Tag: 5+5

BGS 5+5: Danny Schmidt

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Artist: Danny Schmidt
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Latest album: Standard Deviation
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): “The Widowmaker,” for the exploits of my youth. Just kidding.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

There are two moments that really stand out to me. My wife Carrie Elkin and I got to perform at the Ryman Auditorium for a show with Emmylou Harris a few years ago. That represented so many dream moments of mine colliding in one evening that it was utterly surreal and disorienting. The other evening that especially stands out to me was a show when Carrie and I were on tour with the podcast “Welcome To Night Vale,” and Carrie had just announced she was pregnant, and immediately began to crowdsource the name of our daughter live in front of 2000 lunatic Night Vale fans. It was a beautiful silly moment of shared celebration.

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

I’ve always been a lover of photography, both as an appreciator of other’s photography, and of taking my own shots. I love the static nature of the form, the sense of capturing something fleeting. And I love how that static nature forces your eye to choose images that have some sort symbolic quality and associative properties to try and tell a little story in one still impression. It’s a lot like songwriting in that particular way.

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

I had only been writing for a couple years when 9/11 hit, so it was a craft I was still learning and not very confident in. But like everyone else at that moment in time, my mind was hard at work trying to process all the emotions and geopolitical realities of the situation. So it wasn’t like I set out to write a 9/11 response song, it’s just that I write about the things that are on my mind, and that’s what was on my mind. But it was such a complex stew of emotions that it was extremely hard to distill it down to what felt like a fair and nuanced encapsulation. In the month it took me to write that song (called “Already Done”) to my satisfaction, I wrote about four or five other songs, cause they all felt so easy by comparison, that they just popped right out.

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

Be inspired by everyone and don’t listen to anyone. Cause, y’know … it’s beautiful to be inspired and influenced by the work of other folks in your community. At the same time, you have to have an unflinching internal compass as an artist or you’ll lose your way.

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

That’s a great question! I think the answer is very often. I question the word “hide” though. Sometimes it is hiding. But sometimes it’s choosing a voice that can best deliver the message, and sometimes that’s not the first-person. And sometimes you’re just writing a fictional account in the third person and realize somewhere along the way that the character is starting to feel suspiciously familiar. I think it’s true that, at the very least, we put a lot of ourselves into everything we create, whether it ends up in a highly coded form, or whether it’s completely straight forward.

I picked songs that in one way or another changed the course of my personal life:

Bob Dylan – “It’s Alright Ma, I’m Only Bleeding”

I discovered Dylan’s music when I was a very disaffected 15-year-old. I thought the world was insane and everyone in it was blind. I still think the world is insane, but Dylan taught me that not everyone was blind, at least, and he helped me start getting my head around the madness of it all in a manageable way. I connected very strongly with his worldview (especially with the stuff he was writing from 1964-1966), and it had a powerful affect on my sense of isolation. From across the world, and across two decades, there was a friend who would commiserate with me. It taught me a lot about the power of song.

Carrie Elkin – “Berlin”

This was the first song I ever heard Carrie Elkin sing, on the night we met. We would go on to become husband and wife, and so “Berlin” was sort of her siren song.

Anaïs Mitchell – “Why We Build the Wall”

I heard Anaïs sing this song around a campfire my first night at the Kerrville Folk Festival in 2006. Anaïs was one of about 20 young songwriters huddled together all night around the fire that evening, almost all of them new to me, and almost all of them would go on to become my closest friends and conspirators in this world of music. If the world could’ve heard the songs shared that night among compatriots, I feel like it might’ve fixed a lot of broken spirits.

Mississippi John Hurt – “I Shall Not Be Moved”

This album inspired me to get an acoustic guitar for the first time, and convinced me that if I practiced for 60-something years, I could get good enough at fingerpicking that I wouldn’t need a band.

Ayub Ogada – “Obiero”

My daughter was born to this album by Ayub Ogada. My wife asked me to pick some music for the birth, something that was calming, soothing, and ethereal. Ayub Ogada might actually be an angel. And Maizy was safely delivered.

