Paolo Nutini Interview
Though he hails from Scotland, Paolo Nutini often tours in the United States and other countries around the world. His mixture of up-tempo tunes like "New Shoes" and more mellow melodies like "Last Request" has earned him a spot as one of VH1's "You Oughta Know" artists during 2007.What's the difference between touring in the United States verses places in Europe?
I think here, it [the crowd] seems to be a lot older. The very front [of the audience] is all young, but the back is older people. It's a weird balance. It started out that way in the UK, but then it started to balance over. We started to get people coming who were 18 to 26. Now, the same thing is happening over here. It's starting half and half—middle age to very young—and slowly but surely the people in the middle are starting to pick up.
How does it feel to be so young, but you're already touring in different countries?
I suppose you get away with more, 'cause you're younger. I've not taken too many knocks, or have had too many let downs, and I've not got a plan. So it's hard sometimes to separate this from being your day-to-day life because it really has been for the last years, but it's not real life—it's touring. It's music, it's an experience, more than real life.
What do you love best about music?
It's amazing because it requires feeling. It's an expressive thing. If you have something to say, then say it. Even if it's something that's been a million times before…but then you're comparable. That's the thing—how original can you get? A lot of people take a theme and write it from their perspective. The main thing is to just keep it honest.
Is the story behind your song "New Shoes" real or made up?
I wasn't having that great of a day and then I bought some shoes. Then I walked out of the shoe shop and found money on the ground, and then I just got good news for the next couple of days. I was just imagining that that's all you have to do is buy shoes and then good things happen!
Do you think a lot of your fans only listen to your hits like "New Shoes"?
Some people just latch onto one [song]. And then some people aren't like that and like what you've done. They just want to hear more of what you can do, rather than just hearing the same thing over and over again, because they like you. I think ideally, that's what you want, because then you don't have any expectation or pressure.
Do you like living on a tour bus while on tour?
It gets smaller every night, because I'm on it more and more. But I've got my guitar here, and The Chappelle Show, and Reno 911.
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