Colbie Caillat bringing a taste of Malibu to Columbus

Dominique Johnson
Thu, 20 Oct 2016 02:32:47 +0000
Arts & Life, Music, News, a&l, a+e, arts & life, arts and life, capa, colbie caillat, concert, davidson theatre, music, preview

Colbie Caillat will stop in Columbus Oct. 22 for her The Malibu Sessions Acoustic Tour. Credit: Courtesy of Amber Crisci

Colbie Caillat is bringing the sound of the beaches of Malibu to Columbus.

The two-time Grammy award-winning singer’s tour, The Malibu Sessions Acoustic Tour, is making a stop at the Jo Ann Davidson Theatre on Saturday. The tour is in support of Caillat’s new album, “The Malibu Sessions.”

Everything is different about this tour, Caillat said. She said she is enjoying herself more than on any previous tours, as she used to be very worried about what people thought, making the experience less enjoyable.

“I am doing my own hair and makeup, or lack thereof,” Caillat said. “Not that I don’t care, I just don’t have a worry that I need to be a certain way. I packed for the tour the night before we left, and I’m wearing my everyday clothes on stage. This time it’s just relaxed and laid back. I’m already feeling the enjoyment of that. I’m having a good time.”

“The Malibu Sessions” is Caillat’s first album to be released with her own independent label, PlummyLou Records. She founded the label — which she named after her dogs Plummy and Lou — after parting ways with her former label, Republic Records.

“The more successful that we got, the more they wanted me to change as the artist that I was,” Caillat said. “They wanted me to be more of a pop artist, someone different than I was, instead of embracing the lane that I was in.”

Caillat said “The Malibu Sessions” was actually written and recorded about three-and-a-half years ago. At the time, her label did not think the album was commercially viable enough and turned it down. She would go on to write her most recent album, “Gypsy Heart,” under the label in 2014.

She said it is important to change and grow as an artist, but she did not want to completely abandon her old songwriting style.

“(With my last album) I loved what I wrote and came out with, but it wasn’t what my fans are used to,” Caillat said. “It was a different genre, I guess, and I wasn’t really comfortable with it.”

The Malibu, California native described her new album as very personal, as she was able to have complete control over the album from the self-captured cover photo to the recording process. She rented a house in her hometown for two months and recorded the entire album there with her longtime collaborator Jason Reeves and producer John Shanks. She said they recorded songs whenever they felt like it, whether it was early in the morning or late at night.

Caillat said this process reminded her of the recording of her debut album, “Coco.”

“It was in my hometown, and it was a fun process everyday,” she said. “I would drive five minutes and record for 12 hours or longer. We had nowhere else to want to go. We just wanted to be there.”

Caillat said with her four studio albums following, driving for an hour through Los Angeles traffic to go record a vocal was not something she wanted to do anymore.

“I told myself that, for this record, I am going to make a promise to myself that I’m going to record it the way that I want to,” she said. “There’s no stress involved.”

Rich Corsi, vice president of programming at CAPA said the organization, which runs multiple theaters in Columbus, had the type of relatively small, intimate venues that Caillat’s team was looking for.

“I was very happy to get the call that she wanted to perform in one of our theaters,” he said. “We just always want to make sure the artists’ experience in Columbus is always a good one.”

The singer-songwriter said she can get stressed out very easily, but her Columbus fans make her feel comfortable.

“They’re great,” Caillat said. “When the audience is super fun and attentive, when they shout things and sing the songs, it makes me feel like I can have a better banter with them. I feel like this audience does that.”

The show will begin at 8 p.m. on Saturday. Special guest performers include singer Justin Young and the band High Dive Heart.Tickets are on sale for $38.50 and can be purchased online on Ticketmaster or at the Jo Ann Davidson Theatre box office.