Artist:BB Bowness Hometown: Somerville, Massachusetts Latest Album:Goodtime Revival (released November 1, 2025) Personal Nickname (or rejected band names): BB (short for Catherine)
Which artist has influenced you the most – and how?
It’s tough to choose just one person, but I’d have to say Béla Fleck. He has expanded what’s possible on the banjo for all of us banjo nerds. Hearing him play classical, jazz, bluegrass and so many other styles, all with stunning fluency, is such an inspiration to me. And his tune writing is masterful, tunes like “Sunset Road,” “The Overgrown Waltz,” and “Big Country” feel so beautiful and singable to me. It’s really hard to write tunes that come anywhere close to that level of completeness.
What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?
I’ve always been drawn to music, since growing up in a traveling New Zealand craft market. There was a stage manager in the fair, Ralph Bennett-Eades, who played guitar and sang really great. His boys played guitar and drums so I always saw the cool, older kids playing music. Then after learning banjo for a few years, I headed to the states for the first time and got to attend some festivals and camps including Telluride and Rockygrass in Colorado. Seeing the amazing musicians perform on stage at those festivals made me really want to try music for a living. Fifteen-year-old me thought, “Wow, people do this for a job?!” Turns out it’s not that easy to get those jobs, but it’s been an incredible journey so far.
What has been the best advice you’ve received in your career so far?
The great Tony Trischka once told me it’s great if you can learn to sing. I’ve thought back on that comment frequently through the years, being primarily an instrumentalist. But it really rings true! Being able to sing in a band and contribute to the show as a vocalist by singing harmonies is a big plus. It’s also so great in general for your musicianship to learn to sing so that your ears are more connected to your hands. Having a decent ear is a must for singers and I’ve found it very helpful for my banjo playing to work on developing my ear.
If you didn’t work in music, what would you do instead?
I’ve always fantasized running a New Zealand coffee shop that sells baked goods. It’s got to be a waterfront cafe so that I can wake up early, go for a surf, and then make coffee and baked goods for people.
What would a perfect day as an artist and creator look like to you?
I love the days where you’re not sitting in a van for 10 hours. Any day where the drive is short and you get to play music with your friends for people who’re listening is a very good day! Throw in some vegetables with dinner and a little private spot to practice some before the show and I’m positively delighted.
Artist:Jess Jocoy Hometown: Bonney Lake, Washington (South Seattle region) Latest Album:Cul-de-Sac Kid (released October 24, 2025)
What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?
There have been so many cool moments on stage, but the first one that comes to mind would probably have to be the first time I played a Sunday Spotlight show at the Bluebird Cafe here in Nashville. My mom has a picture hanging on the wall of me, almost in this euphoric state, and I think that encapsulates the night perfectly. It was my first time playing the Bluebird and it just so happened to be my birthday. The Sunday Spotlight shows are full band, so I had the privilege of sharing the moment with some dear buddies and my family and friends. It was just really, really special.
What has been the best advice you’ve received in your career so far?
Honestly, the best advice I’ve received hasn’t come from the industry, but rather my family. There are a lot of “best practices” and “you need to do this in order to achieve that” kind of advice that goes around and all of that can get overwhelming. In a time when I was really carrying the weight of anxiety from this (especially in my younger years), it was offered to me that I should “filter in what I need and filter out what doesn’t serve me.” It took a little bit for that notion to sink in, but once it did, I started to enjoy music more in the same way I did before I started chasing it as a career.
Genre is dead (long live genre!), but how would you describe the genres and styles your music inhabits?
I think my music is a collection of what moves me: I have always loved country music – the twang, the storytelling, the fearlessness to be real. And sometimes just the simplicity. I’m also influenced by music that is ambient and ethereal and almost cinematic, often found in post-rock instrumentals or even movie scores. I’ve been leaning into this idea of “cul-de-sac country,” because my music hasn’t really ventured too far into twangy (just yet! but there’s always room to keep exploring), but I so appreciate the depth of a good story in a song and a “swelly” instrumental, so my goal is to find a crossroads somewhere in there.
What is a genre, album, artist, musician, or song that you adore that would surprise people?
I love Irish/Celtic music (instrumental, ballads, jigs/reels) — all of it. One song I love that might surprise people is “The Parting Glass” (ironically enough, though, my favorite version I’ve heard thus far is Abigail Washburn’s). I just love everything about that genre and style of music. It can be fun and dance-y or lilting and heartbreaking. It’s great!
