Tag: 5+5

BGS 5+5: Israel Nash

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Artist: Israel Nash
Hometown: Dripping Springs, Texas
Newest Album: Topaz
Nickname: Izz

Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?

Nature is a big part of my creative process. We have a ranch out here in the middle of Texas Hill Country. It’s a place like no other, surrounded by cascading hills, cedars, oaks and scrub brush, it’s a wild land really with rocks and cactus, and the sunsets are a pure psychedelic wonder. They kind of look like those Thomas Kinkade paintings that were in every dentist office in the ‘90s. Endless pink and purple pastel swirls. And the night sky is one of a kind. Dripping Springs is one of 27 designated Dark Sky cities in the entire world. Which basically means just look up at night time. It’s cosmic.

I built a studio out here where I make all of my albums and write. It has a patio and a pair of big double doors that I keep open most of the time to feel like the outside is always inside. It’s definitely a part of not only the process, but something you hear in the records I make. Magic is in nature, we take that for granted, but trees just grow and give us breath at the same time, I mean birds fly around in the air, like naturally! Gotta see the beauty in all that, be aware of it and let it be something that keeps you open.

What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc. — inform your music?

I think it’s important to keep up my chops through other mediums of art other than music. Taking the music hat off for a bit and working on other creative outlets can be really magical. And I always find some melodies while I’m working on that other stuff that creates a nice yearning to get back to music. It’s a cycle. Doing one always informs the other. Music will always be my main outlet, but ultimately I want to be a creator and maker of things. I want to chase inspirations wherever they lead me and bring ideas to life, adding form to the formless. Lately I’ve been working with film, from shooting/editing to finishing up this movie script I’ve been working on. Who knows? Just make stuff. That’s my mantra.

What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?

On Topaz, I have a song called “Dividing Lines” about how divisions separate us and drives out love. Took me about two years of rewriting this song. I always had what I call the anchor, which here for me was the chorus and those words, dividing lines. But that version was completely different from one now. It just didn’t work yet. My wife is always my first line of listening and when she kind of puts her head down and is like “ummmm” I know I need to go back until I get a better response. It took two years on and off to work it out. And not because I was focused on it, rather it would pop back up in my mind and I would have a new idea to chase. Ultimately, I completely changed the verses, added a musical break and then this big outro. I finally got the head nod/wild dancing response I wanted from her, I knew it was done.

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

I loved music since I was a kid and took piano lessons, but I fell in love and knew my path the moment my uncle picked up a Strat and showed me “Johnny B. Goode.” Electric guitars got me. Somehow I convinced my parents to let me quit piano lessons and take guitar lessons and I got this red Strat knock off and a tiny Gorilla guitar amp. My piano lessons were at an old church lady’s house, but guitar lessons were held in the backroom of a guitar shop and the teacher would literally smoke cigarettes through the lessons!

I guess it was all slowly preparing my folks for the future with me. Music was my childhood dream, I’m talkin’ 11 years old childhood dreams. I’m proud of that and have been able to learn and grow so much. It makes me excited for the future. I think we all get a little better at things as we get older, and I mean “better” in this holistic way that encapsulates your feelings, perceptions, experiences, talents, understanding, knowledge, reflections, all that good stuff. My vision and path might have changed over time, but I’ve always been moving and chasing new places. Music has been so centric in allowing me to pursue life, learn about myself and strengthen my craft.

If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?

To make things always that fulfill the cycle of inspiration. Be inspired > Create > Inspire Others to Create…. We can all feed off that and see where it flows. That’s what keeps me interested and moving forward, chasing inspiration. Not just expecting it to fall on my lap, but living and being among it.

