Ol Whitetail (Pittsburgh, PA) is an indie/folk singer-songwriter and poet. Inspired by literature, magic realism, activism, and philosophy, she uses literary devices and elements of visual design to evoke a cinematic aesthetic in song. In “Coonhound,” Ol Whitetail summons her one true love — the perfect coonhound.
She taught herself to play on a borrowed guitar when she was a teenager, and she started to write songs at the same time. When she was 19 she left her home in rural northern Appalachia to live near Nashville, where she studied fine art, music industry, and commercial songwriting. There she recorded two albums with the folk-country duo Good Luck Ola and interned at Oh Boy Records. She also served on the board for the Helen Creighton Folklore Society in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where she began to play folk and jazz on a classical guitar.
Who are some of your musical influences?
“Coonhound” was influenced by busking and playing with friends in Pittsburgh and Nashville. New Orleans jazz, ragtime, and western swing – and some of my favorite songsters, Dom Flemons and Willie Watson.
Name a perfect song and tell us why you feel that way.
“Workin’ Woman Blues” by Valerie June. To me, a perfect song says something that, when you sing it, you really feel it. I was working at a coffee shop during the pandemic and “Workin’ Woman Blues” was on my playlist every shift. No matter how things were going, it lifted my spirits and I really felt it. I think it’s such a well-sculpted blues song, super-catchy music and lyrics I can relate to.
Does your album have an overarching theme?
Yes – idealism and reality are dancing. Plus all the songs on the album have a tie to Pennsylvania and hover around the concept of home. There’s a lot of reference to fantasy, idealism, and Appalachia as well. My album comes out February 16, 2022 and “Coonhound” is on it.
Tell us about the first song you wrote.
The first song I wrote on guitar was a love song about sitting on a porch swing. The first song I wrote when I was 8 and couldn’t play guitar was called “Cheap Whiskey” and it was basically a mashup of every country song about some kind of alcohol. But the hook made it clear I didn’t know what I was talking about: “Cheap whiskey really ain’t that bad.”
Do you have any songwriting tips you can share?
Read poetry and listen to music without lyrics.
Ol’ Whitetail will be out on February 16, 2021
Looking forward to this album. Great article.