Tag: Basic Folk

Basic Folk – Lauren Balthrop

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

Lauren Balthrop’s Mobile, Alabama upbringing saw her soaking in the music of The Andrews Sisters, Steve Sondheim, R.E.M., Elliott Smith and Neil Young. As a child, she was involved in activities that varied from sports, to drama, to music and beyond. She never really settled on a passion, until she found acting and theater. She pursued that dream from fourth grade until after college, moving to New York to go after auditions and acting parts. She found a soft landing in the city by moving in with her brother, Pascal. The two would then go on to form the large band (they called it a traveling small town) of Balthrop, Alabama. From 2007 to 2012 they toured the country with as many as nine band members taking to the road. In this experience, she met Dawn Landes and Annie Nero, with whom she joined up for the harmony centered trio, The Bandana Splits.

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In 2013, she released a solo album under the name Dear Georgiana, which referred to Georgiana Starlington, the pseudonym she used in Balthrop, Alabama (everyone went by a character name.) She called those “the songs her brother doesn’t like,” at least not for their band… After that, she wrote a bunch more songs that felt as though they were written in her own voice, which she released under her name as the album This Time Around. Her new solo album continues the sentence: Things Will Be Different. She’s exploring the themes of change, upheaval and heartbreak while looking towards the future with hope. What’s also cool for Lauren is that she’s finding new meanings in these songs that differ from their original purpose. Lauren is a curious learner who seems like she’s always got her antenna up. I love her new record: the lush sounds and humor are hitting me right. It was great to talk to Lauren in this medium! We have known each other for almost 15 years and have instigated many antics over the years. Enjoy!

Photo Credit: James Paul Mitchell

Basic Folk – Molly Tuttle

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

Growing up in Palo Alto, California, Molly Tuttle was surrounded by music. Her dad was a teacher at Gryphon Stringed Instruments, which is not-so-coincidentally where I got the pickups installed on my mini harp. Molly took to the guitar early and intensely, eventually earning a scholarship to the prestigious Berklee College of Music. But I think it was those early days growing up in California, attending bluegrass festivals with her family, basking in the glow of the jam, that set the tone for her warm and collaborative approach to playing music.

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At Berklee, Molly formed a band called “The Goodbye Girls,” and cut her teeth touring in Scandinavia. Digging into The Goodbye Girls was a good launchpad for talking about what it means to be a female musician in Americana, as well as what happens when you explicitly call yourself an all-female group. As the first woman to win the IBMA Guitarist of the Year award, Molly has a unique perspective on this particular conundrum. It’s juicy.

I talked with Molly about her debut album, When You’re Ready, and her dazzling covers album …But I’d Rather Be With You before sifting through the many layers of her latest album, Crooked Tree. Crooked Tree features Molly’s brand-new band, Golden Highway. This new record is a study of bluegrass sensitively executed by one of the genre’s stars. Molly’s interpretations of bluegrass traditions like the murder ballad, shiny stacked vocal harmonies, and lightning fast guitar playing, are something to behold.

Photo Credit: Samantha Muljat

Basic Folk – Peter Mulvey

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

Milwaukee-born Peter Mulvey has, along with classical duo SistaStrings, made an anti-fascist record. According to Peter, “to make an anti–fascist record, you must keep kindness and compassion in the foreground.” Love is the Only Thing goes from family, to politics, to family, to racism and back to family. It’s as optimistic and introspective as it is filled with “running out of a burning building” type of songs. All the while, Peter is joined by powerful, thoughtful and extremely talented musicians in Monique and Chauntee Ross.

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Lots has happened in Peter’s life since his last album. He originated himself in New England, fell in love and got married, a pandemic, and he’s become a father. All these eek their way into the songs on the new album. Particularly poignant is his co-write with his partner, the song about their possible future as parents (good luck not crying to all the parents out there!) Don’t worry if you didn’t catch all the Buddhist references, we talk about each one in finite detail. Enjoy!

