Tag: bruce springsteen

BGS 5+5: The Pine Hearts

Posted on by Editor

Artist: The Pine Hearts
Hometown: Olympia, Washington
Latest Album: Lost Love Songs
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): Bruce Springsteen of Bluegrass

Answers from Joey Capoccia

Which artist has influenced you the most, and how?

This is a tough one because about every six months I find someone new that I dive headfirst into. I love that feeling of discovering someone new and having their music brighten your day. Seeing them immediately influence your songwriting… it’s the best! Sometimes you are so inspired by a new song you hear, you start to learn it, and it winds up sending you down a path to write your own song. Possibly one of the best parts of music is how one song leads to another.

But, if I had to choose… I’d say Stuart Murdoch from Belle and Sebastian. That’s the biggest shift I’ve ever felt musically/songwriting. I can remember going through my friends’ music collections, absolutely devouring every bit of them I could find. It’s basically a marker in my life… pre- and post-Belle and Sebastian. At the height of my love for them, they came to The Capital Theater in Olympia. It was one of those magical moments where the band you’re in love with is suddenly playing in your town… I’ll never forget it!

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

This was fairly recently actually. September 2021 at Treefort Music Festival in Boise. The whole summer was pretty good, we had a bunch of really fun shows, with great audiences and hosts, but at Treefort, we had a full house of folks who really seemed into the whole vibe, and the entire environment of the festival was great! It was our last show in a string of gigs, which means we were warmed up, playing tight, and grooving off each other. That, mixed with the crowd, was a perfect combo! Plus we got to watch a bunch of our friends play, make new connections, and also just enjoy the city. My brother who is an architect out of Portland has a building project going on around the corner from where we played, so I got to check that out as well. Really great stuff!

What other art forms inform your music?

When I’m not playing music, I’m usually doing carpentry. I absolutely love working with wood. It’s not a perfect product. It has imperfections and abnormalities, and you have to learn to accept those. If the board is gonna crack, or splinter when you pound a nail through it, the best you can do is be prepared for that, and mitigate it the best you can. Maybe that prepares you for the flat tire you get on the way to the gig that you’re already late for?

Carpentry also helps when you don’t have the money for a setup job on your upright bass. I’ve definitely sanded down the fingerboard in my kitchen with decent results. Or glued the top of my guitar back together after it cracked from high altitude in a dry Montana winter. Another element of carpentry, when it comes to songwriting, are the people you meet on a job site… plumbers, electricians, equipment operators. Great working folks. People that I really identify with. To say it’s important to have connections like that in my life is an understatement. It’s the reason music/art exists…labor by day, art in the evening.

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

Rituals are very important to me, maybe most important. For instance, especially in songwriting, I can dabble here and there, and slowly turn out songs. But if I really want to get things done and finish up a batch of tunes, then I need to set times and days, and keep it consistent. 2 p.m. That’s what works for me. If I spend a few hours starting at 2 p.m. every day, by the fifth day the songs will be flowing.

Before a show, I usually go on a walk. There’s a lot of down time between arriving and playing. I find a casual stroll through the neighborhood is incredibly relaxing and keeps me from having too many beers before downbeat. For this last recording, I made running in the morning my ritual. I do often run, but not in the morning. We were in the tiny town of Enterprise, Oregon, so every morning, I’d wake up and run past farming equipment… down dirt roads… it wasn’t bad once I got going. But usually the last thing I want to do upon getting out of bed is start running down the road.

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

Well, my favorite food is pizza, so maybe Bruce and I will get a slice someday? It’s a great question though, because I find that one of the hardest parts about touring is finding the food you need that works for you. It’s basically disappointing gas station food most of the time. So when you play a venue that cares about food, and is excited about the music, amazing things happen! The Pine Hearts are all about good food. If we have a place for a night on tour, you know we’ll be cooking up a storm. Each of us has our own specialty, but we tend to combine it for some amazing dinners!

