Tag: 5+5

BGS 5+5: FRETLAND

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Artist: FRETLAND
Album: Could Have Loved You (out March 26, 2021)
Hometown: Snohomish, Washington

All answers by Hillary Grace Fretland

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

At this point they’re all my favorite! On our first tour, we played Off Beat Music Festival in Reno and we were feeling a little exposed and nervous for our first big stage that wasn’t home. I remember finding our manager’s face in the crowd after the first song ended and both our eyes and smiles got so big. The door was pouring people through and there was hardly room left. By the end of the set, the audience had this surge in energy where they wouldn’t let us off the stage and were stomping their feet. That look was a mutual, “I think it’s going to go just fine,” and instantly all the nerves left. It felt so good!

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

I don’t think I’ve ever not wanted to be one. Our home had every instrument for us kids to explore. I started writing songs on the piano around seven years old and didn’t pick up the guitar until I was 15. My mother led her own band and wrote all her own music too. Musicians were always in and out of the house like a wonderful loud family.

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

We are actually revisiting this as a band right now. It’s important to me that my stories allow for empathy for every character. So that no matter who someone is connecting with in the song, the conversations aren’t, “Am I good or bad?” but rather, “Am I understood?”

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

I spend most of my time in nature around my home. I am lucky enough to live in a beautiful valley where two rivers meet and you can see Mount Rainier from the third bend on the loop. Whether I’m in the garden, swimming, or walking in the valley it gives my mind time and space to find what and how I want to say something. I think songwriting should be personal and true to every individual and if you spend enough time alone with your thoughts then you have a better chance of being honest.

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

I’d say that, more often than not, I earnestly think that a character is fictional. It’s not until I’m listening back to it some years later that I realize that my songwriting is like an unconscious diary. Sometimes I’m all the characters at once.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6kj3NzFPjD5SQBxs6GsaR1?si=q_nlSYrkTUSx7QwpRiLneA

Photo credit: Kendall Rock

BGS 5+5: Jim Olsen, Signature Sounds

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Name: Jim Olsen, President, Signature Sounds
Hometown: Northampton, Massachusetts
Latest Album: Golden Age: 25 Years of Signature Sounds
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): Molson

What’s your favorite memory from working in the music business?

I’ve been in the music business in one form or another for over 40 years, so it’s pretty hard to break it down to any one memory. Without question my favorite moments are discovering great new artists and watching them perform for the first time in a small club to an intimate audience. I’ve had the good fortune to see amazing performers like Josh Ritter, Eilen Jewell, and Lake Street Dive way before the rest of the world knew them.

What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to work in the music business?

I grew up in the NYC area, a huge fan of music and WNEW and LLIR, the great progressive radio stations of the time. A career in music never occurred to me until I discovered that my Ithaca College roommate had a show on the campus radio station. It seemed inconceivable that anyone who asked could get a radio show. I’ve worked in radio ever since and have hosted The Back Porch, a weekly roots music show on 93.9 The River in Northampton, Massachusetts, since 1992. Working in radio keeps me connected to new artists and the greater music community.

What advice would you give to an artist who’s pursuing a career as a singer-songwriter?

Aim for quality, not quantity. I think many new singer-songwriters are focused on making album-length statements when a few good songs would be more effective. The streaming age has changed the way we listen to music and the sad truth is that no one has the patience for 12 songs from an unknown artist. Take your time, edit and hone your best songs and present them thoughtfully.

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

I’m fortunate to live in a beautiful rural area, and I love to run and bike with a musical soundtrack. I can lose myself completely in the music and scenery to the point of not even being aware of time or commitments. The combination of deep listening and fresh air make it a highlight of the day. I also find that some of my best creative ideas happen on the road.

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

My dream pairing involves a fried oyster po’boy and an Abita Turbodog while watching a favorite Louisiana band, like the Iguanas, in front of the Fais Do-Do Stage at Jazzfest in New Orleans. It’s number one on my post-pandemic wish list.

Photo credit: Courtesy of Signature Sounds

BGS 5+5: Hardened and Tempered

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Artist: Hardened and Tempered
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Latest album: Hold the Line
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): Less of a nickname than a consequence of a band name for a duo that uses the conjunction “and” is that we are often asked, “which one are you?”

Answers provided by Kristin Davidson

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

I was 12 when I discovered a mixtape of the Indigo Girls in my older sister’s room. Their songs captured my ears, mind, and heart, and remained constant company for me growing up. I think it was the first time I felt transformed and transported by music. But the pantheon of my musical influences is full of powerful writers, and I can pair just about every childhood memory with songs by Indigo Girls, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Nanci Griffith, Tracy Chapman, Lucinda Williams, Patty Griffin, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Patti Smith, and Ani DiFranco.