Photo credit: Chad Wadsworth

BGS 5+5: Melissa Carper

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Artist: Melissa Carper
Hometown: Bastrop, Texas (outside of Austin)
Latest album: Daddy’s Country Gold (out March 19)
Personal nicknames: Daddy

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

I’d have to say Jimmie Rodgers, the Father of Country Music, has influenced me the most. My dad gave me the full collection of Jimmie Rodgers on tape when I was about 20 years old. I had grown up listening to Hank Williams, but I’d never heard anything like Jimmie Rodgers. The quality of the recording was raw and initially harder to listen to, but I became addicted and listened over and over to these tapes. When I first started trying to write country songs I would copy the formula in Jimmie Rodgers songs, or rather they had become such a part of me that I couldn’t help but write something similar. Come to find out years later, a lady name Elsie McWilliams co-wrote on many of Jimmie’s songs, so I guess I have been copying her as well. Jimmie Rodgers combined blues and jazz into his country songs and even had horn sections and collaborated with Louis Armstrong on some recordings. Hank Williams and so many country artists coming after Jimmie Rodgers were influenced by his style.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

I have many great memories on stage. One of my favorites is playing a farm party and the stage was a trailer bed and one of their goats jumped up on the stage while we were playing. Also, a fun memory is performing at NYC’s Town Hall for Prairie Home Companion‘s Talent in Towns Under 2000 Contest. At the time I lived in a town that was just under a population of 2000 — Eureka Springs, Arkansas. This was in the year 2000, and back then my band, the Camptown Ladies, auditioned by leaving a song on their answering machine — this was one of the ways you could audition! We were one of six finalists chosen and they flew us to Manhattan for the contest. I think the contrast of living in a small town and then being brought to this grand theater in NYC is an amazing memory for me. We won the toolbox prize — which was the staff’s vote for their favorite band.

Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?

I love to meditate sitting under trees and listening to the birds. I don’t know that this exactly impacts my work directly. I also just enjoy being in the country where there is space and plenty of nature around. I have noticed that if I spend time in nature I will write a different type of song. I moved from Austin, Texas, to the middle of nowhere in Arkansas in 2014 and rented a cabin in the woods. I felt like I was decompressing from being in a city and I had several old-time songs come out that were nature-oriented. I enjoy writing about birds, trees, flowers, seasons, moons, stars. If I spend a lot of time alone my creativity will open up. Also, I often write when I am driving on a road trip or going for a walk. I almost always write a melody and words first without an instrument, and then I’ll go back with a guitar and figure out what chords go with the melody.

What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?

When I have to try too hard to write something it usually doesn’t turn out to be as good of a song. There have been several times I’ve rehashed a song over and over and am still not satisfied with the outcome. Sometimes I’ll try a song out at a performance and if it feels good and resonates with people then I know I’ve got a good song. I love it when I’m writing and a song just flows right out almost seamlessly as if the universe is helping. Usually, I’ll know right away if I’ve got one of those magic songs happening. I don’t like to force myself to write but I have had long dry spells in which I have tried to do this and sometimes I have some success by just trying to be more aware of ideas and inspiration that is coming in.

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

I had no choice. We had a family band growing up, and I was probably 5 when we started playing gospel music at churches and retirement homes. Then when I was 12 years old we started the family country band and we would play four-hour shows in the American Legions, Eagles, Elks and Moose clubs around our area. I did enjoy it and the siblings that didn’t enjoy it did get to drop out of the band. The four-hour-long shows were a bit long but my dad bought us as many Shirley Temples as we wanted and they paid us for the gigs as well. I was one of the few kids that had their own money at the age of 12 and I would take my friends out for pizza. My mom and dad wanted all their kids to be musicians and I am glad they encouraged and supported us in this.

I received a scholarship for studying music, upright bass, at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. I had been considering being an English major also, but I chose music. I dropped out of college after two and half years and didn’t play music for maybe a year or so, but I just kept coming back to music and eventually realized I could make a living playing all sorts of styles. I also realized that my choice of upright bass as my instrument was a smart choice as I was able to join bluegrass and old-time bands, country bands, blues and jazz, just about anything and everyone always needed a bass player.

Photo credit: Aisha Golliher

BGS 5+5: Mando Saenz

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Artist: Mando Saenz
Hometown: Corpus Christi, Texas
New Album: All My Shame
Nickname: Mando Calrissian

What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc. — inform your music?

