Tag: BGS 5+5

BGS 5+5: Abby Hollander Band

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Artist: Abby Hollander Band
Hometown: Brooklyn, New York
Latest Album: Letters

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

I’ve always been a musician. Growing up in Woodstock, New York, with musician parents, brother, friends, it was just a natural part of life, the expression of self through song. I started picking out cartoon theme songs on the piano when I was 4, and kept learning and playing from there. By high school I’d sit in with my parents at their gigs, and I first did my own gigs (singing in a jazz trio) by college. It wasn’t until after I’d graduated with a BA in theater that I realized in order to be an actor you have to audition; but to be a musician, you just have to play.

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

My training as an actor has had a big impact on my music, especially when it comes to performance. When acting, you’re taught to always be in the moment, and that despite knowing what words you’re going to say you never know exactly how they’re going to come out, because you’re listening and reacting to what’s going on around you. That’s something I’ve tried to take with me into my music… even if I’m singing the same words or the same melody, a song doesn’t become stagnant because each time it’s sung, it’s being informed by the present moment. I also try to transport myself to the circumstances of the songs as I sing them. For example, “Still Got It Bad,” a John Herald song on this new album, is a heartbreaking story about never getting over an old love. That’s not my reality, but the way he wrote the lyrics is so relatable and so true that it puts me in a place where I can sing it honestly.

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

Actually, I’ve found myself writing too many first-person songs! When I was writing “Back When We Could’ve Been In Love,” I decided to turn it into a character and started saying “she” instead of “me.” It’s really still about me though probably. And now you know!

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

I try to be really dedicated about taking care of my voice, and that’s especially true leading up to a recording or show. Right after we released our first album, in 2015, I was diagnosed with polyps on my vocal folds. My voice didn’t sound like me, and I got hoarse after singing even just a few songs. I eventually had surgery to remove them, and through voice therapy I’ve learned how to take better care of my voice. I even went back to school to become a speech-language pathologist so I could work as a voice therapist and help others avoid these problems. It was an incredibly scary time (it’s what the song “Eyes of Loss” is about), and so these days I’m much more diligent about keeping my voice in good shape. That involves frequent warm-ups, vocal exercises, and being mindful not only when I’m singing but also speaking.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

I don’t have one specific favorite memory, but every time I’m on stage and I’m singing with friends, or even strangers, if there’s a tight harmony that clicks in the right way I feel this current, this electric charge of life and joy, and that’s what it’s about for me.

Photo credit: Justin Camerer

BGS 5+5: Declan O’Rourke

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Artist: Declan O’Rourke
Hometown: Kinvara, Co. Galway, Ireland
Latest Album: Arrivals

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

Joni Mitchell. She taught me to sing. When I was a kid I could sing well, but then my voice broke as a teenager and fell into my boots. I didn’t know what to do with it. I was already playing guitar and loved it, so I concentrated on just that for a while, but I started writing songs along the way, and presumed they’d be for someone else. Unbeknownst to me I kept singing along with my favourite records and somehow learned to use what I had. Joni was my biggest teacher. It was accidental and surprised me, as of course I was singing in another register and didn’t realize it was happening. Then one day I started singing my songs. I owe her a lot!

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

Breathe. Remember that my parents always told me to make every show count. That whatever happens it doesn’t matter. Life will be over before we know it and you’ll be happier you did it than if you didn’t. Say whatever you feel. Enjoy it. And oh yeah, where are my fisherman’s friends? I always have a couple in my pocket going on. In case my mouth gets dry. And they remind me of my Grandad — and that all my ancestors and relatives are with me, and inside me.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

I was in the middle of a gig with a 50-piece orchestra on Valentine’s Day in a concert hall in Dublin. While introducing a song some lady about 20 rows back shouted up some alluring funny comment, it made us all laugh so I shouted something back and had this little dialogue for a moment or two. It was fun. Unusually for me there was this wireless microphone and when the song started I walked down into the auditorium, went and sat on her knee, sang a few lines to her, then made it back to the stage just in time to finish the song. The atmosphere was electric and fun, so spontaneous. Just for giggles, I said on the mic, “I hope that was the right person.” The conductor who was barely holding it together told me to turn around, and pointed down to the lady I’d sang to. I had to squint to see her, and he said, “You see the woman in the green dress about five rows in front of her? That’s the woman you were talking to!” Well I almost died laughing. I finished that part of the show by saying, “I should have gone to Specsavers.” You couldn’t make it up.