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

I love street photography and am drawn to the captured moments that expose the illusion of anonymity — that split second of absurdity or loneliness on a crowded street. I enjoy the process of finding words and sounds for the images that evoke emotion.

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

We love to laugh and try to bring a joyful lightness to the stage. We are big fans of Maria Bamford. In the second season of her show, Lady Dynamite, Ana Gasteyer’s character keeps shouting a particular line as a rallying cry that we think is hilarious. We usually say that line to each other, giggle, and then walk onto the stage.

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

Hard enough to hold an edge; soft enough not to break. The band name, Hardened and Tempered, sums up the dynamic and delicate balance we try to keep in our lives and our music. Both Carolyn and I have intense personalities, we are drawn to big adventures and hard challenges, and we work with a lot of suffering. Slowly but surely, we are learning the artful balance of easing up a little and looking for light in dark places.

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

I have dreamed about finding refuge from a cold, big city night in a basement bar room, only to discover Nina Simone playing an impromptu set on an intimate stage. I order my favorite bourbon, but don’t drink it. How could I?!

Photo credit: Norah Levine Photography

BGS 5+5: The Bright Siders

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Artist: The Bright Siders (Kari Groff, MD, and Kristin Andreassen)
Hometown: Brooklyn & Nashville!
Latest album: A Mind of Your Own
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): How about a rejected song title? “Everybody Goes to Therapy” We actually recorded a demo of that one… but we might have to save it for these kids when they grow up!

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

There’s one album that influenced both of us deeply as children. The record is Free to Be…You and Me created in 1972 by author and actor Marlo Thomas, Carole Hart of Sesame Street and Letty Cottin Pogrebin of Ms. magazine. Free to Be… was a collection of songs and skits about gender issues, performed by Thomas and a cast of the era’s most prolific stars. The messages were clear to us as children (Girls can be anything! Boys can play with dolls too! Parents are people! Good stuff like that…). But the reason we listened again and again was because the music just sounded amazing. When we started to work together on the project of making kids’ music with a mental health message, this album gave us a gold standard to work toward. So here we are as adults feeling grateful for this music once again. — Kristin

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

I don’t think I had a choice. I grew up in a very musical family. My parents were both music teachers as well as my grandfather. It was just a given that you would play music along with whatever else you decided to do. In my case, that was medicine and psychiatry. — Kari

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

Good question for a psychiatrist. Not that often. I usually try to own my own emotions! — Kari

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

My first true musical passion was actually traditional percussive dance, and I toured as a clogger before I started playing stringed instruments. Often, when I start working on a song, the melody and rhythm come most easily, and I always figured that was somehow related to the time I spent in the dance world. — Kristin

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

I tried to write a few songs in the early days of the pandemic but I couldn’t capture the intensity of the experience here in NYC so I chose to write a short children’s story instead (releasing soon!). — Kari

Photo credit: Jefry Wright

BGS 5+5: Matt Urmy

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Artist: Matt Urmy
Hometown: New York City
Album: South of the Sky

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

If I had to choose one person who has had the widest impact on me and the way I approach my work, I would probably have to say, Cowboy Jack Clement. Jack was someone that I was able to get close to personally, which allowed me to be imprinted by him in a deeper way than just connecting to his art. He was also a businessman and producer, like myself, so he came at things from more than one perspective. … He was an all-around “content creator” before that term was ever even used.

For instance, Jack was vlogging before vlogging existed, he was vlogging before the internet existed! In the times I spent recording in his studio, sitting in his office and talking about art, business and life over coffee and cigarettes, or performing alongside him here in Nashville, I absorbed as much as I could from him. He had such a wide lens perspective on creativity, finding your voice, and being true to your vision. Our paths crossing was a real revelation for me.

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

All of the above. And not just those, but business (which I consider an art form), the healing arts, and nature all have an impact on my creative process. I find myself inspired every single day (to varying degrees) by things I experience personally, things the people in my life experience and tell me about, things I see on the news or in movies… and I just allow myself to feel those feelings and then toss it on my creative compost heap to breakdown and become part of the soil that I garden in, artistically speaking.

When it comes to those other forms of expression specifically, the way they inform my process is on two levels: 1. the direct inspiration they provide (feelings, thoughts, etc.) and 2. the way they inform craft and/or process. For instance, sculpting really has informed the way I view the craft and process of songwriting. There are techniques that I can draw from and apply to my forms of expression. So, I may see someone dancing, and be moved to go home and create, but also I may learn something that inspires a new technical approach to the craft itself. I hope that makes sense.