I’d have to say film or film/documentary informs me the most. It’s the closest thing to actual life observation there is for me. I get lost in good movies and forget it’s acting. When I write, I write scenes of movies I make up in my head. When I sing, I sing shapes and colors of movies I make up in my head. I can feel them leave my mouth. I swear it’s better than dreaming. Good movies are like good dreams. Can’t put a price on them.

How often do you hide behind a character in a song or use “you” when it’s actually “me”?

Quite often actually. I never did it consciously at first. Now I just kind of accept that when I’m singing about someone else it’s usually about me. My mom, who’s a counselor, told me years ago that I was singing about myself. Eventually I gave in and agreed. There’s a song off my new record called “Shadow Boxing” that kind of comes to terms with that: “Some say they’re better, yeah, but you’re the best. That gets the best of me.”

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

I was in my last semester of graduate school in San Antonio. I was miserable so I started to write songs. The moment I finished my first song called “Rusty Steeple,” I decided that I wanted to be a singer-songwriter. That song and the next nine I wrote ended up being on my first record, Watertown.

What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?

Writing a song I have called “Hard Time Tennessee,” which fittingly took a couple of years to finish. Not sure why, but it was just something I had to keep coming back to. I think I was just trying to make each line as meaningful as the last. Perhaps the line I’m most proud of ever writing came out of that song though: “I wanna see what the blind man sees when he paints a picture in his mind.”

If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?

To create music that’s true to my heart. Put as many willing ears on it as possible. Collaborate with those who inspire me.

Photo credit: Chris Bickford

BGS 5+5: Lydia Luce

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Artist name: Lydia Luce
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Latest Album: Dark River

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

When I was in high school I was chosen to be in the Honor Orchestra of America… yes I was an orchestra nerd through and through. We got to perform with Christopher O’Reilly and had Benjamin Zander as a conductor. I was really into Radiohead and Christopher O’Reilly had just released his album of Radiohead covers for solo piano. He performed a few of the songs during our break and I was floored. I had a glimpse of these two worlds coming together, classical and popular music, and that really intrigued me. This was one of the moments I knew I wanted to continue to pursue music. Either that or when my mom took me to see Hilary Hahn play the Barber Violin Concerto in New York.

What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc. — inform your music?

Dance is a big influence. I grew up dancing and it is still a big part of my life. Since moving to Nashville I have taken contemporary ballet, West African dance, and salsa dancing classes. I think about the movement of the songs when I write and ask myself how I would move to this song. For the music video of “Maybe in Time” I got to try out choreographing for the first time.

Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?

I grew up by the ocean, but I am now landlocked in Nashville. I spend most of my time in nature on hikes or kayaking here in Nashville. We have so many beautiful waterfalls about an hour outside of the city. One of my favorite things to do is go on solo camping and hiking trips. I find this time is helpful for going in deep with myself. Dark River is the spawn of some beautiful solo adventures.

Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?

Oh I like this question… “Pink Moon” by Nick Drake and pad thai. “I Was an Eagle” by Laura Marling and butternut squash soup with a big ole hunk of sourdough bread.

What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?

My rituals pre-show have become driven by vocal health. I started getting very serious about my vocal health in 2019 before going on a two month long European tour with shows almost every night. Before each show I do a warm up for about 8-10 minutes and use a portable steam inhaler. I started working with a vocal coach who taught me so much about keeping my mind and body healthy on tour. My little ritual has become so meditative for me because I seek out the most quiet place and have this moment of stillness all to myself.

Photo credit: Alysse Gafjken

BGS 5+5: Curtis Salgado

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Artist: Curtis Salgado
Hometown: Portland, Oregon
Newest Album: Damage Control

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

In 2009 I was to perform two songs for the Blues Music Awards in Memphis, Tennessee. You’re only allowed 10 minute and the schedule is tight. After we finished our songs the MC, Bill Wax, ran up and said “Curtis, B.B. King wants to sit in with you. You’ve got to do something NOW!!” So I turned around and counted off a B.B. King shuffle. Next thing I know B.B.’s valet brings a chair AND B.B. KING comes up sits in the chair. He grabs the microphone and says, “I’m not playing until he gets a chair,” and he pointed to me. So his valet brings me a chair. I sit in it and I started singing a B.B. King song. B.B. smiled and started playing the guitar. Am I dreaming? I’m singing and B.B.’s playing guitar behind me. The crowd went nuts. I don’t think I felt my feet touch the ground for a week afterwards.