Photo credit: Jemual Gardner

MIXTAPE: Jesse Terry’s Pure Seventies Troubadour Gold

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I’m not sure what it is about this era that has permanently ensnared my soul. Perhaps the raw, confessional nature of the troubadour has always reassured me that I am not alone. These are the songs that made me abandon my fine art career at the age of 18 and embark on a lifelong quest to appease the songwriting gods. The fact that all of these songs can be fully delivered with one instrument and one voice has always amazed and inspired me. It was wonderful to record a few of these classics on my current EP, Seventies Roots, part of a double album of covers that I’m releasing in February 2022 called Forget-Me-Nots. — Jesse Terry

Joni Mitchell – “A Case of You”

Was there any doubt it would start with Joni and a song off her masterpiece, Blue? I put Joni in a Jimi Hendrix-type category, where it feels like the artist was transported from outer space, in perfect revolutionary form. Her songs, chord progressions, lyrics and vocals have always been otherworldly to me. It was thrilling to record this song on my Seventies Roots EP. Actually it was intimidating, but in the end I love the song too much not to do it.

James Taylor – “Fire and Rain”

The blueprint for confessional, honest songwriting. It’s awesome to hear JT tell the story behind the song and know that he put every last personal detail into his lyrics. This inspired me to be vulnerable and completely open in my writing. Nobody sings or plays like JT. And to this day, if I’m having a rough go of it, I blast his records and let that warm voice console me.

Jackson Browne – “For a Dancer”

Another true original with an unmatched voice and sense of melody. I think Jackson is without a doubt one of the best lyricists of all time. His lyrics and melodies flow effortlessly off the tongue and never tire.

Bruce Springsteen – “Growin’ Up”

Springsteen is a legendary rocker and performer. But what really impresses me about the Boss is his songwriting. All of his anthems can be stripped down to an acoustic guitar and still deliver with the same emotion. There aren’t many songwriters that can paint pictures like Springsteen. With him, you’re not just listening to the song, you’re IN the song or maybe even one of the characters.

Carole King – “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”?

Like all of the truly great songwriters, her songs transcend and feel universal and timeless. This song feels perfect, whether you’re listening to Carole’s version or The Shirelles.

Tom Waits – “Shiver Me Timbers”

A truly masterful and utterly unique songwriter. Waits writes about characters and tells stories better than anyone. His lyrics and penchant for perfect timing are well-known, but I also adore Tom Waits’ gift for melody and harmony. His melodies break my heart and are married flawlessly to the lyrics.

Paul Simon – “American Tune”

If you created a singer-songwriter in a lab it would be Paul Simon. Some of the most endearing lyrics and melodies of all time. His songs are so perfect, it’s easy to overlook his guitar playing and singing, which are equally remarkable. Music schools often try to dissect his songs to display the craft of songwriting, but I get the sense that this magic simply flowed out of him.

Elton John – “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters”

Over the years, some very talented folks have sent me lyrics and poetry to set to music and I’ve always been disappointed with my results. That makes me even more knocked out by Elton John’s ability to marry Bernie Taupin’s lyrics to the most perfect melodies, tempos and chord progressions. I recorded “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” on my Seventies Roots EP, but I easily could have chosen “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters,” or any number of tunes. Way too many great options to choose from.

Neil Young – “Comes a Time”

What songwriter list would be complete without Neil Young? Neil is raw unfiltered emotion, live to analog tape with no rewriting or editing. That makes him so special. I can’t think of another songwriter that can cover so much ground with such authenticity.

Randy Newman – “Marie”

Randy Newman is a genius. His character-based songs are on the same level as Tom Waits and his lyrics are just as evocative, biting and unique. It’s impossibly rare to find Newman’s talents as an orchestrator and arranger in the body of a singer-songwriter. “Marie” especially breaks my heart. I believe every word Randy Newman sings.

Townes Van Zandt – “No Place to Fall”

A mythical figure in songwriting, Townes wrote some of the most beautiful and enduring songs of all time. “No Place to Fall” has always spoken to me and broken my heart. Was an honor to record this one.

