Carrie Clark and the Lonesome Lovers have been touring across the U.S. and Europe this year, but Go! caught up with Clark at home in Seattle back in mid-July. Clark stops by Wenatchee on Friday to perform at the Caffé Mela Summer Concert Series in Centennial Park. Clark's touring band the consists of bassist Dayna Smith and guitarist Greg Fulton.

Go! Magazine: How does being born and raised in the Pacific Northwest affect your music?:

Carrie Clark: Most of my music has sort of a dark side to it, if you start to dig into the lyrics. I think that comes from being very grounded in the Northwest, the grays and the dark winters and the rain. But I love the rain.

Go!: Do you have any philosophy on music and performing?:

Clark: I kind of picked up this philosophy that no matter the audience, the makeup of the audience, the audience deserves all of you. If you can't give that, maybe you're not in the right place ... but it doesn't mean you have to be juggling fire or whatever.

Go!: You have fans from all walks of life, but how would you describe your main fan base?:

Clark: I'm not sure. When I'm in clubs, it's males and females, ages mid-30s and up. But this summer, we've played a lot of outdoors festivals. There, it ranges from the 3-year-olds dancing in front to the 90-year-olds tapping their toes.

Go!: You've got a wide range of influences, but who has truly influenced you the most?:

Clark: Leonard Cohen is definitely top three. I saw him when he was in town, and he absolutely blew me away. Nina Simone. People like Tom Waits.

Go!: Female artists and male artists often have far different touring experiences. Have you felt that at all?

Clark: Well, I got to tour with a really good friend of mine, (Seattle-based singer-songwriter) Camille Bloom. I definitely have liked touring with her, because there's the aspect of someone who gets the experience of what you're experiencing. I've done solo tours, and there's no one to go, "Oh, my god! That just happened!" Two girls on the road get an awful lot of attention.

Go!: If you could perform with any late artist, who would it be?:

Clark: Nina Simone is the only one I can think of right off my head. It'd be unreal. She was such a powerful force in music. It'd be strangely thrilling and exhilarating at the same time.

Go!: Do you feel like you've "made it" yet in the music biz?:

Clark: " feel like I'm constantly growing. I feel like I've made it far as a working musician. It's starting to foster and take care of me, but there's so many things I want to do. I'm not in it for fame and fortune. I want to travel more.

Go!: What's one of your memorable recent moments while performing?:

Clark: When we played West Seattle Summer Fest, we literally were two songs in, and this thunder and golf ball-sized rain drops started pouring down. People were going under tents and stuff, but no one left, and that was really cool.

Go!: If you weren't a musician, what would you be doing?:

Clark: Probably either being a barista or a bartender. (Laughs.) I've done both and loved both.

Go!: How do you handle all the fan mail?

Clark: Slowly. (Laughs.) Slowly and diligently. It's hard because I don't get tons, but the ones I do get are very sincere and sweet. If someone real nice took the time to write me a letter, I wanna do the same when I respond to them.

Go! Why should Wenatcheeites come to see the show on Friday?

Clark: It's gonna be a real good time. I love playing outside, and I've heard great things about this particular concert series. I think we're best in our live form. Recording's fun, but, ultimately, you get the heart and soul of the performer live.