If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?

#1: To witness performances by the best musicians in the world.

#2: To share my own music to as many people as I can.

#3: To pay my bills stress-free and to see as much of the world before I die.

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

This is easy. A true story: In kindergarten my teacher pinned a note to my shirt. She said, “Give this to your mother and don’t lose it.” When I got home my mother saw the note took it off me and read it. She said, “It says here that Mrs. McGilvery says you have a nice voice, and they want you to sing two songs, ‘Jesus Loves Me Yes I Know’ and ‘I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.’” My mother was a good piano player, and we went right to work learning the songs.

When it came time to play, it was in a church auditorium and the auditorium was full of people — parents and relatives of the kids who went to this particular kindergarten. Another little boy and I were supposed to sing these two songs together. But he saw that audience and he just completely froze up. But I dived right into the song and every now and then I would elbow him in the side to encourage him to join me. He never did. He just stood there, stunned. The audience thought this was adorable and I sang those songs loud and clear. The applause and cheers from the audience was deafening. From then on, I was hooked. Nuff said.

What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?

I’ve been working on a new song for a while. I started it a couple years ago. I am attempting to write a Bolero — a Spanish Latin slow ballad. I have finished the music and I think It’s gorgeous. It could stand on its own without the lyrics I’ve never written a song like this before. But the lyrics are the toughest. It has to hold up to what the music is telling you…so wish me luck.

Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?

Clifton Chenier with a pot of gumbo, andouille, and shrimp. (Please and thank you.)

Photo credit: Jessica Keaveny

BGS 5+5: Clint Roberts

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Artist: Clint Roberts
Hometown: Brevard, North Carolina
Latest album: ROSE SONGS (February 26, 2021)

Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?

I always have been, and probably will always be, a mountain boy. I’ve lived in Western North Carolina for 90% of my life, all of that time between Brevard, Asheville, and Boone. Mountains are deeply inspiring and meditative for me, perfect for stewing lyrical ideas or song narratives in my mind. I trail run a fair amount, and that’s always a good time for me to listen to my demos and do lyrical gymnastics with them, or simply listen to other people’s music and try to get lost in it. I’ll never know to what extent my environment informs my process, but I imagine these mountains give me a lot.

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

Prior to finding songwriting in early high school, I wasn’t sure what I really wanted to do with my life. I felt like a fish being asked to climb a tree in the areas of school sports, Boy Scouts, and the various other middle school activities that kids are often herded into. The moment I learned four chords on a ukulele in 9th grade, I started writing songs. And soon after I would decide that performing my songs is what I wanted to do with my life. The process was and still is addicting, and at the time it was one of the first times I can remember hearing validation from other people that I was good at something. So between my own love for it and hearing friends and even strangers tell me that I had a shot, I decided to go that route.

What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?

There’s a song on my upcoming record (ROSE SONGS) that took roughly five years to finish. That’s not to say that I spent each day of that time slaving away at it, but rather, that I didn’t know what I wanted to do with it until that much time had passed. The first verse and chorus were written in a day, the rest of the song was finished about five years later. It was a song that always hung out in my demos, always reminding me that one day it had to be finished. I’m really glad I did, because it’s one of the songs and recordings on the album that I’m most proud of.

What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc — inform your music?