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

I live by the sea on the west coast of Ireland. There’s just a couple of fields between me and it. It absolutely zens me out. I love it. It makes it into a lot of my songs, and did long long before I — reared as a city boy — got to live so close to it. In fact singing about it helped me to get there. Manifested in a way.

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

Move people. Remind them of what’s the important thing in their life at any given moment. Help to ground yourself first, and if you can do it, and share a thought or an emotion that’s pure, and felt very significant to you then there’s a good chance it will resonate with other people too. We’re all more similar than we think we are.

Photo credit: Lawrence Watson

BGS 5+5: Amigo the Devil

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Artist: Amigo the Devil
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Latest Album: Born Against
Personal nicknames: I’ve never had any past preschool and that was only one kid who called me Daniel Cocker Spaniel. It destroyed me. I mean utterly wrecked me at the time.

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

I enjoy reading a lot, always have. Lately I’ve been trying to dive into subjects that I’m not usually interested in or genuinely don’t know much about and have been finding that, well, apparently they’re still not my thing ha ha. At least giving it a shot helps me narrow where the passion genuinely lives. Film has always been an important factor in my life, just as much as literature I would say. I’m a big fan of visual portrait films like Ashes and Snow, Baraka, Naqoyqatsi and aesthetic systems like the Cremaster series. Jodorowsky, Yorgos Lanthimos, and Takashi Miike are responsible for most of my favorite movies as actual storyline films. I also love rom-coms. I don’t care how corny they are, they wreck me and I love it. Horror used to be the go-to while growing up, but I think that’s changed quite a bit lately. Still love a classic campy experience though.

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

I always hear stories of people writing three songs in a day or dreaming up these beautiful hits in their sleep. I’ve unfortunately never had the joy of these moments. Although some songs “write themselves” more than others, I always have a hard time with every single song when it comes to finally calling it a finished product. Whether it’s my curiosity or doubt that keeps me grounded right before the final hurdle, it’s always a “tough” time. There’s actually one quote by Mark Twain that I remember shifting my confidence immensely. “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter — it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” Ever since that day, it’s been a brutal journey wondering which of the two I have in the lyrics I’ve written. See, not all knowledge is helpful.

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

I’m going to go with Ray Sawyer of Dr. Hook on this one. One, because I think they’re the #1 band I wish I was able to see live (and he’s my favorite member) and two, because I think he’d be a blast at a dinner party. I’m not saying that I would Lady and the Tramp a hot dog with him, but also not saying I wouldn’t. Dinner-wise though, I feel like Ray was as complicated an individual as he was simple. I’d start with gumbo loaded with smoked alligator (one we pulled ourselves from Lake Eufaula after a long night of mescaline)…move on to a dry-aged ribeye cooked directly on the coals and sit it in a bordelaise with a side of brown butter-sautéed endive (for health measures) and raclette over potatoes. There’s no room for dessert so we just slam some coffee and hit the town.

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

Rituals always seemed like a guaranteed way to set yourself up for failure. Since a ritual is basically just a glorified routine, once that routine becomes psychological, both your conscious and subconscious mind depend on it…so what do you do when you don’t have access to elements you need? I feel like that’s when we see people start to freak out and convince themselves that something is going to go wrong because x, y and z didn’t happen. Granted, these are just my dumb opinions but it always seems like rituals tend to get more and more intricate with time which leads to extravagant demands and unnecessary adjustments for a superstition.

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

Someone recently pointed out that I never sing from a third-person and very rarely a second-person perspective. Almost all the lyrics (that are based on people) are “me” and “I.” After thinking about it for a while, the only conclusion I can come to is that since most of the songs are stories that I’m putting myself into someone else’s shoes to write, the perspective carries over. I think there is also some level of accountability that feels more honest, especially when talking about taboo subjects. It’s too easy to shift the blame along with the perspective. It’s the “asking for a friend” complex when trying to avoid shame. When talking about topics that are hard for people to bring up, it’s important to me that there is a human element and a personal touch of admittance. That association and acceptance tends to bring the much greater reward of growth and learning. Shifting that blame will always leave you floating around a boxed-in world like a rubber duck in a hot tub.

