Fernanda de Sa Schwartz

Naomi
Greenwald
Dichotomy
Songwriter’s Monthly - March ’11, #134 http://www.scribd.com/SongwritersMonthly
 Naomi Greenwald is two
distinct people living two very
different lives traveling along
two seemingly divergent story

“I thought that I
would be done
with music
forever.”
lines. In one, she is a teacher
going for her PhD in
Comparative Literature at
USC. This Naomi casually
parallels her life and everyday
experiences to literary themes,
she speaks about
doppelgängers and metaphors
and refers to Nabokov like a
best friend she regularly chats
with on Facebook. my third life. Did you know that I’m
really a ninja? It was the most
In the other, she is a raspy-throated ridiculous semester of teaching that
“rock star” writing enticingly dark tunes I’ve ever had!”
about the human condition. This Naomi
has a producer and a publicist. She also Rather than continuing the struggle of
goes on photo shoots where she dons trying to keep her lives separate,
black leather and exhibits all kinds of Greenwald decided to let them
cool. converge and intertwine, she has
resolved to no longer deny any aspect
Earlier this school year, Greenwald’s of who she is, but to instead braid the
worlds came crashing together when two strands together to create a
one of teacher-Naomi’s students stronger, more purposeful cord.
googled her and discovered her “rock
star” alter-ego. It is interesting to note that Naomi has
already achieved this synthesis on her
“Suddenly, everyone just wanted to recently-released, debut full-length
know everything about me, they didn’t album entitled DARKBLOOM. The smart,
care what I was teaching,” Naomi s u p e r b l y c ra f t e d , r e f l e c t i v e a n d
expressed. “They started joking that pondering lyrics employ an impressive
me being both a PhD candidate and a array of literary devices while the
‘rock star’ was really just a cover for affecting melodies and comfortable
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 this double-life began. Why did
the Pennsylvania-born
m u s i c i a n - t u r n e d - U S C- P h D -
candidate decide to try a mash-
up of these two seemingly
dichotomous lives? And what
catalyst spawned this album?

“Well, I guess it really started a

couple of years ago when I
moved to L.A.,” Naomi began,
her rich, smokey voice
delivered in brief, rapid fire
phrases. “I moved here for a
PhD thinking I was pretty much
done with playing music. But
since it was L.A. — the whole
industry is set up so easily
here, you can get in touch with
people much easier than in
New York — I decided that I
Fernanda de Sa Schwartz

would record my songs just to

sell them. I like my songs so
why wouldn’ t I try to do
something with them? Very
shortly into that process, I
realized that I wasn’t done
playing music, my life didn’t
have to be an either/or.”

So Naomi put together an EP to

rhythms provide just the right setting introduce herself to the L.A. musicians
to allow you to really feel the driving and to try and get a sense of what she
emotion behind the tracks — her songs wanted musically. While she was doing
have both an intellect and a soul. In the promotion for that EP, she was
fact, if you didn’t know it, you might advised to follow up with another
think the album was a collaboration recording within a year.
between two writers with almost polar
personalities instead of a single artist’s “I’m a good rule follower,” Naomi
work. In many ways, Greenwald is a stated.
kind of Lennon and McCartney in one.
Following that advice was the genesis of
But let’s step back in time a little, go D ARKBLOOM . Greenwald began the
back before DARKBLOOM to find out how process of listening to a lot of music
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 and trying to find the perfect producer. Fleetwood Mac and you’ll begin to get
Eventually, she found Dave Trumfio an idea of what this woman is capable
[Wilco, Built to Spill, OK Go!]. “Dave of. Furthermore, Naomi has been
was so easy to work with. I got the ball blessed with an unforgettable voice that
rolling with the EP, but DARKBLOOM is, at once, wonderfully soothing and
feels like the real debut. I began having marvelously invigorating.
second thoughts about my life and my
career, I didn’t know why I thought that “I’m not a trained singer, at all,” she
I would be done with music forever. I confessed. “In some ways I wish that I
guess it was the late twenties speaking, was because it would make certain
that timeline that I thought I was things a little easier.”
supposed to be adhering to?’”
Even if she is a bit
The “timeline” Naomi modest about her
was referring to was that “I really did vocal abilities, other
period when you begin to
feel pressure to move
close the industry figures
readily acknowledge
away from the things door on my her gift. When Naomi
that add joy and offer expressed a desire to
meaning to your life in music . . .” work on her vocals in
an effort to walk along a an effort to polish
more accepted, traditional path. It’s not away some of the delightful grit, her
easy to buck that timeline. Either due producer was strongly against the idea.
to jealousy or lack of comprehension of Trumfio stated the quality that she had
the creative drive, society tends to in her natural voice was what made her
chisel away at an artist’s resolve to unique as an artist. Luckily, Naomi
remain on her personal journey once conceded and the bulk of the album
she hits a certain age. showcases that inherent charm.

