Tag: bluegrass

MIXTAPE: Songs That Changed Jon Stickley’s Life and Still Blow His Mind

Posted on by Editor

When I was a senior in high school, my lacrosse teammate Andy Thorn loaned me a couple CDs and a mandolin. The two CDs were the original David Grisman Quintet album and Sam Bush’s Glamour and Grits. I was an angsty teen drummer in a punk band, and when I popped the Grisman album in my Sony Discman and pushed play, my life changed forever.

We started a little band and I started learning mandolin and making weekly trips to the local record store to buy every “newgrass” album I could. I didn’t know anything, so searching through the bluegrass/country section was an adventure of discovery. I learned to recognize the font that Rounder Records used and started using liner notes to find other musicians to listen to.

A lot of the tracks on this list are track #1 on the album, and I think that’s because when I heard them for the first time, they magically seared themselves into my brain. When I hear them today they inspire the same excitement as they did when I first heard them, and they have had an enormous impact on the music that I create for the Jon Stickley Trio. — Jon Stickley

David Grisman – “E.M.D.”

The first track I ever heard in the vein of bluegrass/newgrass. I heard David Count “1,2,3,4…” just like the Ramones! Then they launch into the most indescribable, unbelievable, clean, rockin’ jam I’ve ever heard. Also my first introduction to my guitar hero, Tony Rice. Nothing compares to this track!

Sam Bush – “Whayasay”

Another leading cut. This was my introduction to the one and only Sam Bush. His kickoff tells you everything you need to know about Sam’s music. It’s masterful, tasteful, and it freakin’ ROCKS. Then he goes totally Mark Knopfler at the end. Blew my young mind!

Jerry Douglas, Russ Barenburg & Edgar Meyer – “Big Sciota”

I picked this record up at the store because, on the back cover, they are dressed in gorilla suits. I thought, these dudes MUST be cool. Something about the tone of this record is unparalleled. It’s just the nicest-sounding acoustic record I’ve ever heard. Still cook dinner to it almost every night and my wife walked down the aisle to another track from the album called “The Years Between.”

Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder – “Pig In A Pen”

Holy crap. This is another album I bought blind at the record shop knowing absolute nothing about the music. To this day I have never heard anything rock this hard! Also, my first intro to a big guitar hero, Bryan Sutton.

Bryan Sutton – “Decision At Glady Fork”

Senior year of high school my uncle Pat took me to the Béla Fleck Bluegrass Sessions concert. I knew who Sam Bush and Béla were, but it was my first time hearing Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, and the young Bryan Sutton. They played this song and the audience pooped their pants!

Béla Fleck – “Blue Mountain Hop”

The ultimate supergroup in my opinion. This song got me thinking about composition and arrangement in a new way. It seems like each new part of the song was written with each individual soloist in mind. Also the giggles and growls in the intro remind you that they’re having a ball.

Béla Fleck & the Flecktones – “Sinister Minister”

Two words. Victor Wooten. Blew. My. Young. Mind! I’ve listened to this version of this song more times than I can count, and it’s one of the covers that we do in the trio. The Flecktones probably had more of an impact on our trio than anyone else out there.

The Bluegrass Album Band – “Blue Ridge Cabin Home”

This is another album where I had no idea what I was buying. It wasn’t until I looked at the back of the CD that I realized that Tony Rice was on it. It was my introduction to J.D. Crowe, Doyle Lawson, Bobby Hicks, and Todd Phillips. I fell in love with bluegrass banjo by listening to this song, and I was thrilled to find out there were five more volumes!!!

The Nashville Bluegrass Band – “Dog Remembers Bacon”

Another record store score that I grabbed just because “bluegrass” was in the title. LOL. These guys became my favorite group for years and this was always one of my favorite tracks. I learned about Gillian Welch from this album. Stuart Duncan is the best fiddler in the world!

Acoustic Syndicate – “No Time”

Man, I love these dudes SO much. My Uncle Pat gave this album to my dad around ‘98, and I promptly stole it. The chill energy of this album really spoke to me and I feel like it really embodies the spirit of the North Carolina festival scene. Super sentimental band for me!

Tracks from our new album “Scripting the Flip” that draw heavy on these influences:

Jon Stickley Trio – “Scripting the Flip”

This song is pretty much a bluegrass fiddle tune turned on its head. It reminds me of some of my favorite newgrass instrumentals that take the music somewhere new.

