Tag: 5+5

BGS 5+5: Elise Leavy

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Elise Leavy
Hometown: from Monterey, California; currently living in Lafayette, Louisiana
Latest Album: A Little Longer
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): Doodle

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

Of course it’s somewhere between incredibly difficult and impossible to choose one person who has influenced me the most. I grew up listening to the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Bob Dylan, Norah Jones, Simon & Garfunkel, Lucinda Williams, Crosby, Stills, & Nash, Neil Young, some strange and hauntingly beautiful Indian classical music that my mother loved, and countless other things that, if I didn’t stop myself, would flow from me in the passion of remembering things you hold tenderly, because you loved them as a child.

As an adult, I discovered Joni Mitchell – who became an angel that watched over me in my songwriting hours – Townes Van Zandt, and Tom Waits as well as the whole of country music and jazz that I never heard from the stereos of my parents. It all seeps in a little at a time, and I find I can hear it in my songs; they grow up and learn things just as I do. But I think the most magical thing is to occasionally hear something in my songs of the things I listened to as a child and loved with all my heart – now, after all these years, it’s all still there under the blanket of time.

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

All of the above! I have always been an avid reader of romance novels and watcher of romantic comedies. I am sure I can’t have escaped their influence in the way I pursue my dreams in my life and career, and surely my songs reflect the dreams I pursue as much as they do the feelings I process.

As to painting … my mother is a painter and I was very used to having beautiful oil paintings watching over me as child; small boys on giant birds, tigers and strange monsters, women lounging in the nude, a man playing the fiddle. I can’t imagine growing up without these friends that hung on the walls and were propped up in the corners, accompanying me through childhood.

And now, I live in Louisiana, where music is almost entirely for dance, and I can’t say how it will change me over the years, but I am sure it will.


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

I wrote my first song when I was 7 years old with the help of my step-dad, who is a musician. I remember I was (ironically) trying to learn “Fur Elise” on the piano, and instead of playing it correctly, I came up with something new and ended up writing a song about a rainy day called, “Yesterday It Was So Rainy.” I played this song at the talent show in 3rd or 4th grade, and I was so scared to be on stage by myself, I hired two little girls to stand behind me with umbrellas so I would have company on stage. Hard to say if I knew I wanted to be a musician at this point, but I suppose it sparked something, because I continued to play my songs at talent shows until I quit going to public school after 8th grade to pursue music.

What has been the best advice you’ve received in your career so far?

“Listen to your gut.” I don’t trust anyone in the music business that tries to dissuade me from this advice! The complete confidence in my own feelings and needs being most important in the pursuit a career in music has been essential in order to effectively follow my dreams. It also doesn’t always mean I get the biggest record deals or most impressive streaming numbers, which is really hard to accept, especially with social media and the whole of the music industry barking at me all the time to appear more impressive. But it means I am continually pursuing my own happiness and continuing to have pride in and love for the music I am putting into the world – and retaining the rights to it, at least so far. The only hard thing about this particular piece of advice is knowing when it’s my gut talking and when it’s something else!

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

Never, strangely! I wonder how other people answer this question? I am so honest about my feelings, I can’t imagine hiding anything in a character, or a story, or anything else. I’ve always been in awe of people who write songs from someone else’s point of view or story songs. The only thing you might say I hide behind is poetry. Metaphors are great magical beings and I am at the mercy of their magic. But really, I write songs because I have to. If I didn’t, I don’t know how I would get through all of the emotions of existence. It’s like going to therapy. I write my song, I cry (probably a lot), or sometimes I feel elated, and then I listen to it on repeat until the feeling ebbs enough to write a new one, or listen to someone else’s songs again. Maybe this is really weird. But I guess I always knew I was a weirdo.

Photo Credit: Kaitlyn Raitz

BGS 5+5: New Valley String Band

Posted on by Justin Hiltner
Artist: New Valley String Band
Hometown: Malmö, Sweden
Latest Album: New Valley
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): A Justification for Playing the Banjo

Which artists have influenced you the most?

