The theme of trying to find oneself in the midst of emotional distress continues with her song, “Laundry And Dishes,” one of the few melancholy tunes on Faultline. Pierce demonstrates once again her artistry, as she paints a poignant picture, “I lost my phone / lost my coffee cup / make things disappear / then I make things up / I lost you / then I lost my way.” 

“Sometimes you don’t know if people will be able to relate to a song like “Laundry And Dishes,” even though it is a common theme. I have had the strongest reaction to that song, of all the songs on the album, and it’s not one of the songs that we have pushed. Nothing has put it out there, other than people finding it,” Pierce says, noting that there has not been much in the way of marketing support for the song.

“Laundry And Dishes,” comes from deep within Pierce’s own life experiences. “I was sitting in Los Angeles, and I wanted to make myself a cup of coffee, but I couldn’t find the coffee cup anywhere in the apartment. I was confused, and I literally couldn’t find things. It (the lyrics) just all rolled out from there.”

Adrienne, what about the ominous name for the CD Faultline? “Hmmmm, I have to admit that I had a lot of trouble deciding on a name for the album. It wasn’t an easy decision, and I didn’t want to name it after any one song. I didn’t want to draw attention to one song, and have that song represent the theme of the album, more than any other, because that’s not the case. I wrote most of the songs in either Vancouver or Los Angeles, and both places are on fault lines. People kept talking about the earthquakes that they had lived through in Los Angeles. It was a topic that kept coming up. (Laughing she says) I asked, is this a coincidence? Why does this keep coming up? I had also read about the great earthquake in San Francisco and I just started writing the lyrics. Eventually, I put music to it.” 

Pierce explains there is a second symbolic reason for choosing Faultline as the title of her current CD. “It also felt like things were changing quickly (in her life), and I didn’t have any control over it. They were just natural forces that were going to do, what they were going to do. I didn’t feel that I was completely on solid ground. It was also an exciting time, as I was traveling a lot and meeting a lot of people. I was writing with a lot of different people as well. I would meet people for the first time, and then I would go and start writing a song with them. It’s kind of a nerve wracking thing to do.”

One of Pierce’s favorite collaborators is Niko Friesen, with whom she co-wrote “Fool’s Gold,” “I Don’t Know,” and “One Perfect Day.” She describes him as a major contributor to the record. Pierce and Friesen first hooked up, when he started playing drums a number of years ago for Pierce’s band.

Despite being a tremendously gifted artist in all aspects of her music career, Pierce recalls being shocked (her word) that she was invited to perform at one of the 2004 SXSW showcases in Austin. The showcase also featured Snow Patrol and Polyphonic Spree.

It was while traveling to SXSW in 2004, that Pierce first met Thom Russo, who shared production credits, with Jeff Trott (has co-written with Sheryl Crow), for Faultline. Russo, who engineered all of the songs on the album, happened to be sitting beside Pierce on the plane, they exchanged information, she gave him a copy of her CD, he went to her show, and both a friendship and professional working relationship began to form. During her return engagement at SXSW in 2007, Pierce performed many of the songs which appear on Faultline.

With a record deal in her back pocket, Adrienne Pierce is thriving in Los Angeles. She confesses to being inspired by the musically stimulating environment that she finds herself in, and the numerous artists that she has encountered. This is one time when a worn out cliché truly applies, if you have not heard Adrienne Pierce’s music, you have no idea what you are missing. What you are missing, is one of the most gifted songwriters in the music industry today, who also happens to be a pretty good singer.

Interview by Joe Montague ©

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January 2008