Q) So, would you mind introducing yourself to our readers?
A) Hi, I’m Carol Hodge. I’m forty two (as of three days ago)!
Q) Happy Birthday from 5678 Mag! Where are you from?
A) Thanks! Well I’m originally from Glasgow, then I moved to Manchester when I was 18 to play in bands. But currently I’m living in Huddersfield.
Q) What would you say your main musical vibe is?
A) I’d say I’m an alternative singer & songwriter.
Q) How did you get into the music industry?
A) Well, I started playing in my first band at fifteen, and I’ve pretty much been making music since then. Over the last ten years I’ve joined a lot of other people’s bands, but really my MAIN passion is writing.
Q) That’s sick! What’s your creative process behind writing songs?
A) It kind of varies, but generally I find that if I just sit down at a piano, more often than not I’ll come up with something! What the last few years has taught me is that songwriting is a muscle that you exercise. The more I put myself into the physical conditions of songwriting, the more songs I write. Whether they’re the best songs I’ve ever written or not is a different story!
Q) What would you say has been the highlight of your music career so far?
A) So over the last few years I’ve done a lot of touring with Steve Ignorant, who’s one of the founding members of ‘Crass’, which was a punk rock band back in the seventies. He’s taken me all over the world, just last September we toured around America. This year I got to tour with Ginger Wildheart, who’s the songwriter for a rock band called ‘The Wildhearts’, they’ve been my favourite band since I was about sixteen years old. To get to work and tour with him is definitely a career highlight for me.
Q) And what are you most looking forward to this year?
A) I’m going to Mexico for the first time in May! I’ll be performing the songs of Crass with Steve Ignorant. I’ve also got a new solo album coming out in September. I feel like it’s my best album to date, so I’m excited about getting that out there into the world.
Q) What challenges have you faced throughout your music career?
A) I basically have 7 fingers and I’m a piano player, I’m aware that’s quite unusual. I’ve never experienced overt ableism over this. To be honest, the moments where I’ve felt discriminated against for doing my job over the past 25 years have been because I’m female.
I’ve been patronised by some men in the industry. They assume that because I’m a woman I don’t know what an EQ is, or how to put a mic stand up. As a woman on stage, I’m aware that I’m objectified. Generally, I’ll be the only female in a band of men, so I see comparisons between how people speak to me compared to how they speak to my male colleagues. There’s a level of sexism from some male audience members.
Q) How do you deal with those kinds of situations as a female artist?
A) I’m very fortunate in that the people I work with feel like family. It’s like I’m on the road with my brothers! I know they’ve got my back and they’ll look after me. They’re all pretty tuned in to that kind of behaviour, they’d throw a snide comment in when required.