Our greatest source of fiddle tunes would be the American fiddler Rayna Gellert. We fell in love with her groovy playing and her taste in source material. Many of the tunes we play are from her record, Ways of the World, including the title track which we also recorded for our debut album, New Valley.

Sam Amidon is another source of inspiration. His exploration and retelling of the traditional material with a quite minimalist style of arranging is something that guides parts of our process and something we strive to achieve ourselves.

Anna & Elizabeth would be our go-to when it comes to vocals. What they do is just absolutely astounding and continues to give the shivers to this day, even after hearing their music many times over.

Lastly we have many inspirations from the Nordic, especially from the Swedish trad scene. The duo Hazelius/Hedin and the band Bäsk are both big inspirations. Just like us, they both play traditional fiddle/dance tunes in a modern style and arrange old songs and ballads with a lot of after thought.

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

Musically, the three of us all come from the Nordic folk scene and the modern style of playing and arranging traditional Swedish dance tunes. When the band was formed we made a conscious choice that instead of fondly playing old-time music as historically or culturally accurate, we’d rather discover it and express ourselves in the way that we felt most natural. The result of that process became our own unique style of playing the old Appalachian fiddle tunes and songs. With interest and respect for the individual instrumental traditions, we arrange our music in a similar way that we would with the Swedish polskas or schottises. We call this style “Nordic Old Time” and we see it as our mission to explore this concept, and with it we can spread the traditional North American music to our peers and colleagues in the Nordic folk scene.

What has been the best advice you’ve received in your career so far?

Lukas, our banjo player, once met with the great Swedish folk musician Ale Möller, one of the founders of the Swedish world music scene. His advice to young musicians was to choose between being a specialist or a generalist. Either you can fit in any band or project or you establish your speciality so that when someone wants that, you’re the only one to ask. This spurred Lukas to both get more into the old time tradition that is otherwise a bit unknown in the Swedish folk scene, and to learn all stringed instruments there are. With all that being said, which path do you think he chose?

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

In April this year we performed at a small festival called Växjö Country Roots Festival. It’s a one day festival where six different bands that play American folk and roots music are doing one concert each during the evening. The event was sold out and there was a nice energy in the room. The performance went well and the audience seemed to like our way of interpreting the old time style, but the best thing about the festival was that it was a great way of gathering a lot of musicians doing bluegrass/Cajun/old-time/Americana music in Sweden.

It was really nice seeing the other concerts, but also jamming backstage, talking to other people doing a Nordic version of American folk music, and realizing how different it can sound. The arrangers did a great job with finding bands doing quite different sounds and even if it was a long night, the audience had a high energy the whole evening and it all ended with the musicians having a long jam session at the hotel until late night.

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

As a band, the only ritual we have so far is to warm up our voices together. We’re including more and more songs in our repertoire, and to be able to push our voices on stage it’s important for us to do some warming up and check-ins with our intonation. Apart from that we all have some individual things we like to do before going up on stage.

If Adam has the time he likes to massage his feet. He picked that up from one of his teachers at a camp some years ago. According to this teacher, if you’re comfortable and grounded with your feet, you will be comfortable and grounded on stage.

Michael likes to take some time backstage to do some breathwork and settle his mind. If it’s possible, he also likes to take the time to get familiar with the room/venue from the perspective of the stage before the show, to be more comfortable and prepared for what to expect with that specific stage.

We’ve also learned from experience that Lukas needs to eat something before a show.

Photo Credit: Aija Svensson

BGS 5+5: Jason Hawk Harris

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Jason Hawk Harris
Hometown: Houston, Texas
Latest Album: Thin Places
Personal Nicknames (or rejected band names): “J,” “Jase”

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

I was playing at the Milk Bar in San Francisco with the Show Ponies once. The crowd was responsive to what we were playing in a way that I’ve never experienced before or since. We would get louder, and they would move like a wave of silk. We’d get quieter and they would be still as candles. It was a really wild moment that I’ll never forget. It’s a small, divey place, but even still, it’s like walking into a church for me these days, because I always remember that show.