Photo Credit: Joe Navas

Basic Folk – Adia Victoria

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

For Adia Victoria, the blues are not just a genre of music or a set of formal elements. She lives the blues. In her life and work the blues are a mode of creating, a river-tradition into which she steps with each performance, and a way back into self-acceptance. Adia has traveled the world and infused her unique songwriting with Paris and New York as much as with her home state of Tennessee.

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Adia has released three studio albums, working with producers like T Bone Burnett and The National’s Aaron Dessner. In her climb to indie stardom she has remained laser focused on interpreting the blues tradition for contemporary audiences.

My conversation with Adia came shortly after we finished a whirlwind North American tour this spring, and it felt like we were back in the tour van just shooting the shit. Transparent and hilarious, Adia challenged me to go as deep in conversation as she does in her songs.

Photo Credit: Huy Nguyen

Basic Folk – Hannah Read

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

I have been wanting to talk to Scotland-born fiddler and current New Yorker Hannah Read on the pod for longer than Basic Folk has existed. I met her at the very fun camp Miles of Music in New Hampshire. We laughed our faces off all week and I was truly blown out of the water by her fiddling and singing. She’s just released a new duo album with the Scottish banjo player Michael Starkey, so it seemed like a good time to get Han on.

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She grew up in Edinburgh as well as on the Isle of Eigg, a remote island off the western coast of Scotland, and she talks about how living simply as a younger person has impacted her adulthood. Growing up, there was a lot of music in the house: in terms of both listening and playing. Her mum played cello, sister played fiddle, and there was also a community of musicians on the island playing who she connected very deeply with. She started playing traditional Scottish music at the age of six and cites her biggest influences as the musicians surrounding the trad scene there. She made her way to America to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston and eventually moved to Brooklyn.

Her new album, Cross the Rolling Water, is filled with old-time fiddle and banjo duets with the Edinburgh-based Starkey. The two met at an Appalachian old-time session in Edinburgh in late 2019. She talks about their musical relationship as well as how Michael only has a flip phone, which is always hilarious to hear about from someone who’s on top of technology. Hannah’s hilarious, kind and has an infectious energy that carries from her personality to her music. Enjoy!

Photo Credit: Krysta Brayer

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Basic Folk – Tami Neilson

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

We go track by track on Canadian-born New Zealand feminist trouble maker and country music superstar Tami Neilson’s fifth album, Kingmaker. Recorded at Neil Finn’s Roundhead Studios, the songs of Kingmaker expose industry systems, exploding patriarchal structures of the industry, society and family. It’s definitely not new territory for Tami — her previous two albums called attention to misogyny and patriarchal structures. She digs into these themes with sophistication, grace, emotion and humor. The way she brings these important messages to life hits you hard, but you can also dance to it.

 

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This is Tami’s second appearance on the podcast (she was first on episode 79). Definitely check out our first conversation as we talk about her life in her family band, her move to New Zealand and her relationship to fashion and appearance. She also talked about experiencing the death of her father, musician Ron Neilson. He appears on Kingmaker in several forms. For instance, on the song “Beyond the Stars,” written with Delaney Davidson, she sings about the loss and the longing to be with him again, with the legendary Willie Nelson singing the part of Tami’s dad.

Tami’s one in a million! Enjoy this conversation and her brilliant new album, Kingmaker.

Photo Credit: Sophia Bayly

Basic Folk – Willi Carlisle

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

It’s hard to not fall a little in love with Willi Carlisle. The former high school football captain (he’ll tell you it was just for his junior year), poet, madrigals singer and freaky dreamer is irresistible on stage and on record. He grew up an outsider and the feeling remains in his adult life.

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In writing about his intense life, he’s found an outlet and in his music we, the others, feel seen. His history is filled with complex experiences like having a musician father, singing in punk bands, getting a masters in poetry and finding true home and community at square dances in the Ozarks.