Photo credit: Chris Carson

BGS 5+5: Sean McConnell

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Artist: Sean McConnell
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Latest album: Secondhand Smoke

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

I would have to say David Wilcox. When I was beginning to write songs as a kid, David was a massive influence on me as a songwriter, guitar player, and vocalist. Nobody writes a hook like David Wilcox. He’s the king. Songs like “Language of the Heart” and “Show the Way” are still to this day on my desert island list.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

One of them would have to be playing two back-to-back sold out shows at the historic Gruene Hall last year in New Braunfels, Texas. Taking the stage both nights with a thousand people singing my songs back to me was completely intoxicating. The energy was [unlike anything] I’ve never experienced before.

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

Literature is a big one for me. I’ve always been a big reader. I don’t read books to intentionally look for song ideas. It’s more that what I’m reading expands my worldview, opinions, spirituality, and such. That then directly affects what I’m writing songs about. That is most definitely the case with my latest record, Secondhand Smoke.

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

The moment I played a chord on a guitar I just knew it. That sounds like a bullshit line out of a movie, but I can’t deny that it’s true. I first learned to play on my mothers 70s Yamaha. I had a chord book and figured out the basics. From the moment I felt those chords start ringing under my fingers I was hooked. Later on I would sneak up to my parents bedroom and take my fathers Taylor 515 Jumbo from underneath the bed and that only confirmed my addiction.

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

What a great question. I think Glen Hansard pairs well with a strong IPA and a basket of fish and chips.

Photo credit: Joshua Black Wilkins

BGS 5+5: The Way Down Wanderers

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Artist: The Way Down Wanderers
Hometown: Peoria, Illinois
Latest album: illusions

All replies by Austin Krause-Thompson and Collin Krause

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

As a band, we’ve had some amazing opportunities to perform at venues all across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Needless to say, we’ve cultivated some unforgettable moments together on stage. One of the best feelings a musician can have is looking out an audience and seeing people singing all of the lyrics. It is moments like these where we are inspired and encouraged to keep touring and writing as much as possible. At our live show, one of our favorite ways to end a high energy set is to get off the stage and join the audience for a final unplugged song. These usually turn into a giant sing-along/dance circle.

At one particular acoustic encore, we were playing for a large crowd in a tight space and Austin accidentally hit Collin in the face with his guitar peg. Collin got a pretty rough-looking black eye, but this certainly turned into a bonding experience for the two of them and the band looks back at this memory with amusement. Whether it’s a show that ends with an accidental black eye, or a group sing-along, we try to make the most of every song we play. We cherish every second we get to share with our listeners and with one another on stage.

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

This isn’t a technique that we have used too often, but it is used once on the album illusions. “Old Ford” is a song where the writer is hiding behind “you” when it’s actually “me.” It’s a song that tells the story of a broken friendship, and the feelings of guilt, remorse, and bitterness. As a writer, using this technique is challenging. It calls for self-actualization and putting yourself in another’s place. Doing this can open so many doors of possibility. Writing from a single perspective can also become very challenging over time. It’s easy to fall into writer’s block, or become stagnant. We try to push our writing techniques as well as keep listeners on their toes.

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

Having the opportunity to totally immerse oneself in nature can be such a valuable thing for emotional health and creativity. That peaceful break from the fast-paced, hustling city environment was channeled multiple times on different songs in our new album illusions.

When I started writing “Crooked Pines,” I remember being specifically inspired by a location in nature. I began working on the song after Austin and I started spending more time together around my sophomore year of high school. Austin introduced me to a then-secret hiking trail in our hometown of Peoria, Illinois, called Rocky Glen. After a short drive you reach a Buddhist temple. Behind the temple, there is a small clearing where, if you explore, you’ll discover a narrow, overgrown hiking path sown with thorns and stinging nettle. The winding path continues for about a mile and spits you out at a steep slope. After descending a ridge, you’re greeted by a deep quarry filled with massive stones and a small waterfall.

Austin and I would explore Rocky Glen at least a few times a week that summer. At our visits to the Glen, I felt as though I was visiting a location that fulfilled my human spirit and recharged me spiritually. In writing the song “Crooked Pines.” I tried to express the feeling I had when I visited Rocky Glen and how nature itself is a powerful force that doesn’t want the change of mankind.

