Caroline Romano on Writing, Touring, and her Favorite Songs

Photo by Kelsey Runge

Caroline Romano is definitely an artist to keep on your radar. Although I’d broadly categorize her as an alt-pop singer/songwriter, her songs range from intimate, melodic tracks such as “Doesn’t Matter,” to rockier ones to scream along with. Throughout all of her songs, there’s a genuine feel as she chronicles early adulthood with honesty and passion.

I had the pleasure of chatting with Caroline about her writing process, what it was like playing live shows, and about what music she listens to. Keep reading for the interview, and scroll to the bottom for the video!

The original interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Emma Zoe Polyak: Hi everyone, I’m Emma Zoe from Zany Waves and I’m here chatting with Caroline Romano today – Caroline, do you want to introduce yourself for people who might not be familiar with your music?

Caroline Romano: Yeah! My name is Caroline Romano, I’m 22, and I’m based in Nashville, Tennessee and I’d say that I make alternative pop-rock music. I’ve been here writing in Nashville and making music since I was 15!

EZP: I definitely feel like your music isn’t just one genre, and if there’s one word that I could use to describe it, it would definitely be along the lines of fiery. All of your songs feel very passionate and confessional, is that fair to say?

CR: I think it’s very fair to say – that’s always something I try to be in my songs, so I appreciate that.

EZP: Could you tell me about your writing process? Do all of your songs stem from personal experiences?

CR: So, for me, writing looks a little different every time, which is what I love about it. I’m a very lyrics-based person, and that’s always how it starts for me – with a line. If it’s something I want to say, I always go to lyrics first. I might have a thing in my head that I keep hearing or a poem that I start writing and I’m like, “this could be a song.”

But also, living in Nashville, I’m surrounded by a lot of great producers and track people, and I have sessions pretty regularly with them, so sometimes it’s like they’ll have a track and I’ll just go through my notes and look at something that feels like “this goes with this,” or “I’ll just start writing to that,” so it’s different every time, but I love it. It’s always just me trying to tell a story, and I would say that 99.9% of the time it’s based off of something very true to me, but sometimes you spin things a little bit or try to get in the mindset of someone else in certain moments.

EZP: That’s interesting to hear that you write poems too, and that they sometimes turn into songs! I feel like that’s something that’s very intuitive with poetry and lyrics; they are both this very artful and delicate way of expressing emotions. Do you ever take inspiration from other forms of media such as movies or books?

CR: Oh totally! I have a song that I wrote entirely based off of this indie Irish film called Cherrybomb and the song I wrote is called “Ireland in 2009,” it’s basically me just putting myself in that scenario, like if I was there. And I also wrote an EP based off of Greek mythology and a book called The Song of Achilles that was very prominent in a relationship I was in, so yeah, I would say a lot of things I read and see affect my music!

EZP: Awesome! I also love Song of Achilles, so everything you’re naming, I love. How about with your most recent song, “Doesn’t Matter,” what was the process like for that?

CR: “Doesn’t Matter” was one of my favorite songs to write as of late because I sat down with my friend John the Dropout – he’s one of my best friends and one of the weirdest producers I know, but I love it, I love that we go very experimental – and he got with me at the beginning of the year and was like “Let’s just get together every Monday and write the weirdest thing that none of us edit, it’s just the first thing that comes to our minds – I’ll do the track you do the lyrics. We’ll put them together and that’s what it’s going to be,” and I was like “That sounds awesome!” So, that was our first session together doing that and he just started doing these weird drum patterns and I just started writing in my mind about things I was thinking in a current situationship I was in; things like “I won’t ask you if you kissed her,” and all the things I just wanted this guy to say to me or that I wanted to say to him. It was very stream of consciousness, and we wrote it and fully recorded the whole thing in an hour because neither of us wanted to edit any of it. And that’s what it is – it’s just a stream of consciousness, which I like.

EZP: It definitely translates through the song, and I’m always pleasantly surprised when the creation of a song comes that naturally to an artist, because those are some of the best songs that really resonate with people.

I also want to ask you about touring and live performances, because you’ve had quite a few shows this year. How do live performances change how you approach your music, if at all?

CR: Coming off of my first tour, I definitely realized that there are some things I can do in my music to make the little moments hit a bit harder. A lot of it is production wise, and a lot of it is finding space in songs – I’m a very wordy person, so I’ve realized that sometimes it’s good to have a breath or a moment where I can interact with the audience a bit more. And it definitely inspired me to make some more up-tempo stuff too, so I’m working on that as well.

Something that was encouraging for me about tour was seeing how even my songs that aren’t the most energetic but were just the most passionate and heartfelt and confessional were the ones that seemed to resonate the most with people, and those are the ones that people would sing back to me at the end of the night which was very cool! It’s definitely given me a few notes about things I can do, but it was so much fun and I loved it!

EZP: That’s always such a special moment when the audience sings back, and I’m not surprised that it was during those emotional songs. Do you have any pre-show rituals you’ve developed?

CR: I think that by the end of the tour and in the shows that we’ve played since, my pre-show ritual is to sit and listen to half of an album. I’d just sit in my car and listen to it and then I’d go in with my band, we’d take a tequila shot, I’d drink a coconut water, and we’d go out there.

EZP: Is it the same album every time or does it rotate?

CR: It fluctuates depending on what head space I’m in; if I’m depressed, I’ll listen to some Twenty One Pilots and get back in my emo child era, I’ve also been listening to Bring Me the Horizon a lot lately. I have a show coming up and it’s probably going to be the Charli XCX album before I go on stage because I need that energy, but it changes.

EZP: That’s actually the perfect segue into the next part of the interview, where I’ll ask about different songs and albums that are like the soundtrack to your life right now. Starting off easy, what is the most recent song you listened to?

CR: Okay, so what’s paused currently on my phone is “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” by Taylor Swift.

EZP: Switching from songs to albums, what are three albums that you’d bring to a deserted island with you?

CR: This is such a hard question, but three albums I’d bring are 1989 Deluxe Version by Taylor Swift, Vessel by Twenty One Pilots, and Stick Season Deluxe with the re-recordings by Noah Kahan. Some lengthy albums so it gives me some expansion.

EZP: There are also a lot of different sounds as well, so you’re covered in any scenario. Controversial pick: what is a song that you love but most people tend to hate or that you dislike but others tend to love?

CR: I’m obsessed with this song “Girls” by The Dare, and it’s very hyper-pop and weird, but that’s one that I’m trying to rally for a little bit.

EZP: What is your go-to karaoke song?

CR: Easy, “Misery Business” by Paramore is my go-to.

EZP: What is the best song of all time in your opinion?

CR: I think off the top of my head “Long Live” from Speak Now by Taylor Swift, and that’s a controversial opinion for one, but I’ll advocate for this. It was written by a 19-year-old girl, it’s so poetic but so timeless, and it goes through the entire range of human emotion: nostalgia, hope, anguish. I think it’s one of my favorite songs of all time, so before I overthink it, that’s my final answer.

Watch the full interview below!

#rock #indie #carolineromano #nashville #newmusic