DFest Preview: Ali Harter

As we prepare for DFest, we will be speaking with a few Oklahoma acts who will be playing this weekend in Tulsa.

Choctaw’s Ali Harter has traveled a big chunk of the world with a guitar in hand and, yet, has no desire to live anywhere but Oklahoma. Discovered by a French management team online in 2007, she has toured France, Belgium and Italy in the past three years. This fall, she is set to embark on her tenth European tour - something very few 25-year-olds can say. Harter released an impressive debut album, Worry the Bone, in 2007 and, with the help of a slew of Oklahoma musicians, is set to release a new album later this year.

Ali Harter plays Saturday at 10:20pm at the PAC - Doenges Theatre.

You’ve toured a few times in Europe and I see that you’re heading back this fall. Tell me how that came about.

My now manager, for Europe, found me on purevolume.com about two years ago, he asked me to come tour over there. After a few months of me blowing him off because I thought he was full of it, my publisher came to me and told me he was legit, and asked me why I was ignoring him. So I went crawling back, and apologized. But he understood. I mean, who does that happen to?! We laugh about it now. He’s a good friend and we’ve got a good team over there, its alot of fun now.

DOWNLOAD: Ali Harter - “Grandpa”

How have European fans responded to your music? Now that you’re going back more frequently, are you starting to notice bigger crowds at your shows there?

They’ve been amazing. There’s this huge want for American blues/folk/rock/country over there. American blues musicians tend to do really well in Europe, I guess its just something they dont typically hear, so it make sense. The more I’m over there I do actually start recognizing some fans faces, and there are starting to be more of them. France isn’t that big, so you’ll see the same group of people quite a bit through out one tour. It’s easy to follow someone around, and it’s really great for me too! I’ve also been really fortunate to open for some pretty big acts over there fairly early on, so that really helped me out alot too. I kind of got lucky with this whole thing.

I know you had hoped to have a new album out this summer, but you hit a few snags. Where is the recording process at now, where are you recording and who all can we expect on the new album?

Yeah, I wouldn’t say at this point that the snags have been a bad thing though. We’ve had to push things back because there are alot of people I wanted to be a part of it, but we all have pretty busy schedules to work around so its been tough. When this thing comes out, you will be able to tell why its taken so long, and I’m pretty sure you will be able to hear the literal blood sweat and tears that went into this thing. I was a little hesitant to give away any details about what we are doing and whose gonna be on it, because it changes daily. But, I think I can safely give you a summary now though, ha ha.

We are recording the record in Choctaw Oklahoma in our house. Our bedroom is a make shift control room and the office is the booth, with cables running all through the kitchen connecting the two. It is being recorded, co-produced, engineered, mixed and mastered by Matt Street, who used to play in Euclid Crash. He also plays ALOT on the record. Some more people involved in one way or another include: John Moreland (John Moreland and The Black Gold Band), Camille Harp & Chris Foreman (Camille Harp Band), Mike Kennerty (The All-American Rejects), Evan Felker (Turnpike Troubadors), Riley Jantzen (Mayola), Heath DeAngelo Nieves, Daniel Foulks (IIIrd Generation Bluegrass Band), Charles Plassard (The Joni Johnson Band, from Paris France). Thats what I can tell you for now, there are more to come. We have a few more songs waiting to get parts back, and then we are done. Its about 3/4’s mastered right now. The title is still up in the air.

I stumbled upon a live video of you a couple years back playing a big arena in Nebraska opening for Dierks Bentley and thought, hey that’s pretty cool. Then, at your live show, you tell that story and how it wasn’t a great experience. Talk a little about that.

Ok, first of all.. Dierks Bentley is a nice guy. He didn’t have to ask me to play, and I know that. Basically since that night in Lincoln Nebraska, I’ve been telling the story about that show, and singing the song I wrote about it in every bar from here to there, for anyone that will listen. My Mom says I should never have opened my mouth in the first place, but I just thought it was funny, and it got a good laugh. I wrote the song about some questionable behavior I witnessed and how I was amazed that that stuff really happened.. The other part of the story I get in trouble for is calling Miranda Lambert a brat, to censor my language. None of the story is a lie, but that part I’ll say right out.

What’s your take on Oklahoma music as a whole and what Okie bands are you a fan of?

I love Oklahoma, I love the people, the music, the scene, the history, the niche we’ve all dug ourselves into. I will always live here and I will swear its the best till I die. Maybe I’m biased, I don’t really care though.

It’s always hard to make this list, because there are so many, and I’m going to leave out my friends bands and look like a jerk. I’ll just name a few and hope I don’t hurt any feelings.

The Hex has always been my all time favorite, Bob Wills, John Moreland and The Black Gold Band, The Non, Samantha Crain and The Midnight Shivers, Camille Harp, Turnpike Troubadors, Mayola, Minutes Too Far, Uglysuit, Garth Brooks, Woody Guthrie, Traindodge, All-American Rejects, El Paso Hot Button, The City Lives, Daniel Walcher, Colourmusic, The Grammarians, Sherree Chamberlain, Student Film, Fiawna Forte, Evangelicals, the list goes ON and ON…

What other bands are you excited about seeing at DFest?

All of the Oklahoma bands, my friends. But mainly Gogol Bordello! I love love love them. The Cool Kids, Cake. I used to listen to Rooney with my little sister all the time, so Rooney. I’ve seen alot of the big ones, but I’ll be there again for damn sure. I love DFEST.

If you’re in the Tulsa area and can’t wait for Harter’s performance at DFest, see her this Thursday at the Tulsa International Airport as part of the DFest artist series. She’ll start playing at 5pm.