Jon Stickley Trio – “Driver”

Well, given that my buddy Andy Thorn got me into this music waaaaay back in the day, I had to bring it full circle and write a tune for him to come in and play on. This piece definitely draws on the music of the Flecktones and some of the tunes they play in odd meters.

Jon Stickley Trio – “Bluegrass in the Backwoods”

Kenny Baker, Bill Monroe’s longtime fiddler, was surprisingly one of the most innovative of the classic bluegrass pickers! He is thought of as a traditional fiddler, but his music is really anything but. I think this tune was way ahead of its time and we love the elements of gypsy jazz and Latin music in the melody. We HAD to cover this on at some point and it was so much fun!

Photo credit: Sandlin Gaither

BGS Podcast Roundup // April 24

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

Another week, another podcast roundup. From bluegrass, to dreamy jazz classics, to Montreal cuisine, we’ve got options.

Make sure to follow along on our social media [Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram] and right here, where we’ll consistently gather our new releases, as well as some past favorites:

Toy Heart – Béla Fleck

On the latest episode of Toy Heart, Béla Fleck talks to host Tom Power from his home studio and for the first time, he tells his story in bluegrass.

Fleck started out in New York hearing Earl Scruggs for the first time, learning from Tony Trischka, and then making the decision to go (new) south to learn from J.D. Crowe. He auditioned for Bill Monroe, but eventually found ‘his people’ and joined New Grass Revival. He tells of mistakes the band made along the way, the hard decision to leave that band and start the Flecktones, recording with his hero Earl Scruggs, and how he found his way back to bluegrass after all.

He also unveils the one change he thinks anyone can make to their practicing to become a better musician.

The Show On the Road – Kat Edmonson

Initially turning heads for her dreamy and futuristic interpretations of great songbook classics like Gershwin’s “Summertime,” which have been listened to over ten million times and counting, Kat Edmonson broke through with playful original works a decade ago, self-producing one of Show on the Road host Z. Lupetin’s all-time favorite records, Take to the Sky. She quickly found powerful fans in folks like Lyle Lovett, who she toured with wildly. Major label releases followed. Edmonson soon migrated from her home state of Texas to Brooklyn, with her elfin chanteuse look and sparkling vintage sound (think Blossom Dearie with some Texan muscle).

Z. and Edmonson sat down to discuss her newest record, Dreamers Do, which may just be the shot of pure cinematic nostalgia we all need right now. Does she cover Mary Poppins, Alice In Wonderland, and Pinocchio and somehow make them deeply cool, sonically subversive, and somehow brand new again? She sure does.

The String – Jessi Alexander and Jill Andrews

This Spring, many of the outstanding women of roots music have released new albums, and this past week on The String, Craig Havighurst caught up with two of them.

Jessi Alexander, native of Jackson TN, moved to Nashville at 18 and landed songwriting and record deals. She’s a hitmaker behind the scenes who rarely surfaces with her own heartfelt country music, but she sure does so on Decatur County Red, anchored in stories of her Tennessee coming-of-age.

Jill Andrews is more urbane and silky in her sound, but the personal journey she shares on her album and book Thirties is full of challenges and the clarity that comes with time and triumph.

The Shift List – Chef John Winter Russell (Restaurant Candide) – Montreal

On the latest from The Shift List, a two-part conversation with John Winter Russell, chef and founder of Restaurant Candide in Montreal. While host Chris Jacobs caught up with Russell via phone post-COVID-19 restrictions in Part 1, Part 2 was recorded a few months back, before the world was thrown into chaos, and it serves as a reminder of how integral chefs and independent business owners are in shaping the culture of our cities.

Restaurant Candide is named after 18th century writer/philosopher Voltaire’s book of the same name, inspired particularly by the last line of the book: “Let us cultivate our garden.”

This line is the guiding force to Russell’s food, as he works closely with producers local to Montreal and creates four-course meals inspired by those ingredients, crafting dishes that are produce forward, but not exclusively vegetarian.

The experience of eating at Restaurant Candide is unique and only something that can be experienced in Montreal. From the restaurant’s location, set in an old gothic church basement, to the warm interior that utilizes refurbished pews, and exposed brick along the walls that look into the kitchen. The restaurant is a defining part of the fabric of Montreal’s restaurant scene, not only in 2020, but overall.