“A lot of people, when I tell them I play When it came time to add harmonies,
music, they look at me with that Greenwald and Trumfio covered a
sympathetic, ‘Oh, so you still do that,’ number of them on their own — “That’s
look and I’m like ‘But I just started Dave at the end of ‘Dead Metaphor’
again!’” she laughed. “That face is doing the super high falsetto!” However,
classic, I get it so often right now, I there were times when the songs called
can’t even tell you.” for something a little different and
that’s where Greenwald enlisted the
The only looks Naomi should be getting talents of the SoCal VoCals [USC’s a
are looks of admiration and respect. cappella group].
Her gift for expressing complex
emotions with a timeless groove “Again, that was me trying to make my
provides her music with a truly classic life less ‘double-life’ and more unified,”
feel. Think of some of the deeper, she noted. “They were all kids from the
lasting tracks from great bands like school where I work. I’m sure they’ve
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 recorded albums before, but it’s not After conversing with Naomi for nearly
that often that you get to go into a an hour — both of us being professed
studio — even when you are a musician sidetrackers — I realized I had become
— so I thought it would be cool to have
them come in.” “I realized that I
“They blew us away!” she continued. wasn’t done playing
“In about 3 hours, they laid down all music, my life
the tracks . . . and they did it live, four
at a time! It was so cool.”
didn’t have to be an
either/or.”
Other musicians who lent their talents
to the project included Jason Orme on so wrapped up in who she was, that
guitar (Alanis Morisette, Desktop we’d barely talked specifically about
Rulers), Nick Rosen on bass (Perry music. In my defense, Naomi
Farell, Jon Brion), and Fern Sanchez on Greenwald is an absorbing and
drums (Rachael Yamagata, Pete Yorn). intelligent young woman who speaks at
such a fast clip
that you really
need to stay on
your toes just
to try and keep
pace with her
v e r b a l
sprinting. In an
effort to rectify
my negligence,
I asked her
which song was
her current
favorite.

“I gotta say,
‘ D o n ’ t Fo r g e t
Hallelujah,’” she
Fernanda de Sa Schwartz

responded
w i t h o u t
hesitation.
“That and ‘Dark
T i m e s .’ T h e y
were the big
songs. There’s
a lot on both of
them. This
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 album was about getting stuff off my being in school is I had to start teaching
chest. I needed to have horns, but I and that was one really big way to get
think it’s the piano on ‘Don’t Forget over . . . well, I’m not completely over it
Hallelujah,’ the way it opens up, it really yet, I still get very nervous, but
captures the emotion. It’s a sad song, teaching really taught me how to be in
the moment and not let my fears get
“It’s crazy to think t h e b e t t e r o f m e . Yo u h a v e t o
communicate something, whether it’s a
there was a period lesson plan or a song. I now understand
when I was just a lot more about the relationship that I
have between both lives. I understand
not taking up the how they overlap. I did not expect
guitar in the way that.”
that now feels so After a brief pause, she added, “I really
necessary.” did close the door on my music for a
minute, but ever since last year, I’ve
but not about a lost love or anything, written so much that it’s crazy to think
it’s about someone who was really there was a period when I was just not
grappling with sickness in their family taking up the guitar in the way that now
and they just kept on getting pummeled feels so necessary.”
with more and more bad news.”
“Don’t Forget Hallelujah” is scheduled to
“Maybe I also like it because it’s the appear on NPR’s Song of the Day in the
only song in the set that I can’t play near future. For more information on
really well while I sing — it’s got these Naomi and her music, visit:
super jazzy chords — so I get to put my www.naomigreenwald.com.
g u i t ar d o w n an d j u s t s i n g ,” s h e
informed. “I tend to do that, I’ll write
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too hard for me to play, but it can’t

change! I can’t make it any easier, it
needs to be those voicings.”

Before ending the interview, I wanted to

find out if there might be anything that
hadn’t been brought up before,
something maybe Naomi hadn’t
previously made a big deal about in
other interviews . . .

“Full disclosure?” she readied, “I didn’t

love performing. I just would get really
bad stage fright! The best thing about
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