extra-curricular activity would have her while pursuing her degree in kinesiology. Given her involvement in her school, it's perhaps no surprise she went on to work for Dalhousie for several years as an event planner. Inspired by a high-school friend, she picked up the guitar, and further inspired by her late grandmother Ellen, she wrote her first song. Realizing her passion for music, she began playing at open mic events. Slowly, writing and performing became a more important part of her life.

Cousins's early EPs, Only So Long in 2002 and Miles to Go in 2003, failed to make much of an impact. She soldiered on, compelled to continue with her brand of Patty Griffin- and Shawn Colvin-influenced folk. Along the way she became an avid supporter of the local scene, often booking shows with other singer-songwriters and playing regularly.

"What drew me in at first was her sense of humour. There's a warmth to her, a total generosity and spirit," fellow ECMA nominee and friend Jill Barber says. "She really embraced me and gave me confidence at a time when I really didn't know any musicians and I was totally new to the scene. As soon as we did the show together, she was just so full of positive reinforcement of what I do."

It wasn't until she recorded an episode for CBC's Atlantic Airwaves that Cousins decided to take her musical career more seriously, and was invited by producers Glenn Meisner and Karl Falkenham to record her full-length debut at the respected CBC Studio H. There she laid down the tracks for the sincere, intimate If You Were For Me, 11 songs of love and heartache with a slew of local artists as guest musicians and featuring some of the most honest lyrics and purest vocals heard from an east coast songwriter.

Just over a year ago, Cousins took a chance and left her day job, setting out to become a full-time musician. The transition officially kicked off in September with a stirring CD release show at the Sir James Dunn Theatre that showcased Cousins' comical inter-song banter, her passionate songs, as well as guest appearances by Barber, Jenn Grant, Rose's sister Marilyn and members of In-Flight Safety. Perhaps the best indication that she was on her way came with a show-ending sing-along with approximately 30 local musicians backing her on a cover of Crowded House's "Fall at Your Feet." It was a fitting way to end what many consider one of the best concerts of 2006.

"I had this emotional feeling when I had this grand finale at the end of the show," Cousins says. "I could see everyone standing backstage, I looked over and it was like, this is incredible. My sister was there from PEI and everyone was gathered around to help me. I'm the person to help people and I'm not necessarily the person to take help. But it was an incredible day and it made the show feel amazing."

While she admitted in an earlier Coast story that she felt apprehensive about leaving the daily routine of a nine-to-five job, she is now noticeably confident when it comes to discussing her career. That newfound self-assurance partially came from the tours that followed her Halifax release show—one in eastern Canada, the other in the mid-west and southern United States with Boston-area performer Edie Carey.

"Rose got up there and you sort of anticipate that you're going to have to do some winning-over of the audience, they're there to see the person they want to see," Carey says over the phone from her boyfriend's place in Los Angeles. "But she just nailed it. She's an amazing songwriter, but she's so completely herself on stage, it just knocked me out."

Cousins is unassuming as she talks about her experiences over the last year, the awards nominations, the accolades and the steady string of shows, as though she has taken full advantage of everything that has come her way. Whereas a year ago when she'd be more likely to say, "Oh my god," and "I think I'm going to throw up," when talking about the opportunities given her, she's now more apt to say "That was incredible," "It's amazing," and "That's so cool," all expressions that she peppers throughout her interview.

"I'm not so scared anymore," she says. "I find it so cool now because people are getting in touch with me, saying that they have this venue, they want me as part of this series. I just have this mind that if I'm working, I can get myself on track, then opportunities will come. At the same time I'm going out to get them."

Cousins is up against some hefty competition in the categories she's nominated in. She shares honours with In-Flight Safety, David Myles, Ruth Minnikin and Andrew White in the Rising Star Recording of the Year, and she's nominated with friend Jill Barber, Joel Plaskett, Bruce Guthro and Ron Hynes in the Songwriter of the Year category. Although the latter group has won more than 15 ECMAs combined, the point isn't to weigh in on Cousins' chances of winning. It's the fact that she now deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as these artists.

"It's just great music and great art," says Barber. "I have no doubt that it won't be anything more than people giving her a listen before they're convinced, as I am, that she's a true artist, one I think is going to have a really long and rich musical career. I have utter confidence in her."

It's her spirit and will to succeed in something she's passionate about that makes Cousins's nominations special and offers hope that awards shows might follow suit to give notice to similar-minded artists. Better than that, the ECMAs are a chance to celebrate the people who live for music, whether it's in small-town Prince Edward Island or thriving Halifax, and feel this is the path they must follow.

"This is what I've come up for my statement about this: the cool thing about this year, other than the fact that it's in Halifax, is that I'm in the same amazing group as all of my friends and it can not go wrong," Cousins says. "My good friends are nominated with me in every case and it's like, I feel part of a community and I feel like I am being recognized. And that feels pretty amazing."
- The Coast Halifax