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

Before studio sessions and live shows we have the ritual of vocal warm-ups. Warming up is a crucial part of executing a good performance for us. Over the last year we’ve worked with a great vocal coach, Mitchell Hutchings, to prepare for the recording of illusions. We were taught some warm-ups that are as helpful as they are hysterical. For example; singing “BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH” through arpeggios in various keys. As well as things like “Frank will thank the bank!” We have fun taking these out of context and singing them at random times on the road.

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

We love making music because it is constantly informed by other art forms. Movement is something that is commonly informed by music, but oftentimes, we can refer to in which ways we want to move or dance to inform the feeling of a song. The music video for “All My Words” shows different forms of expression through dance and American Sign Language. This helps convey the message of one having a lack of expression.

Literature and poetry are other art forms that inspired the title track of illusions. The concept for the song is directly influenced by a Virginia Woolf quote: “Growing up is losing some illusions, in order to acquire others.” This statement about childhood, and how one’s perspective and emotions can change over time, sparked the notion that life is really a series of illusions; it’s up to us how we respond to them.

BGS 5+5: Carsie Blanton

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Artist: Carsie Blanton
Hometown: Luray, Virginia, but currently New Orleans
Latest album: Buck Up
Personal nicknames: My stage name ages 14-16 was Carsie Bean Blue. And “Carsie” is technically a nickname; my legal name is “Carson” (my namesake is Southern Gothic novelist Carson McCullers who was, by the way, a badass).

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

I find poetry and novels very inspiring as a songwriter. My new album has themes of desire and futility, and while I was writing it I had an excerpt from a poem by James Richardson hanging above my writing desk (which I also included in the album liner notes):

And what was King Kong ever going to do
with Fay Wray, or Jessica Lange,
but climb, climb, climb, and get shot down?
No wonder Gulliver’s amiably chatting
with that six-inch woman in his palm.
Desire’s huge, there’s really nowhere to put it
in our small world that it will stay put

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

I write most of my songs in my writing studio, The Watermelon, which is a freestanding 8′ x 8′ shed in my backyard–it’s all mine and nobody else has a key! It’s green on the outside and watermelon-pink on the inside, and it’s filled with every object I own that inspires me or makes me feel lucky: terracotta pigs from Chile; a badger skull; milagros and alebrijes from Mexico; prints by my favorite artists; books by my favorite writers (plus a collection of rhyming dictionaries and thesauri); orchids and succulents; prayer candles from my local voodoo shop; and both of my guitars (a 1907 Washburn parlor and a cherry red 1972 Gibson ES-320). There’s also a sea-green writing desk with drawers full of markers, stamps, and newspaper clippings. When I’m ready to write, I light all the candles and water all the plants and make myself a cup of tea.

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

Pleasure and playfulness are serious business. I believe it’s possible–nay, necessary–to thwart fascism and make capitalism obsolete while having maximum possible fun, writing great hooks and taking breaks for sex and cookies.

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

Rare steak and old Scotch with Ray Charles.

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

The one that comes to mind is seeing Gillian Welch and David Rawlings at Merlefest when I was ten or eleven. I was already a huge fan, and I had brought an autograph book and really wanted Gillian’s autograph, so I knocked on the stage door after her set. A bouncer answered, and for some reason, he let me in! I remember seeing all the people hanging around backstage–musicians and crew–and thinking, THIS! This is where I belong.

Photo credit: Jason Albus

BGS 5+5: Cale Tyson

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Artist: Cale Tyson
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee by way of Fort Worth, Texas
Latest album: narcissist

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

This is going to sound self-deprecating, but my favorite show of all time was at this dumb barbecue restaurant in Kentucky. It was the first show of a three-week tour and I had assembled my favorite band of musicians. We rehearsed a ton beforehand and I was promoting the hell out of the tour for weeks leading up to it. Anyway, the barbecue restaurant was the first show. We were supposed to play for like an hour and a half, and about 30 minutes into our set, the sound guy came up to the stage and was like, “guys, no one is here…just stop playing.” So we did. I could immediately tell that the tour was going to be a major success.

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

Every single song I’ve ever written has been a tough time. I honestly have no idea how anything of substance ever comes out. Every time I sit down and write a song that I’m somewhat proud of, I’m like absolutely floored. I don’t understand how it happens. Then, I proceed to freak out and convince myself that it’ll never happen again and that was the last song I’ll ever write. Fast forward a few days, weeks, or months, and somehow it happens again…fingers crossed.

