Tag: 5+5

BGS 5+5: Tall Tall Trees

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Artist: Tall Tall Trees
Hometown: Asheville, North Carolina
Latest album: A Wave of Golden Things
Release Date: January 31, 2020
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): TTT, Trips T

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

In sixth grade band our music teacher Mr. Hangley, who was the sweetest, most enthusiastic, rosy-cheeked band leader, switched me from alto to baritone saxophone. One day we were playing one of his favorite John Philip Sousa marches, and at the very end, I improvised a little bass riff and everyone including Mr. Hangley turned around in surprise. Something immediately clicked in my brain and I was totally hooked. Thank you public school music teachers everywhere.

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

The song “A Wave of Golden Things,” which ended up being the title track, is the oldest song on my new record. It was written on an out-of-tune piano in my Harlem apartment back in 2012 on the afternoon of the Sandy Hook school shooting. I was so overcome with profound sadness, the song just came pouring out of me. I made a quick recording of it on my old tape machine and couldn’t bring myself to listen to it for a long time. I was scared of it for some reason. After all the years, and so many school shootings later, I felt it was time to let it go, and it became the underlying spiritual theme for this album.

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

Growing up in the suburbs of NYC, I always dreamed of living in “the city,” with all its excitement and electric energy. Moving there in my early twenties was the best decision I could have made. It’s impossible to not be inspired there, with its never-ending parade of random insanity and so much high-level art and music. I was involved in so many different projects during the fifteen years I lived there, and really got to understand what moved me, and what didn’t. New York City shaped who I am today artistically.

Still, while living there, I began fantasizing about nature and a quieter life, and after some extended retreats in the South, I landed in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. It’s an incredible place, steeped in banjo music and history and I’m really just getting my feet wet in the scene. I love being only an hour away from the towns where Earl Scruggs and Doc Watson came up. I have found myself unplugging my banjo more (haha, I know weird) and spending more time working it out on the porch. Living in the mountains has definitely had a positive effect on my psyche and the music of A Wave of Golden Things.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

I have spent so many of the best nights of my life on stage, it’s pretty impossible to have a favorite. One particular night does comes to mind. I was touring solo through Europe, just me, a manual VW hatchback, and an intermittent GPS. I was scheduled to play an early evening set at a music festival in Austria and had a seven-hour drive, which magically turned into ten hours. I arrived minutes before my show, set up on this beautiful lakeside stage and started to play.

Three songs in, the sky opened up and sheets of rain sent the entire audience running for shelter, with many ending up on stage under the tent huddled around me. The wind knocked out the stage lighting and I finished out my set in the dark, lit up only by the LEDs in my banjo. The people were soaked, dancing and having so much fun. Such a magic moment for me. Afterwards, I smoked a j with Nada Surf. Pretty damn good time.

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

I have been obsessed with books, art, and music for my entire life. Everything else has pretty much been secondary. In recent years, I’ve discovered graphic novels and I’ve been blazing through everything by Neil Gaiman, especially the infinitely brilliant Sandman series, and also the work of super genius wizard Alan Moore. I am in total awe of the worlds they create and the stories they bring to life within those worlds. I so want to write music that does that.

I am also very deep into spiritual thinkers, people like Alan Watts, Terence McKenna, and the recently-passed Ram Dass. I have spent countless hours of my life listening to, or reading, their teachings and can’t help but assume they have informed my writing and worldview.

Photo credit: Sandlin Gaither

BGS 5+5: Tattletale Saints

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Artist: Tattletale Saints
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee via Auckland, New Zealand
Latest album: Dancing Under the Dogwoods (January 24, 2020)
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): Broken Bells (rejected name). Cy is trying to nurture the nickname “Big Daddy C,” but it’s struggling to catch on.

Answers by Cy Winstanley

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

It’s no secret, but I love the music and lyrics of Paul Simon. As a jazz kid growing up, his use of varied harmony and its tasteful symbiosis with vivid and often impressionistic, poetic lyrics just blew my mind. His themes too, there are so many dimensions to them — I just get lost in his stories.

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

I’m an avid reader and like to start my day with non-fiction and close my day with fiction. The more regular I am with that, the more those colors run through my writing. I tend to go through phases with the kind of books too: one of my fav authors is Roberto Bolano; after I read his oeuvre, I cycled through his contemporaries, influences, and other South American authors.

