Performing June 26 at the Sanctuary Cultural Arts Center 82 Main St. Maynard

JV Great to have you back on our interview series, Karla
You are going to be performing in Maynard on June 26 at the Sanctuary Cultural Arts Center 82 Main Street

It’s a relatively new concert hall launched in 2019, which is pretty exciting for audiences – fresh and different places to see our favorite artists. Have you played at Sanctuary before?

KB No! This will be my first time.

JV Your bio on your website and Wikipedia do not have where you were born May we ask?

KB I was born in Santa Monica CA

JV You and your sister Lisa performed inThe Daughters of Chester P.
Interesting that Carly and Lucy Simon were also recording, And Alan Merrill of I Love Rock N Roll Fame, a sort of cousin to Laura Nyro on her demos for the record labels, were behind the scenes duos, sort of,people related kinda moving in an Everly Bros. direction.

Do you have tapes of The Daughters of Chester P.?

KB: We do! We did a demo recorded at Electra records live
Did your sister create more music over the years as well?
No, she went back to school and earned a PHD

JV Bruce Botnik was a terrific interview for me about his work behind the scenes when I wrote for Media Line. The Bruce Botnik / Karla Bonoff Demos, have they ever been released?

KB Those were the Daughter Of Chester P demos, never released!

JV Bryndle performances and studio tapes have appeared on YouTube and they are simply amazing. Such a supergroup deserved more attention. With the achievement all four musicians had, have you and Wendy Waldman considered a boxed set of live and studio recordings, beyond the two albums I’ve seen?

KB actually yes, Wendy is working on that and she has all the archives.

JV: Have Karla Bonoff and Wendy Waldman ever toured as a duo? And would you consider that for the future?

KB We have not! Maybe someday

JV: Carole King was such a giant as a songwriter, and despite It Might As Well Rain Until September, 1962, Tapestry was released on February 10, 1971, by Ode Records, 9 years with two albums prior that didn’t quite click.

Did you reflect on Carole King, Laura Nyro and other female songwriters of the day? And did you see their struggles that came along with the triumphs?

KB Both of them were big influences on me. I don’t think any of us focused on other struggles until more present day when we look back at the time, we were also absorbed in our own challenges

JV: The show we saw in Boston with you and Livingston Taylor was so well done. Out of the hundreds – more like thousands – of concerts I’ve seen over the years the two artists on the bill presenting a show together was novel for me.

Have you put shows together like that one with other people you perform with?

KB that was the first time I had put together a totally integrated show, I had one about to start that was rehearsed and ready to go with JD Souther, but he unfortunately passed away.

JV: The first time I saw Livingston was opening for Jethro Tull in the early 70s in the Boston Garden, he was managed by the concert promoter, and seeing artists evolve through the decades gives us a different perspective on the music rather than just hearing them on audio. Your concerts have evolved as well. Does the reaction of the audience and your own ideas shape the current and future presentations you give?

KB Sure, but we always have to play the hits!

JV There’s a wonderful Bonoff/JD Souther/Kenny Edwards track on YouTube. “The Water is Wide” https://youtu.be/-UyXioR547o?list=PL5B5FB7EE3FC89183

When I directed Jefferson Airplane’s Marty Balin Live at the Esplanade we utilized audience cameras fans donated to augment my camerawork. Other artists have been utilizing found audience tapes to create DVDs

Have you thought of bringing some of the best YouTube audio and video with new technology for any retrospective of your past work?

KB I have not, I will look into that.

JV:What Bryndle brought to the sound of the day, Eagles, James Taylor etc this critic felt was a more friendly pop and potentially radio accessible sound. In my mind it was elegant and more refined. Music Supervisors would be well advised to put this sound in upcoming films. Is anyone working the Bryndle catalog?

KB yes, we all have publishers pitching our music all the time, but it is incredibly competitive, and there is so much music out there to choose from it’s a little hard to rise to the top I have to say.

JV: I have many more questions, Karla, and maybe in a future interview for another show we can discuss more. Thank you for your time