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

Before a show, I like to drink a bunch of herbal tea and use a Neti pot, then completely counteract that with beer, tequila, and some shitty food from my rider. I’m working on getting better at this.

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

Obviously, this would be Mark Kozelek (Sun Kil Moon) and a nice bread bowl of tomato soup from Panera Bread. I like to imagine that Mark eats at Panera as much as he mentions it in his songs. Panera sounds really good right now actually.

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

I used to do this a lot, but lately I’m pretty transparent about it. If there’s a character in my song, there’s about a 95% chance the character I’m referring to is myself…or at least shares some essential qualities with me. I think my biggest personality flaw is oversharing brutal details of my life, but I’m working on convincing myself that it’s good for my songwriting.

Photo credit: Bridgette Aikens

BGS 5+5: Steve Gunn

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Artist: Steve Gunn
Hometown: Landsdown, Pennsylvania; currently Brooklyn, New York
Latest album: The Unseen in Between

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

One guitar player that has influenced me over the years has been guitarist Jack Rose. Sadly, Jack passed away too young, nine years ago, and I still think about him on a daily basis.

I first met Jack in Philadelphia in the late 1990s. I was just out of high school and getting serious about playing guitar. We both worked at place called the Reading Terminal Market, with Jack working at the coffee shop, and me at the ice cream stand. I would always walk over to the coffee shop when I had a break, and we would talk at length about various records and all things guitar related. I really looked up to Jack, and he was super generous with his knowledge of music to my young ears. I learned so much from those conversations.

He lost his job at the coffee shop suddenly for apparently not giving a cop a free cup of coffee, and immediately after that he started practicing acoustic guitar about five to eight hours a day. I witnessed the results of his woodshedding at a house show in Philadelphia shortly after that, and was completely astonished and inspired by his playing. Seeing his hard work pay off — and his demand for respect as a performer — was revelatory. Jack taught me how to practice. His willingness to share his guitar ideas, work ethic, and encouragement with my own playing has stayed with me.

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

I think the first moment I wanted to be a musician is when I saw Prince play guitar in the film, Purple Rain. When I was young I was very enamored with pop music. I loved Michael Jackson, Madonna, Def Leppard, etc. I watched a lot of MTV and listened to a lot of radio. Music was always on in the house, car, basement, or garage. My parents played a lot of records from the ‘60s, and they also liked the ‘80s stuff a bit. At a pretty tender young age, I somehow was allowed to watch Purple Rain, or maybe I watched it at a friend’s house — I can’t remember. I do remember being astonished by this pop musician who could absolutely destroy on guitar. He also looked cool as hell and drove a purple motorcycle. It can’t be denied that he was the best. He’s still one of my favorites of any era.

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

I knew that I wanted to write a song as a tribute to my father, but it was hard to summon one during a pretty fragile and delicate time in my life. “Stonehurst Cowboy” from my new album, was emotionally exhausting to play and sing. The song is the deepest I’ve reflected on my own emotions since I started making records. It was a difficult, sentimental, but also very cathartic time to write.

The words came to me pretty quickly, but I had trouble singing it when it was first written. It’s an extremely personal song. I had to let my guard down for this one, it was almost as if I didn’t have a choice. It was a hard one to write, but I know I had to, and ultimately I’m very proud of it. My family and friends that knew him seem to really appreciate the tribute, which means a lot me.

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

Trying to remain calm is important! Nerves can be the worst deterrent in performing and recording for me. I’ve been figuring out ways of dealing with this for years, and in many respects I have learned the hard way. For a performance, I do a few stretches and breathing exercises to calm down a bit. Often times, especially with performing, I like to have glass of wine before I go on stage. Warming up on the guitar itself really helps also. Strumming whatever random few chords allows me to connect myself to the instrument a bit better. For me it’s important to connect with my mind, telling my body that it’s time to get it together.

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

I’d like to grill some fish, eat oysters, and drink wine with Neil Young. We could have a few bottles of really nice wine, a bunch of salads, a few different types of fish and oysters. This meal would ideally be outside, just me and him. Maybe a few dogs. I’m thinking this could be somewhere in coastal California, obviously, right along some rocky ridge somewhere. We’d light a fire after the meal, I’d listen to his stories, and later strum some old 1930s Martins together. Sounds good, right?