Thankfully, Russell feels that he and his staff will weather COVID-19 and should be able to resume business at the restaurant once restrictions are lifted, and in the meantime he’s given back to restaurant workers affected by job losses in Canada by offering beer deliveries every Friday. If you live in Montreal and are craving some craft beer delivered to your house, send an email at [email protected]. All proceeds will go to the Montreal Restaurant Workers Crisis Relief Fund.

 

BGS Long Reads of the Week // April 24

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

We’ve so enjoyed looking back into the BGS archives with you every week for some of our favorite reporting, videos, interviews, and more. If you haven’t yet, follow our #longreadoftheday series on social media [on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram] and as always, we’ll put all of our picks together right here at the end of each week.

Our long reads this week examine entire careers, dive into different versions of new classic songs, revisit a lost hero, and more.

Glen Hansard: A Career in 12 Songs

We spend a lot of time at BGS immersing ourselves in the music, sounds, and careers of our favorite artists — what can we say, we love a deep dive! For this aural long read choice (if such a thing exists?) we unpack twelve of Glen Hansard’s essential songs from myriad points in his globe-crossing career, from rock bands and movie soundtracks and confessional songwriting and more. [Read the entire list, and listen, too]

Rose Cousins Shares Her Truth More Freely With Bravado

In a strangely prescient interview from late February, Canadian singer/songwriter Rose Cousins offers some insight and wisdom for being alone — the difference between loneliness and solitude, for instance — and for being present in each moment, as well. Their themes she’s explored in-depth in her music-making across the years, but in some newfound ways on her most recent album, Bravado. [Read our interview]

Glen Campbell’s Final Coda: An Interview with Carl Jackson

April 22 marked what would have been Glen Campbell’s 84th birthday. The rhinestone cowboy passed away a short couple of months after releasing his final album, Adiós, in 2017. Campbell’s long-time friend, collaborator, and bandmate Carl Jackson produced the project, and helped coax Campbell through the recording process as Alzheimer’s disease made his singing, playing, and performing increasingly difficult. To honor his birthday, we revisited our conversation with Carl Jackson. [Read] 

Steve Wariner’s Signature Hit? That’s Tricky

One of Nashville’s good guys, Steve Wariner was inducted into the Musician’s Hall of Fame last year, recognized for his versatility as a lead guitarist, as a sideman, and a singer/songwriter, too. Over more than four decades the Grand Ole Opry member has had numerous charting singles, so we wanted to explore that catalog and ask Wariner himself: “Do you think you have a signature hit?” [Read the interview]

My Love Will Not Change: Four Versions of a Modern Classic

After Americana singer/songwriter Aubrie Sellers gave a flawless, stripped-down performance of this song on our first episode of Whiskey Sour Happy Hour this week we’ve been returning to it over and over! Written by Shawn Camp and Billy Burnette, Del McCoury and Steve Earle have both been involved in recordings of this modern classic over the years. [Check out four different versions]

 

WATCH: Midnight Skyracer, “Average Faces”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Midnight Skyracer
Hometown: Stroud, UK
Song: “Average Faces”
Album: Shadows on the Moon
Release Date: June 5, 2020
Label: Island Records

In Their Words: “I got the seed of inspiration for this song after overhearing a conversation outside a pub: a man’s futile attempts to chat up a woman starting with ‘I’m sure I know you from somewhere,’ with her response being ‘I don’t think so, I’ve just got one of those average faces.’ A couple of days later I wrote a rough outline of a chorus and a first verse and then roped in my twin sister (and guitarist in the band), Charlotte to help form it into a full song before sending it to the rest of the band.

“This one really came together in the studio when we added the drum track, the only part on the album not played by a band member. It was actually one of the very last things we did. We were in our final couple of hours at Real World Studios and had packed down all the mics and dividers we’d had set up for the week so that our brilliant engineer, Josh Clark, could get his drum kit set up. He was just about to go in for his first take when he smacked his head hard on one of the heavy counterweights used to balance the overhead mics. Josh may have been slightly concussed, but he nailed the part all the same!