Photo credit: Alicia Way

BGS 5+5: Giri Peters

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Artist: Giri Peters
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Latest Single: “Fallin'”

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

I am inspired by so many amazing musicians, but if I had to choose one it would be John Mayer. It is super inspiring for me to see someone who incorporates a hint of blues and folk music in their style become one of the world’s biggest artists. It is not often where you find people of his caliber carrying on the sounds of authentic music and incorporating it into their own songwriting and musical style. I also love the way he uses his instrumentation in his songwriting, and that is something I aspire to do as well. In my mind, he is one of the greatest guitar players alive. While his songs aren’t all super complex he succeeds at creating hits with simple soulful music. He does just enough to get the point across. I also love watching him blur the genre boundaries within the mainstream music industry, and that is something that I think about often too because I am inspired by so many different musical styles.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

My favorite live performance I have done was a Ted X showcase at the Schermerhorn Symphony Hall here in Nashville. Even though that performance was a couple years ago, and I have improved so much musically since then, it was such a special memory. I had gone to the symphonies ever since I was 2 years old. I remember one time going to the Schermerhorn to watch the symphony perform, and after I got to meet some of the players. I was always in awe of that stage, and I never would’ve imagined getting to play it some day. I had gone to see Punch Brothers and some other amazing acts perform on that stage when I was a little older. For me, when I got on stage I was so nervous just knowing that this was the exact same stage I had idolized since I was around 4. It was an amazing show that I will never forget, and it gave me inspiration to keep going knowing that I was able to make a dream come true.

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

I have been a music lover ever since I was born. I moved to Nashville when I was 4 years old, and I started taking violin lessons as soon as we moved. I then picked up mandolin, and later the guitar. I eventually moved away from classical music and I have been experimenting with different styles ever since. Only recently have I felt like I truly found my sound and style. Most of the music I write is within the folk/Americana genre with influences from other styles and sounds. I was around 4 or 5 when I first started going to concerts and as soon as I watched amazing artists, I knew that I was going to be a musician. My mind to this day has never changed. It was only when I started getting older, and when I began venturing into different styles such as bluegrass that I decided I wanted to be a touring musician. Someday I hope to tour the world with my guitar and my violin, and share my songwriting across the globe.

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

There was one time a few years ago when I was getting down about wanting to be a musician. At the time there were many problems going on within the world, and I wanted to do something about it. I felt like my life would be useless unless I could help the world, and leave a mark somehow. At the time, I was lost regarding how I was going to do that with my music, but right around that same time I discovered songwriting. Ever since that day, I decided I would write about real world problems, and that when I didn’t write directly about world issues, I would use my music as a platform to do my part in making this world a better place. Even though I am still at the beginning of my journey in doing that, I will never lose sight of that vision. My songwriting is also my way of coping with life and the experiences I go through. Often I find that many other people feel the same way or have been through similar experiences. It is so amazing to me how songwriting has the ability to connect everyone no matter who they are, where they live, what they believe, or what they look like; and I believe that it is the greatest tool we can use to help connect human civilization.

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

I love the sun. Light gives me so much inspiration and happiness. There is something so inspirational about watching the sunrise and the sunset everyday. For me it never gets old. Especially while watching the sunset, I have found that I create my best work. It is a small reminder of how beautiful the world is out there, and it is hard to remember that nowadays because most of us have been stuck in our homes for more than a year. I love writing songs during the sunset, and I get the perfect view of it everyday from my room. I always try to get as much writing or recording done while the sunset is happening simply because it brings out the best artist in me.

Photo credit: Uma Peters

BGS 5+5: Noel Paul Stookey

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Artist: Noel Paul Stookey
Hometown: Blue Hill, Maine
Latest album: Just Causes
Personal nicknames: Paul of Peter, Paul & Mary

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

Standing at the Lincoln Memorial with Peter Yarrow, Mary Travers, and 250,000 others listening to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. deliver his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech at the 1963 March on Washington. As Mary said that day, “…we are watching history.”

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

Was there ever a “first moment?” Music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember though I never seriously thought I would earn a living as a “professional.” I was attracted to the medium as a form of expression and never as commerce.

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

Now THAT’s an interesting question! I always try to have beer and coffee backstage at a performance, because (borrowing a page from Alice in Wonderland‘s toadstool discipline), I will have a sip of beer if I’m jittery or wound too tight from all the coffee I’ve consumed during soundcheck OR a cup of coffee if the beer I’ve sipped has caused me to relax so much that I’ve lost focus. I suppose it’s a self-medication of sorts.

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

Songwriters deal in metaphors. I don’t “hide” behind a character as much as employ characters to present different perspectives in what is often an invented situation — witness “The Connection,” a song that uses four scenes to reveal a relationship between drug use in the USA and the funding of the Taliban terrorist group, or “Jean Claude,” a story song questioning the meaning of freedom for an 83-year-old French man who, as a teenager, had his best friend taken away to a Nazi concentration camp.