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

Lyrically, literature is a big influence on me. My favorite authors are those who write in the magic realism vein. Salman Rushdie, Gabriel García Márquez, Carmen Maria Machado, Haruki Murakami, and Charles Williams are some of my favorites. I like the genre (magic realism) because it seems to view the physical and spiritual plane of existence as one in the same. The world has always made more sense to me when I think of it in those terms. Empiricism holds no interest for me, personally. The nature of existence has always seemed bigger to me than what I can touch, taste, smell, hear, or see.

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

I wish I had a more hip answer to this, but I don’t. When I heard Simba sing the song “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” in the Lion King, I knew I wanted to sing in front of people for the rest of my life. I was 6 when I first saw it and that song absolutely enthralled me. I think there were earlier moments than that while watching my parents sing in church, but that song was a very formative moment for me. I remember my parents having to ask me to sing something besides the one song from Lion King.

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

“Jordan and the Nile” legitimately took me five years, from first spark to final mix. The refrain came to me in about 10 seconds, but everything else came at a crawl. I wrote around 40 verses and they all seemed wrong in one way or another. Then, when I’d finally finished the verses and felt good about them, I started arranging. It’s usually the lyrics that take me a while. The music almost always comes easy. Not the case with “Jordan.” I must’ve trashed everything and started over on this song at least five times. It was labor, but I’ve never been happier with a final product than I am with that song.

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

Don’t let the cynicism of the streaming age inform the music you write. This is, and has been, my mantra for a while now. I think in this day and age, musicians are under constant pressure to write music that people “like” instead of writing something that we think is good. The temptation is stronger than ever. Being placed on a Spotify sponsored playlist can make you thousands of dollars in a way that other avenues of income won’t. I have personal experience with this. The Show Ponies, the band I was a part of for seven years, were placed on a playlist back in 2013. We still receive monthly checks and we haven’t played a show in over four years. It’s powerful, but I don’t want a tech company deciding what music I make is or isn’t worthwhile.

Photo Credit: Daley Hake

BGS 5+5: Lonesome Ace Stringband

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Lonesome Ace Stringband
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Latest Album: Try to Make it Fly

(Editor’s Note: Answers provided by Lonesome Ace Stringband banjoist Chris Coole.)

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

Although I think the answer for each of us individually would be different, I think the most obvious single influence on us as an ensemble would be John Hartford. Specifically, the last several albums he made with the “John Hartford Stringband” (which featured Bob Carlin and Mike Compton, among others). Their approach to playing old-time fiddle tunes, especially on the albums Wild Hog In the Red Brush and Speed of the Old Long Bow, was based on a highly improvised and reimagined way of playing backup that Hartford called “Windows.” Although it wasn’t a conscious decision, and we don’t follow the approach to the letter, I think the spirit of those albums really influenced the way we play and perform old-time music, especially (instrumental) fiddle tunes.

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

As a band, I think the art form outside of music that has had the biggest impact is the crank (prank) phone call. For years we’ve been listening to the Jerky Boys. We are old enough to remember the late ’80s and early ’90s when underground Jerky Boys cassette tapes were passed around organically and treasured by all who were lucky enough to possess them. About five years ago, the guys from The Henhouse Prowlers introduced us to Longmont Potion Castle, who has been anonymously releasing psychedelic crank calls since the ’80s (he’s still at it). You might think I’m being tongue in cheek when I say that these influence us as a band, but the attention to detail – especially in regard to language – and the level of improvisation are both relatable to music and inspiring. Most importantly though, it’s a great reminder that we live in a crazy world, and it’s best not to take yourself or anyone else too seriously.