“For the video for this song we had initially booked in to use quite a different venue, but having waited outside that one for an hour or so (eventually it turned out that the owner had had a family emergency and left their phone at home) Eleanor and Leanne started wandering about town asking in every pub, bar, and restaurant, if we could use their space to film a music video. The wonderful people at Cru Wines, Bradford on Avon, very kindly obliged and let us use their upstairs room for the day. We were all very good and held off drinking the delicious glasses of wine we used as props until we’d finished filming!” — Laura Carrivick (fiddle and dobro), Midnight Skyracer

Photo credit: Elly Lucas

Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum: Take a Virtual Tour With New Videos

Posted on by Editor

A visit to the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum will enlighten and entertain any fan of acoustic music. While a road trip to Owensboro, Kentucky, will inevitably have to wait, you can enjoy these new videos with museum executive director Chris Joslin, who gives a close-up look at the history of bluegrass, as well as insight about what you’ve gotta have to play bluegrass.

From the early sources to contemporary interpretations, the museum exhibits tell the story of bluegrass music via documentary-style films, artifacts, images, and hands-on experiences with bluegrass instruments. Joslin takes virtual visitors through each area commenting on the exhibits and concluding each area with a live performance of a song that was significant to that specific era.

“Until you can travel to the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum, we will bring it to you,” Joslin says. “The virtual tour is a great introduction, but I can’t wait for you to see the Hall of Fame in person and to experience the energy around the music firsthand. What Bill Monroe created is now enjoyed around the world, and Owensboro, Kentucky, is at the headwaters of this uniquely American genre of music.”

Curious about how bluegrass got its name? Wondering why bluegrass festivals became popular? Take a look and learn more about Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, and so many others, with this guided tour through the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum.

Introduction & The Sources of Bluegrass Music

Dawn of the Bluegrass Era

Bluegrass Gets a Name

The Festival Era

Modern Era

Woodward Theatre & Audio/Video Production

Oral History & Hall of Fame Exhibit

STAY ON YOUR ASS: BGS is Open so Your State Doesn’t Have to Be

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

At this point, you know the routine. We say something like, “LOL, remember when we used to get off our asses?” Then we pause. Then we say, “NOT ANYMORE!”

Stay on your ass, okay? We’ve got plenty of musical time-fillers for you while you do, including the debut episode of Whiskey Sour Happy Hour, a livestream show from our friends at Music City Roots coming out of a long hibernation, and much more.

Did we miss something that’s helping you stay on your ass this week? (We probably did.) Let us know in the comments and on social media!

Whiskey Sour Happy Hour, Episode 1

After technical difficulties gave us a somewhat rocky start last night, Whiskey Sour Happy Hour’s debut episode was a smashing success! A surprise appearance from comedian Jenny Slate, Ed sang three-part harmony with himself on “Ocean of Diamonds,” Watkins Family Hour played through a window pane — if you missed it, you missed a joyous hour and fifteen minutes of quarantine bliss.

Good news. You can watch the entire thing on YouTube! So no cryin’ over spilt whiskey sour, get watchin’ — and get DONATING at this link.

Free Dirt Records Revue, April 25

Ardent BGS fans will recognize many of the artists on Free Dirt Records’ Revue lineup, given almost all of them have found themselves within the wordpress “pages” of the Bluegrass Situation over the years. Tune in on Free Dirt’s Facebook page on April 25, 2-7pm EDT for some of the best of folk, bluegrass, Americana, string band, country, and beyond. Your donations will directly support the out-of-work creators on the lineup.

And, you can read along on BGS while you watch! We’ve got articles and content on Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves; JP Harris; Rachel Baiman; Jake Blount; Western Centuries; Che Apalache; and plenty more, too.

Marcus Mumford: “You’ll Never Walk Alone” (Tonight Show: At Home Edition)

It has been truly remarkable to see the efforts of artists all around the world during this unusual time in history. Marcus Mumford was recently featured on Jimmy Fallon’s adapted Tonight Show: At Home, singing a masterpiece from a legendary songbook. Paying homage to two of the greatest composers to ever write for theater and film, Mumford performs a softened rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” a selection that he recently recorded for television.

In classic Mumford fashion, the performance grows from a delicate melody into an earnest decree, offering hope and comfort. Jimmy Fallon and co. are hosting a slew of performances such as this on the Tonight Show, which has been continuing with a new, socially distant M.O. With all this time to Stay On Your Ass, it’s nice to see regularly programmed content is taking strides to not only keep us entertained, but to do so in a socially responsible manner.