Film informs my process a lot. I’ve occasionally written songs from the perspective of different characters in movies that I like. The aesthetic or setting of a given film can very potently reside in my mind, often subconsciously informing my creativity. I particularly like epics that have a lot of different fantastical settings, like The Dark Crystal and The NeverEnding Story. When curating the songs for a record, I try to keep my song choices diverse like the settings of such movies, so that no one given song feels quite like the other.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

This isn’t quite a stage memory but it’s a backstage memory. I’m friends with members of Steep Canyon Rangers, a band that many of your readers are probably aware of. They perform with Steve Martin frequently. My college band had given the guys several copies of our first EP, and it’s now my understanding that they had given Steve one of the copies (maybe they just played it in front of him, I’m not sure). Some months later, our band would be on a festival bill with Steve and the Rangers, and Steve was waiting to shake my hand off stage when we were done performing. “Sounds just like the record,” he said. That was a very confusing and exciting moment for a 19-year-old songwriter.

Photo credit: Daniel Barlow

BGS 5+5: Spencer Burton

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Artist: Spencer Burton
Hometown: Niagara, Ontario, Canada
Latest Album: Coyote

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

I was playing a solo concert at a beautiful hall in London, Ontario. The Aeolian. I was being introduced (they introduce the artists there before they perform) and following that, was called on stage. The audience held a steady round of applause. As I made my way to the front of the stage through the maze that was the other acts instruments, I heavily scratched my guitar on some sort of piano or synthesizer. One of the loudest sounds I’ve ever made on stage. The entire audience stopped clapping. I stopped moving. There was a mild chuckle then we all simply stared at each other. I loved that moment. I have a mark on my guitar to remember it forever.

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

I never knew I wanted to be a musician and still don’t know if that’s what I am. I simply live and breathe. Whatever happens, happens.

What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?

The in-between. The time when I’m not writing. That’s the toughest. I sometimes go months upon months without writing. It feels hopeless, but then I’ll sit down and write seven songs in a day. It’s frustrating. Those times when nothing is happening, it can make one feel like nothing will ever happen again.

Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?

I love the outdoors. I spend most of my time there. Be it in the woods, on the farm, simply hiking around. It’s inspiring. I wrote a love song once for a deer. No one will ever hear it. Most people don’t understand ungulate anyways.

Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?

I’ve had daydreams before… sitting around a campfire in a time forgotten listening to some unknown mountain man with a silky voice, singing songs of adventures past. Feasting on fresh wild game with a marrow sauce. Maybe a berry or two. That would be nice.

Photo credit: Vanessa Heins

BGS 5+5: Chris Pandolfi

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Artist: Chris Pandolfi
Hometown: Golden, Colorado
Latest Album: Trance Banjo
Personal nicknames: Panda

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

From one perspective, this is a really tough question for me because there are many sides to my music, and many influences that have factored in really heavily at different periods. But from another perspective, it’s easy. I wouldn’t be playing the banjo if it wasn’t for Béla Fleck. I discovered the Flecktones in high school and was just blown away in every possible way. It was a moment of pure inspiration, and after a handful of shows all I wanted to do was learn how to play the banjo. That was the start of my journey as a musician, and none of that happens had I not discovered Béla’s music.

But his influence doesn’t end there. He’s a legendary improviser on the instrument, and that’s a big part of what the Stringdusters do. But maybe even more importantly, he’s made his mark by recontextualizing the banjo, combining it with so many eclectic sounds and bringing it to many new genres. That’s a big goal of mine as well, and that’s very much inspired by Béla. He didn’t leave too much undiscovered territory! But the bigger your imagination, the more territory there is to explore, and I love that challenge.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

I have many great memories of being on stage, but the night that we played in Covington, Kentucky, in the summer of 2019 stands out. It was an electric show, and the moment we walked off stage we all sort of simultaneously decided that we had just made a live album. That has only happened a handful of times in our career, even though we have had many gratifying shows. But this was one of those stand out nights where something connected on a deeper level. It seemed like everything we did just hit the crowd with maximum power, and then they were feeding us with so much energy and emotion. That’s what can happen at a show. It can happen any night, even when a venue is not packed out, and that possibility is one of the great thrills of this career. On a night like that, everyone there is an equal participant in the performance. There’s no divide between the performers and the crowd, and the possibilities are endless.

What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc — inform your music?

