Caroline Romano
The last time I interviewed Caroline Romano was in 2019. It’s crazy how time flies. But I kept following her and what she was doing. I kept listening to her music and I kept supporting her as much as possible because I’ve always believed in her. I’ve watched her evolved and grown as an artist, and it’s been so great to see.
Today she’s releasing her debut album Oddities & Prodigies, and man, what a project. She’s a rock star. She’s someone who really has something to say, and someone who knows who she is. I love the rock/punk/pop influences on this album. But what I love the most about this project is the songwriting. Just brilliant.
Massive congrats to Caroline for this amazing project. You are truly one of a kind.
Oddities & Prodigies is out now !!
Photo credit: Justin Nolan Key
Hi Caroline, how are you? What have you been up to since our first interview?
Hello! I’m doing well, thank you! Since our first interview, I’ve been writing a lot of music. A lot of music haha.
You’ve just released your debut album - how does that make you feel?
For someone who writes words for a living, I don’t know how to describe releasing this album makes me feel. It’s something I’ve dreamed about since I was a kid, since I first started writing music. I’m excited, but I’m also scared. I’ve put all of me into this album, into these 16 tracks, and I’m just praying there will be people listening. That’s all I can really ask for. I’m not scared about the super personal songs on the album or putting myself out there. I just hope this album will be heard, and that it affects people in some way. That’s all I could ever hope for.
What's the inspiration/story behind Oddities and Prodigies?
Oddities and Prodigies is my life motto. It’s how I see life and the people I know in it in three little words. I like to say that Oddities and Prodigies is chapter one of the story I’m writing. I know I’m going to be writing music for the rest of my life, and I think this is where we begin. This album is really about me growing up. It’s about chasing dreams in the digital age, and only falling in love with people I know nothing about. It’s dramatics and tragedy as told through the eyes of a freshly twenty year old girl. However, I think it’s a story anyone can relate to. Finding yourself, and then, dare I say choosing to be yourself, are two of the hardest things in the world. This is what Oddities and Prodigies is about.
Could you describe the songwriting/production for this album? Who helped you create it?
I wrote seven of the sixteen songs on the album this past year in my home. Or rather, I wrote them crying on the bathroom floor of my apartment. Those songs don’t have much thought or structure built into them, and I think it will be easy to tell which ones they are on the first listen. They’re just emotions. Nonsensical and often screamed or whispered out. The other nine songs on the album I wrote with my friends Michal and Chuckie Aiello in Nashville. They’re really fun guys to write with, and I love that they always let me write the songs I want to write, while helping me incorporate some sounds or directions I would never go to on my own. They really help to push me out of my comfort zone, and they even co-produced a few songs on Oddities. This album would not exist without Will McBeath. He produced the entire thing, many of the songs he created tracks for after listening to a rough, tearful voice memo I’d send him in the middle of the night. Will understood the sound this project wanted to be from the beginning, and he let me scream into his vocal booth many days. I’m so thankful to have been able to work with such amazing people on this album. It truly wouldn’t be here without them.
What different topics are you talking about on this album?
In all honesty, this album is pretty self-centered. I do a lot of reflecting in these songs, and I think if you’re someone who feels like you’re waiting for your life to start, this album is for you. I recognize that I’ve chosen a self-centered profession, and that bothers me at times. A lot of the songs are about why I make these impossible plans and dream these so far out of reach things. It’s one of the things I’ve often hated about myself, but I recognize in this album that I can’t change that. There’s a lot of longing in Oddities and Prodigies. There’s longing for love, for success, for peace. There’s defiance and self-destruction and wondering what went wrong and why. There’s even some pretty, shiny parts, and some beauty in the sadness. At the end of the day, I think I wrote this album for anxious and terribly hopeful adolescents.
What was the hardest part about making this album? And what was your favorite part?
The hardest part was fighting my own criticism. I was my own worst enemy with this album, but I gathered a lot of inspiration from those feelings as well. My favorite part was just getting to tell these stories. I loved getting to write about life and the way I see it, in hopes that other people who see things the way I do might hear these songs. At the end of the day, I got to make a lot of music in creating this album, and that’s all I could ever want.
What did you learn about yourself after finishing this record?
I learned for certain that I had something to say.
What made you want to name your record Oddities & Prodigies?
Oddities & Prodigies is my synopsis of life so far. I don’t think you can have one of those words without the other. For so much of my life, I grew up hating myself because of my oddities. They left me feeling lonely, like something was wrong with me. However, as I started to dive into the creative world, and just as I’ve gotten older in general, I’ve learned that oddities and prodigies go hand in hand.
What can you tell us about the artwork?
The artwork ties back to a line in one of the songs on the album, “Panic Attack”. The line is “I’m a fucking narcissist”, and I wanted the album artwork to kind of explain that a bit more. I’m a narcissist who hates herself. I spend a lot of time thinking about me and my life. Even crazier than that, I think my life and what I have to say is worth writing about. I think people should listen to what I have to say. It’s hard to be a musician without being a bit of a narcissist, but I also can’t think of a group of people who hate themselves more. That’s also what being young is like. You’re entirely self-focused, self-absorbed, all in the name of being a teenager. I’m lying on the floor (as I often do) surrounded by crossed out, discarded images of myself. I feel like I’ve been a hundred different people in my life, and I’ve liked none of them.
What do you want to accomplish with Oddities & Prodigies?
I want Oddities & Prodigies to be a place for people who feel misunderstood to share that understanding. I want this to be an album that people continually go back to. When they’re crying in their car, when they’re walking down the street, or even lying on the floor of their apartment, I want this album to be their album too. I just hope it connects me with the group of people I’ve been looking for my entire life.
For those who don't know, what different steps an artist needs to take to release a project like an album?
In getting ready to release this project, my eyes were definitely opened to all the different steps an artist needs to take to do so. After writing all the music, you have to find a producer you really trust with this body of songs. You record for several weeks, tweaking mixes as you hear them. You have to make sure everyone involved is getting their proper splits/payment. After you’ve approved all of the mixes, you send the songs off to get mastered. You have to come up with several creative ideas in the interim, from photo shoot ideas to music videos. You have to create the story you want to tell through the music in the content as well. Uploading the album is the final and most nerve-wracking step. Lastly, you’ve just got to promote the hell out of it before and after it comes out.
As an artist, what is the hardest part? And what is the best part?
The hardest part for me is promoting my work. I hate it. I really struggle with asking people for things, and I don’t know why it's so hard for me to view my music as a product to be consumed. The best part is listening to the album for the first time, from start to finish, once it’s completed. That was a very emotional moment for me.
What are your thoughts on today's music industry? If you could change one thing, what would it be?
If I could change one thing about the music industry of today, it would be its reliance on social media, particularly TikTok, to break artists and songs. I’m not saying it’s not an important and useful tool, but lots of musicians (including myself) aren’t influencers. It’s not what we want to do, and it’s not why we make music. I just don’t think virility is the best measure as to which artists should get recognition and which shouldn’t. It’s a fickle game, social media, and it’s one I don’t really like to play.
What biggest lessons have you learned since the beginning of your career?
I’ve learned that no plans are too impossible, and the only way to fail is by giving up. Honesty in your work is more important than likes on a post, and people don’t forget the smallest act of kindness. I’ve learned that a single lyric can save a life.
What message do you want to deliver to the world?
Oddities and prodigies go hand in hand, and finding a way to love every part of life, even the tragic ones, is critical. Find what makes your truth stir within you and run with it. Don’t let go of your dreams. They keep us alive.
Connect with Caroline: