Hello, Angela Perley

Photo by Mike Furman

Hey Angela, tell us a bit about you, where’s your hometown, and what’s the best thing about it?

Hi! I’m Angela Perley, and I am an artist from Columbus, Ohio. I enjoy playing shows with my band, roller skating, running, drinking coffee and living through other people's cats [laughs]. 

I love living in Columbus, Ohio, because the people and music community here are so beautiful and supportive. It’s an affordable place as an artist to live in and it’s a great state to tour out of.  

Tell me about your terrific album, Turn Me Loose?

Turn Me Loose is my fourth album and my second “solo” album of sorts. I play most of my shows with my band but have put out the last couple albums as solo albums to give myself a little more freedom and simplicity in the writing process and because I have a new live band.

What’s the story behind the album cover? That looks like an old VW Beetle sunk in the field.

One of my friends, Adam Remnant (who is an amazing songwriter), took up photography in 2020 and took this picture and posted it on his instagram page and I just fell in love with it. It is an old VW Beetle near Athens, OH that was buried in the ground like that years ago by a father and son duo as a joke, and over time it’s become a hidden gem in that area to drive past.

I went to college in Athens, Ohio at Ohio University and remember driving by it on OH-550. It fits the album perfectly because I started my first band (Angela Perley & The Howlin’ Moons) when I graduated from OU, so it’s kind of like a full circle for me with that chapter of my life. If I didn’t spend that time in Athens, I don’t know if life would have taken me in this direction with music as my career. 

I really love the record; one of my favourite songs is ‘Ripple’, what’s the story to creating that song?

Aww thanks so much, that means the world!

So “Ripple” came about from me just feeling like I kept getting hit with bad news every time I thought things were going good for me, so I wanted to put that frustration into a bluesy song that was more on the J.J. Cale side where it sounds and feels happy but the lyrics tell a different story.... It's one of my favorites to play live with the band for sure! 

What was the first song you wrote for the album?

I think that “Star Dreamer” was the first song I intentionally wrote for the album and one of the first songs we started playing live. I was listening to a lot of early Donovan records and that vibe definitely slipped into that tune and “Near You” for sure. 

Although technically, “Praying for Daylight” is the oldest song on the album. I wrote it years ago and tried playing it out too and getting it on some of the records, but it never clicked. But when I showed the guys it this time around, and they slowed it down a little and made it more acoustic it finally revealed itself! This album is a little more roosty too, so it made sense with the other tunes. 

Which song from the record are you most excited about playing live, and why?

Right now it’s “Ripple” because the last couple years have been such a wild ride of ups and downs and that one is just really therapeutic to play live with the band and extend and jam on.  

What can you tell us about your 2023, what’s coming up this year?

I’ve got a lot of regional shows and festivals coming up this year, and my band’s first ever California festival/show (to be announced soon) will mark our first time flying to a gig instead of driving so that's an exciting new chapter! I’m glad to be playing again and touring, and I just wanna keep that going for as long as I can. 

Where has been your favourite place to play live so far?

Probably Colorado because it’s the farthest away I’ve been from Ohio with the band and the mountains are just magical. 

You’ve supported some amazing names live, what’s the biggest thing you’ve learnt from another artist?

When I opened for Lucinda Williams, I remember her telling me that we are all doing the same thing and just on different paths at different times in our career. She said the most important thing as an artist is to be you and true to yourself and I feel like that’s the best advice ever. As I’ve gotten older and have had more experience recording and playing shows and more experiences in my life overall, it’s made a big impact on my writing. 

With the $ from streaming being quite low, what’s the best way to support you as an artist?

The best way to support me as an artist is for people to buy my music online from my bandcamp site directly and/or at shows directly via physical copies of CDS, vinyl and tees etc. That is huge- also just showing up to the shows and getting tickets in advance makes my world go round. ;) 

What's the best bit of merchandise you have available?

I’m a tee merch person so I feel like that’s always the best merch I have available although at one point I had some cool trucker hats so I may have to get those back in rotation.. 

Who’s an artist I need to check out?

The band Ona, they are absolutely amazing. American Fiction is an incredible album. 

We’re called Campfire Tales, tell us your best story.

So many stories but one of the coolest festivals I ever played was one that was initially a birthday party for a friend where his family put together a backyard festival (Kickin’ It on The Creek) and Tyler Childers was the headliner! It was before I was super familiar with Tyler’s music and before he was huge. When we got there every single person was singing every word to every song- we knew something special was brewing there. Was such a special festival, absolute magic. The next day of the fest though there was a crazy flood warning and we barely got our van out of the creek.. so had such a magical experience and then was like busting out of there after 2 hours of sleep to escape a flood the next morning.... rock and roll baby haha. 

Finally, you can ask me any question you like, what is it?

Oo I’m curious what’s an artist you want me to check out?