Photo credit: Clay Benskin

BGS 5+5: The Steel Woods

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Artist: Wes Bayliss of The Steel Woods
Hometown: Woodland, Alabama
Latest Album: Old News

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

My grandpa is one of my biggest musical influences. I grew up in a very musical family. Although most of them had a hand in teaching me about music, the most influential as far as style goes was Grandpa. I remember all us kids would be trying to watch TV when he would grab a guitar and start picking and pretty soon we were gathered around trying to pick along with him.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

One of my favorite memories of being on stage would have to be the first time we played the Opry. It was not at the very top of my bucket list so I couldn’t have anticipated the feeling of standing in the circle. There are so many people that have dreamed of being on that stage all of their life and never got the chance. Realizing that in the moment was one of the most humbling feelings in the world.

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

My family had a southern gospel band when I was a kid so we were on the road a lot. One day when I was eight, my uncle bought me a harmonica at Cracker Barrel. I’m sure he immediately regretted that when he realized I was gonna blow it until my lungs gave out and we were all stuck on a bus together for hours at a time. He finally told me if I was gonna be making noise I would have to start making it sound good so I did just that. With his help I learned a few cross harp licks and joined the band within weeks. I knew then that music was gonna be my thing.

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

We don’t do much as far as pre-show rituals other than the one most important thing for any musician to do before playing. Tune your instrument! I still fail to do that until I get on stage from time to time.

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

If I understand this question correctly I would like to pair country fried steak, double hash brown casserole, fried okra and a sweet tea, with myself! I would follow that with a hearty helping of blackberry cobbler and of course, I would have to follow that with a day of fasting.

Photo credit: Alyssa Gafkjen

BGS 5+5: The Delines

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Artist: The Delines
Hometown: Portland, Oregon
Latest album: The Imperial
Band members: Amy Boone, Cory Gray, Sean Oldham, Freddy Trujillo, Willy Vlautin

Answers by Willy Vlautin

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

Man oh man that’s a tough question. I go in phases so I can’t name just one. I grew up worshipping Willie Nelson, he’s always been my personal sorta saint, next was X and then The Pogues and Los Lobos then probably Tom Waits and Louis Armstrong and a dozen others as well.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

The Delines were playing a gig in Madrid and in the audience, right in front of the stage, were two couples making out. A man and a woman and then two men, and I went to myself, goddamn maybe what we’re doing is working! With Richmond Fontaine no women ever came to our shows. It was all middle-aged drunk dudes and none of them had probably made out with anyone in years.

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

I always write songs thinking they are part of a movie and I write novels for a living so those two have always been a big part of my life. I love novels more than anything and I could spend my life in a movie theater. Since I started, I’ve written in characters and stories. For a shy kid it was always easier for me to do it that way. I could say what I needed to say without anyone looking at me. I was way too insecure otherwise. Writing in stories gave me complete freedom from everything, including myself.

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

Probably from age 12-26. I wrote obsessively, hundreds of tunes and not one good one. Not a single one. You would have thought I’d have stumbled upon one or two but I didn’t. But I loved writing them even though I knew I was no good at it. And then finally a good song came to me. I was 27 and worked at a trucking company loading trucks and all the drivers were talking about seeing shit on the road late at night, white line fever. I was like hot damn, I’ll write that tune. So I write the tune about a long haul trucker who never calls his wife and all the while his wife is on a bender and ends up in a psych ward. I was so proud of the tune, my first good one after 14 years of writing bad ones. Then I played it in a bar one night and a guy comes up to me and says, “That sure don’t sound like Merle’s ‘White Line Fever’ to me.” That’s when I found out Merle Haggard had already written the tune. Even when I was certain I’d gotten a good one someone had already done it.

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

It started for me around ten but I never thought I would be much of a musician. I just always wanted to plant my flag with musicians because I grew up believing in records more than anything else. Records were always my favorite friends in life. So after a while, just to get closer to them, I joined up.