Bob Dylan – “Simple Twist of Fate”

I admit, as a young kid I was more seduced by the “singers” in this group — artists like Joni, James and Jackson that could sing the phone book. But eventually I became spellbound by Dylan and my affection for him has never waned since. And as I listened more in my life, I realized what an amazing singer and communicator he was. His phrasing, his lyrics, his melodies and his hooks convey the lyrics perfectly. There will never be another Dylan.

Loggins & Messina – “Danny’s Song”

Kenny Loggins went on to have a huge solo career, but the music that he released in the ‘70s with Jim Messina in Loggins & Messina will always be my favorite work. My father used to sing this song to me when I was a kid and it felt like he wrote it for me.

Stevie Wonder – “Love’s in Need of Love Today”

Admittedly my playlist is Laurel Canyon-heavy and that’s what inspired me the most. But I also remember Stevie blaring through speakers as I was growing up. Again, one of the classic singer-songwriters that will never be replaced nor imitated. One in a billion. And on top of that, one of the best, most flexible voices of all time.

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – “Our House”

I’ll end my playlist with this classic song that transports you to another time and place. You can almost smell the flowers blooming in this song.

Photo Credit: Alex Berger

WATCH: Amy Ray Band, “Chuck Will’s Widow”

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Artist: Amy Ray Band
Hometown: Decatur, Georgia
Song: “Chuck Will’s Widow”
Release Date: July 23, 2021
Label: Daemon Records, Inc.

In Their Words: “The songs of the Chuck-will’s-widow, along with its fellow Nightjar, the Whip-poor-will, have always haunted me; their relentless, compelling exchange happens all night when the summer comes to my neck of the woods. I find that I witness the most profound moments in the midst of their songs, when everyone else is asleep. While I am often in need of rest, the respite I find in being awake under a miraculous and melodic night sky is too tempting for me to sleep. It’s a conundrum that inspires me, but also leaves me bleary-eyed.

“I laid down a scratch track of electric guitar and singing, then we built this one from a foundation of Jim Brock’s drums and percussion, with Kerry Brooks’ bass. The rhythm track was important to get right, it had to feel sad and happy at the same time…ha ha… that’s my sweet spot. The first melodic instrument for us to play off of was Dan Walker’s accordion riff, then we added Matt Smith’s pedal steel. I put some mandolin and acoustic guitar down and sang a final vocal track, then we had Jeff Fielder record last. He usually goes first, so it was a lot of experimentation for him to find which instruments he wanted to play. We came around to both the dobro and electric guitar being what the song needed.

“We always had in mind what we wanted for harmonies, using both The Band’s version of Springsteen’s ‘Atlantic City’ and the classic record Trio from Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, and Linda Ronstadt as inspiration. Georgia singer Michelle Malone was a perfect fit for this. Then I asked my heroes Tanya and Michael Trotter from The War and Treaty to give us the other two harmony parts to make it complete.” — Amy Ray

Photo Credit: Cowtown Chad

WATCH: Son Volt, “Livin’ in the USA”

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Artist: Son Volt
Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri
Song: “Livin’ in the USA”
Album: Electro Melodier
Release Date: July 30, 2021
Label: Thirty Tigers

In Their Words: “The song didn’t start out as an intentional homage thing, but in retrospect I see it as a nod to Springsteen’s ‘Born in the USA’ or Neil Young’s ‘Rockin in the Free World.’ Those songs established a thematic tradition. I’m just updating and asking similar questions. How can so much wrong happen in this country that’s held up as an example of what’s righteous? Is America the healthiest or happiest country? Democratic Darwinism is the brutal American reality……” — Jay Farrar, Son Volt

Photo credit: Auset Sarno

MIXTAPE: Lowland Hum’s Songs for Dusk

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We’ve put together a group of songs that feel related to dusk: the transition moments between day and night. Included in our thinking about dusk are the days in between each season.. winter to spring, spring to summer, summer to fall and fall to winter days. We all need help in our times of transition, as we are being stretched, strained, or pressed between what was and what is to come. The songs that assist us in these travels seem to have an unplaceable quality, both disorienting and comforting like a sweet, warm drink with salt scattered on its surface.