If you were a color, what shade would you be – and why?
I blame my roots in the Pacific Northwest for my love of a deep green! It’s earthy and moody and can go with dang near everything!
Artist:The Unfaithful Servants Hometown: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Latest Album:Fallen Angel (released October 17, 2025) Personal Nicknames (or rejected band names): Quince/Quincy; Cobby; Dyl/Dilly; Cuss
(Editor’s Note: Answers supplied by mandolinist Jesse Cobb.)
Which artist has influenced you the most – and how?
Sam Bush, both solo and with New Grass Revival, Strength in Numbers, and many others. When I first started playing mandolin, I learned old-time fiddle tunes from the likes of Gus Ingo, Blind Kenny Hall, Bill Monroe, Bobby Osborne, and others all from LPs, by ear. I also had a few books around – Jack Tottle’s mandolin book, fakebooks, and some others. I recall going to the library in Superior, Wisconsin, and checking out albums/tapes of many artists.
Among the picks one time was New Grass Revival’s On The Boulevard. I was likely 10-12 years old and pretty new to playing at the time. I remember putting on the record and just being blown away by the overall intensity, sound, clarity, timing – everything seemed so leveled-up compared to the bluegrass and old-time music I’d been listening to. Sam particularly caught my ear as a mandolin player. The tone, attack, intensity, rhythm, changed my whole view of a mandolin’s role in a band. I still get this feeling every time I hear Sam’s music or get the opportunity to play with him! A real game changer for me.
What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?
My first time on the main stage at Telluride Bluegrass. I had been listening to recordings/watching videos of that stage with the house band, New Grass Revival, and others for literally my whole childhood! When I first played there with The Stringdusters, the feeling of looking over the massive crowd and up to the mountains in the distance was very special. It felt like a dream being there at that time and was a very emotional affirmation that all the time, sacrifice and hard work was worth it.
Genre is dead (long live genre!), but how would you describe the genres and styles your music inhabits?
The Unfaithful Servants draw from such a deep well of influences: old-time fiddle tunes to Vulfpeck; Doc Watson and Townes [Van Zandt] to Rush; Edgar Meyer to Jaco Pistorius; The Band to Polyphia; Bach to the Flecktones! Given our varied influences and our span of four decades in ages, we try to put this all together to inform our sound.
In my mind, the closest genre that encapsulates this is Americana. I think that we have more in common with artists like Sierra Ferrell and the Avett Brothers than with traditional bluegrass bands, although that influence/drive is incorporated as well. With the intensity of the Stanley Brothers and the technical aspirations of Punch Brothers, the groove of classic funk and lyrical depth of Neil Young, we try to create our own sound encompassing them all!
What is a genre, album, artist, musician, or song that you adore that would surprise people?
I really like ’80s rock music – think Steve Vai, Damn Yankees, Warrant, Def Leppard. I grew up listening to old-time music almost exclusively and working very hard to live up to the feel and sounds I was hearing in that. I recall being at a soundcheck at a theatre in northern Minnesota one time, probably around 13-14 years old. Walking into the venue for soundcheck, the crew was ringing out the room with the most exciting thing I’d ever heard. The song was “Peace of Mind” by Boston and I was blown away, very similar to the way Sam Bush hit me! I recall asking the crew, “What is this?” This started a long infatuation with ’80s hair bands, electric guitar shredding, and the crazy vocalists in the genre. I know a surprising amount of lyrics to ’80s hair bands and love to karaoke them when I can, for better or worse!
Does pineapple belong on pizza?
While I can confidently answer no for me, it’s kind of like asking, “What is bluegrass?” except without a point. I don’t like the flavor of pizza sauce and pineapple together, personally, but that doesn’t make it wrong for everyone! Much like trying to define genres, it’s completely up to personal taste.
Artist:Frank Evans Hometown: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Latest Album: Debut album is in the works
Which artist has influenced you the most – and how?
It’s always difficult to narrow that question down to one artist, but if it has to be one, I would say Alan O’Bryant of the Nashville Bluegrass Band. His ability to sing and play banjo at the same time, with so much dynamic intensity, still gives me chills whenever I hear it. When I was just starting out on the banjo, my teacher, Chris Coole, gave me a compilation CD of all these different banjo styles. “When I Get Where I’m Goin'” was on there and I must have listened to it on repeat ten thousand times. That band has really influenced how I arrange songs for a full bluegrass outfit. It was a huge honor to have Alan come into the studio to produce The Slocan Ramblers’ latest album. He was such a joy to work with.