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

I’m a folkie. All it takes is a circumstance; a piece of life revealed in real time to become inspiration for a song. We write for the betterment of the human condition. And, if that occasionally is termed “art,” then so be it.

Photo credit: Kevin Mazur

BGS 5+5: Mimi Naja

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Artist: Mimi Naja
Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
Latest Album: Nothing Has Changed

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

One of my earliest memories is being in the basement of my childhood home and walking past the old beat-up upright piano. It had dents and scuffs and chipped keys, and was my favorite thing in the house. I remember being four years old and reaching up to plunk the keys, or climbing up on the bench, and my feet couldn’t reach the pedals. My parents were incredibly supportive and put me in piano lessons immediately.

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

“Counting the Days” comes to mind, from Fruition’s Broken at the Break of Day. The bulk of it was written ten years ago, as a relationship was unraveling. There’s a lot of honesty of shortcomings of action and character in it, which is always challenging but also essential for such a personal song. We shelved it for several years, knowing it had some golden nuggets in it, but it just wasn’t there. I revisited the lyrics for those sessions and rewrote some, with newly informed tidbits dealing with the same shortcomings, but from the unraveling of another relationship. So, opening old wounds and acknowledging new ones in the same vein. Painful and necessary.

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

Any body of water. If I lived near the ocean, my answer would clearly be the ocean. As it stands, I get to lakes and ponds more often, and the stillness really caters to a de-cluttering of the mind that helps writing come more easily.

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

On tour, if there’s time between soundcheck and doors, I always try to walk to a coffee shop and find a local rag, or a local music shop. Mostly just in it for the walk if the weather’s good, to try to get a taste of where we are besides the four walls of a venue. Other rituals will look a lot different now that I’ve gotten sober. It’ll be ginger tea, mocktails with seltzer, cranberry, and lime, and hitting a room in the Sobriety Clubhouse.

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

I’ve been cooking lots of Thai food. I’d like to do Thai with Khruangbin.

Photo credit: Michael Weintrob

BGS 5+5: Ervin Stellar

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Artist: Ervin Stellar
Hometown: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Latest Album: Nothing to Prove

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

Bob Dylan. I don’t know why I was initially drawn to his music, I was probably 14 or so. It felt like hearing the truth. Such word-crafting and an indifference to pop culture standards or expectations. He’s an artist I can continually go back to and never grow out of.

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

Film more than anything else. P.T. Anderson, Wes Anderson, Éric Rohmer, the Coen Brothers — I aspire to write songs as cinematic as their films. They all seem to take place in a particular era, with an aesthetic that colors the experience in the same way time ages a Polaroid, it’s as we see that time period from the present.

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

Past rituals include getting stoned beyond recognition and trying to perform from a lucid dream state. This produced inconsistent results with varying levels of quality control. But these days I just like to be comfortable, at ease and without overthinking it. Letting the spirit of the sound move through me with as little resistance as possible.

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

I like the earth and water elements. Waves and mountains. The impact is spiritual, rather than literal or lyrical. My connection to this celestial body circling the sun and the infinite universe is most clear when I’m far away from civilization’s hum.

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

This feels a lot like writing a five year plan (which I’ve never done). I don’t believe my “career” needs a mission statement. It should be enough to just write the songs — and their reason for being is largely irrelevant. There is no mission, but I do find joy in other people’s experience of my music. They can’t know everything a song means to me, and vice versa, but still there’s a shared conduit of energy that connects us.

Photo credit: Laura E. Partain

BGS 5+5: Esther Rose

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Artist: Esther Rose
Hometown: New Orleans, Louisiana, and sometimes Taos, New Mexico
Latest album: How Many Times
Personal nicknames: Dayfire, Wild Rose

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

Seeing as how there haven’t been any stages as of late, my favorite recent performance was singing “Handyman” with my nephew Cedar. Cedar is three years old and he knows every single word.

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

The moment that I knew I wanted to be a guitar player/songwriter was on my 28th birthday when I wrote a song called “The Game” on piano. ‘Til then I had been a supporting member of my partner’s band, but that morning I wrote a breakup song. I remember thinking I need to learn how to play the guitar immediately and I did.

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

In the studio I set up a good-luck altar with little treasures from the past year; pretty rocks from significant places, jewelry, photos, whatever has been close to me for the past year of songwriting I will take off and turn it over to the altar. It is grounding to look over and be reminded of why I wrote the songs, or where I was, or who I was with. I keep a candle burning the entire time. It gives me great satisfaction to blow out the candle at the end of a long day, signifying that the work is over.