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

Ritual factors into my creative process across the board. One ritual is to make sure that I write at least one or two lines every day. In the studio, one ritual might be something like listening to a specific type of music or sound source before starting to work on something, just to clear the mind before beginning a session. Or, before a show, nursing a shot of tequila or mezcal for an hour or so before the show, so I slowly feel the effects of the spirit in my body before taking the stage. I find that my rituals change over time. I do believe they are important, but also that they are extremely personal. an artist has to find rituals that resonate with them and their unique processes for whatever situation they are in.

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

This is fun to think about. I think I would have to go with French cooking and Leonard Cohen. I choose French cooking, not just because I love it, but because it’s traditionally served over many courses, slowing the meal down and drawing things out. I choose Leonard Cohen because he was an artist who also wrote poetry, like myself, and was an artist who publicly savored drawing the creative process out over long periods of time. I would like to imagine that dinner and a bottle of wine with Leonard Cohen would yield a memorable conversation that would be an art form unto itself. I guess I’ll have to wait for another lifetime to have the chance to find out. Bummer.

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

I don’t think this ever really happens to me. The reason for that is that I don’t think I’ve ever written a song that was 100% informed by my own life. Obviously, everything that I write is heavily influenced by my personal experience… however, I find that experiences or pieces of information from the outside world always find their way into my work. For example, if a dear friend is going through something in their life, witnessing them work through their life creates feelings that intertwine with my personal story. The result of this is that I don’t ever feel as if I need to hide. All of my songs are made up of elements from my personal experience, as well as things I encounter in the world around me. It actually makes me feel more connected to other people and the world around me.

Photo credit: CM Howard Photography

BGS 5+5: Beta Radio

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Artist: Beta Radio
Hometown: Wilmington, North Carolina
Latest album: Afraid of Love (EP)
Personal nicknames: Brent is Brent. Benjamin is Ben.

Questions answered by Ben Mabry.

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

Oh boy, so many. How to answer this question…. Not sure how to distill it down to one, but the music of Sufjan Stevens has been a beacon to me in terms of how to honestly sing about faith and spirituality.

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

I’ve been reading a ton recently, so that’s been pretty huge. Brent gave me a book a year ago called The Way to Love by Anthony De Mello, a Jesuit priest. And that’s having a pretty big influence on this most recent batch of songs. It’s literally showing me the way towards love.

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

I grew up in North Carolina. I went to school in the mountains, and we lived on the coast, so any time in either of them is more than enough to remind me of the wideness of the world.

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

Oh yeah! This is a big one. Been doing some breath work before I record vocals in the studio these days. I’m learning to sing more openly. I feel like I’m somehow unlocking a little bit more of my chest when I do that. Also, cold showers!

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

It probably was ALL the songs on the Ancient Transition record! I fought through a lot of writer’s block, or self-doubt, or something on that one. Not to mention a few existential crises.

Photo credit: Amanda Holloman

BGS 5+5: Bob Davoli

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Artist: Bob Davoli
Hometown: Lincoln, Massachusetts
Latest Album: Wistfully Yours
Nickname: Bob Davoli Band

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

When I first heard Dylan’s first album in 1962. However, I never wrote my first song until I was nearly sixty. I guess life got in the way!

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

I live by the sea for six months; its rhythms and beauty influence my writing and music. The other six I live in the woods, on a pond, which influences my writing and music as well.

What other art forms influence your music?

Film, plays and painting have influenced my writing. For example, I use the lines “alone and lonely as Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks; “Rear Window Waltz” is from Hitchcock’s film, Rear Window; from John Schlesinger’s Midnight Cowboy, I use the phrase “just like Ratso in Midnight Cowboy”; and I reference twenty-five Eugene O’Neill plays in my song “Ode to Eugene O’Neill.”

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

Playing at a community center with my great bandmates, and the audience loving the set.

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

Write from my heart, follow my muse to the truth and be forever curious!

Photo credit: Lynn DeLisi

BGS 5+5: L.A. Edwards

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Artist: L.A. Edwards
Hometown: Julian, California
Latest album: Blessings From Home: Volume 1
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): Lord Edward, Lorcey, Lorkis, Dad, El Drunko Supreme after some gin

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

We were playing a holiday show at this real dive a few years back and they had jerry-rigged a stage out of a pool table, milk crates, empty kegs, and plywood. The six of us were shoulder to shoulder and just cracking up at the whole thing and on the last song I tripped and fell off the stage. I was unconscious for a minute and I woke up with huge gash in my back on the barroom floor. Maybe not my favorite memory but thinking of that stage dive makes me laugh whenever we’re playing nicer rooms. I still have an impressive scar to show for it.

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

I’d really like to have a bitchin’ painting collection one day. My grandma was an avid art collector and even owned a Monet at one point. I inherited a few of my favorites from her house. I love reading, especially when I’m in a lyrical rut.