What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?
All the guys in The Slocan Ramblers used to joke that if you’re a banjo player, you’re never safe from another banjo player appearing out of nowhere and asking you a very specific question about your instrument. I guarantee I’ve been that person.
A funny example of that happened back in 2015 when we were at MerleFest. They’d asked a few bands to do some early-morning TV interviews to help promote the festival. It was 5 a.m. and the gates were all closed. We had just gone live with the first interview when a guy popped out from behind a bush about 50 yards away and shouted, “Is that a Presto tailpiece on your Style 11?” How he knew what kind of banjo I was playing from that far away, I have no idea – but it was almost impossible to keep my composure after that.
What other art forms – literature, film, dance, painting, etc. – inform your music?
I’ve always been a fan of graphic novels and comic art. Growing up in Toronto, I was lucky to be surrounded by a healthy community of artists and great comic shops – especially my favorite, The Beguiling. Chester Brown, Harvey Pekar, and R. Crumb have always been some of my favorite artists.
Back in eighth grade, we had a year-long culminating project that could be on any topic and I decided to write a graphic novel about Edden Hammons, the old-time fiddler from West Virginia. It was a lot of fun and a ton of work, but I got to sell a few copies at The Beguiling, which was pretty cool. The last time this hobby came up was when The Slocan Ramblers asked me to come up with a cover for their Queen City Jubilee album. It’s a little out there, but I like how it turned out.
Does pineapple really belong on pizza?
Being born in Ontario — the birthplace of the Hawaiian pizza — I firmly believe that pineapple belongs on pizza. It actually took me a long time to come around to it, but a fresh Hawaiian slice from the right place is hard to beat. One of my favourites was a little spot called 2 for 1 Pizza in Kensington Market, Toronto. They’d pull a regular-sized slice from the oven, cut it in half, and hand you “two for one.”
What would a perfect day as an artist and creator look like to you?
I’ve really enjoyed the days I’ve spent in the studio since moving to Nashville. I feel very lucky to have been invited to be part of a number of projects here, ranging from experimental old-time records to working on the soundtrack for King of the Hill. If you’ve ever been unsure about what to practice, spending a day in the studio among amazing musicians will fix that. Recording has a way of putting everything under a microscope, which can sometimes feel crippling, but it’s also extremely rewarding when you notice tangible improvement from the last session.
I’ve also started working on my own solo record, which has been both rewarding and humbling. I plan to start releasing some of the tracks next year.
Artist:Ocie Elliott Hometown: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Latest Album:Bungalow (released October 24, 2025) Personal Nicknames (or rejected band names): Jon and Ra
What has been the best advice you’ve received in your career so far?
Keep playing, keep writing. Don’t be precious with songs. There isn’t one right way, be yourself goddamnit!
What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?
Somewhat unexpectedly being invited to join Zach Bryan for his song “28” when we opened for him at Red Rocks this summer. We were handed wireless mics backstage and, not knowing when to sing or where to stand, were instructed to “just go for it!” – in front of thousands of people wrapped in towers of sandstone formations enveloping the sound. It felt like my sense of self dipped and pure elation took its place… like there was nothing I could do to stop my entire body from singing.
Another experience that comes to mind was one of our earlier shows, playing for 10 to 20 people in a secret locker room during a local festival in Victoria, BC. – Sierra
What other art forms – literature, film, dance, painting, etc. – influence your music?
For me, it’s mainly literature and films that influence my music and I suppose they do so more in a lyrical sense, by informing how I see the world and interact within it. I know for me, the times I feel most inspired in life is when I have been reading a great book or have just finished watching a really inspiring film. I love foreign films, especially, because they can often give such unique and also universal perspectives and open your frame of mind. – Jon
What musician has influenced you the most – and how?
Kurt Cobain. When I first heard and saw Kurt Cobain in the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video my life changed forever. I can still recall the weird feeling of hearing his voice and almost not understanding it, in a way, and being so pulled in that I was dumbfounded. Kurt Cobain and his songs and voice made me really fall in love with music in an intense way. The fact that sound could have such an effect and inspire such feelings of pleasure and energy was life-changing and life-affirming.
What is a genre, artist, song you adore that may surprise people?
I love hip-hop/rap music, not that that should really surprise anyone, since the vast majority of musicians listen to every style of music, I think. But there was definitely a long period of my life (four to five years, at least) where I mostly listened to hip-hop. A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan, De La Soul, People Under the Stairs, and Outkast being my favorite artists overall.
