Lindi Ortega on the Creative Spark and Her Fender Paramount Parlor

There was a point in the recent past when Lindi Ortega thought she might be done with being a professional musician.

The daily struggle of being a gigging musician was getting to the Canadian singer/songwriter and stifling her creativity. After four full-length albums—including the acclaimed 2015 release Faded Gloryville—and a few EPs, Ortega was just about ready to step away.

But at the beginning of 2017, something happened that changed those plans of finality. After writing what she thought would be her swan song, “Final Bow”, the creative spark magically returned. Heck, maybe it never left, but that track eventually turned into another, and then another, and before Ortega knew it, she had an excellent new EP entitled Till the Goin’ Gets Gone in hand and an invigorated love for the business.

The four-song collection is a break from her rockabilly roots, instead offering stripped-down production and shining a spotlight on her haunting, soulful vocals.

Fresh off a set of tour dates opening for Grammy-winning country artist Chris Stapleton, Ortega checked in with Fender to discuss her mindset in creating Till the Goin’ Get Gone, her love of her Fender Paramount PM-1 Parlor and her musical beginnings.

“I Started Out on a Little Nylon-String Guitar”

“My dad was a bass player in a Latin band when I was growing up, and we had all this equipment from the band in our basement. But we also had this nylon-stringed guitar he bought my mom hanging on the wall. I guess my mom didn’t want to play it, but I did. I think the fact that it was hanging on the wall was one of the things that attracted me to it. It seemed like an art piece. There was something special about it versus the others that were in the cases.”

“I Tried to Learn from Watching Music Videos on TV”

“Remember back in the day when they had music videos on television? I used to watch people’s finger placements and try to emulate that. I also asked my dad to teach me a couple of chords, and to this day, they’re the only names of the chords I know. I know how to play other chords, but I don’t know the names of them. That’s how I learned.”

“I Don’t Think You Ever Stop Being a Student of Music”

“It always seems awkward when you’re starting out. It can seem unnatural to put your fingers in the right positions, but I realized that you just have to get used to it. For the longest time, I thought I was doing it wrong. That’s why practicing was so important to me.”

“I Always Figured That If I Knew Two or Three Chords, I Could Play a Song”

“I think that’s pretty much true. We always tend to add more stuff to songs, but the early Beatles songs were pretty simple, chord-wise. I had three chords and wrote a song about how my high school boyfriend dumped me right before prom. It was a song called ‘Faded Dress’ about how I never go to wear the dress I bought. It was a bit cathartic because you want to express those feelings. There’s something about the art of songwriting. I always write on guitar, and when I first started, it just kind of came out.”

“I Had No Idea I Would Love This Little Fender Paramount So Much”

“I just tried it out for a few days and thought I’d just use it at home to practice. But I fell in love with it so much. It’s the only guitar I use. I tell everybody when they come to my house to check out the Paramount. We even went out on tour with all our Fender gear.”

“I Really Did Think ‘Final Bow’ Was My Last Song”

“It actually wasn’t the first time I’d had that feeling. I’d just been touring like crazy and sacrificing so much. I think I was just a bit burnt out from everything. I could barely afford my groceries or rent. It was a pretty disenchanting time. I thought maybe throwing in the towel and getting a regular job. That was depressing, because I only know how to be a musician!

“I just bought myself a bottle of wine, thinking I was done, and sat down at my piano. Out came ‘Final Bow’. I thought that was going to be my send-off, ‘goodbye’ song, but there was a drastic change of heart. I decided I wasn’t interested in chasing the carrot anymore. I don’t need to be on big billboards. I went into the studio reinvigorated and recorded my new EP.”

“My New EP Is the First Project I’ve Ever Co-Produced, and It Was Just So Invigorating”

“That gave me a sense of excitement to start creating again and making music and get back on the road. It was a wonderful and nurturing experience. The studio was called Eastside Manor in East Nashville. It’s a little oasis that you wouldn’t expect. It’s almost like you’re on a farm. There are two horses on the property! It’s a mansion that had been retrofitted to be a studio and has this cozy feel to it. It’s not clinical at all, and that helped with the creative process.”

For all of Lindi Ortega's tour dates and music, click here.