Gibson.com – You have had three number one selling albums in the UK and Europe with sales exceeding 8 Million, your latest album
Pictures is riding high in the charts. In 2006 you were the world’s best selling female solo artist with two Brit Award nominations under your belt. You were recently awarded the Golden Camera Award for International Pop Artist and picked up the Echo Award for International Female Artist in March 2007. How do you beat that?
Katie Melua –
Well I know it seems like a lot to beat, but I don't set my goals by the success that I have in the music business I set them by the quality of music that I make, and even though I'm proud of what I've done so far I think I can better it. Gibson.com – Your new single ‘If The Lights Go Out’ is currently A-Listed on BBC Radio 2 and you are quoted saying that it is about “living for the moment and also swearing to the person that you love that you want to spend every day of your life with them, including the last moments.” Is this based on current experience?
Katie Melua- Yes, living for the moment has always been my philosophy in life, experiencing everything and being open to all that life brings. Gibson.com- You embark on a full European tour later this month which will see you perform in Poland, France, Italy and Germany. Your Royal Albert Hall show on May 8th is already sold out and you perform various arena dates including The O2 in the UK later this year. What can your fans expect from this tour?
Katie Melua – My live set is going to be quite retrospective, I'm going to be playing songs from all my three records. It’s the biggest shows I've ever done so it’s important that I don't loose the intimacy with the audience which my songs often need. As well as that there are going to be some heavy moments in it because I do like to go off what's expected of me. Gibson.com – You are photographed with a Gibson Les Paul Goddess and the Gibson Les Paul Vixen which have been designed especially for female musicians. Do you feel your success has encouraged and contributed women to take up the guitar?
Katie Melua – I started playing the guitar cause I was inspired by Eva Cassidy's playing so it would be nice to know that I've done the same for a girl somewhere. Gibson.com – You have performed live with your band around the world, what has been your favorite city and venue to perform in and why?
Katie Melua - I don't think I can pick only one cause as there are different things that have happened on stage at different times. Some have been good and some have been a real learning experience. If i had to pick one then playing at the bottom of a gas rig would have to be it. It was a tiny audience but the environment was so strange it felt like playing in space. Gibson.com – You are originally from Georgia then moved to Belfast with your family but you now reside in London. Has London provided you with inspiration for much of your material?
Katie Melua - it has, especially inspiration for playing gigs. I love the fact that there are so many diverse shows you can see. I've been most inspired by plays that I've seen in London. There is a certain level of escapism in secret parts of London and it’s nice to apply that to your own music. Gibson.com – You performed at the Royal Wedding of Prince Pieter-Christiaan in Holland and at the Norwegian Royal Gala Concert. Continuing the royal theme, the US TV show ‘Good Morning America’ broadcast live from Buckingham Palace where you performed ‘Nine Million Bicycles’ and ‘The Closest Thing To Crazy’. Have you performed for Queen Elizabeth yet?
Katie Melua - its sounds ridiculous but I actually have. At the Royal variety show in 2004. Gibson.com – You recently and generously gave up your time to sign a giant Gibson Les Paul replica guitar for the Gibson Guitartown London Charity Campaign. Are you affiliated to any particular charity?
Katie Melua - Save the children is the charity that I have worked with the most often, especially their education campaign called re-write the future, which aims to get all the children round the world into schools by the year 2015. Having been born in Georgia and then moving to the west I know the value of education and the stability that it provides to children in troubled countries. Gibson.com – Which Gibson or Epiphone guitars do you take out on the road with you? Is there one particular guitar in your collection you favour over the others and if so why?
Katie Melua - My favourtie is the Les Paul Vixen, it plays beautifully and feels very natural under my hand. I have to add also that I absolutely love the colour :) Gibson.com - You have one of the most recognizable voices in British Music, what do you think of the current British music scene and are there any bands or artists you tip for 2008?
Katie Melua - I think the music scene is great, people panic about it too much, all that matters is that humans will always have a need to hear and feel music. I'm listening to Alberta Cross and Polly Scattergood at the moment. Gibson.com – You recently made the headlines with a Guinness World Record for the deepest concert when you performed 303 meters beneath the North Sea in the leg of a gas rig. How did this come about?
Katie Melua - I got asked to do it for this Norwegian TV documentary. As I said above I absolutely loved how weird it was. The fact that it was a record was a bit of a sideline. I wanted to have the chance to say to my grandkids that I'd played at the bottom of a gas rig just before the planet ran out of fossil fuels. Gibson.com – Tell us something funny that has happened to you whilst on tour?
Katie Melua - I have a habit of getting seriously lost. I like to wander off on my own. Once I was in Melbourne Australia and decided an hour after I got off the flight from London to go to the beach, but I was so jetlagged I forgot to write down the name of my hotel. I didn’t even realise that I didn't have it until I hailed a cab to return and when asked where I was going, I had no idea. Plus my tour manager wasn't picking up the phone and my battery was about to die. So the nice cab driver took me to 5 different hotels that fit the description of the one I was at. After 2 hours of driving round Melbourne I got a phone call from my tour manager and found my way to the hotel. For more information on Katie Melua and her tour dates please visit
www.katiemelua.com