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

I think as soon as I started playing guitar as a 13-year-old I just loved it so much that I knew it would be a big part of my life. But it wasn’t until later when I developed carpal tunnel in my hands that I had to stop playing guitar, then it was songwriting that became the focus.

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

Every song feels like the toughest time! It’s very rare that they just ‘fall out’. But perhaps those that are directly about my life are the hardest, because I want to be as faithful to the memory as possible and am constantly fighting with myself over what I want to present.

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

Being from New Zealand and also being a long distance runner have given me a pretty strong connection to being outside. When I’m in nature, there is a calmness, and sense of earthly perspective and belonging that pervades my every waking moment.

Photo credit: Natia Cinco

BGS 5+5: Christopher Paul Stelling

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Artist: Christopher Paul Stelling
Hometown: Asheville, North Carolina (lately)
Latest album: Best of Luck (February 7, 2020 on Anti-)
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): Chris, CP, CPS, CP Stelling, Dude

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

Proposing to my partner Julia at the end of my Newport Folk Fest set in 2015, that was wild. So much love at NPFF.

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

I really rely on the other art forms sometimes more than music for my inspiration, so I’m glad you asked… all of the above, really. I try to read as much as possible. I see all creative pursuits as having more in common than not.

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

I have rituals when I write. Less so in the studio or before a show, but since writing is what takes me to the studio or the show, I think it’s fair to answer this way… I just make myself available, try to turn off my defenses, try to be honest, and try to listen. It’s a feeling, the process, it’s less methodical than maybe one might expect, but for me I just try to show up, be honest, play my instrument, and sing words improvisationally, and then work those raw materials into something when I find a thread. I’m no expert, but I’m certain that there’s no right or wrong way to write a song.

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

Keep going. I’ve kept going. I just gotta keep going. It’s not always easy. Sometimes it gets really difficult. Sometimes it’s the most natural thing in all the world. I’m so lucky to even be able to make a living at this — that I owe it to my luck to keep it up.

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

Typically not characters (with names) per se, but “you” and “me” are almost always interchangeable. I try my best not to hide in songs. I try to find the similarities in things… friends/enemy, good/bad, ugly/beautiful, maybe I’m at odds with duality and concerned with mending differences — I hadn’t really considered that before. Thanks for asking.

Photo credit: Chris Phelps

BGS 5+5: Ron Pope

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Artist: Ron Pope
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Latest album: Bone Structure (March 6, 2020)

Which artist has influenced you most and how?

Springsteen has always been my North Star. First of all, he’s a band guy in solo artist’s clothes. I’ve always felt the same way; I meant to be in a band of equal partners (and that’s how I started), but in the end, I was unwilling to cede the control necessary to do that forever if I was going to have to do the lion’s share of the work. That was a tough thing for me to admit to myself, but I figured it couldn’t be that wrong if Bruce did it.

I guess it was also coming from that same kind of blue-collar background and trying to tell the stories of how real people around me were living their lives. Bruce showed me that a songwriter could reflect the world they came from and represent those who would otherwise go unrepresented. I never had to learn that, because he was doing it before I was born; I’ve always known that was possible.

What’s your favorite memory from being onstage?

The first time we played at Irving Plaza in New York my grandparents happened to be in town. They hadn’t seen me play in years. The last show they’d attended was at a shady club in Miami where there were maybe six paying customers and we’d been instructed by the management to pay some tweaker named “Speedy” to watch our van. At this sold-out show in New York with over a thousand people in attendance, my grandparents were pretty wide-eyed. At some point during the show, I called them out and had a spotlight thrown into the balcony. The whole crowd went wild. I’ll never forget my grandmother standing up there waving down at the crowd like the queen. My grandpa (who is not an easy man to impress) was very stoked. I’ve never been happier on stage than in that moment.

What other art forms inform your music?

I am constantly reading. I can’t imagine attempting to be a writer if you’re not an avid reader. I have to put words in to get words out. Recently, I’ve been on an autobiography kick. I just finished Elton’s. Now I’m reading Presidents of War. Thinking about rereading On The Road next.