I got Willi to talk about a couple of notable contradictions in his life including his unflinching willingness to lay it all out for his music, living alongside not trusting himself or believing that he can do this. He also loves high-brow poetry and punk rock, but “I don’t want to come across as too heady, but I also don’t want to be so punk rock that I lack polish.” We talk about those contradictions and, of course, the music. His new album, Peculiar, Missouri, is filled with songs that seem very hopeful and these songs, even the protest songs, are coming from a place of love. Willi’s not reached a state of queer joy, which he’ll freely tell you, but he’s working on it. Meanwhile, his honesty, curiosity and big heart have us hooked.

Photo Credit: Mike Vanata

Basic Folk – Leon Timbo

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

When Leon Timbo was a teenager, he prayed for a singing voice. As a young poet and the child of a preacher, he was a born storyteller, but he dreamed of being able to sing. Leon’s remarkable artistic journey has been the answer to that prayer.

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Timbo started writing and performing songs on DIY solo tours in his native Florida, eventually expanding his reach across the United States. He focused on connecting with each audience member and immediately started building a loyal following. It was on one of these tours that musician and actor Tyrese Gibson fell in love with his music and storytelling and invited Leon to open for him. Gibson’s mentorship helped Leon hone his sound and opened massive doors of opportunity.

Each step of Leon’s musical path has been guided by faith, spirituality, and the power of human connection. He has performed with the legendary Fisk Jubilee Singers and hung out at a bar with Quincy Jones. He has a unique take on Americana, R&B, gospel, and folk music. His new album, Lovers & Fools, Vol. II, is a vehicle for his hopeful worldview, and of course, for his spectacular voice.

Photo Credit: Jace Kartye

Basic Folk – Dietrich Strause

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

Dietrich Strause, raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was classically trained on trumpet growing up, but the allure of songwriting and performing his own music pulled him into the Americana world. He found his way to the Boston area and into its super collaborative and supportive community.

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On his new album, You And I Must Be Out Of My Mind, Dietrich found himself more in control of the creative process thanks to spending years cultivating his skills at Great North Sound in Parsonsfield, Maine. Under the mentorship of producer Sam Kassirer, he became empowered in his craft by offering up his services as a session player, engineer and studio handyman. The record took several years to record, but due to his experiences with Sam, he was able to see the way that bands made decisions in the studio and how a record takes shape, which all culminated on his latest record.

Dietrich’s known in the Boston area for sitting in on sessions and live shows with people like Rose Cousins, Kris Delmhorst, and Session Americana. He’s built a home and a community there. Now, Dietrich is in the process of moving his base to London, which sounds challenging to do at any time, never mind during a global pandemic. He talks about how it’s been a strange move and how the pandemic has impacted his relationship with touring. Full disclosure: Dietrich is a close pal of mine and one of my favorite hangs. When I spend time with Dietrich, I feel like a little kid: anything is possible and the day is ours. His music gives me that feeling, too. Hope you enjoy getting to know Dietrich and his perfect songs.

Photo Credit: Sam Kassirer

Basic Folk – Edie Carey

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

Edie Carey’s last solo full length album was in 2010 (holy smokes!) so we are more than ready to dig into her new record, The Veil, encompassing themes like motherhood, infertility, love, being a lady while raising a girl and all the things that make you cry in your cereal.

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Edie first appeared on Basic Folk in episode 18 and if you haven’t, you should listen. Not only does she talk about her history, but she very openly details her experience with infertility, including winning her son in a raffle (TLDR: her husband won a free IVF treatment at an infertility conference, which then turned into their son Luca). In this conversation, Edie and I go track by track on her new album, which is a JOY because #1 I love Edie’s songs and #2 I love Edie. A winning combo.

These days, Edie is residing in Colorado Springs, working with area musicians, touring occasionally (when COVID is not raging) and raising her two young kids. Something that’s extraordinary about Edie is that she is not afraid of saying things out loud that most people are. She experienced burn-out after her first baby was born, longed for her pre-baby life, and felt guilty about it. The good news is that she turns emotions like this into fully formed songs where people can see themselves through her experience, and then be okay with talking about hard things. Enjoy this conversation – Edie is so fun and inspiring!

Photo Credit: Steve Willis