The unique combination of anticipation and farewell allows these songs to occupy paradoxical thematic and sonic space. We need songs like these so we can bring more of ourselves into the present. So, we humbly offer this grouping of songs to accompany you in transitions of all kinds, whether they be literal dusks, the days between seasons, or simply moments where this particular tone may be soothing, cathartic, comforting or augmenting. To paraphrase something we read on The Milk Carton Kids’ Mixtape… “we include our songs aspirationally and for self-promotion here.” — Lowland Hum 

Aldous Harding – “Zoo Eyes”

We love Aldous Harding’s ability to shapeshift, morph, and play in her music while remaining vulnerable and human. It reminds us that those are all options we can choose as well when creating. Her most recent album, Designer, is delicious.

Bob Dylan – “He Was a Friend of Mine”

This song has always stood out to us as a deeply compassionate and humanizing song that packs so much into its few and deceptively simple words. It reminds me of the wordlessness that comes with deep grief. At the anniversary of George Floyd’s death I think of the great losses our nation has experienced this year and the way all words felt clumsy and insufficiently small in the face of such dumbfounding, dark and evil things.

Big Thief – “Open Desert”

We’re having a hard time finding what’s not to like about anything and everything coming from Adrianne Lenker (and her band) these days.

The Beatles – “Julia”

This melody is so wistful, dreamlike, sad, and lovely. “When I cannot sing my heart I can only speak my mind, Julia, sleeping sand, silent cloud, touch me so I sing a song of love, Julia.”

Radiohead – “You and Whose Army?”

The beginning of this song makes us feel like we are suspended in shimmering stardust thick enough to hold a person’s weight. The arrangement blooms so patiently until you suddenly tumble down a flight of stairs. That a recording can do that is one of the main reasons we organize our life around music.

Antonio Carlos Jobim – “Look to the Sky”

I mean, are you not slow dancing by yourself on a terra cotta tile patio, barefoot, with a cocktail in hand when you hear this?

Labi Siffre – “Cannock Chase”

The combination of this picked guitar and gently shuffling percussion sounds like being in the car at dusk with the windows down, scenery flying by.

The Zombies – “Beechwood Park”

We’ve listened to this album so much in the past few years, but somehow only really noticed this song and its magnificence in the past week. Now we are obsessed.

Nick Drake – “Free Ride”

To us Nick Drake always sounds like sunlight filtering through the leaves of trees. Although this one carries a bit more urgency and pep than some of his other songs, this one is no exception.

Myriam Gendron – “Solace”

This song comes from an album of Dorothy Parker poems put to music by Myriam Gendron. The whole album is like a friend sitting silently beside you when you’re feeling a lot. You probably need it in your life.

Keur Mossa – “Quand le fils de l’homme viendra”

This song comes from an album that has been an immense comfort to us in times of transition. When far from home, while working on building our studio in early morning light, while in labor with our first child… It’s a beautiful treasure of humanity reaching toward divinity.

Tiny Ruins – “One Million Flowers (solo)”

This album is all solo guitar and voice versions of Tiny Ruins’ full-band album Olympic Girls. Hearing these songs stripped to their skeletons showcases how strong her songwriting and voice are. Though we were fans of the full-band album first, we prefer these versions hands down. We aspire to make songs that can stand on their own naked or dressed up.

Lowland Hum –”We Do What We’re Told (Milgram’s 37)”

This is our cover of Peter Gabriel’s “We Do What We’re Told (Milgram’s 37)” from his album, So. We covered that album in its entirety, calling our version So Low. Our version came out on the 35th anniversary of the original’s release.

Lou Reed – “Perfect Day”

This song is a cocktail of equal parts bummed-out and triumphant. How he does it we don’t know, but we love it.

Frank Sinatra – “Mood Indigo”

The strings and reeds in this song are like sitting on a fire escape in the warm balmy breeze of a summer evening. Sinatra’s delivery is so subtle and masterful. You can’t go wrong with any song on In the Wee Small Hours.