I get inspiration from a lot of places, but books and visual art are high on that list. I love artists and writers who surprise you. It may not inspire a specific melody or song, but it definitely stokes the idea inside me that anything is possible, and with imagination and creativity you can always find new paths to travel. Lately, I have really enjoyed the work of Clyfford Still. Still was an American, abstract painter whos work is bold and stunning. There’s a beautiful museum dedicated to his work here in Denver, and it turned me into a big fan.

I also love reading science fiction, mainly because the imagination factor of good sci-fi is off the charts. I read a trilogy of books in recent years called The Three Body Problem by a Chinese author named Cixin Liu that blew my mind. The story is gripping and endlessly creative. Two song titles on my new record, Trance Banjo, are references to that trilogy, both from the second book, Dark Forest, which is my favorite. Great art of any kind transports you to a place that feels very free, where there’s no strong sense of self. I get a lot of inspiration from that feeling.

What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?

Playing music is one challenge, but performing is a whole other hill to climb. When I am getting ready to play live or record, I always try to spend some time with my instrument (15-45 minutes or so) playing really mindfully and getting in the zone. That zone of being deeply focused on the music has seemed like a mystery at points in my career, and will forever be elusive in some way. But there is also something methodical about it, and that’s where practice comes in. When I practice I spend some time focusing on more mechanical elements, a new technique, transcribing or that sort of thing. But ultimately, I want to devote a good chunk of every practice session to building that zone. A good practice session should be like a meditation. The more time you can log in that focused zone, the more you know what it feels like and the easier it will be to conjure up in a performance setting. It’s a lifelong journey, and it certainly keeps you humble! But it’s not magic, it just takes practice.

If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?

I think my most consistent goal is to sound like myself as a player, and craft music that is unique as a producer. Bluegrass is the banjo’s native territory, and a common goal among proficient bluegrass players is to study and copy the styles of the early masters. For banjo players, that’s Earl Scruggs, and I would give anything to sound like Earl! There is so much great knowledge there, and so much expression as well. It’s a bedrock element of the instrument that practically every great player has a deep knowledge of.

While I have spent much time working on the fundamentals of Earl’s style, that is more of a starting point for me, and not an end-game. There are times on stage when I really try to emulate that older sound. But when it comes to crafting my own style and my own music, I try to use those old school bluegrass rudiments — timing, power, tone — but then add my own voice as well. The same goes for producing. It’s all about identifying and connecting with sounds that move you, and then using your imagination to grow from there and utilize those tools to bring your own vision to life.

Photo credit: Chris Pandolfi

BGS 5+5: Jillette Johnson

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Artist: Jillette Johnson
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Latest Album: It’s a Beautiful Day and I Love You
Personal nicknames: JJ

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

It’s so hard to pick one, but Randy Newman has greatly impacted me as a songwriter and performer. I heard my first Randy Newman song when I was a toddler, watching the movie Beaches with my parents. Bette Midler sings his song, “I Think It’s Going to Rain Today,” at the end of the movie, and it cut right into me. I didn’t know he wrote that song until by accident, I got to see him play and essentially lead a lecture in Los Angeles when I was 16. He completely transfixed me.

His musical sophistication and ear for beauty, coupled with his cutting, hilarious, and deeply empathetic storytelling was like nothing else I had ever heard. He’s so prolific, and so unchained to whatever the world expects of a singer-songwriter. He takes risks, tells the truth, and lets his humanity lead the charge in every song. And he’s still doing it, to the highest level, which inspires the hell out of me. I’ve said often that I want to be Randy Newman when I grow up, meaning that I want to keep making exciting music that matters for the rest of my life, just like him.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

This wasn’t exactly a stage, but it sure felt like one. When I was 17, I was invited to go to Liza Minnelli’s apartment on the Upper East Side in Manhattan to play songs for her on her beautiful grand piano overlooking Central Park. She greeted me at the door with those big bright eyes, no makeup, wearing sweatpants and a giant smile. Her apartment was under construction, but the “piano room,” was perfectly intact — a room of only mirrors, windows, one couch, and the piano where I played. We sat there for hours while I performed songs I had written, and she sat next to me, asking me to replay certain parts of each song so she could really let them sink it.

