Go Away With … Beth Bombara

By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Tribune and other outlets
August 1, 2023

When the pandemic derailed Beth Bombara’s plans to tour, she took that time to concentrate on new music. It was then that she rediscovered a neglected guitar she had stored away, which became instrumental in her songwriting process. It was a classical guitar, “[which] means it looks like an acoustic guitar, but it has nylon strings and a nice warm tone,” she said. “It really feels like a different instrument in comparison to a steel string acoustic or an electric guitar.” Bombara wrote many of the songs for her latest album “It All Goes Up” on this guitar. “I found myself going back to finger-style picking, rather than strumming with a pick like I do on a steel string acoustic guitar,” the singer-songwriter said. “I’m convinced the album would’ve gone in a different direction if I was writing on a different guitar. I was very happy to explore the new sound.” Based out of St. Louis, Bombara stays in touch with her fans on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (username: @bethbombara). For tour dates, check out her website.

Q: Where did you record “It All Goes Up”?
A: I’ve recorded two previous records with an engineer named Dan Mehrmann. He’s currently working out of a studio in St. Louis called Midtown Sound House, so we went there to work with him. I wanted to record as much of it as live as possible, and we were able to track most of the drums, bass and rhythm guitar live. A couple songs were tracked completely live. I wrote all the songs when touring sort of slowed down due to the pandemic, but being on the road is something that definitely inspires me to write.

Q: What is your best and/or worst vacation memory?
A: One time my family took a vacation to Rocky Mountain National Park. We were in the middle of a hike when the sky turned gray and it started raining, then lightning. We turned around and ran back to the cars. Then it started hailing. Somehow in all the chaos, my dad managed to lock the keys in the car, after initially unlocking the car. Luckily my aunt and uncle were with us, so we crammed 12 people into their minivan until the storm passed. Believe it or not, this wasn’t the only time my dad has locked the keys in the car while on vacation.

Q: Where would you like to go that you have never been to before?
A: My dad’s family came over to the United States from Sicily in the late 1800’s. I would love to go there and see where my family came from. I have a feeling some of my love for food came from Italy.

Q: Do you have any summer trips lined up?
A: Yes, I’ll be road tripping through Michigan to the Upper Peninsula and back down through Wisconsin. Never done that drive before and am looking forward to it!

Q: If you had to cancel travel plans due to the pandemic, where were they to?
A: I was supposed to go play some shows over in the United Kingdom. I was very bummed, but I know I will get back there sooner than later.

Q: What venue have you not performed in yet that you would like to get to one day?
A: I would absolutely love to perform in Amsterdam at Paradiso. Also, Red Rocks [just outside of] Denver.

Q: What was the first trip you took as a child?
A: Some of my earliest trips as a small child were going camping in Northern Michigan. I have a few memories of hiking through Sleeping Bear Dunes and getting tired, and then my dad had to carry me a ways. I’m pretty sure that’s where my love of the great outdoors began. But the first time I ever got on an airplane was when I was eight. I flew to Florida, just me and my grandma. She took me to Disney World. I loved everything about it.

Q: What’s the most important thing you’ve learned from your travels?
A: Traveling a lot has taught me that most people are good, kindhearted souls. Even in different cultures, we are much more alike than we are different. I am convinced that there is so much we can accomplish together if we can learn to let our commonalities as humans guide us.