The Weather Station – “Trust”

We have long been fans of Tamara Lindeman. Her songwriting is like a window into the unspoken dialogue of real relationships.

Arthur Russell – “Close My Eyes”

This song is so visual to me (Lauren). It reads in the mind like a bedtime story complete with dark oil pastel illustrations. I dare you to close your eyes and not see it all.

Gold Connections –”Confession”

Will Marsh of Gold Connections is a dear friend of ours but we promise we aren’t biased. They just released this single and we can’t get enough of it. This song has it all: city and desert; neon signage and the kind of starry sky that can only be seen when you are far from civilization.

Bruce Springsteen – “Nebraska”

Tragic, startling, beautiful. Daniel always says he believes in this album because it gave him compassion for a mass murderer. That’s some power right there.

Paul Simon – “Night Game”

What a stunning and mournful number. Who knew a song about baseball could feel so mystical? Hold out for the otherworldly harmonica solo by Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor. This one has comforted us on many a late-night drive.

Adrianne Lenker – “forwards beckon rebound”

This whole album is a treasure. This song has such a great momentum while remaining quiet.

Martin Denny – “Trade Winds”

This exotica album is a staple in our household during our newborn son’s bathtimes. But we find it perfectly appropriate for listeners of all ages and stages. It is perfectly campy and yet transportive.

Lowland Hum – “Waite”

We felt that we needed to include at least one original Lowland Hum song, so here’s our duskiest. This song was written while on tour in Europe in 2017. We were playing a house concert in a landscape painter’s home studio and gallery (Andy Waite is the name of the painter and now friend) and the guitar part mysteriously came to Daniel while we were setting up in the space. Something about being in a home so steeped in one person’s creative life and flow was magical. There was a very real substance in the air that mysteriously found its way into Daniel’s fingertips as he was messing around on guitar.

Photo credit: Tristan Williams

BGS 5+5: Them Coulee Boys

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Artist name: Them Coulee Boys
Hometown: Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Latest album: Namesake (available August 6, 2021 on Some Fun Records)
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): For better or worse, we’ve always been Them Coulee Boys.

(All answers from Soren Staff)

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

For me, it’s never about how tough it is writing a song, but rather when to move on from one. I generally build songs from a line or two that I’m excited about, whatever makes my stomach burn and rush to write more. Sometimes they come in minutes, but sometimes those lines can ruminate in my head for weeks or months, caught in limbo. When I try to force them out, it often isn’t something I’m proud of. The hardest part of writing for me is realizing when to take a step back and let songs breathe. That line is still going to be there when I come back, and maybe this time there’s more to the story. “Given Up” worked that way, and space let me fill out the story in a way not possible if I forced that out.

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

I feel like this is an answer that changes, but one artist that has loomed large in his influence on our work is Bruce Springsteen. It might not be sonically obvious, but I think every small town kid has looked at him and seen some of their story in his. The lesson I always come back to is that the intensely personal details can feel universal. On this next record particularly, I was more comfortable using characters that weren’t me. Just because you haven’t specifically lived it doesn’t mean someone you know and love hasn’t. We model so much of what we do off his example, be it in our powerful live performances, our evolving sound, or intimate style of writing. He’s a master at so many things, and I feel like I’m continually learning.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

Right before COVID hit, we were on the biggest tour of our young careers, opening up for our friends in Trampled By Turtles at The Sylvee in Madison, Wisconsin. Being the closest show on the run to home, so many family and friends were in the audience, but in particular was the family of my dear friend Phil Marks. We lost Phil the year before, and this was the first time that his family could make a show. Every night when we play our song “I Won’t Be Defined” I talk about mental health, and that night I talked about Phil. When you get a crowd of 3,000 to go from joyfully dancing, to a complete silence, and then back to dancing, you feel the power in what you can do through song. I miss making people feel something, be it joy or sorrow. I’m so grateful to have that chance again very soon.

