Waxahatchee: Getting To Know You – ‘I served coffee to Alec Baldwin once. He was nice and tipped well’

Katie Crutchfield has a celebrity face-matching app that has her down as a 64-year-old man. She named her band after her favourite place in the world, and this month releases her fourth album as Waxahatchee, ‘Out In The Storm’, via Merge Records. She’s the latest artist to take our Getting To Know You questionnaire.

The best piece of advice you’ve been given

Rose Melberg told me not to sweat it if you go a long time without writing songs. I used to think taking breaks from writing meant that maybe I would lose the ability.

Your favourite word

I like soft-sounding words like ‘cloud’ or ‘rum’ or ‘love’. Anything that sounds smooth.

Your pet-hate

I’m going to assume this means ‘pet-peeve’? Took me a minute. I would say that being late really irks me. I don’t mind when other people are late, I just hate when I’m late or stuck in traffic or have no control over getting myself where I need to go when I need to go. It’s a control thing.

If you could only eat one food forever, it would be…

Maybe avocados. Or BBQ.

The worst job you’ve had

I babysat for a family in Manhattan once. They always forgot to pay me even though they were super rich.

The film you can quote the most of

Coal Miner’s Daughter.

Your favourite place in the world

Waxahatchee Creek. I named my band after it! It’s peaceful and I have so many amazing memories growing up there.

Your style icon

My sister Allison and Viv Albertine.

The one song you wished you’d written

‘Side of the Road’ by Lucinda Williams.

The most famous person you’ve met

I served coffee to Alec Baldwin once. He was nice and tipped well.

The thing you’d rescue from a burning building

Probably my favourite clothes of the moment and my guitar.

The worst date you’ve been on

I’ve never been on a terrible one! Hoping to keep that streak going.

Your guilty pleasure

I try not to have guilty pleasures. No shame.

Your first big extravagance

I bought myself a laptop after my second record. It was the first expensive thing I ever bought myself.

The worst present you’ve received

I’m a really hard person to buy gifts for. Anything I reeeeally want I always just buy for myself. So I’d like to intercept the blame here, and I do think it’s the thought that really counts.

The characteristic you most like about yourself

I think I’m pretty good at remaining positive and keeping a group of people positive in a stressful situation.

Your hidden talent

I’m pretty good at ski-ball. Do you have ski-ball in England?

Your favourite item of clothing

Currently it’s a pair of shorts made out of sweatpants material, Pons Avarcas shoes and a Kansas City Royals hat.

Your biggest disappointment

The 2016 presidential election.

The celebrity that pissed you off the most even though you’ve never met them

I try not to let celebrities piss me off *because* I’ve never met them.

Your biggest fear

My most inane but frequent fear is not being able to fall asleep when I know I have to be up early.

The best book in the world

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers.

People’s biggest misconception about you

That I’m a sad person because I write sad songs.

Who would play you in a film of your life?

According to a celebrity face-matching app, Tim Allen.

What is success to you?

Creative fulfilment and staying busy.

What talent do you wish you had?

I wish I could play drums.

How would you choose to die?

Peacefully in my sleep at the age of 100.

What is the most overrated thing in the world?

Olives.

What, if anything, would you change about your physical appearance?

I try not to focus on that but I would maybe make my fingers half an inch longer for guitar reasons.

What’s your biggest turn-off?

A person with no filter.

What would you tell your 15-year-old self?

Hang in there – in 10 years all the long hours writing and practicing will start to pay off.

Your best piece of advice for others

It’s okay to say no.

Read previous Getting To Know You questionnaires with Aldous Harding, Marianne Faithfull, Stuart Braithwaite, Erol Alkan and more.