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

Writing “When You Go” was tough. My songwriting golden rule is “no bullshit.” I will write and scratch out lines to get closer to what’s really going on. With this song, I wrote the first verses and then froze. The song starts as this kind of self-assured, “I’m getting over you” song. I was scared to go to the no bullshit place to see what was below the surface. I sent it to my best friend and songwriter soulmate Julia and she urged me to finish it. The next day I wrote the chorus and I remember crying, crying, crying and then crying some more. It’s a very primal feeling; please take me with you.

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

I want to have a glass of wine and a cigarette with Joni Mitchell. I don’t even smoke anymore.

Photo credit: Akasha Rabut

BGS 5+5: The Brother Brothers

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Artist: The Brother Brothers (Adam and David Moss)
Hometown: Peoria, Illinois
Latest Album: Calla Lily (out April 16, 2021, on Compass Records)

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

If I have to pick one, which is quite difficult, I’d have to pick John Hartford. I constantly admire, rediscover, and celebrate the effortlessness with which music and words flow out of him. When he writes, he writes about what he knows, and we are convinced to join him in his love of steamboats, old time Nashville, and so many other things that I’d normally walk on by. His musicality is so honest and of himself, and damn, it just sounds so good. He doesn’t subscribe to any “rules” and yet he’s so completely inside a style. — Adam

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

I have done a fair share of composition for dance, which has opened a whole new universe of creativity to me — the idea that movement, once catalogued, becomes an intentional means of expression has such a real and vibrant quality that no other art form can ever hope to encapsulate. Working with ballet dancers is amazing because the rigid tradition and pure athleticism of the art form creates an amazing palette that can really get inside different kinds of music, and the creativity flowing from choreographers of modern dance in NYC and around the world is just something so otherworldly but yet incredibly accessible. For some reference, I would recommend Batsheva Dance Company and the surrounding tradition of Gaga, and Nederlands Dance Theater. And of course the ever famous and incredible stewards of George Balanchine, the New York City Ballet. — David

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

This last year we’ve both been displaced by the pandemic and as a result have continuously traveled. Now, David is living with his fiancée and their dog in a scamp trailer, spending every day entirely surrounded by nature. I’m currently living in California and surfing every day. When you make your life in nature, you can’t help but let the waves and your wetsuit influence your rhythm and rhyme. The sunset is an impossible thing to describe, but we can keep trying. — Adam

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

There isn’t really such a thing as “a tough time writing a song,” in my experience. Songs, for me, are things found and worked out. If the process feels difficult, it usually requires waiting and trying different avenues. If you asked, “What is the longest it’s taken to write a song?” The answer would be a very very long time. — David

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

Honestly, I can’t imagine a better pairing than Russ & Daughters’ smoked fish spread and dancing to one of the hottest klezmer bands in NYC. Second only to that would be another trip to Lafayette, Louisiana, to spend another weekend at Blackpot Festival, hanging with our Cajun friends down there, playing music and eating the contest-winning gumbo, jambalaya, and gravies of the year. — Adam

Photo credit: Shervin Lainez

BGS 5+5: Amanda Cook

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Artist: Amanda Cook
Hometown: Laurel Fork, Virginia; Originally from Jay, Florida
Album: Narrowing the Gap
Nickname: My band members call me Mander

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

My dad is the biggest influence on my bluegrass career. Watching my dad over the years play banjo and sing absolutely influenced my love for bluegrass music. The first lesson he gave me was to hand me all the volumes of the Bluegrass Album Band and said, “Sing tenor with every single track.” I love to see him play and sing, he just gives it all he’s got and that inspired me to do the same.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

An incredible moment on stage for me was our first time at the Milan Bluegrass Festival, so far away from my hometown in Florida. When we kicked off “Caleb Meyer” and the crowd just cheered in response, what an incredible feeling. Those folks so far up north had heard my version of that song and that was the moment that I realized that my music had went a lot further than I knew. I’ll never forget that.

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

When I started my career I was trying to find my place in the music world and now that I’ve been at it for a while my mantra is “stay true to yourself.” I want to make good music and just make my own place in the genre. I strive to be original and unique like other artists I admire.

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

I would absolutely love to sit down and eat some fried chicken with Dolly Parton. She is just such an incredible artist and human being.

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

Before a show a Diet Coke is an absolute must and you will often find me looking for my bag of Fishermen’s Friend cough drops. You’ll always find me on stage with one. It’s a long-running joke the number of times I’ve almost spit my cough drop out when I’m really getting into a song.

Photo credit: Andrew Mingus