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

We are a band of family and friends that seek to create community through joy, energy, and sincerity in their work and performances. We learned very early how people respond to genuine expression, and we’ve made it our mission to be the absolute most authentic version of ourselves. We love what we do, and we hope you do too. One part bear hug, one part gut punch, and one part steadying hand. That’s what we want our listeners to feel when they listen to us.

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

Well, we are dreaming here, so I’m going all out! It’s tempting to think I’d be able to soak up some advice, but I love good food and I think I’d get distracted. First, I’d start with brunch with Joni Mitchell and my mother and let them do the talking. I’ve learned so much from them both and I know they’d hit it off. Then I’m headed over to LC’s, my favorite BBQ joint in Kansas City with Bob Dylan and the rest of Them Coulee Boys, if only to see how he handles the literal gallons of BBQ sauce in front of us. Finally, I’m ending the night drinking Handsome Johnnys with John Prine at my hometown Eau Claire, Wisconsin, dive The Joynt. I feel like he wouldn’t mind me picking his brain a bit with a few glasses of vodka and ginger ale.

Photo credit: Nathaniel Nelson

BGS 5+5: Sam Filiatreau

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Sam Filiatreau
Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Latest Album: Sam Filiatreau

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

I was around 10 years old sitting in the basement with my dad and brother watching this Bruce Springsteen concert. I remember my dad saying something like, “Look at how much fun he’s having and that’s his job.” I had never really thought about being able to do something you loved and getting paid for it.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

Maybe five years ago we threw a big concert on the day of The Kentucky Derby. My friends, The Nude Party, were on the bill too and we had a few days of debauchery leading into it. For the encore, all the bands got on stage to sing “Dead Flowers” and it was the first time for me where everything felt right.

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

Most of the time when I’m writing songs, they start with me just singing over some chords until a good line sticks out. Most of the time I’m usually writing outside of my own experiences, but there are many moments where I look down and realize that I was accidentally writing about myself.

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

John Prine. Aside from being one of the best songwriters ever he’s just been so consistently cool and compassionate throughout his career. I feel like from the moment he started that his success never affected who he was. We didn’t deserve John Prine, but I’m glad we got him.

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

I spend a lot of time fishing with friends and on my own. I don’t think it necessarily inspires my music, but there’s something about fishing by yourself and playing music that go hand in hand. It becomes meditative at some point just listening to the water and finding some sort of rhythm. And when you finally catch a fish it’s just as exciting as pulling a lyric out of thin air and holding it close for a moment.

Photo credit: Maggie Halfman

LISTEN: The Rose Petals, “They Say You Loved a Good Man”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: The Rose Petals
Hometown: Nashville / Seattle
Song: “They Say You Loved a Good Man”
Album: American Grenadine
Release Date: April 23, 2021
Label: Envoy Records

In Their Words: “This song is about Calvin Coolidge, who served as president from 1923 to 1929, apologizing to his wife, Grace, for his shortcomings as a husband. Grace and Cal were an unlikely pair, and her friends found the match quite unbelievable. She was warm, friendly, outgoing, gregarious, and cheerful. He was quiet, austere, deliberate, uncommunicative, and sometimes glum. The Coolidges lived happily together for twenty-eight years, but when Grace was asked, toward the end of her life, how she had come to marry her husband, she said, ‘Well, I thought I would get him to enjoy life and have fun, but he was not very easy to instruct in that way.’

“So, really this song is about regret. It’s about living your life with the best intentions yet still falling short of expectations. Musically we wanted to tap into that wistful vibe, so we borrowed a bunch of tricks from some of our older influences – acoustic 12-string from The Byrds, synthesizer from the ’80s records of Bruce Springsteen, and some Beach Boys harmonies to top it off at the end.” — Peter Donovan, The Rose Petals

Photo credit: Dan Destiny

BGS 5+5: The Bones of J.R. Jones

Posted on by Editor

Artist name: The Bones of J.R. Jones
Hometown: Manlius, New York
Latest Album: A Celebration
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): J.R./ Jonny, Jon Jon.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

My favorite memories are the unexpected ones and I mean that in the most literal sense. Most nights on tour I take the stage exhausted and it takes a song or two for me to fall in rhythm. I remember one night in while on tour in England I took the stage after a 8-hour drive, traveling across three different countries, going through customs and after getting a speeding ticket… my mood was sour, to say the least. The first song I played knocked me over. The crowd knew every word and sang as loud as my guitar was ringing. It turned out to be one of the best shows on that tour. That’s the magic of the stage, for that hour or so… reality disappears.