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

My philosophy is simple: Just don’t stop. When everyone around you quits, just keep on going and eventually, you’ll get where you’re hoping to go. When I was starting out, I wasn’t the best musician in my social circle (not by a mile), but as each of them decided it was too hard to keep going, I refused to surrender. That’s what made the difference.

What is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?

My wife and I do a silly cooking show on Instagram that we’ve dubbed “Frankie’s Test Kitchen.” (In theory, we’re teaching Frankie, our twenty-month old, how to cook; in practice, she just tries to eat fistfuls of flour and chases the dog.) We always want to have our musician friends over, but it’s rare that any of us are in town at the same time. In 2020, I’d like to find one day where I can get everyone to the house all at once and do a big Sunday supper like my grandma used to do, with my homemade meatballs and red sauce.

Everyone who’s ever gotten a dinner invite to my house could come (including Lilly Hiatt, Lauren Morrow, Michaela Anne, Katie Schecter, Kirby Brown, the Trotters from The War and Treaty, Struggle Jennings, Caroline Spence, Alanna Royale… I could do this all day; I’m forever inviting people to dinner at the house). So rather than some dream pairing where I make coq au vin for Jimi Hendrix, I just want all these people who I know and like to come eat a dish that usually makes people smile. And if you happen to talk to them, somebody tell Bruce and Patti we’re saving them two seats!

BGS 5+5: Eli Lev

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Artist: Eli Lev
Hometown: Silver Spring, Maryland
Latest album: Deep South
Personal nicknames: “Ambassador of Good Vibes”

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

While I grew up playing basic guitar and writing silly songs, I never really wanted to “be a musician.” That changed when I was about halfway through my master’s degree for education. I took a personal vacation during winter break and camped out on a beach on the west coast of Mexico near Sayulita. I hiked in supplies and brought my travel guitar and just sang to the ocean for a week.

After that I got real quiet, and I listened. After a while I heard murmurings on the breeze that the trees and the sand, the water and sky really enjoyed my new songs and performance, and recommended I take my songs seriously and go for it. So I took that to heart and set the intention to make music my life for a while and see what would happen.

It took about a year for the gears of time and space to turn the right way before I played my first show in Washington, D.C., in the back of Tryst Cafe in Adams Morgan. A few people showed up who also enjoyed the performance and they asked me when my next show was. The rest is living history.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

This last summer I got the chance to play a full band set at the storied 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., as part of the DC Music Rocks Festival. I grew up going to see my favorite bands there, so it extra special being on the stage. Playing my original songs with a six-piece band to an amazing crowd of friends, family, and fans was a moment I’ll always remember.

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

Be your best, give your best — the world will smile back and give its best to you in return.

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

I listen a lot to rivers and oceans for songs, but they also come on the wind and in total silence. But there are songs everywhere, in train brakes, in people’s eyes, falling out of pockets and suitcases. It’s just a matter of how to listen and where to look.

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

Love this question. In my songs, sometimes I’m the “I” and sometimes I’m the “you.” Sometimes the people in my songs are actually things or ideas, like in my songs “Anywhere We Can Go” and “Walking Away.” I’ve found that when I do it that way, the listener has an easier time making the song meaningful for their own life. I love that different folks get different things out of my songs — that’s the way it should be!

BGS 5+5: Donna Ulisse

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Artist: Donna Ulisse
Hometown: Hampton, Virginia
Latest album: Time for Love
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): Lots of family and friends just call me “Da”, which didn’t work so well for me when we were in Russia doing some shows because da means yes in their language so I was always turning my head in big crowds, thinking someone was calling me! My band members sometimes call me by my initials: D.U.

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

My dad and I have always had a major crush on Loretta Lynn! From as far back as my memory will go, I have admired her sassy songs and her way of delivering them. In my world, she is and will always be the cat’s meow. It took becoming a serious songwriter to realize that I also loved her writing. When I was young I didn’t give much thought to who wrote her songs, I just simply loved them. As I matured in this business I was struck by how many of the artists I adored actually wrote their own songs and Loretta was at the top of the heap.