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

We like to get our heart rates up before a show if possible and maybe a bit of stretching. This often involves us having an aerobics dance party to ’80s pop and new wave. “Betty Davis Eyes” by Kim Carnes is a favorite, as is “Dance Hall Days” by Wang Chung. [John] Showman favours doing some version of the “Mountain Climber” while Max [Heineman] and I are usually doing jumping jacks, dancing on the spot, or some sort of hippie clogging. Seeing three middle-aged men dancing around in the green room to The Pretenders or Blondie seems to warm the hearts of promoters and venue staff and there are probably bootlegged videos of us doing it circulating around.

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

The title of our new album is Try to Make it Fly. That is a line from one of the songs called “Sweeter Sound.” I’d say that song encapsulates what our mission as a band is. We are all in our 50s and have been playing music professionally (mostly full time) since we were teenagers. That song is about not giving up, even when everything might seem to be pushing you in the other direction. It’s about keeping sight of what’s important – community, friends, family, art – and letting the quality of those things in your life be the gauge of your success. With where we are in our lives and careers, that seems to be the only way forward.

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

There’s a song on the new album called “Smoke on the Shoulder” which is basically a recipe for smoking pork shoulder. We all love to cook and appreciate good food. We rarely miss a chance to stop at a good BBQ joint when tour routing allows. With this in mind, I’m going to say the food would be smoked brisket and pulled pork with sides of coleslaw, beans, and macaroni. The musical accompaniment to this meal would be provided by, none other than, George Jones.

Photo Credit: Joel Varjassy 

BGS 5+5: Jolie Holland

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Jolie Holland
Hometown: Houston-bred, LA-based
Latest Album: Haunted Mountain
Personal Nicknames (or rejected band names): They say you can never nickname yourself. Ones that have come to me fair and square are Soup Kitchen, bestowed by the great author Vanessa Veselka, because every time I stayed in her basement on tour I’d cook for the household. And I had the nickname Jewelweed for a minute, because some friends standing nearby pointed out some jewelweed growing, and I thought they’d called my name.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

There are so many beautiful moments to remember. I enjoy being a “sideman” more than being in the spotlight. I’m a musician and a writer, and never was interested in performing, per se. I remember doing free improv on violin with a small trio at a flop house in Austin, Texas while some circus performers played with fire and danced. It wasn’t a show, just artists being together. My Wine Dark Sea band was really fun, a loud, chaotic band, but full of some of the most sensitive and wild musicians. I recently got to play a three-night residency with Jim White on drums, Adam Brisbin on baritone guitar, and Ben Boye on piano. It was like being a little tornado in a hurricane. So much motion and power.

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

I came to music after I was deep in visual art, which really centers originality. So I came to music with that lens. It literally took me decades to understand that not everyone is interested in that kind of ethos. A lot of people are happy staying in one or two related genres. But for me, I always have more questions.

What has been the best advice you’ve received in your career so far?

I have basically received no advice in my career. It’s been almost impossible to find trustworthy mentors. So I’ve just watched other people I admire and tried to learn from them. I love seeing how open-hearted and generous both Boots Riley and Marc Ribot are with their audiences. Both of them are political organizers, so that makes sense. They regard their position on stage as a place from which they inspire action and movement. I regard my audience as my collaborators, in many ways. We need each other.

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

I love to cook with or for the musicians I love. I’m imagining making a jelly roll for Jelly Roll Morton. My great uncles were pimps who lived 6 blocks from Jelly Roll Morton at the same time he was pimping. So I always imagine they must have known each other. Their little sister, my grandmother, passed for white and moved to North Louisiana to get away from the mafia. I wonder if he would have liked this jelly roll I once made with a genoise sponge, orange blossom water in the whipped cream, and a bitter marmalade I made with Seville oranges from my neighbor’s yard.

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

I feel like this question is important, but I’m answering it sideways: Why do a lot of people assume all songs are autobiographical? I come from the perspective that lyrics are literature, and a song can be a one act play. Songs can be fiction, drama, and not just memoir.

