Alacartoona Q+A (Part 3)

© Brett Hooton

Bachelor Calwood with drums, © Matt Mayfield
Folk101 concludes its conversation with Kansas City’s Alacartoona. In Part 3, these modern cabaret sensations send us on our way with a warm, fuzzy feeling inside.

AT(FOLK101): How has that affected you as musicians?

BC: I think we're more appreciated. Because it used to be, back in the day, that if you just put "from Chicago" in front of a band's name, then you would sell the place out. But if you said, there's this Kansas City band whose music will tear you up. People would say, "Well, they're a Kansas City band, so they can't be that good." I don't think there is that attitude anymore.

RF: It's just getting better and better, so that's a real advantage of staying here. I think that Kansas City is going to get discovered, you know what I mean? But right now, this is a great place to make art.

AT(FOLK101): Why do you think Alacartoona has such an appeal for audiences of this city?

RF: I think we're different.

BC: Unique.

PF: Because even within the eclectic scene of Kansas City, we are completely different.

BC: And we get a lot of press because we're pretty and fun to look at.

PF: And we can't stop talking.

BC: Yeah, are everybody's answers this long or are we just really verbose?

AT(FOLK101): Reporters love it when interviewees talk a lot, and I want to give you one last chance to make me happy with one of those great, open-ended question. So, what would Alacartoona like the world to know?

RF: You were asking why people like Alacartoona so much, why they come to the shows and feel like they can enter into our world. I think part of it comes from when we say, "I am beautiful. I am Alacartoona." We put that in our CD, and we say it at every show. What we mean by this is really that "You are Alacartoona. You are beautiful."

PF: Alacartoona is the spirit of the experience. By partaking in that experience, you are partaking in that spirit. So when Ruby says, "I am beautiful," we're all saying it together. Each individual person can say that and feel beautiful.

Back to Part 1 or Part 2.

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The copyright of the article Alacartoona Q+A (Part 3) in Folk Music is owned by Brett Hooton. Permission to republish Alacartoona Q+A (Part 3) in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.




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