As julle skiem daar is baie tyd tussen updates, is julle doodreg. Sodat almal bewyse het daarvan en by mamma en pappa kan gaan klik, het ek sommer hierie interview met Louise Carver wat al in Desember gedoen is net so gelos. Waar trek ons nou? Ja, dis reg, dis Maart.

Anyway, laat ons nou nie nog langer wag nie. Julle raak mos lekker huilerig. O ja en nogge ding – dis in Engels, so gaan soek maar solank vir jouself 'n skoon broek om aan te trek. Hieso is die Louise Carver story…

grifF: Goeie dag. Kom Louise, kom sit. Hierie is my ou studeerkamertjie… So what does your tjommies call you?

Louise: My best friends call me Lou.

grifF: What did you do today? What are your days like? Do you klap 'n bowl of muesli in the mornings and go down to the gym and go bezerk?

(Julle sal teen hierdie tyd agterkom dat ek haar naam na Lou toe verander. Nie omdat ek skiem ek is een van haar beste tjommies nie, dis net minder moeite. Soos hierdie extra paragraaf om vir julle te verduidelik wat aangaan. Julle wil mos nie Redro op julle broodjie eet nie, nou moet mens alles so verduidelik.)

Lou: Good day: I always start my day with a really good breakfast – if I don't have that I am not a happy person, as I wake up hungry!. I then take my Scottie dog, Elvis for a walk to the beach, and then… time permitting will go for a short jog… this should all be over by 9am. Then the phone goes crazy…. and reality kicks in.

Bad day: Problems start coming at me from 8am in the morning and I go into multi-tasking fix-it mode for the rest of the day.

grifF: You've had a string of chart toppers locally and abroad since 1996. Does success like this make it easier or harder come up with new stuff? Why / why not?

Lou: I think it gives you confidence to trust yourself that you are not a complete moron. I don't really think about those things though. For me, writing on the piano is the most honest, humbling and vulnerable thing I can do.

grifF: You've been writing songs on the piano since you were 11 years old and got signed to your first record label when you were 15 – an age where kids usually struggle with school and puberty, stealing mailboxes and road signs, fending off teachers offering them sweets etc. This is not a question, but do elaborate, please.

Lou: Hey, I did all that stuff too, except that after school I would go straight into a studio and work with legendary South African rock musicians (John Mayer and Duncan Mackay). At a very early age, I knew that this was what I would be doing… so being signed to a label at 15, just felt natural and did not isolate me from normal teenage things. I suppose I did that myself, as I prefered being in the studio hanging out with the older muso’s.

grifF: What's up with all the sponsorships? Can you like to score me a jean pant or some expired Woolies meat? Maybe wiff some takkies as well?

Lou: In a perfect world…there would be free stuff being delivered to your door – just for being “You!” Unfortunately, that world is merely a glimmer of hope in the milk mans eye.

grifF: According to you, your song 'Not Here' was "inspired by the many social functions I had to attend. These parties were full of people with nothing to say to each other and the loneliness was palpable." You must have been to some kak parties. Have you found better parties yet? Any particular event that stands out?

Lou: That was a time in my life when my first single, “It don’t matter”, had done really well, and I was invited to all these parties, where I was always the youngest and feeling a bit out of place. Nowadays, I have stopped planning so much, the best parties are always the ones that you never expected to happen. (That’s why New Year’s is usually such an anticlimax!)

grifF: If you could crossbreed any three animals into one and keep it as a pet, which animals would you choose? Give it a scientific name. And a pet name. And… a hat. With… a jeanpant wiff takkies.

Lou: A Scottie dog crossed with a bush baby crossed with a leopard. Scotts-leobaby. A beanie with two holes for the ears…no jeans or pants needed- maybe just some pyjama bottoms.

grifF: What do you dig most about South Africa?

Lou: It is my home and I feel very much in tune with it… what I love most about SA is the vast amount of open space you can be in just an hour or so outside of a big city. You can really breathe here, as opposed to the UK.

grifF: The music video for Sunset Ribbon Red was recently aired on TV. This was a huge collaboration. What was it like working with Arno Carstens, Theo Crous, Flat Stanley, Fokofpolisiekar, Malaika, Chris Chameleon, Loyiso and Karen Zoid? And who is the lucky owner of that lank old Beemer?

Lou: Well, some of us are good friends, so it was nice to see each other and catch up. It was also great to be apart of something with such good intentions. I think this is the first SA music video that has shows more than one or two bands, which is pretty cool. The old Beemer belonged to the photographer who was taking behind the scene pics! You seriously have to pump the brakes in that thing, especially around Signal Hill!

grifF: You have mp3 samples of your music available on your website. That is not enough. Where can the people go scale some CD's? O ja, and why is your website pink? Do you laak the pink strip, cuz you laak pink?

Lou: You can get my album at all retail shops and off Kalahari.net… but hey, no stealing asseblief (not from SA artists!) My website was supposed to be more skin colour than pink but I don’t think most computers register the subtlety!

grifF: What are your gigs like? What do you enjoy most about your gigs?

Lou: Every gig is different depending on the size of the venue or whether I am playing with a full band or acoustic style with my three-piece. For me, the most important thing about performing live is to always remember that you are playing for people and not for yourself. My job is to make people feel good and enjoy there evening… I am never bigger than that simple philosophy.

grifF: Any new recordings we can look forward to?

Lou: Yes, I will be doing a duet with Chris Chameleon on his new album. I am always writing new songs… Some will make it on my next album and some will just be for me.

grifF: ool piesangs. Julle kan ook Louise Carver se pienk websait uitcheck.