Branch carves out niche among young pop stars

FIVE QUESTIONS

By Alisa Blackwood ~ The Associated Press

PHOENIX -- Although there are plenty of teen-age pop stars to provide competition, Michelle Branch has carved out a niche of her own.

Instead of mastering evocative dance moves or becoming a belly-flaunting diva, the 19-year-old singer-songwriter strums her own chords on the guitar and rocks out onstage.

Branch grew up listening to the Rolling Stones and Aerosmith, while naming the Beatles as her favorite "boy band." By the time she was 14, she was writing her own lyrics and creating tunes on the guitar.

Since handing her demo tape to a music-industry executive who was vacationing in her hometown of Sedona two years ago, Branch has recorded an album on Madonna's label, become a favorite on MTV's "Total Request Live" and completed her first headlining club tour.

Her major label debut album, "The Spirit Room," was released last summer on Maverick Records. The disc has since sold about 1 million copies.

Meanwhile, she's learning to be independent -- not by going to college like most of her friends -- but by touring the United States, Europe and Asia.

"I'm getting a lot of the inspiration from all the feelings of being independent, being out on the road for a year, and kind of being on your own," she said. "Just going from living with your parents to that, has definitely inspired me."

1. Many of the songs on "The Spirit Room" seem full of longing. Where does that come from?

Branch: Most of the songs I write have not been from personal experience, but they do have a bit of me in them. ... I wrote a lot of that record sitting in my room before I even had a record deal. A lot of the emotions of those songs are 'when am I gonna get out and be able to do what I love to do? When am I going to see the world? When am I going to experience this? When am I going to experience that?'

2. What about the songs you're writing now?

Branch: I've noticed that even in the last year the songs I'm writing now have definitely changed. They're more personal.

3. Is it hard to be on the road?

Branch: It's so funny because it felt so natural and I fell into it so easily. ... It doesn't seem strange to me at all to live out of a suitcase and be in a different city every three days.

4. Do you play other instruments?

Branch: I got a cello and an accordion for Christmas! ... I play a little bit of piano and a little bit of drums, but I really, really want to play the cello so I'm trying to do that now. The accordion is so hard and so complicated I don't think I'll ever play it.

5. What are your dreams for the future?

Branch: I really want to establish myself as a writer and have people take me seriously as a writer. ... That's probably the most important thing to me, above singing and guitar playing. ... Maybe in the future I'll even write songs for other people.