When I started my journey into the bluegrass genre, my first producer, Keith Sewell, hit the talkback button in the studio after we cut a song I wrote called “When I Look Back” and said he thought I wrote like a mix of Loretta and Dolly. I didn’t touch the ground for two weeks after that. What a wonderful compliment! Loretta’s influence is certainly pronounced throughout my song catalog.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

This one is easy! I was 12 and I was asked to sing one song at a popular venue in Mathews, Virginia, called Donk’s Theater. The show was loosely patterned after the Grand Ole Opry, with a staff band that would help spotlight young talent and I was one of the fortunate recipients. My mom and dad were SO excited! They invited all kinds of family and friends, probably thirty or so. The week before the show dad took me out shopping; I’ll never forget it. He let me buy a Gunne Sax dress that reached the floor. I thought I looked just like Loretta Lynn. I twirled in front of my mirror for hours when I got home and used my hairbrush to practice holding a microphone.

The night of the show is still so clear. The place was packed and the spotlights were incredibly bright. I was given a generous introduction and I walked out and sang a Loretta Lynn song, “Somebody Somewhere,” to the top of my lungs. I loved it, every moment, smell, sight, clap, note… all of it. Years later, my Aunt Helen told me that my mom and dad lost all their color when my name was announced and never blinked or swallowed while I was on stage, bless their hearts. I guess I didn’t have to be nervous, Mom and Dad did that for me.

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

In all honesty, I knew I would be on stage when I was very young, maybe 5 or 6 years old. I have never dreamed of another career, it was always going to be the stage for me. But if you want to know the exact moment my star was born, it would be that Loretta Lynn song I performed on the Donks stage when I was 12. I owned it and never looked back.

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

I’ve never been good with homework, but I believe the topic of my mission statement would be perseverance! I have never given up on my dream of performing, even through the darkest of times. I was one of the blessed when I was signed to Atlantic Records in the early ’90s. A major country deal is a huge accomplishment and much coveted. I was out in L.A. doing a Dick Clark show when I got the call that I lost my deal. It was brutal, heartbreaking. I was so lost in those days but I knew deep down there was a place for me to sing.

I turned my heart and hopes into songwriting and it saved my music life. Through songwriting I discovered the mountains that lived in my soul and I started writing Appalachian sounding tunes that led me into this warm and wonderful world of bluegrass. I am having success in this business a little late, but so very cherished and appreciated. This is the world I was always meant for and perseverance got me here!

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

My husband and I bought a little farm outside of Nashville a few years ago. I’m not your typical farm girl but I love this land. It has a sweeping field that leads down to a creek and I spend lots of time watching goats and cows and all the changes that spread across the field. In the spring, vibrant yellow flowers show off the new season like a Sunday hat. In the summer there is so much purple bursting out all over the tall grasses, reminding me of an Irish hillside. In the fall there are elements that look like a harvest, like a bounty was laid there though we don’t plant anything, and in the winter the field lays there like temptation and whispers for springtime. This is where so much of my inspiration is found these days. I write about the spirit and the glory and the life that I see from my table on the porch.

BGS 5+5: Josienne Clarke

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Artist: Josienne Clarke
Hometown: Scotland
Latest album: In All Weather

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

This is a difficult question to answer because different artists have influenced me at various stages in my life, but to pinpoint one would be hard. I guess the first artist to influence me as a songwriter, or to [influence me beginning] to consider being a songwriter, would be Don McLean. My mother had his American Pie album on tape in the car when I was really young and I remember songs like “Winterwood,” “Empty Chairs,” and “Crossroads” grabbing my attention and drawing me into the lyrics, all heavily melancholic tunes! I would say I can hear the influence those songs have had on my approach to songwriting.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

In 2015 I got to perform in The National Theatre’s Production of Our Country’s Good (by Timberlake Wertenbaker) singing both songs I’d written and some that were composed and arranged specifically for me by Cerys Matthews. We did 43 shows of it on the Olivier Stage at The National on London’s Southbank. It was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my career. Having no professional acting experience, being on stage acting alongside extremely well-trained professional actors was daunting and a steep learning curve. I shan’t forget that in a hurry.

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

I have a reputation for a love of brevity in song and that is certainly true on In All Weather. No song is over 3 minutes 30 seconds — the shortest one being just 59 seconds in length — and the entire album clocks in at a succinct 36 minutes long!

