Our interview seriesIcebreaker features artists talking about things—some strange, some amusing, some meaningful—that just might reveal their true selves. This edition features no-nonsense country throwback Margo Price, whose debut album Midwest Farmer’s Daughter is out now via Third Man. She’s on tour through the rest of the year as well.
Pitchfork: What is a moment in your life when you felt like a complete idiot?
Margo Price: When I first got my driver’s license, I bought a cute little silver Saturn with my own money—$4,200. I worked so hard for it. But I didn’t have it for very long. One night, I had been out with a boyfriend and came home past curfew and just ran inside. The cops called like an hour later and they were like, “Your daughter’s car is in the ditch at the bottom of your hill”—I totaled it by not putting it all the way into park, and it rolled off of my parents’ hill and hit the ditch so hard. Every time my friends bring it up, I always say that somebody sabotaged it, but I think it was me.
How would you describe yourself as a dancer?
Professional. I taught and studied dance in college, and for over a decade I thought that would be my career: tap dancer, ballet dancer, modern dancer. I still find myself doing some tumbling or interpretive dancing in the grocery store every now and then.
Which fictional character do you relate to most?
George Costanza. I’m a massive “Seinfeld” freak, and growing up, I always wanted to be Elaine—but I think everybody has a little bit of George in them, even if nobody wants to admit it.
What is the worst job you’ve ever had?
I had to wear a Catholic school girl outfit and bartend for middle-aged assholes—that was a tough one. It was at a place that’s described as a high-class Hooters, though I don’t know if it could really be called high-class. God, they’re going to kill me.
What’s a moment when you felt like the smartest person on earth?
I don’t feel like that often. Maybe when I was a preschool teacher and worked in a room with all 2 and 3-year-olds. But even then, children are so smart. They have different wisdom that we can’t understand.
Who would you want to play you in a movie about your life?
Benicio del Toro
If you could be in any band ever, which would you chose?
Crazy Horse, probably during Rust Never Sleeps
What do you think is the worst aspect of modern music culture?
The fact that it seems a lot of bands and artists are more focused on networking and getting fame and accolades rather than just writing good music. They want favors, and it’s like, “Well, why don’t you work hard at what you’re doing and then people will come to you, and you won’t need to worry about that.”
What is a recent song you’ve heard that made you believe in the power of music?
Darrin Bradbury’s “Life Is Hard” is pretty amazing. He’s one of my favorite writers—very quirky, a bit like John Prine or Guy Clark. It’s got that dark humor.
Do you believe in ghosts?
Absolutely. I seem to be sensitive to that kind of energy, for better or worse. I’ve had several encounters. I worked at an old movie theater, and it was rumored that an actor had been shot in his dressing room there—everybody told me there was a ghost, and that he was not always nice. He apparently would get mad if anybody would make-out in the theater.
So one night, after we let out the last movie, a bunch of the staff had put on this German lesbian vampire film. My husband and I went to go get a drink and then stood in the back of an empty theater and made out back there. Then we saw a figure walk across the front of the thing. We immediately ran out and went back into the room where everybody was—and nobody had left. There was no one else in the theater, but we very specifically saw somebody. Every time I would be in the back of that theater, I would feel cold chills and hear him.
What is your favorite joke?
My least favorite joke right now is Donald Trump.