by Steven Ashford

San Diego-based singer/songwriter Normandie Wilson's smooth, crisp melodies are a bubbly reminder that preserved music can relate to a new generation if its time-capsulated sounds are shared by an artist willing to hone in on its authenticity. Wilson's swanky, '60s pop-inspired sounds may be best suited for a dimly lit, basement-level lounge equipped with jazzy retro furniture and honest martinis.

 

Wither her bird-inspired tattoos and her keyboard, Wilson will play a double header of shows this week, as she supports Lincoln band The Golden Hour at Lincoln's Zoo Bar Thursday, Jan. 19 in Lincoln and at Side Door Lounge Friday, Jan. 20. I caught up with Wilson on the phone while she was somewhere south of St. Louis, returning to San Diego from her West Virginia childhood home.

 

Hear Nebraska: Tell me about how you began your musical career.

Normandie Wilson: I’ve been playing music since I was super little. I played piano in a lot choirs and at weddings, but I never got involved with playing in bands until I moved to California and joined my band Red Pony Clock. I put out an ad on Craigslist saying that I wanted to join a band, and Red Pony Clock was gauged about me and said, ‘Why don’t you just join our band?’ And that was back in 2006.

 

HN: Where has your career taken you since joining Red Pony Clock?

NW: Well, all over the country! [laughs] In 2007 I dealt with a really tough break-up and I quit my job and moved out of my apartment. I went on tour with them [RPC] for like seven weeks. Gabe [Lead singer of RPC] really encouraged me to make my own music and help me get through those early stages where you don’t think you’re doing so good.

 

HN: So was this your first attempt at songwriting?

NW: No, I moved to New York City in 2004 and lived there for about a year and a half. I was living in this, little shitty apartment and had no money and my friends worked all day. So being bored with no money, I would write these little songs on my keyboard, which was when I started really writing my own songs.

 

 

HN: What was your inspiration to start writing your own material?

NW: I was just really lonely back then. I just had my dog and didn’t feel like I had many friends. I started really writing when I would take my lunch breaks from work and I would just walk around and come up with these melodies in my head.

 

I’ve been a really big fan of '60s music — the Beach Boys are my all-time favorite band. And when I was living in that little apartment, somebody gave me Burt Bacharach three-disc Look of Love collection and I only listened to that for months on end. Those artists really supported my first strive at songwriting.

 

HN: Interesting you say that. Beach Boys and Burt Bacharach may be in the same era, but I would say their sounds are quite different.

NW: After listening to that Look of Love compilation I realized that I am much more a fan of songwriters than specific bands.

 

HN: You have bird tattoos on your arms, and your website has a tab for your “artwork and birds.” Can you talk about your bird interest?

NW: [Laughs] Well, I grew up in very rural West Virginia, and my grandparents spent a lot of time raising my sister and I. My grandma is an avid birdwatcher. I remember sitting in her kitchen and looking out this giant window and she would sit with me and point all the different kinds of birds. I guess it was a happy remembrance of my childhood.

 

I started drawing birds out in Los Angeles because I was running out of ideas for show fliers. There was a time when I had, like, 40 shows in a month so I would draw birds on them and people began to associate the birds with me. I just think birds are great, they’re like little dinosaurs.

 

HN: I noticed that you have ties with the Nebraska Audubon Society. How did you become associated with that group?

NW: Well I work part-time on a contract basis with the San Diego Audubon Society. I teach a couple classes on bird drawing a year and I try and talk about Audubon every time I’m talking about music because there aren’t a lot of young people involved in the Audubon Society and I’d like to make the correlation between the two seem a bit closer.

 

I knew I was going to be in Nebraska a while back and I contacted the Nebraska Audubon Society and asked if they would like a bird painting donated and they were thrilled about that and that’s sort of how we hit it off. I first came to Nebraska by playing the Nebraska Pop Festival and I just fell in love with Nebraska. I think it’s one of my places to play music.

 

HN: You released your album The Flower Box last year, is this tour promoting that release?

NW: Well I’m actually on tour with The Golden Hour, who are from Lincoln, and they’re an amazing band. They’re a husband and wife who play '60s pop and I was speaking with someone who have booked a lot of my shows and he suggested that I should tour with The Golden Hour, and I said sure! For me, it’s just a chance to play some shows.

 

I have a new album coming out in March, entitled “Geography and Other Problems.” I’ll be doing preorders for it on tour, but that’s not going to be ready yet. Come to think of it, this will be the first time that I will be playing these new songs so that will be a great experience.

 

Steven Ashford is a Hear Nebraska editorial intern. Normandie's two show count gives you two reasons to see her live this week in Nebraska. Math, kids. Reach him at stevena@hearnebraska.org.