Singer-songwriter, author, speaker Tara-Leigh Cobble. Photo courtesy Jeremy Cowart
When Kristen and I began dating, she handed me two books and a CD by Tara-Leigh Cobble, her friend from New York City who had mentored her as a singer-songwriter. I read them and I discovered more of Tara-Leigh’s music on iTunes. Kristen often talked about her friend, and I had a good sense of who that person was because Tara-Leigh is a gifted writer, musician and communicator.
Now, Tara-Leigh Cobble has released a new book, Orange Jumpsuit: Letters to the God of Freedom (get the Kindle edition of Orange Jumpsuit via Amazon.com here – print version due tomorrow) with a foreward by Lauren Chandler, wife of Pastor Matt Chandler of The Village Church in Texas. This is on the heels of Morning’s War, a full-length album released earlier this year.
I talked to Tara-Leigh about each of these projects, about temptations on the road as a touring singer-songwriter, about the differences and similarities in writing prose and writing songs, about writer’s block, about the benefits of being an unsigned, independent artist versus recording on a major label, and much more. If you’re a songwriter, aspiring author, indie musician, or someone who loves to read and listen to good art, journey with us on this interview:
Bobby Gilles: Tell me about your brand new book. I love the title Orange Jumpsuit: Letters to the God of Freedom. How did you think of the title?
Tara-Leigh Cobble: It’s based on obscure Old Testament character named Jehoiachin. We don’t know much about him, but 2 Kings 25:29 says he was released from prison, then he took off his prison clothes and dined at the king’s table every day for the rest of his life. For every Christian, that verse sums up our life story. But somehow I still walk around in my prison garments. This book is about learning to walk in freedom instead.
Bobby Gilles: You’ve said that this book was birthed out of the same life experiences as the album Morning’s War. What — other than the format, of course — is different about the book (tone, subject matter, conclusions)?
Tara-Leigh Cobble: Music usually meets me where I am, but books take me where I’m going. I’m not sure that’s true of everyone. But for me, music is abstract enough to capture an emotion and leave you alone with it, whereas books are far too descriptive and concrete not to demand a response. In that way, I think Morning’s War is the “what” and Orange Jumpsuit is the “what now?”
Bobby Gilles: The writing style in your books is similar to Blue Like Jazz. It’s very conversational and whimsical; light-hearted and suddenly insightful. Is that what a conversation with you is like? Does it take a lot to achieve that tone? When you write a first draft, is the tone heavier, and then you have to lighten it up, or is the secret to sounding so natural that you don’t do a lot of revision?
Tara-Leigh Cobble: I tend to write like I speak. In fact, I’ve just started working on my first book that is a different style, and I’m struggling to keep it from edging into my narrative non-fiction tone.
The heaviest revisions usually come within 24 hours of writing the first draft. My process is: write in the morning, take a break, revise at night, revise again the following morning before staring another chapter, then put it away. After that, I send it to my editor and she shows me where I’ve dropped the ball. Between the two of us, each chapter sees at least three revisions, but some have seen a dozen.
Bobby Gilles: You’re a very productive writer, both in songwriting and your books. How do you stay motivated to write? How do you push through dry spells or “writer’s block?”
Tara-Leigh Cobble: I continually build a list of ideas. I’ve got a stack of 3×5 cards with one-liners or choruses—songs waiting to be written. As for books, I usually focus on one topic at a time, but it’s a much lengthier process. Writer’s block hasn’t been a common problem for me. I think it’s because there’s always so much happening—in the world and in scripture and in my heart—to serve as fodder.
Bobby Gilles: Which do you prefer, songwriting or prose? Is there a lot of crossover in terms of the skills needed, or do you feel like they utilize different skill sets?
Tara-Leigh Cobble: The skill sets are only mildly related. I think they’re more different than they are alike. Unique turns of phrase are important in both spheres. But songwriting demands that you be concise and sometimes vague, whereas prose has to be elongated and examined. It’s the difference between being a distance runner and a sprinter—they both require legs and forward motion, but they have different goals.
Bobby Gilles: From “Every Man For Himself” on Morning’s War:
All the hatches were battened
I don’t know, I don’t know what happened
So I cried out to the captain
Forgetting I’d thrown him to the sea.”
You paint scenes very clearly with your lyrics. Do you “see” scenes in your head as you’re writing? Do you ever think, “This is what my song would look like if it were a movie?”
