Jill interviews Meaghan Smith while her tour bus is broken down somewhere in Ohio. Also, Meaghan has a new ep out. The follow up to her debut album the Cricket’s Orchestra called the Cricket’s Quartet. The Cricket’s Quartet can be purchased here.  Enjoy the interview.

Jill Donenfeld: You’re in the midst of a tour right now… what’s been your favorite place to play? Why?

Meaghan Smith: Well, you know, this whole tour has been fantastic. Every night the crowds have been super great. I mean I am on tour with Eric Hutchinson who is pretty poppy but the crowds have been into what I’m doing too… but as far as specific cities…I loved Chicago. I love New York—we are finishing out our tour there. And we played LA. It was fun. And Minneapolis actually was really fun.

JD: Is this your first tour?

MS: This is actually my second tour. I was out for 6 weeks doing a tour with Ron Sexsmith who is also a Canadian. So I’ve been out for 2 months now.

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For more information check out Meaghan’s website or MySpace Page.

Meaghan Smith – A Little Love (mp3)

Continue reading the interview after the jump…

JD: Do you have any rituals that you do on tour? Something that you must do before you go on stage? Before bed?

MS: Well yeah. It’s the only way I keep myself sane. Everything changes while on tour—the city, the hotel room, everything. I always like to read before bed. And before we go on stage—I have two people in my band, we have this thing where we build chi, this ball of energy. So we build this big ball of chi and then we just go on stage and rip it. It’s really fun.

JD: What inspires your lyrics?

MS: I write everything myself. What I’m mostly inspired by is my relationships with other people. They are all really personal experiences. And love, of course. And hate, too. Emotions.

JD: Do you also play the piano or an instrument?

MS: I am on the road with my guitar right now. I also play this thing called an omnichord. It’s this vintage thing. It’s a little easier than touring with my piano. I have an upright bass player and my husband, also. We use samplers, too and different looping stuff. It’s a good time.

JD: You’ve talked about how your family is very musically inclined—you are the only child who doesn’t read music… what’s their take on your pursuit of a musical career?

MS: Well I think they are happy that I have a job at all. My parents were a little worried about me for a while there. I am really happy doing this and I’ve been successful at everything I’ve tried so far. And they’ve been really supportive. My family is great.

JD: When someone calls your voice “timeless,” is there a great pressure on you? Or, how do you take that?

MS: I take it as a compliment. I just sing the way I sing. I can’t do anything about it. If people are into it, I am glad because that’s all I can do anyway. It’s very flattering to be compared to Patsy Cline and Norah Jones and Feist and Doris Day. People are comparing me to very different people. It’s kind of all over the road for me. I like all of those singers though, so it’s all very flattering.

JD: Who do you listen to? New and old? Who are you excited about right now?

MS: I just got the new Killers album its blowing me off my feet. It’s killer. The Kings of Leon. I know those are kind of fratty bands right now but I think they are big for a reason. I am also into this guy Leon Redbone. He’s from the 60s. But also, it changes every week. Last week I was listening to the Digable Planets, this hip hop-rappy group from the 90s. It’s really all over the place.

JD: Is there a singer/songwriter to whom you aspire?

MS: Well I kind of can’t say that there is because I think what I am doing is fairly unique. I take old sounds from the 20s and 30s and I am updating it and using it with turntables and DJs. But I’m really inspired by people. I love what Amy Winehouse did on her last record and Adele is just amazing. But I don’t want to mold myself after anybody.