“I’m kind of a weirdo. I have kind of a genre-less approach. So, it never would have occurred to me that I would be good enough for Alligator or that I would be their kind of thing. So, I was really excited.”
At age 52 Carolyn Wonderland is finally moving into the fast lane. She recently released her second album on Alligator and is currently on tour. Her music has multiple influences from cosmic country to soul, zydeco to swing, and gospel to cumbia, but overall it reflects the input of Dave Alvin, who produced her Tempting Fate and Truth Is for Alligator Records. She’s also been produced by Ray Benson of Asleep at The Wheel.
“They’re both awesome. Those are both gigantic boots to fill,” she says with a laugh. “I loved working with Ray, and Dave I’ve been a fan for so long. I couldn’t believe he said yes, but Dave has a way about him. One of my favorites. I love his precision with words, and how he can tie interpersonal things that would seem too personal. When I write, I try to write about people’s problems which (come) from a natural or interpersonal truth, and Dave just has a better way of finding interpersonal truth and helping me put what I want into songs.”
Born Caroline Bradford in Houston, she plays guitar, slide guitar, mandolin, trumpet, and piano. She dropped out of high school at 15 to pursue music. It may have taken her almost 40 years to land on Alligator, but she’s had an interesting ride including several years as John Mayall’s lead guitarist starting in 2018.
She recalls how she was invited to join Mayall’s band. “I was up in Woodstock actually. And we were on our way to the next town and my phone rang. It was a number I didn’t recognize, and someone told me, ‘Don’t answer that,’ and I said, ‘Naw, what the hell.’ I answered it, and it was (John’s bass player) Greg Rzab. He said, ‘I was wondering if you’d like to play a couple of songs on this record,’ and I said, ‘What? I mean, sure. I’ll give it a try. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to keep it. It’s cool.’
“Then, John picked up the phone and said, ‘Well, why don’t you just join the band?’ Ok! I couldn’t believe it. He sent me between 80 and 100 songs, and it was mostly practice tapes, board tapes from early performances, so I had a ton of things to go through, and I was so happy. That was freaking amazing.
“I loved every minute of it, everybody in that band. He was a magical being. I don’t doubt that people wonder if he was actually on this earth. He had a special thing about him. I can’t even – it’s hard to put in words. He was a very ethereal being, but he loved to play music, and that was it. He would go on tour and do shows in 60 cities and 19 countries, and that made him happy. He was not interested in the tourist thing. I love to hear all the songs he brought in. He had specific ideas that were universal.”
The title of her second album for Alligator is Truth Is. “I think we’re always trying to find the kernel of truth. There’s something that’s unifying like the string theory of truth. I want something that’s there for me, and the person I’m having a disagreement with I want that same kernel of truth to ring true on a natural level. I want it to ring true on a community level. That’s what we’re looking for. There is love. There is business, but there’s also forgiveness. There’s also responsibility.”
It’s almost as if she can’t believe where she is at this point in her life. “It’s pretty damned amazing. For instance, being able to talk to you, being able to talk to people about playing music. It kind of blows my mind. To know I can go out and play in my favorite clubs and be able to bring people to them. To be able to keep it going for the next band in my situation. It’s really important. And Alligator? Man, they bust ass. They really do. Between them and my booking agent, Intrepid Artists, I’m a lucky dog. I don’t know what to tell you.”
Looking back, would she have done things differently? “I don’t know that I would because the journey is what makes you what you are. I mean there’s a part of me that thinks if I had success when I was younger, I might not have been able to deal with it. I think having the humbling experiences of failure and living in a van for a couple of years – that kind of stuff can change you. I think if I’d had any success in my younger days, who knows? I might have been a pompous ass or O.D.ed. It’s hard to tell.
“I would hope that my core self would be the same, but who’s to say because I think we’re really shaped by our travels. And I’ve been so lucky. I mean I’ve had some bad days, had stretches. But no, I’ve been more blessed and lucky than I ever deserved.”