Artist: Bryan McDowell Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland Latest Album:Bryan McDowell (out November 7, 2025) Personal Nicknames (or rejected band names): Red
What other art forms – literature, film, dance, painting, etc. – inform your music?
Literature, and particularly the novel form, is where I’ve gotten more and more inspiration. I appreciate lessons in a sort of general creative craft that I’ve found by understanding, for example, painters’ processes, but I think since I’ve worked increasingly with lyrics, I’ve turned more to some classic novels for inspo. Some of the newer unreleased songs are from that source, like this laid-back song I have that draws on Crime and Punishment, the first psychological thriller I think it is. The entirety of the book is the suspense and mental anguish of knowing a person who’s committed a terrible crime and is momentarily suspended from actual accountability for it. They’re just tortured to illness by their thoughts. As it turns out, that suspension of accountability is gripping. At least, I think so. What we do in those moments or what we think we would do or think is worth a bit more exploration.
Most songs aren’t quite so directly inspired by another particular work as this, but I know I’ve often taken songs I had that seem unfocused and I’ll back up and try to imagine a central character and maybe even plot out a bit of a storyline, thinking about the main conflict. When I do that, I think I’m always trying to conjure up some feeling of a subtle and human and well-developed character in a book. A novel does this thing of pulling you in close to a character by sustained familiarity and rich development. And a good song might do something similar, it’s just that maybe it’s presented as more of a puzzle box using all kinds of literary devices, meaning-laden language, and rhythm, etc. But if it’s like a puzzle box, then you as the writer still have to be intimate with the characters so that you can unfold them with precision. You have to have everything in its right place.
What’s your favorite memory of being on stage ?
The first year I started touring back in 2012, I was playing with the Claire Lynch Band at MerleFest. I think we had a mainstage afternoon set on Saturday, maybe. Russ Jordan was there and all the usual Wilkesboro crew and there was a decent crowd out in the old Lowe’s lawn chairs. So we finished our set and I walked off and was striking the stage for the next act, which was the Tony Rice Unit. Well at some point I start hearing rumblings that Tony didn’t have a fiddler with him. He had planned on getting king Stu [Stuart Duncan] over for the set, but MerleFest had booked the Nashville Bluegrass Band on like the Creekside Stage opposite Tony’s mainstage set. As it turned out, all the names of great fiddlers being thrown around were over there watching Stu, of course.
Anyway, I was there at the mainstage. Right place, right time. He didn’t know me from Adam, but Tony’s bass player was bending his ear giving me a good recommendation, because he was also the bass player for the Claire Lynch Band. Tony got up there and did the whole line check with the band and walked backstage as if they would play the set as a four-piece, but Mark Schatz must’ve been selling me hard, because five minutes before set time he pulls me back to their little green room and Tony walks up and sticks out his hand and says in his kind of broken-up voice, “How would you like to be a member of the Unit?” He seemed really frail even then and I remember consciously kind of being careful shaking his hand. I got up and did a quick mic check and the tech put a wash of the band in the monitors. Russ announced the Unit and I walked up and played the set with my stomach in my throat and looking fresh off the turnip truck.
I really hope Tony enjoyed it, or at least that he didn’t mind me much over there. He seemed to be having a good time, anyway. It’s the only time I ever got to play with or even speak with him, but his albums were probably the single biggest influence on my musicianship. I was going to Rice Unit concerts before I was born and had played his tapes until the pitch was all messed up and then switched to CDs and played them until they were all scratched to hell – and on and on. Sometime later I found out that Sierra Hull had decided to hire me based on that set with Tony (she was listening out in the VIP section) and then as a result I think I ended up getting a lot of good work with people down the road. I’ve had a lot of good memories on stage now and been able to sit in with many of my heroes, but that one still stands out.
Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do they impact your work?
I got really into section hiking during and before COVID, when I was back in Carolina and I ended up doing some of the Appalachian Trail up in Pennsylvania. At one point I could’ve walked out my front door and a mile up the road was a hundred miles of trails I could link up with that eventually led up to Mount Mitchell, the tallest peak east of the Mississippi. Such a great use of a week or weekend. Woods, mountains, and the quiet are my home. I hear the sweet decomposing forest floor smell is particularly good for mental health.