The Milk Carton Kids’ Sad Songs Comedy Hour

Joey and Kenneth of the Milk Carton Kids take their dry, wry, sly style of music and wit to the internet with their formerly brick-and-mortared show, Sad Songs Comedy Hour. Episodes have featured, yes, Sarah Jarosz, as well as Mythbusters’ Adam Savage, Sara Bareilles, Cecile McLorin Salvant, and others.

Each episode will champion a different charity, chosen by each week’s guest artist. Watch them all and give at sadsongscomedyhour.com.

Music City Roots Live from Quarantine, April 23

If you’ve been missing Music City Roots as much as we have, here’s a true silver lining from this COVID-19 crisis: MCR is back! Their online version of the popular Nashville radio show and weekly gathering — which had been on hold for months as they searched for their new soon-to-be home at Madison Station — will debut tonight, April 23, on YouTube, right here. Also raising money for MusiCares’ COVID-19 Relief Fund, the bill features some folk, country, and bluegrass clout.

We have read along links for MCR, too! Sam Bush; Jim Lauderdale; Sierra Hull & Justin Moses; John Oates; and Lillie Mae, too.

Justin Hiltner and Jonny Therrien contributed to this article.

BGS 5+5: Hot Buttered Rum

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Hot Buttered Rum
Hometown: San Francisco, California
Latest album: Something Beautiful

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

Years ago, we were at Bean Blossom, Indiana. We were a very new band at that point and we played a set in the afternoon. We’d been hanging a bit with Peter Rowan, so he invited us to play in his set that evening. I stepped onstage to find myself next to Tony Rice! I felt completely out of my league, and by every measure, I was. At one point, solos were being passed down the stage. Tony took a ripping solo, of course, and then it was my turn. Yes, I had to take a guitar solo after Tony Rice. The audience was empathetic and gave me a sympathy clap. And Tony said “haw!” — Nat Keefe

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

Coffee is very important. Even if I have a set at midnight, 1 a.m. — whenever — I get good coffee in me an hour beforehand. No matter how much I drink before I play, I never have trouble burning through it on stage. I set myself up with a cup and I get my right hand going with the rolls. Caffeine with the left hand, banjo with the right. If I have time to drink that coffee slow enough and play those rolls fast enough, I walk onstage feeling damn near superhuman. — Erik Yates

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

“Give it up.” That’s about it. All the artists I love have their own way of talking about this. When I give, I end up creating so much more, instead of dragging down the next round of work with what I want, whether I’m good enough, whether I’m gonna make as big a splash as my friend or my hero or the new voice on the scene. None of that matters to the damn song. What matters to the song is that it gets made, that it gets out into the world and that other people get to hear it and do what they wanna do with it. Maybe they’ll walk down the aisle to it. Maybe they’ll laugh at it. Maybe they’ll close their eyes and sway back and forth when they hear it. All of that is fine, all of that is welcome. What I want is to give it up, give it away, set it free. — Erik Yates

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

Actually, it’s often the opposite. Early on, my dad challenged me to write songs from different points of view. It’s liberating! You can be an observer, and it’s not always about you and your feelings. A good example of this is my tune, “Desert Rat.” — Nat Keefe

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

I’m a mountain person at heart. I think we all are, the band guys. That was how this thing started with us. Since bluegrass is from the old mountains in Appalachia, when we first started writing together we went up as high as we could in the new mountains out West, our Sierra, and listened as closely as we could to what those places were saying. We had this grand idea of making mountain music out here that could reach across time to the mountain music out there, and maybe tickle the Rockies too on its way past. Our best towns have always been mountain towns. This music speaks so well there. — Erik Yates

Photo credit: Matt Sharkey

LISTEN: The Gina Furtado Project, “The Things I Saw”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: The Gina Furtado Project
Hometown: Winchester, Virginia
Song: “The Things I Saw”
Release Date: April 24, 2020 (single)
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “‘The Things I Saw’ is just a song about my experiences of growing up on the Shenandoah River. All throughout my childhood I went to the river when I needed comfort of any kind. No matter what happened in my life, good or bad, the river stayed the same. The plants and critters and smells and sounds became like old friends; always welcoming and beautiful in every way, and utterly unstoppable.” — Gina Furtado