Photo Credit: Chris Doody

BGS 5+5: Patrick Davis

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Patrick Davis
Hometown: Formerly Camden, South Carolina; now Nashville, Tennessee
Latest Album: Couch Covers (2020); Carolina When I Die (upcoming)

(Editor’s Note: Hear the premiere of Patrick Davis’s latest single, “Wrong Side of the Tracks,” below.)

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

One of my favorite memories on a stage took place 15 years or so ago, back when the great Guy Clark agreed to play a round in a small Nashville venue with me and my friend Jedd Hughes. Guy and I were writing that week and I told him about the show and then asked if he would want to join and somehow he said sure. There was no higher compliment I could have received than Guy agreeing to sit beside me and Jedd and trade songs and stories for an evening. It was like he accepted us – maybe not as equals, but at least as somehow worthy. It was, and still is, a rather incredible memory. Guy has been gone for a while now, but I will forever carry that night with me.

What has been the best advice you’ve received in your career so far?

When I first arrived in Nashville an old writer sat me down and said, “Patrick, if you have a plan B you should take it, because the music business is a harsh place and if you are not 100% fully committed you will not last.” And after 20+ years I have to say he was right. I have seen many folks come through the music world and if they have any outs, the odds of them sticking with it, which is what it takes to succeed, are almost zero.

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

Never give up, never ever give up. (And yes, I know this is a Jimmy Valvano quote… but it should be every musician’s motto as well.)

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

I would love to have simple fish & chips with a few Guinness in the corner of a proper pub in the UK or Ireland with Eric Clapton, or maybe Keith Richards or hell, Paul McCartney. Just talk and see where it goes. Those guys are the last of a dying breed and I would love to hear some stories, maybe gain a little wisdom, a song idea, or even just a good buzz.

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

I heard “Tangerine” by Led Zeppelin and immediately asked my guitar-playing father if he could teach me how to play that intro. It forever changed my life – the second I realized that I too could play an A-minor and make it sound at least somewhat similar to what Jimmy Page was playing, I was hooked!!

Photo Credit: Zach Sinclair

BGS 5+5: Ariel Posen

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Ariel Posen
Hometown: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Latest Album: Reasons Why
Personal Nicknames (or rejected band names): AP or Guitariel

Which artist has influenced you the most – and how?

I think I’d have to say the Beatles. It was what I was brought up on and, even though I don’t like to compare things in music, they have always acted as a musical measuring stick for songs. I know they were and still are a huge influence on a lot of people, and it’s for good reason. They’re just kind of the greatest.

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

I think from a very early age. My parents were both musicians and I was also immersed in their shows, their travel and the lifestyle. Once I started playing guitar, started actually getting somewhere with it, and had my first gig, it was clear to me that this was my path and that I might actually be able to make a living doing it, too.

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

I’ve had a couple songs that I thought I had figured out right from the get-go, and as time went on, I started demoing them, and ultimately recording them, I realized they weren’t where they needed to be, yet. I basically started from scratch and built the blocks once again, around what I felt was holding up, and it took a couple of tries to get it right. I think chasing those type of things always end up being worth it!

What has been the best advice you’ve received in your career so far?

That no one is going to give you anything or “make anything happen” for you. It’s all gotta come from you. You will start to get what you put into it. No one’s out there that’s going to give you opportunities, because they are too worried about themselves and who they think is looking out for them! Get out there and make opportunities happen for yourself, put the work in and just be nice.

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

Probably 70/30. Writing about myself and my own experiences is the most authentic form of songwriting and feels the most genuine. However, sometimes I love to write about other peoples’ experiences, often people I know, as I’ve seen these experiences occur from outside the looking glass, so to speak. Both perspectives have a lot to offer. Nothing is more honest than you being you, though!