Photo credit: Jason Quigley

5+5: Old Sea Brigade

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Artist: Old Sea Brigade
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Latest album: Ode To A Friend
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): Here’s an ongoing list of fictional band names. I’m sure at some point some of these were rejected band names: Dog Park, Denim Ego’s, Definite Lefty, Almost Pasadena, Almost Passed Adena, Chad The Gardener, Spiders in Australia

Which artist has influenced you the most and how?

I’d say Tom Waits. A friend of mine first introduced me to his music when I was 16, and having been a big Springsteen fan, I found a similarity between his and Waits’ music. I came to find a lot of influence from Tom Waits, particularly by how he lets his songs speak for themselves. He’s not afraid to change sounds and consequently allows his voice to present itself bare-naked to listeners. There’s such an intense degree of depth and emotion in his music that always draws me in.

What’s your favorite memory on stage?

Back in February 2016 I was on tour in the UK and Europe with Joseph. For the London date I had the privilege of opening up their sold-out show at Union Chapel. The venue is an old church that has such deep history as well as amazing acoustics. The date was particularly significant because exactly a year before I was traveling around the Midwest playing to basically no one. One night I had slept in my van and woke up thinking I was going to freeze to death in a Walmart parking lot. Going from that to playing a sold out London show in front of 900 people, exactly one year later, was definitely a memorable moment I’ll never forget.

What other art forms inform your music?

I think in a lot of ways, dance has greatly informed my music. With that said, I’m a horrible dancer, but my mom was a professional ballet dancer so I spent a lot of my youth hanging out in dance studios. I’ve always been drawn to the connections between dance and music, especially for ballet. I love the unity between free flowing motions and musical rhythms, and how they seamlessly morph together to form an even greater artistic expression.

How often do you hide behind a character in a song?

I’d say I generally try and avoid writing completely fictitious songs. If it’s a character-based song, I still draw on personal experiences. Sometimes it’s easier for me to come up with one central character that embodies multiple people in real scenarios.

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

“Love Brought Weight” was a tough one to finish. I wrote the main chorus hook years before I wrote the verses. When I initially wrote it I wasn’t releasing or performing my own music and couldn’t seem to figure out where the chorus should go. It was probably three years later that I wrote the verse to the song. I initially intended for the verses and chorus to be totally different songs until I couldn’t finish either. One afternoon I realized they were in the same key and they seemed to fit perfectly together. It was one of those moments where I realized, in just five minutes, I had solved a three-year puzzle.

Photo credit: Steven Mullan

BGS 5+5: VOTH

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Artist: Caleb Voth of VOTH
Hometown: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Latest single: “Sweetest Regret”

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

For me personally, it has been John Mayer. With older siblings, I was always listening to music that was different than my peers. I remember when the album Heavier Things came out. I was only 11 years old and was captivated by Mayer’s ability to create alternate melodies with his guitar that were different than what he was singing. I didn’t even play an instrument yet but I was picking up on the intricacies of his songwriting and it captivated me. He has a way of making you feel and reminisce about things that you haven’t even experienced.

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

I would have to say it was hearing John Mayer’s Heavier Things album. Like I said, I was 11 when it came out and picked up a guitar at the age of 12. “Neon” was one of my favorite songs so I thought, “I’m going to have that be the first song I learn.” Oh boy, was I in for a treat. I actually still to this day have never mastered that song fully. I literally don’t know how he plays that song with its alternate melodies AND sings it. It truly amazes me.

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

Probably a song that we haven’t cut yet. It’s called “Show Myself to the Door” and it was written from a real and raw experience I was going through. I really liked this girl and thought there was going to be something there. I completely shared my heart and feelings with her–and there was nothing back. The song describes the guy saying everything he could possibly say, her not feeling the same way, then him showing himself to the door. The showing myself to the door never physically happened, but it was a metaphor of putting yourself out there, not being accosted, then having no choice but to walk away.

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

Man, that is a tough question. I would have to say probably right now–a fat juicy cheeseburger while listening to Chris Stapleton melt my face off. He has inspired me as a songwriter to not care about what is on the radio or what is popular, and just write from the heart. And I love burgers.

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

Honestly, we don’t hide much behind our music. I think the most authentic music is written from personal experiences. So when you hear us saying “me” and “you” — it probably truly is a “me + you” experience. It’s hard for me to write and talk about things I haven’t been through before. A lot of people can pull it off–but for us, it’s a personal thing.