It doesn’t take long walking like that before everything I should be doing just falls into place. Musically, in life, with people. It all works itself out. I have an important line of a song come to me or a new crooked fiddle tune just falls out. There’s an old-timey tune I haven’t named yet that came to me like that. I think we all have much better versions of ourselves – our more authentic selves – that come back rising up once we get out from under the weight of these daily intrusions.
The sociologist Habermas called it a “colonization of the life world,” crept up slowly over the last 100 years with all the markets reaching their tendrils into our daily lives, encroaching on the time that we have to just be human and experience the world without dealing with being persuaded by something or someone. Going to the woods for me is just a remembering of yourself as a person and who you are in the world, which is the thing I think that modernity would like us most to forget.
What is a genre, album, artist, musician, or song that you adore that would surprise people?
I’m a big fan of Wayne Shorter’s Witch Hunt. I used to listen to that album incessantly back in the day. He’s one of my favorite musicians, generally, but there was some strange and good voodoo happening with the crew on that recording. Everyone was at their most tasteful. That music was greater than the sum of its parts, and the sum of its parts is no small sum if you look at the album personnel. Great writing, great playing.
If you didn’t work in music, what would you do instead?
If I didn’t work in music, I’d own a boutique cheese curds shop that’s word of mouth only and hard to find. I’d call it the Squeakeasy. Just need backers.
Recently I was on the Outlaw Country Tour with Waxahatchee. Sheryl Crow had invited us all to join her on stage for the last night. Her production folks started passing out little percussion instruments, I think I traded the tambourine with Spencer (drummer) for something reasonable I could play. We all stepped up on the drum riser, me with a drumstick and a cowbell. Then Sheryl turned around and took her guitar off in one smooth motion. She passed it to me and whispered, “D.” Once I made it through the first chorus and got the nod from her guitar player that I was hearing the right chords, I knew this would be the peak of my entire life.
What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?
The next one. Not to be cliché, but it’s true. I’m constantly in fear of having written my last song. I always start from a place of “how the hell do you do this?” I’m on tour right now and I’ve been working on a song whenever I have a guitar in my hands. I oscillate between knowing exactly what I think should happen next and feeling like starting over. Both can be the right answer and that’s pretty par for the course. But every once in a while they fall out of you like a dime from your pocket. Wish I knew how to make that happen every time.
How often do you hide behind a character in a song or use “you” when it’s actually “me”?
Flaubert said, “Madame Bovary, c’est moi.”
It’s all me and none of it’s true. I don’t think I could avoid myself if I tried, but I also pull little visions and observations from the people around me all the time. I think you have to be curious about people to be a good writer.
What is a genre, album, artist, musician, or song that you adore that would surprise people?
I would say 50% of the music I listen to is instrumental. Jazz from the ’40s and ’50s in particular. Hard bop and big band music is a constant. Duke Ellington is my favorite American artist. Endlessly inspiring and a huge influence on my melodic sensibility.
Although, recently I have been listening to a lot of Romantic symphonies. Beautiful and mind-altering!
If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?
I think Woody Guthrie might have said it better than I ever could: take it easy, but take it.
Artist:The Prickly Pair Hometown: Santa Monica, California (Mason Summit), Berwyn, Pennsylvania (Irene Greene). Now Nashville, Tennessee Latest Album:The Prickly Pair (EP) Personal Nicknames (or rejected band names): Sharktooth Necklace
What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?
Last year, we were honored to take part in a tribute to one of our songwriting heroes, Gene Clark, produced by Carla Olson at McCabe’s Guitar Shop, where Mason used to work. It was thrilling to perform alongside Gene’s family and collaborators.
What other art forms – literature, film, dance, painting, etc. – inform your music?
We watch a lot of movies together – foreign films, ’40s and ’50s film noir, and horror. Often, we’ll be watching a movie and when a phrase or line of dialogue stands out to us, we turn to each other at the same time and say, “Write that down!”
We’ve also written songs based on true stories and real people. Our song “Wilderness” was partially inspired by Chris McCandless (Into the Wild) and our latest single, “Swamp Angel,” is about Helen Spence, also known as the Daughter of the White River.
Genre is dead (long live genre!), but how would you describe the genres and styles your music inhabits?
We like to call ourselves an “Angsty Americana” duo – twangy music with a dose of melancholy and fatalism. We also love the recently-popularized term “Y’allternative,” as Mason’s production on our records tends to have some lo-fi and psychedelic elements alongside more traditional country instrumentation. Gram Parsons conceptualized “Cosmic American Music” and that phrase resonates with us as well.