Photo Credit: Calli Cohen

BGS 5+5: Shadwick Wilde

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Shadwick Wilde
Hometown: This is a tricky one–

I was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and I was raised primarily in San Francisco, but we lived in Havana and Amsterdam before settling in Kentucky, ancestral homeland of my maternal grandfather. My family on my grandmother’s side were Roma and Jewish, my grandfather’s, Scotch Kentuckian. My mother took after hers, and we moved around a lot while she made documentaries and wrote poetry.

Latest Album: Forever Home (out September 22, 2023)

Personal nicknames (or rejected band names):
Sadwick, Dadwick, Sandwich, Shadooby, sometimes I am Henry, and so on. We have many names and take many forms.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

If I’m doing my job well, I don’t really retain memories of being onstage… The “I” disappears into the music. Of course, if something goes badly, I will remember it for the rest of my life. But my dearest onstage memory is from recently at a festival in Wisconsin – a tattooed dad and his two punk-rocker daughters were all singing along to every word of our songs. That felt really special… I may have cried about it. I definitely cried about it.

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

I remember being five years old, dancing in the mirror with my plastic guitar and ripped jeans to my mother’s Bruce Springsteen records. She likes to remind me of that memory. I guess I have always known. Even though there are many career paths that I would like to explore in other lives – baker, teacher, postman, monk – this one is for songs, and I am rich with them. Laden, even.

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

Sing from the heart. Don’t take it too seriously. Remember to have fun, and to be kind. That’s pretty much it! We have a tendency to overcomplicate things, when the simplest answers are often the truest.

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

I love to watch trees. We are rich with trees in Kentucky, and out where we live on the farm (just outside Louisville). The last few years I have been trying to learn all of their names, their leaf shapes, their bark textures. A favorite hobby of mine is foraging – black walnut, mulberry, gingko. Mushrooms, too. This year we got lucky with the morels. Last year I missed morels, but was lousy with the butteriest chanterelles, from a hillside near Greenbo Lake in Eastern Kentucky.

I have always felt connection in nature, in a spiritual sense. Nurturing that connection is essential for my mental health, and, I believe, also for our survival as a species. Our dominant culture would have us believe that humankind is separate from nature, but of course we know that’s not the case. We are wholly of the Earth, our larger body. It is this imaginary separation that allows us to objectify and exploit her, which of course has brought about this very real existential threat that is the climate crisis.

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

This is such an interesting dance, as a writer – the one between subject and object. Every time we perform, we are creating a character for the purpose of communicating this particular story. When I was a younger songwriter, I would tend to write about things that had really happened to me – heartbreaks, epiphanies, tribulations and such. Nowadays, I don’t find my autobiography to be quite so interesting. And although there are many such personal narratives on Forever Home, the “I” and the “you” are ultimately “us,” and the perspectives of “writer” and “listener” can be interchangeable in that same way: telling the stories of the human heart and mind, that are universal in more ways than they are disparate. So yes, very often, because in the end, there is only us; only One consciousness experiencing our human and cosmic dramas through the infinite and beautiful forms we take.

Photo Credit: Wes Proffitt

BGS 5+5: Rebecca Porter

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Rebecca Porter
Hometown: Harrisonburg, Virginia
Latest Release: “Happy Go Lucky”
Personal Nicknames (or rejected band names): Becca

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

RP: One of my most favorite memories from being on stage is a recent one – singing on stage with The Steel Wheels at Red Wing Roots Music Festival. This was my first year performing at the festival. A couple weeks prior to its tenth year celebration, The Steel Wheels’ fiddle player reached out and invited me to join them as part of a folk choir for their song “Till No One Is Free.” After a couple run-throughs with the band and The Honey Dewdrops backstage, it seemed The Steel Wheels’ set flew by and before I knew it, I walked out on stage with them. I faced the largest crowd I’d ever performed for, shoulder to shoulder with the founders of the festival. So many smiles and festival goers welcomed us all into their hearts with open arms as they sang along with our makeshift folk choir. While the air was filled with countless voices, a calm silence of comfort fell over my heart.