This is true to my career motto, I came up with it several years ago in relation to not overplaying one’s slot at a festival or gig…

“Get in there, smash it, fuck off!”

I applied this logic to the writing and setting of songs on the new album and one thing that can’t be said is that it’s outstayed its welcome!

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

The changing of seasons is always a reference in my work and none more so than this latest album. This can be seen almost everywhere but woodland areas are the most noticeable place to feel the changing colour of the leaves.

Also I grew up by the sea and I was living on the Isle of Bute while I wrote the latest album, so seascapes and beaches are a natural force much referenced in my work. I find the expanse of sea inspiring; you feel simultaneously closer to other places because you’re on the edge of the land and far away because you are separated by a vast natural moat, making them a great location for reflection.

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

Almost never. I’m an extremely autobiographical writer. I’d say that’s one of the particular things about my work.

I only really write behind a character in commissioned works. For example, writing for theatre. You’re given a specific character’s narrative to create songs for. I find this challenging and it’s great fun for that reason but I actually feel like an artist reveals more about themselves when they do that, in an unconscious way.

I like to be as honest as possible in my writing. I’m usually working through something, some problem or concern from real life in song and the aim is to describe my emotional state as accurately as I can. I write emotional narrative, so this is not a series of events or actions in song form. It focuses instead on “what it feels like” and I find I can most effectively do that from a truly first-person position.

BGS 5+5: Micky & the Motorcars

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Artist: Micky & the Motorcars
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Latest album: Long Time Comin’

Answers provided by Micky Braun

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

It’s hard to say which artist was most influential, but I’d say John Prine, my dad Muzzie Braun, and Pinto Bennett. They are my favorite songwriters. Always a great story in every song.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

I think my favorite times on stage are every year when we play the Braun Brothers Reunion in Challis, Idaho. At the end of every night we always end up on stage with our friend’s bands and family bands singing and having a blast.

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

I’d say you can’t go wrong with putting on John Prine’s The Missing Years record, opening a bottle of red wine and cooking a good pasta.

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

I tend to write a lot about personal experiences as well as stories I hear from friends or read. So I’d say about 50/50.

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

I’m not sure I ever had that big moment when I knew this was what I wanted to do forever. I just started playing music at a young age and started really enjoying writing songs, learning how to play different instruments and performing on stage. I’d say I really knew I was a lifer when I was about 20 years old. That’s when the band moved to Austin and we threw our hat in the ring. We haven’t turned back since.

Photo credit: Kat Smith

BGS 5+5: Aaron Espe

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Artist: Aaron Espe
Hometown: Roseau, Minnesota
Latest album: Wonder
Nickname: ‘Spe, Espe, Aar-bear (Mom)

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

I used to fear (still do) that nobody would come to my show. But you want to know what’s actually worse than nobody coming to your show? Let me tell you. One person coming to your show. One. If nobody comes, you’ll feel embarrassed and ashamed, but it will be your embarrassment and shame to keep. If, however, one person comes to your show, you will find yourself sharing that awkwardness with a stranger. It’s a bit of a pickle, to tell you the truth.

And that’s what happened on a cold December night in Lewiston, Maine. The reason I’m calling this my favorite memory is because I’m still alive and that makes me happy. I can still remember his silhouette, backlit by the streetlight coming through the venue window.

After two songs, I finally just sat on the edge of the wooden stage.

“Hi, what’s your name?” I asked.

“Paul,” he said.

“Hi Paul, I’m Aaron. Thanks for coming to my show.”

“Sure, good music.”

“Thanks, you don’t need to clap after each song if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s ok. It’s good. I like it.”

One person clapping in a venue is how you think it sounds. Echoey. Strangely sad for an otherwise happy activity. Ask yourself when was the last time you heard someone clap at a sad event? You can’t think of one, can you.

For your sake and mine, I want this story to end like this:

…and when the light’s came up I saw Paul was actually Paul McCartney. Paul and I rode off into the sunset and never looked back.

Due to the truth of the matter, I can’t actually end this story that way, but I can tell you that Paul bought my CD and I learned a little about how he was feeling lonely and looking for something to do on a cold night. A traveling businessman, missing his wife. We had that in common.

