Momnesia

Interview with Colbie Caillat at the Masters Tournament

AUGUSTA, GA - Colbie Caillat seems more like your sister than a singing sensation. The sunny, down-to-earth demeanor reflected in her music shines through the phone line across the Atlantic.

For Caillat, she says hasn’t really experienced the “celebrity” aspect of musicianship, and fame is still relatively new to her.

“I’m not used to it, for the most part.” And, like any true artist, she is dedicated to her craft and doesn’t concern herself with the spotlight. “I’m always touring.”

Caillat and her band have just wrapped up a tour of Asia — Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines — and Europe.

“I’m still new over here,” she said of the European audiences. “So the audiences have been small; [I play] bigger shows back home. But [in Asia] the fans were singing along with all of the songs.”

Caillat is one of the artists that has chosen the Internet route in getting her music heard by the masses and that has certainly proven successful.

“A friend put my song on MySpace,” Caillat said from her hotel in Copenhagen, Denmark, where she was braving the cold. And “within six or seven months,” she had become the No. 1 unsigned artist on the site. All due to, for those who don’t know, her hit “Bubbly.”

Not too bad for someone from Southern Cali, whose father, Ken Caillat, co-produced one of the greatest albums of all time: Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumors.”

He also acted as producer on Caillat’s debut album “Coco,” the title coming from her childhood nickname.

He gave her a good piece of advice: “He was the one who encouraged me to become a songwriter rather than just a singer.”

Singer-songwriters often garner more credibility and have more prolonged careers than the usual pop star du jour making headlines.

When on tour, in her downtime, Caillat hangs out with the guys in her band, musician friends of hers from LA, and manages to squeeze in some sightseeing. But she’s also caught a few shows, including Coldplay, Amy Winehouse and John Mayer. “He’s been the best so far,” she says. “He was amazing.”

Caillat didn’t take to performing naturally and, despite extensive touring, performing live has been the most difficult obstacle for her to overcome. “I’m getting over that fear,” she said.
She enjoys recording in the studio, though, and uses GarageBand to write her music. And these days she’s been listening to everything from Sean Kingston to Jack Johnson.

When she’s at home in LA, you can find her hanging out with her family, friends and her three dogs, doing what comes naturally to Southern Californians: barbecues, lounging by the pool and going to the beach. But she only had a few days off after returning from Europe before she hit the road for a college tour, which includes Augusta.

While Rock Fore! Dough may mark her first trip to Augusta, Caillat had been through the South before, making some “real quick stops.”

“I like the South a lot,” she said. “I like the warm weather, people are so sweet and the accents are the cutest.”

She also knew of Augusta’s golfing Mecca status: her father and her manager are both golfers.

Caillat herself doesn’t hit the links, but she does do some photography and perhaps would like to something with that in the future. She also has taken an interest in the merchandise end of the biz. “I like picking out the merch and having a say about what you sell.”

After she takes the stage at First Tee, you can guarantee that concertgoers will snap up every T-shirt laid out on the table, considering her popularity.

Other projects she has include a duet with Jason Mraz, “Lucky,” that will be featured on his upcoming album, “We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things.”

“[Mraz] e-mailed me in the fall and said he liked my music and he’d like to collaborate with me.” They both ended up in London and she recorded with him. “I’m really excited about it,” she said.

You can bet her fans will be excited, too.