Caledonia dreamin'

On the other end of the line it’s 5pm in a cold, rainy Dunfermline as Sandi reports, “It’s only nine in the morning here and it’s very nice.

“We just had a massive storm though. It’s been raining and windy but that was a good thing because we’ve had a drought in the state.

“It’s lovely here and it definitely wants to make you live a little cleaner I think. It’s a surfy community, everybody surfs and bikes.

“People like to be outdoors. I run a lot here. It’s pretty cool. I like to get outside. It’s where you should be when you’re here. Why would you not want to be out enjoying it?” Sandi is about to embark on six months of global touring which brings her to Dunfermline on Sunday 13th April.

She will also use the tour to record a DVD of a concert back in her native north east of Scotland.

“I’m going to spend a week up in Aberdeen where I’m going to be making the DVD at the Tivoli Theatre. My family, my dad, my mum, my brother, they’ll all be there.

"That’s going to be really exciting doing all these shows and of course the Carnegie Hall. It’s going to be great.

“I probably work more on songwriting when I’m out on the road. I find inspiration in all sorts of places.” Born in Banff, Sandi lived in Macduff until she was seven then moved to the Montrose area and her musical talent flourished at an early age in a fertile home environment.

“Both my parents play. My dad plays guitar and sings very well. Music was very important and definitely very much encouraged.” Sandi was one of the first stars to use the internet to make her breakthrough with the chart hit, ‘I Wish I Was A Punk Rock (With Flowers In My Hair)’ and earning a major recording deal after webcasts from her home.

Her pioneering caused something of a media storm at the time with headlines such as ‘An internet superstar or just another rock’n’roll swindle?’, ‘How hi-tech hype shot cyberstar to the top of the charts’ and ‘Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?’ Sandi said, “It was right at the beginning of the digital revolution. It was definitely not very common at that point. It was a huge part of my career, a very important of it.

“But myself and my manager at the time, we never set out to do anything that would change people’s minds, cause controversy or be seen as something that’s revolutionary. We were just trying to sell records.

“It was definitely new and I think I was looking for a way to do somehting that was different that would be recognised by people so I could get my name out there and sell this album that I’d made. It was a great time, very surreal and I have great memories of it.” Many have followed in her footsteps gaining widespread recognition by posting performances on YouTube but Sandi has mixed feelings.

“It’s a different world now but I still believe that everybody has to go out and play a live gig.

“Even though I was an advocate of the digital age and webcasting, you still have to go out and play a live show.

“I was playing since I was 14 in clubs and bars so as much as I totally think that we have bedroom superstars, DIY - of course everybody has a chance now - but you should always go out and play live gigs and that’s the one thing that will never change.

“I played local shows in a band - we were called The Residents. It was great fun. I did that for four years until I went to performing arts school so I started from a very young age.” This year Sandi will play gigs in Australia. New Zealand, the USA and Europe. In June she’s going to be recording her sixth album.

“I’m getting the songs together, there’s a fair few now. I’ll probably write 25 to 30 songs and then pick the best of the bunch for the album. It’s going to be fun working on it.

“It should be a busy, fun year, lots of stuff going on and there’s also the stuff you don’t know is going to happen." Sandi has been living in the LA area for four years, Malibu for the past two and now has US citizenship.

In the past Sandi sang ‘Caledonia’ in a duet with First Minister Alex Salmond, so does she have any plans to take part in the ‘Yes’ campaign?

“I haven’t been asked to do anything so I suppose no is the answer. I don’t live in the country any more and don’t actually have the right to vote.

“My mum has very strong feelings on it. She’s very much for independence and I try to support her views. It means a lot to her.

“But with politics, some people don’t like your opinions so I tend to stay out of it. In American politics, it’s just as divided here as any other country.

“I think people are swinging towards it (Scottish independence) more and more. Really it’s about the people deciding what’s the best for the country, what’s best for them.

“They’re not voting for a particular individual, they’re voting to change the whole system. I think that’s what everyone’s got to realise but I’m a mere observer.” As well as adopting the California lifestyle, Sandi also seems to be picking up a bit of an American twang but apparently she does not agree. The proud Scot laughed abd hit back, “My accent’s just fine, so you just calm yourself.” * Sandi Thom plays the Carnegie Hall on Sunday 13th April.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_TOHtOTX5g