Photo credit: Sandlin Gaither

Watkins Family Hour, “Bella and Ivan”

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

“Bella and Ivan,” one of two instrumentals on our Artist of the Month Watkins Family Hour’s brand new LP, brother sister, begins with a folky, whirring Vitamix of notes. It’s a frenzied melody, one that allows the siblings’ bluegrass virtuosity to glint like a bright reflection off a sly smile. Sean’s aggressive, Tony Rice attack and the slight Celtic bounce of Sara’s bow are demonstrating that they, too, can accomplish the unlikely complicated ease of the duo’s tight, familial harmonies.

And they do. Ever since the first notes of Nickel Creek’s “Ode to a Butterfly” transformed an entire generation of listeners into bluegrass fans, Sean and Sara Watkins have been giving us these effortless-while-acrobatic instrumentals. Each one reminds us in its own way that no matter how far afield the pair may travel from their genre of origin, they carry it with them still — and can execute any of its aesthetics with immediacy and delightful, mocking aplomb. 

Named for a friend’s two dogs who love to wrestle, “Bella and Ivan” isn’t so much rough housing as it is a scripted, choreographed, pro fight. Their interplay is just as exciting to those of us who suspend disbelief as it is to those who don’t; the musical dialogue precariously and joyfully unfolds in a way that refuses to either feel rehearsed or totally off-the-cuff. 

In whatever iteration one encounters the music of Sean, Sara, and/or Watkins Family Hour, they’re giving listeners every last ounce of that ethereal “something” that sparked our love for them in the first place. While they constantly reinvent themselves and explore new sonic territories, somehow that “something” remains indelible. It’s just Sean and Sara Watkins.

BGS 5+5: Chatham County Line

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Chatham County Line
Hometown: Raleigh, North Carolina
Latest album: Strange Fascination

Answers by Dave Wilson (songwriter/vocalist/guitarist)

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

This is a tough question and a hard one to pin down to just one artist. As a songwriter I believe that one needs to pick up inspiration from all facets of the world and in every way possible. Personally I am in awe of those artists who can follow their muse sometimes to the detriment of fame and fortune. I believe a true artist is driven by an inner guiding artistic force, a force that pushes them to create something new and miraculous, with no thought to the consequences. David Lynch is an artist that I really admire for this quality. When you are in the presence of his work, you feel connected not only to the piece of work but also the mind behind it, the artist themselves, and I believe that to be the linchpin of true artistic work.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

I don’t know if it is a favorite, but we had an unforeseen moment at a show in Portland, Oregon. Four songs into the first set, the monitor engineer let me know that a woman in the audience was having a medical emergency. In order to stop the show gracefully and take the attention away from her situation, I told the audience that I had ripped a hole in the seat of my pants and we would take a short break to fix it. The paramedics swooped in and were able to administer aid to her and the audience was distracted by the fool on stage. Live performance is a strange business to be a part of, but you must be prepared and willing to turn on a dime for anyone and anything.

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

I believe that film is one of the greatest treasures that modern technology has given to man. The ability to tell a story, to elicit an emotional response by playing with light and sound is an amazing thing. I’m continually awed at the way that the genre is pushed and pulled to play with the conventions of the medium. I love that even in the early and very technologically limited days of cinema, someone like Georges Méliès was already manipulating the camera and the film stock to play with his audience. In this age we live in I pray that real cinema can survive and folks will still go to the theatre. Much like live music, it needs to be experienced with others and when everything clicks, its power is undeniable.

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

I was away from home one summer at some sort of camp that intermingled folks from different socio-economic backgrounds in a very thoughtful way. I was taken by the experience and wrote a little song about it. The response I got from my fellow campers when I played the song on the last night was something I will never forget. Someone told me that I should be a songwriter and I laughed it off. It still seems like a dream today to actually have followed that once unimaginable path.

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

I’m an avid cyclist and try and get out for a couple of long rides every week. I find something about the solitude of cycling and the rhythm have a real meditative and restorative quality. That seems to help reset me a little bit if I am living a little too much in my head. Although I did write one of CCL’s most popular tunes while mowing my grass so who knows?

Photo credit: York Wilson