What is a genre, album, artist, musician, or song that you adore that would surprise people?
We love Amyl & the Sniffers and saw them put on a phenomenal show at Marathon Music Works in Nashville earlier this year.
What would a perfect day as an artist and creator look like to you?
It’s a great feeling to finish a song and perform it the very same night.
Artist:Sam Burchfield Hometown: Seneca, South Carolina (now Jasper, Georgia) Latest Album:Nature Speaks (out October 24 on Cloverdale Records) Personal Nicknames (or rejected band names): Sammy B. Rejected band name: Sam & The Samwiches.
What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?
Around the same time my older sister started playing electric bass, I saw O Brother, Where Art Thou? and I heard “Eruption” by Van Halen for the first time. These memories all felt very important to me wanting to start playing guitar. As soon as I started playing guitar there was no going back. It consumed my life in the best way. Started my first band in 7th grade and ever since I have been writing songs and putting out records. (Long live Kelly Sparks The Fuse, my experimental garage rock band from middle school.)
What’s the most difficult creative transformation you’ve ever undertaken?
Becoming a parent. Ha!
But for real, it has so drastically changed who I am. It feels like I have finally unfolded from within myself. The past 3 years – we just had our second child six months ago – have shown the biggest overall life challenges as well as growth that I’ve yet to experience. My wife and I have been pushed in every way to dig deep and push forward. It’s beautiful, it’s painful, it’s meaningful. Creatively, it has really focused me and helped me to cut away some of the fluff.
If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?
Going off the last question, it has been so hard to keep pursuing being an artist as a “career” over the last decade. I think it has also made me really value the core reason that I’m doing all of this and putting myself and my family through so much chaos sometimes.
Ultimately, I want to inspire people to see the truth, beauty, and goodness of the world.
Does pineapple really belong on pizza?
Without a doubt, but only when it’s next to that ham, babayyyyy!
If you didn’t work in music, what would you do instead?
Well my first dream job was professional Lego builder. So probably that.
Although, nowadays I really love a good home project. Currently building an addition on the house and there is nothing as satisfying as throwing up a freshly framed wall. So maybe a carpenter!
Artist:Meredith Moon Hometown: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Latest Album:From Here to the Sea (released September 12, 2025)
Which artist has influenced you the most – and how?
I’m a bit of a deep-dive Dylan archivist. I’m one of those people who knows every bootleg series and can never get enough of the intricacies and nuances surrounding the various versions of his works. So while I know I’m not unique in this answer, I’d have to say Bob Dylan.
Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do they impact your work?
I spend most of my time outside in an attempt to maintain my humanity, but I’m pretty sure I’ve spent the majority of my most meaningful/intentional time in nature up in the lake country of Ontario, canoeing in places like Algonquin Park, The Kawartha Highlands, Northwestern Ontario, etc. I’ve gone on quite a few trips that are generally about a week or two in duration; I did one solo trip (with my dog) in Southern Algonquin Park that lasted five nights and six days. When you’re out there, you know exactly why you’re there and everything you need just comes to you. If you know you know! My belief is that when we put ourselves in vulnerable positions we can access something way back in our DNA that sort of guides us on how to survive. So I like doing that every once in a while, just to remind myself that I’m still connected to that.
What’s the most difficult creative transformation you’ve ever undertaken?
Getting sober, hands down. It took me months after quitting drinking to remember that I was still a musician and that I could still craft songs. I think part of that is the sort of “biopic culture” that follows you around as a musician. That we all have to be drunk cowboys in bars in order to have validity within the Americana scene.
However, as soon as I got sober and actually talked openly about it, it turned out that the majority of musicians I looked up to in the scene were actually sober, too, all along. It came back to me eventually, but there was definitely a period of reinvention before I could get anything out.
What is a genre, album, artist, musician, or song that you adore that would surprise people?
I was real big on ’90s grunge as a teenager. Some may be surprised that there’s actually a pretty strong connection between that stuff and traditional American folk tunes – the structure, some of the changes, etc. When I was a kid, I would have songs by Hole next to songs by Odetta and Doc Watson on the same playlist. I just like songs that have a strong melody and focused lyrics. And if you look at the song that way, there isn’t much difference.
If you didn’t work in music, what would you do instead?
My first love was painting and probably always will be. I’ve done photography professionally as well through the years, as well as other crafts. So I suppose if the music weren’t around, I’d just switch to the visual arts.
Photo Credit: Someari Benson-Jaja
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