Juliana Hatfield
Juliana Hatfield
Juliana Hatfieldis an American musician and singer-songwriter from the Boston area. She was formerly of the indie rock bands Blake Babies and Some Girls and now performs as a solo artist, and as one half of Minor Alps, alongside Matthew Caws of Nada Surf. In December 2014, Paste Magazine named her cover of the "Needle in the Hay", a song by Elliott Smith, as No. 10 one of the "20 Best Cover Songs of 2014."...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionRock Singer
Date of Birth27 July 1967
CityWiscosset, ME
CountryUnited States of America
My whole life was writing, recording and touring over and over again. At some point I realised I wasn't enjoying myself any more.
Writing helps me process things that are happening to me.
Songwriting is like editing. You write down all this stuff - all this bad, stupid stuff - and then you have to get rid of everything except the very best.
When I start writing, I'll have a vague concept or I'll just have a title, and the song just goes on its own direction. Usually it goes in many directions within each song. They get really convoluted sometimes.
My guitar playing has not developed as much as I think it could because I never practice. I only play when I'm writing or recording or when I'm playing on tour. When I'm sitting around at home, I never play.
When I first started making music, I didn't really know what I was doing. I just wanted to write songs. I didn't have a concept. I didn't think it through. I was just flailing around doing what comes naturally. It took me a really long time to step back and deal with what I was doing with any kind of perspective or self-awareness.
I used to be an over-packer! It took me a while to be smart about what I brought with me. I used to tour with a huge bag full of clothes and another one full of shoes because I wanted to have choices. And I ended up wearing the same pair of shoes all the time!
People think that my personality can be reduced to what?s in the songs on Hey Babe and it?s not true. But people don?t realize that.
People don't analyze Britney Spears' lyrics 'cause they're so obvious, you know? And her image is so kind of blah and mainstream that who really wants to read between the lines, because it's all so out there in front of you and boring and white bread.
You find yourself approaching middle age, playing another scuzzy rock club.
I still have a lot of those depressive thoughts, but now I have the foresight to tell myself, 'Don't think like that,' and things seem better.
You can feel that in the music, just the unease and the distrust of the things that satisfy people, and make people feel good.
From the beginning, I've always had a knack for catchy melodies. But I went through a period when I was trying to be rock n' roll and have a rock n' roll attitude. I was fighting my nature by trying to play really hard and sing really hard. But at a certain point, I realized that I loved syrupy pop music with tons of harmony.
My dad claims that he was able to trace us back to the West Virginia Hatfields. When I look at the old pictures, the patriarchs have kind of a physical likeness to some of the men on the father's side of my family. I want it to be true.