Tara-Leigh Cobble: Absolutely. I’ve seen that storm scene in my head a hundred times. It’s all metaphor, which makes it even more bizarre. Why would I picture the song’s storm instead of the story it’s telling? I love the density of imagery–sometimes it captures the emotion of a thing more than if you described it and explained it.
Bobby Gilles: You said in a previous interview that you enjoy being an independent artist. What advice would you give to all the indie artists out there who desperately want to be on a label, in terms of “Wait guys, have you considered the advantage of __________?”
Tara-Leigh Cobble: I will tell you a story to answer that question. And I’m not trying to color this in any specific way—I’ll just tell it like it happened. A few years into my career, I landed an opening spot for a band I admired. The following month, when I was in Nashville on tour, I ate dinner at a restaurant, and the band’s keyboard player delivered my salad to my table. He told me that I should count my indie blessings, because during the band’s off-seasons (between tours and recording new albums), he had to maintain a regular job. Whereas, for me, music was my only job.
Bobby Gilles: In a lot of ways, Morning’s War is a dark album, lyrically speaking. When you’re recording, do you pay much attention to whether the overall effect is emotionally light or dark?
Tara-Leigh Cobble: I love playing with the juxtaposition of what’s happening in the lyrics and the music of “Piñata.” For me, that is the clearest example on the album of playing light against dark.
I knew this album would be heavier, and for the most part, I loved exploring those textures. I think it’s been harder for some of my listeners to accept, but I needed to make an album that felt like a battle, because that’s what that period of my life was. And since most people have been through times like that, it seemed the most generous thing to do was honor that.
Bobby Gilles: You told the Phantom Tollbooth that sometimes you end up removing the one line from a song that inspired you to begin that song – sort of like what John Steinbeck, Dorothy Parker, and other writers have called “killing your darlings.” Writers have a tough time doing that. Why do it? And how do you summon the willpower?
Tara-Leigh Cobble: Last month I sat down to write for the NewSpring (my church) worship album. There were three other writers in the room, and we were tossing ideas around. I went to my stack and pulled out a line I loved—one I’d been wanting to use as a title and hook for nearly five years.
They liked it, so we wrote toward that. But we never found a place to use the phrase itself. It seemed like the song wanted to be something else, so we had to let it be that. If I have to make the decision to either honor the song and the listener or to keep my line, that’s a no-brainer.
Bobby Gilles: Going back to your one of your earlier albums Things You Can’t Stop With Your Hands, the song “Beautiful Drive” seems like a great road trip song:
No slow cars. No stop signs / Just a beautiful drive /
Just You and just me and / This beautiful drive.
You’ve spent a lot of time on the road as a touring musician and speaker. What are some of the negatives, and temptations of life on the road? How do you handle them?
Tara-Leigh Cobble: I love touring—alone or with others. The biggest temptation when traveling alone has been to become completely self-absorbed. I’m the one who decides when to wake and when to sleep and what to listen to, what to eat, what temperature to keep the car. I don’t have to consider others on a continual basis, and that’s a real threat to my sanctification. We were meant to live in community, not just because it’s nice to have people to talk to about your day, but also because it teaches us to die to self.
Bobby Gilles: What is next for you after Orange Jumpsuit? Do you like to work from long-range artistic plans?
Tara-Leigh Cobble: The only kind of long-range planning I do is rooted in prayer. The thing I’m working on right now is something that never would’ve occurred to me if I’d sat down to write out a five-year plan. But God has better ideas.
My current project is a discipleship handbook called Mile Deep. When I’m not touring, I’m fairly involved with leading discipleship groups at my church—I started one when I moved here less than three years ago, and it has grown into ten groups. So I’m putting it onto paper—what has worked well for us and what I’ve learned through the process. Then I’m planning to add a one-year curriculum to it.
Lately I’ve felt an intense pull for long-term change on a person-to-person level, and discipleship causes those kinds of ripple effects for the Kingdom. I’m feeling my career arc toward that right now. I’d love to be able to visit a church for a concert or speaking engagement, but also work with them as a consultant for their small groups while I’m there.
- LIKE the Facebook Page for Tara-Leigh’s new book Orange Jumpsuit here
- Visit Tara-Leigh’s web store to see all her books and records
- Follow Tara-Leigh Cobble on Twitter here
- While you’re at it, follow me, Bobby Gilles, on Twitter
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