Carl Cader Interview

INTERVIEW WITH CARL CADER FROM TheCelebrityCafe.com ARCHIVES

DM)  Your voice sounds very unique on the album.  Is there some way that you are electronically altering it?

CC) Well I don't electronically alter my voice in any way.  What you hear is my true voice.  I do however record my lead vocals onto one track and then go in and record another track singing the same lines. I don't like to add a lot of effects on the vocals so this helps to beef up the lead a little bit.  I then lower one track so It doesn't sound like two people are singing at the same time.  After the lead is finished I go in and sing the harmony tracks.

DM) So all the vocals are yours?

CC) Yes they are 100% me. But before I recorded the harmonies I had to do the lead vocals because after I do the harmonies its pretty hard to get my vocal chords comfortable at the normal octave that I sing. I sing the harmonies pretty high (my Dolly Parton influence) compared to my normal voice and after I finish them I am a little horse from the strain. Not to say that I can sing as high as Dolly Parton but for me it's pretty high. If I did have to redo a lead vocal track for some reason after I completed a harmony track,  I would wait until the next days session for my vocal chords to become relaxed again.

DM) Did you ever study singing?

CC) Actually Dominick I've never had training in singing or even playing an instrument .  I've picked most of it up as I've went along and much of it seem to come natural to me.  I learned later on in my life that I came from a pretty talented family.  I never met most of them until I was in my mid 20's because they all live in the southern states. I was pretty excited to meet someone from my family who had the same interest in music and could play an instrument.

DM) Did you have any Talking Heads influence in your life?  It sounds a lot like their early music?

CC) You know, I was really into the Talking Heads in the mid 80's and listened to them a lot. I really didn't try to get a sound like them but I do feel that is a compliment and thank you for it. I did however try to create a style that would interest many age brackets. I have been told the music sounds like Harry Belafonte with a Paul Simon edge. I have also been told the vocals sound like The Moody Blues, Lindsey Buckingham and John Denver.  But what I find the most fascinating is how people hear things so differently.  Some people hear Calypso while others hear Country.  Others hear Pop while someone else hears Reggae.  I listen to so many styles of music and I love them all that I can not seem to stay locked onto one style. My influences range from John Denver and Dolly Parton to Elton John, Brian Adams and The Bodeans. But my greatest influences would be Paul Simon and Tina Turner.

DM) Lyrically, it sounds rather down while the music is upbeat.  Why the contrast?

CC) Well again, I like so many styles of music that I want them all to be a part of mine.  I like Country music and the emotional lyrics it possesses and then again I like Calypso music and the way it makes me want to get up and dance. I like to grab as many emotions as I can in one song. The lyrics may bring you down but the music is there to bring you right back up again. Music is all about emotion. So no matter if the song is happy or sad it has to stir them up in some way. Words make us think about life while music moves us through it.

DM) And what do you do outside of music in your life?

CC) Well Dominick, outside of my music I have a career in Civil and Architectural Engineering which is how the bills get paid.  As much as I enjoy my music I also enjoy my career.  If I'm not in the studio recording or on the computer drawing up plans for houses, Churches or a sports complex then I'm on the sandy beaches of Lake Michigan.  I have to admit, I am a beach bum from mid May to mid October.  I can't seem to get enough of the sand and sun of Sheridan Beach, Long Beach and Duneland Beach.  I also enjoy a bike ride along the shore of Lake Michigan.  We have a great view with all the sail boats on the lake.  As a matter of fact my summer fun is about to begin in another two weeks.  I can't wait !!!

DM) And I thought that the only beach bums were on the two coasts.

CC) Surprise,  we are down here in Indiana as well.  We don't say gnarly dude surfs up or anything like that.  We just enjoy the sunny beaches, the sea gulls the (seagals) and the sailing. My brother, who lives out on the west coast and has done quite a lot of traveling around the world has informed me that Indiana strangely enough has some of the best beach sand around. Not to fine and not to course. Just right.

DM) I don't think many honeymooners would choose Indiana over Hawaii!

CC) You're probably right and I wouldn't either. But it's nice if you don't have the money or the time to go on a vacation to Hawaii and you can still get a ( little ) taste of it right in your own back yard.

DM) If you had to choose, between your career and music, which would you choose?

CC) If I HAD to choose one I would have to go with the music. Writing and creating music comes a little more natural to me. For some reason I feel the need to create from my experiences and form them into music. Although I still create within my Civil career I have a lot less rules and boundaries to follow as an artist. We as artist still have rules and boundaries but not as strict.  I derive a great deal of pleasure creating from ideas, so that is why I enjoy both the music and the Civil career.

DM) Do you feel that you can be an artist in any career?

CC) Well if you mean can I draw cartoons like Charles Schultz or paint like Van Gogh probably not. But In music, and as an artist I have a tendency to pay close attention to detail.  As with everything I do, I always put pride and care into it and pay close attention to detail.  I also try to put a little bit of style into all that I do.  As a matter of fact, I spent many months designing, laying out and creating the CD jacket for "Time Away". Since I consider all this art I would have to say yes I can be an artist in any career.