Family lore says the 17-year-old has been a musician since she was 4 and banging on her grandma’s piano. By 8, Collins was singing the blues, and on Saturday she’ll redefine herself again with the debut of her second album, “World Without Me.” If the listening public was unsure where she was headed, this album filled with driving tunes tooled by writers on Marilyn Manson’s payroll confirms Collins’ leap from country to alt-rock. She plays next on Friday night at Nissi’s in Lafayette. The deets are at aubreycollins.com.
What’s an 8-year-old have to be blue about? Nothing. That’s why it’s kind of funny.
Was it hard to dump country? My voice has always had a blues-rock edge to it. When I made the transition into rock, it was taking me back to where I originally started – more blues and gruffiness to the vocals.
Did your onstage persona change? When I was singing country, I would wear the holey jeans and a funky T-shirt and add a cowboy hat. Now I just take the cowboy hat off.
You have songwriting partners, but how do you work when you’re on your own? I try to write as much as possible. If I don’t write a song one day, the next day, I try to sit down and think ‘What did I do yesterday that made me not think of a song?’ But most days, I sit down at my little laptop that I bring around with me everywhere and try to write a verse or a chorus. Then I take the guitar and sing along with it until I find something that could catch someone’s attention.
Is it like writing poetry? It’s more like writing a story. You have to follow the basics and not jump from one topic to the next as quickly as you do in poetry. Then it’s the guitar that brings it the right way. It could take a million years to get it perfect, so sometimes, you have to settle.
So what does a rocker chick eat for breakfast? Definitely Froot Loops. I’m obsessed.