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

Actually, I’m surprised when writers and artist don’t have mission statements for their careers. As much as I know a lot of this business is serendipitous and out of my control, there’s still a lot within my control.

Knowing the mission makes it easier to say yes to things and, more importantly, no. Because I don’t know about you, but time becomes increasingly scarce and valuable the older I get. It could have something to do with having three kids and another on the way, but… still, FOMO is real and you often feel like you need to say yes to everything in the music business.

So, I find mission statements pretty much a must-have. Nothing fancy. Just, what do you offer the world and what’s at stake if you don’t?

Anyway, my mission statement for Aaron Espe Music is to share openly and honestly about my life experience so that others don’t feel alone.

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

If what I’m doing is actually songwriting, then it’s always tough. Sometimes (once in blue moon) there’s a slight chance I might be song-channeling. Getting a gift from the song gods or whatever. That’s hardly work. That’s also hardly songwriting. It’s something else.

I’m not even saying I song-channel well, ha. The song fairies probably tap me, give me a chance, and then say, “Um… nope, we’re going to move on to someone else, thank you, goodbye.”

The reason I think actual writing is so hard is because the rush of serotonin leaves after you’ve completed the first verse and chorus. After that it’s mostly work ethic. Avoiding lunch, or watching Netflix, or falling asleep. Those are song graveyards. I bet a billion songs have died around lunchtime.

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

Imagine me with my two cousins, Karl and Erik. I am 15. We ditch the wedding reception of our older cousin to hang out in the parking lot. We’re listening to music in my uncle Ed’s Lincoln Town Car. It’s got a CD player and a great sound system. Erik says, “You gotta hear this.” He slides a black disc into the player and skips to Track 02.

Out of those state of the art speakers come warm, bassy picked notes on an acoustic guitar. Rhythmic slaps in between the phrasing. A smoky baritone voice. Within 30 seconds of Martin Sexton’s “Glory Bound” I am convinced this what I need to do for the rest of my life.

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

Before a gig, I’m in the habit of pacing in circles until it looks like a golden retriever’s been left alone in the room for days.

As for the studio, I turn off the WiFi. I put my phone in a drawer or facing down. I place my instruments and gear as accessible and ready-to-go as possible. I don’t want laziness to thank for an unrecorded part or an idea forgotten.

One thing I will say is that I try to never make important editing decisions after 2 p.m. I’ve learned that I don’t like myself or my art very much around that time. That’s right around the time I’m thinking of asking my father in-law if he’ll hire me as an insurance salesman.

The feeling goes away, so I just need to hold steady. It’s part of the process. But I used to make major changes, delete recordings, slash and burn. Now I know that I need to go on a walk and probably quit for an hour or so. Return to it in the evening or the next day.

Photo credit: Heidi Lin

BGS 5+5: Vetiver

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Artist: Vetiver
Hometown: Richmond, California
Latest album: Up on High
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): Ange, Cabes

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

João Gilberto. It was very sad to lose him this year. He mastered a new form almost from inception. His soft voice, timeless melodies, complexity and brevity inspire me greatly.

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

I am always interested in what others are working on or have done. I read a lot… non-fiction, poetry, magazines… much more than I watch movies or TV. I like to work in our garden, planning, planting, and pruning. The art of walking my dog in the park is currently enthralling. All of these things are opportunities for melodies to come, for reflection and listening, and help open spaces for ideas to arise.

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

If I’m having difficulty finishing a song, I usually set it aside and come back to it later. Try and forget it and remember it again. Switch lyrics in and out until it resonates and feels part of me and separate from me. It is rare for a song to come easily or in one sitting. Only a handful have happened like this. Most of the time I prune and shape them until they pass muster.

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

I like to go on hikes and walks in the hills and parks around the Bay Area. Melodies come to me in those moments, lyrical ideas, ways to arrange songs I’m working on. I like the canopy of redwood trees, the long, twisted branches of oak trees, the sound of creeks, and wind rustling the leaves. These draw me outside myself, my problems and doubts, help slow time down and reorder my thoughts.

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

Caetano Veloso playing outside a tiny alley bar while my friends and I share a meal of pintxos and cider.

Photo Credit: Alissa Anderson