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

I think I am most moved and inspired by dancing. I am always in awe of the control and discipline dancers have… something I like to strive for in my music, but feel I never truly achieve because I let my emotions take the song away from me, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but not always where I want to go with my music. The beautiful thing about art is that one discipline often informs and adds to others. I often think about this while watching a dancer and how the music chosen or written for the piece is just as important as the choreography. The same goes for film and the visual arts.

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

I don’t think I knew it at the time, but I remember listening to Springsteen’s Born in the USA when I was young and feeling so completely invested and overwhelmed by the songs. It struck me deep and resonates with me till this day. The heartbreak, the hurt, the feeling like you are being left behind and the drive for recognition… all the while you are just doing the best you can with the hand you are dealt. Every time I step into a studio that album subconsciously shows up in the strangest ways in my production.

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

Every song is tough. I mean it, every damn song. I have never been fortunate enough to have a song just flow through me. And truthfully the only reason a song is ever done is because I have to record it, ha ha. I try to tell myself that a recording is a song at that one moment. That a song is a living thing and tomorrow it will change on me again and we will have to find a new balance between each other.

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

Every time. I mean you have to. How else can you make anything feel relatable? You need to live it to a degree. It doesn’t need to be autobiographical, but it does need to be true.

Photo credit: Christian Harder

The Show on the Road – Low Cut Connie

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

This week, we call in to Philadelphia for a conversation with the highly-theatrical pianist and tireless, much-adored performer Adam Weiner, who for the last decade has gained a cult following around the world fronting his soulful bizarro-rock outfit, Low Cut Connie.


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Some artists have retreated into obscurity during the pandemic shut-down, some have turned lemons into personalized, livestream lemonade. But Adam Weiner took it to another level when he launched his often twice-weekly vaudevillian interactive web show “Tough Cookies” in March. Charging around his small home stage like a schvitzing piano preacher, often losing clothing along the way, Adam has learned nearly six hundred covers in the last eight months alone — from Barry Manilow to Cardi B’s “WAP” to Macho Man to an entire Little Richard set, which he performed to honor his hero after his passing. He then interviews anyone from Beyonce’s dad to members of Sly and the Family Stone. In short, it’s a rollercoaster every week — one that you kind of have to watch to believe.

Alongside his 2020 LP Private Lives, Low Cut Connie’s heartfelt and sweat-dripping sets have gained Weiner some famous supporters: Elton John for one, fellow New Jersey-born hero Bruce Springsteen for another. Up-and-coming playlist presenter Barack Obama unexpectedly placed Low Cut Connie’s defiant cabaret rocker, “Boozophilia,” on his must-listen list. Indeed, this taping, which often showed Adam jumping from his piano to his guitar to play favorites (like the Kinks-esque, “Revolution Rock N Roll”) initially had to be delayed so he could play an inauguration event for new president and Philly-piano lover Joe Biden.

While Weiner is basking in some much-earned attention, it hasn’t always been an easy road. He readily admits to scraping by on side jobs into his mid-thirties, for years playing around dim New York City piano bars as his sequined alter-ego, Ladyfingers. If Low Cut Connie has learned anything during this strange era, it’s that people desperately still need live music. In all its spur-of-the-moment, sweaty glory. One of the more moving stories he tells is seeing groups of nurses in beleaguered hospitals taking a much needed break to watch his livestreams. Much like his role model and patron Elton John, Low Cut Connie’s songs can leap from intimate folk-rock to greasy soul to bombastic musical theater and back with ease and his relentless spontaneity keeps fans waiting for that he will do next.

Photo credit: Skylar Watkins