She made me feel like what I was making mattered, and like I belonged. I’ll never forget that feeling, or her kindness. Towards the end of the visit, she told me I reminded her of Laura Nyro, whom I’d never heard before then, and she insisted I go to her bedroom with her while she crawled on the floor of her closet looking for a Laura Nyro record to give me. She never found the record, but I still relish the image in my mind of her in a pile of clothes scouring for it and swearing under her breath.

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

It happened before I can remember. In fact, I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know that I wanted to be a musician. I was the kid wandering around the edge of the sandbox making up songs and singing them to myself out loud. My grandmother asked me when I was like 4 or 5 what I wanted to be when I grew up, and I said a rock star. She asked what my second choice would be, and I said I didn’t have one. And I still feel that way. Music has been with me before everything. I’d be an entirely different person without it.

What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?

It’s really helpful for me to find some time to be quiet and center before a show. I always warm up my voice first, usually an hour or so before I go on, while I get changed and do my hair and makeup. But then, in that half hour before I go on, I really like to be alone. I’ll often take that time to meditate first, and then move my body in ways that energize me and make me feel powerful. The sweet spot for me is to go on stage feeling calm and in control, but still full of vigor and excitement. It’s a hard line to walk sometimes, and my nerves have been getting harder to control as I’ve gotten older. That’s why the meditation part is so important.

How often do you hide behind a character in a song or use “you” when it’s actually “me”?

Often! It’s a fun way to have a little therapy session without having to leave my house or pay anybody. And in writing land, it can lead to songs that speak more clearly and feel more inclusive. When I need guidance or am feeling insecure, I like to ask myself what I would tell someone that I loved if they came to me for help with the same issues. And when I’m writing a song that starts to sound like a pity party, or I get lost in what I’m trying to say, I often do the same thing. It’s so much easier to find clarity and compassion for others than it is for yourself, at least in my experience. Flipping the “I” to “you” or “her” is a tool I like to use in both art and life.

Photo credit: Betsy Phillips

BGS 5+5: Tony Trischka

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Tony Trischka
Hometown:: Fair Lawn, New Jersey
Album: Shall We Hope
Release Date: January 29, 2021
Record Label: Shefa Records

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

Earl Scruggs. Pretty much a no-brainer for me. He changed my life when I was 14 years old. His playing is at the heart of everything I do. And on a larger scale, indirectly because of him, I have the wonderful family I have, have had a successful career and many friends around the world.

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?

I can’t say there was a moment like that. I first earned money playing music when I was 14, and continued to do so regularly through college. Though I was a Fine Arts major in school, and had very abstractly thought of a career as a museum curator (who was I kidding?).

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

In 1988, our band Skyline was invited to tour communist Czechoslovakia. Since my background is Czech on my father’s side, it was a particularly moving experience. While there, we performed in front of 30,000 people at the Porta Festival in Plzeň. We played a nighttime set and every second or third person in the audience was holding a candle, which made for an unbelievable sight. We were called for a second encore, and the emcee asked us to leave our instruments backstage and just walk to the front of the stage. As we were standing there facing this incredible candle-dappled crowd the emcee said, “You’ve given your gift of music to us, now we want to give you a gift.” He proceeded to divide the audience into thirds and had each third, of 10,000 each, sing a separate note of a major chord for us. Especially considering this was when Czechoslovakia was still communist, it was a profound experience.

If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?

Push boundaries and explore new areas on the 5-string banjo, but honor the history of the instrument. Don’t get bored.

Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?

Can I bring back Aaron Copland? On an emotional level he has had as much influence on me as Earl Scruggs. As for a meal, we’d have to start with a nice cocktail, and I guess it would have to be a Manhattan. Dinner would be hearty beef brisket with all the sides, and finish off with some good ol’ apple and cherry pie. I think that would cover all of the appropriate culinary bases.

Photo credit: Zoe Trischka