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

I spend a lot of time in the water. Surfing, fishing, and boats have always been part of my life. It clears my head to watch the horizon for waves or my line for a bite. Lots of good ideas come when I have a clear mind and I’m not trying to force it.

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

Van Morrison and Italian or Springsteen and a hot dog.

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

I don’t eat before shows. I like to go onstage hungry like the wolf, like Duran Duran.

Photo credit: Miller Hawkins

BGS 5+5: Anna Rose

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Artist: Anna Rose
Hometown: New York, New York
Latest album: In the Flesh: Side A & Side B
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): The Electric Child, AR

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

It’s impossibly hard to pick just one, as so much of my love for the creation of music has to do with the understanding of its history and the shoulders I stand upon. I’ve looked a lot to The Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Tom Petty, Kurt Cobain, Warren Zevon, Sheryl Crow, Jackson Browne, and Dolly Parton as songwriters, though again I feel like it’s almost criminal to stop there. As a guitarist, I’ve idolized Jimi Hendrix, Tom Morello, Jimmy Page, Jack White, Son House, Muddy Waters, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Bonnie Raitt. As a vocalist and as a performer, Robert Plant, Prince, Janis Joplin, Stevie Nicks & Fleetwood Mac as a whole, Alison Mosshart / The Kills, Tina Turner, Debby Harry, Stevie Wonder … again, these lists are endless and only speak to the tiniest tip of the iceberg. A mentor of mine once told me that there can never be too much good music in the world and I believe that to be true, now more than ever.

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

The woods and the water — I can survive without both if I’m on the road or stuck in a city, but I think I am the best version of myself when I’m in nature. I’m a more present person when I can go for walk in the woods or sit by a river or swim in the ocean and I think that helps my writing. Taking care of animals is also a big part of my connection to the natural world, as well as riding horses.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

I’ve been touring for a long time and so much of my life has been lived out on stage, the good moments, and the darker ones. I don’t often get to perform with my dad and those shows hold a special place in my heart, for sure. Many years ago, I got to open for Jackson Browne … I’ve been thinking a lot about that show lately. I was so young and completely in awe of him.

I guess recently the most precious memory I’m holding onto, though, is one from my last tour before quarantine at the beginning of March with the late, great Justin Townes Earle. Our last show of the run was in Asheville, North Carolina, at Salvage Station and Justin came out during my set, sat down on stage, and just listened to me. When I finished the song he stood up, got on the mic and said, “Girl’s got balls like church bells.” For him to come out and hype me up to the crowd like that meant a lot and I hold that tour very close to my heart. He was a truly brilliant artist and songwriter.

 

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

I really try to experience many different forms of art pretty often, but I find myself most inspired by dance, film, poetry, and theater. I was a professional dancer and choreographer for a long time and my mom was a dancer, as well, so if I’m writing and I can picture movement it informs the direction of a song a lot. It’s sort of ingrained in my spirit.

I also grew up around film and theater and work in those fields currently, so I find myself influenced a lot by strong, captivating characters on screen/stage and wanting to write songs for them. On the poetry front, I circle back to the beat poets all the time — Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg have always been two of my favorites.

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

I think writing for a character is not hiding, first of all. Assuming a character can be a really powerful way of working and getting outside of your own perspective, or expressing certain parts that might not come out when thinking of yourself in the most habitual context. It can be like wearing a costume on Halloween. So, I guess the answer is that I write for characters all the time but those characters often have aspects of my own personality and I’m not trying to “hide” any of that. Some dream experts believe that you are everyone in your dreams and I think of it that way, sometimes.

Photo credit: Shervin Lainez

BGS 5+5: Danny Burns

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Artist: Danny Burns
Hometown: New Orleans, Louisiana
Single: “Trouble” featuring Dan Tyminski, Aubrie Sellers & Jerry Douglas
Album: Hurricane (coming in early 2021)
Nickname: Danny Burns Band / The Red Buck

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

Jammin’ with Sam Bush Band at the Birchmere would have to be my favorite stage moment.

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

I would say that film definitely does. When I’m writing, I try to see songs like movies, and concept helps me craft the story. It also helps me make production choices later with instrumentation or arrangements.

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

After my first paid gig. Ha! Nah kidding around, I think after hearing Willie Nelson for the first time.

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

One of my favorite restaurants is La Boca Steakhouse in New Orleans. Hanging with Sturgill and talking Cuttin’ Grass could make for an interesting Monday night in The Crescent City.

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

Keep working, keep learning, keep trying new things, don’t listen or surround yourself by any negative people and never miss an opportunity stop at the Rainforest Cafe at Opry Mills to scare your daughters with that darn hippopotamus. It gets them every time!

Photo credit: Jacob Blickenstaff