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

Visual arts impact my music by allowing me to observe and participate in the artist’s work, their vision, their experience. I may not be directly involved in the work’s creation, but the role of observing and appreciating a work, determining if and how it informs my thoughts, feelings, beliefs. All of those things are very similar to how I write, create and listen to music. A couple of my favorite artists include Cai Guo-Qiang, a Chinese artist who works in gunpowder drawings and explosives. The mere ability to utilize materials, typically connected to death and destruction, and repurpose them into visual wonders for peace, understanding and justice is beautiful. Kara Walker, an American contemporary who works in multiple mediums, creates mind-bending silhouettes that question and investigate race, gender, sexuality, and violence.

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

I was known to dance on the family room coffee table to Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Achy Breaky Heart” a time or two, but the very first time I knew I wanted to be a musician was when I was four years old. I was watching an episode of Sally Jessy Raphael and a young girl sang “I Will Always Love You.” I still remember crying as I watched her sing and feeling a connection, a sort of sense of belonging.

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

Craft honest stories through lyrics, music and voice that foster and create connections. Utilize the power of song to build and inhabit spaces where individuals are safe to process, celebrate or escape themselves and the world around them. As with “Happy Go Lucky,” I want people to know it is okay, many times quite necessary, to feel the feels – do the shitty work for yourself – in order to move on and be at peace or replenish your happy-go-lucky when it starts to run out.

What has been the best advice you’ve received in your career so far?

If music is what you want, take it. Seize the moment, keep strumming. Go wherever your songs take you and then some.

Photo Credit: Heather Goodloe

BGS 5+5: Julian Talamantez Brolaski

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Artist: Julian Talamantez Brolaski
Hometown: Goleta, California
Latest Album: It’s Okay Honey
Personal Nicknames (or rejected band names): Julian & the Knockouts

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

JTB: Probably the poet William Shakespeare. I know that sounds cliché to say. I love the way he combines words which have their roots in Old English with words of Romance origin, like his line: “The multitudinous seas incarnadine / making the green one red.” He drank deep from the fount of English, and I’m grateful for what he gave us — language that sings.

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

Poetry, in both its written and oral forms. I think of folk music as a kind of oral poetry. And I love to see the trajectories of the way songs are passed down, change, and mutate, like a game of Telephone. The song “In the Pines,” for instance, or “Wildwood Flower.” There are so many versions of those songs, and stories around them, wayward histories, misheard and remade lines. I like to think of my songs as operating in that tradition, rhyming and stealing, dressing up old songs in new clothes. My song “Goodbye Brother,” for example, is a rewriting of the Carter Family song “Lula Walls.” And “Covid-19 Blues” is basically a ripoff of “Long Gone Lonesome Blues” by Hank Williams.

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

I do these vocal warmups before I sing that a teacher in Philadelphia taught me. They’re very annoying sounding, like a bratty baby crying, and then like a whining witch, and so I get kind of self-conscious doing them, but it really makes a difference. I meditate and try to get myself into a calm place, and focus on my intention to really be there with the songs, to sing them with my heart, and to give my all for the audience.

What has been the best advice you’ve received in your career so far?

My grandmother Inés told me whenever you are speaking or singing, always do it from your heart. Over the years, I came to understand that that is not a metaphor, that the feeling is actually quite literal, and bodily. So I try to feel that heartspace physically, and to remember to direct my songs from there. I think that’s a good piece of advice for life, too.

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

I live near the ocean in Goleta, California, near Santa Barbara. I love to sit and feel my toes in the sand, walk along the cliffs, smell the enmineralated air. I go to the ocean whenever I feel upset, and it always helps me. Sometimes, I write poems down there, or I bring my guitar and sit on my tailgate and watch the water. It’s very meditative to be in the water, too, swimming or surfing, and it’s humbling and exhilarating to feel the ocean’s power. I always get ideas in the water — if someone could invent a wetsuit with a zipper pocket for a waterproof notebook, that would be amazing.

Photo Credit: Owen Duncan