BGS 5+5: Simon Patrick Kerr

Artist: Simon Patrick Kerr
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Latest album: Doldrums
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): The Potato King. I love all potato dishes. Mainly french fries. My friend’s always give me a hard time over my love for potatoes. It’s an Irish thing I guess?

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

Neil Young. I’ve always loved how diverse his music was. He could go from cranking up his Fender tweeds until they’re about to blow or he could bring it down to just him & an acoustic. Harvest was my first introduction to Neil. My 14-year-old mind was blown when I heard The Needle and the Damage Done. That record made me want to write songs.

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

I’ve always loved literature. Dylan Thomas, Oscar Wilde, Seamus Heaney. More recently, I’ve started diving into a lot of American authors. In particular, Charles Bukowski. His one-liners are incredible, but the thing I love about his style is that it’s so conversational. I’ve always tried to approach my songwriting in a conversational manor. Sometimes I achieve it. Sometimes I don’t. That’s writing for ya! You never know what you’re going to get when you sit down to write. I used to wait for inspiration, but I’ve quickly realized that it’s more dedication than inspiration. You’ve gotta be dedicated to your craft & put the time in. It’s a grind, man.

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

I’d have to say watching my Dad open a run of show’s for John Prine in Ireland. I was only 6 or 7, but I still remember it vividly. The music bug definitely rubbed off on me since I’ve been around it my entire life. Once you catch the music bug it never let’s go.

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

There’s a park in Nashville called Radnor Lake that I like to go to, and it’s walking distance from my house. Usually when I’m stuck on a song I’ll walk around Radnor to clear my mind. It seems to help most of the time. It’s an oasis in the middle of a congested city. My dog, Dylan, loves it too.

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

I would have loved to have eaten lunch with Elliott Smith at Taj, which is my favorite Indian restaurant in Nashville. I like to think of him as the modern Neil Young. His songs were so well-crafted. Lyrically dark & beautiful. In my eyes (and ears), Elliott’s album XO is the perfect record. Also, the Bhindi Masala at Taj will blow your socks off.

I’m going to break the rules here a little & choose a second musician. I’d like to share a plate of Prince’s Hot Chicken with Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys. He is one of the sharpest lyricists in the game at the moment & I’ll defend that statement until the cows come home. Listen to how clean the lyrics are on the newest record, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino. In particular, the title track. If you’re reading this Alex – let’s write a song!


Photo by Laura E. Partain

Palpable Joy: Newport Folk Fest 2018 in Photographs

It seemed that this year’s unanimous refrain from Newport Folk Festival, from veteran attendees and newcomers alike, was a resounding, “I THINK I LOVE THIS FESTIVAL.” We think we do too. Based on these gorgeous images from NFF, we’d say each and every human being on site — on stage, in the crowd, or rocking on the waves — loves it, too. And that overwhelming love translates into palpable joy, from Mavis Staples’ first smile to Brandi Carlile’s final headbang, and in every strum, lick, and beat in between. 

 


Photos by Daniel Jackson

BGS 5+5: Carolina Story

Artist: Carolina Story
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Latest album: Lay Your Head Down
Personal nicknames: Emily (Sweetheart of the Rodeo, Emmy, Merly); Ben (Kingfish, Burly)

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

Ben: Neil Young. When I was a boy, my dad and I would ride the backroads in the country outside of my hometown of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. I remember hearing CSNY’s 4 Way Street live album and being completely mesmerized by the sounds of the acoustic guitars and the harmonies. Once I heard Neil doing “Cowgirl in the Sand,” that was it. Then, as I began to discover more of his work, I became fixated on his harmonica playing, chord structures, his songwriting and his unique voice.

Emily: Brandi Carlile. I first heard Brandi’s voice over ten years ago and the moment I did I became enamored of her. It was The Story album and every song, the melodies, the harmonies and the specific tone of her voice that struck me. She was one of the first artists for me that you can hear her emotion as she sings. She’s never just singing the words. She’s feeling them and because of that you feel it too!

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

If we’re not writing, touring or working you can usually find us out in Kingston Springs, Tennessee, at Harpeth Moon Farm (the family farm run by Ben’s sister). When we’re not lending a hand in the fields, we are usually in a canoe on the Harpeth River. An underlying theme in a lot of our songs is to keep going against the odds and to never stop growing. The influence and imagery of the river coupled with sowing actual seeds and seeing them blossom into their final form inspires our writing.

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

Ben: My dream would be to have been able to spend all day fishing with fellow Arkansan and hero, Levon Helm. After we caught all the fish we could stand, we would have a big fish fry, drink ice cold beer and tell stories while laughing a whole lot.

Emily: I am all about breakfast. Any kind of breakfast. I have to eat something breakfast-related before I can move on to lunch. I also would like it accompanied by a strong cup of coffee and Emmylou Harris. She is an artist that I wish would not only want to chat about her and the Gram Parsons days but also give me some harmony pointers. She picks the most unique harmonies.

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

Ben: It was the summer of 1997. I was 11 years old. Third Eye Blind’s self-titled album impacted me in a big way during those months. I probably started three or four “bands” that summer without any of us knowing how to play a lick. Once I heard “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana just before 6th grade started that year, I talked my parents into getting me a guitar and the rest is history. I started my first actual band in 7th grade and never really looked back.

Emily: I have several tape cassettes of me at around 9 years old pretending to be a radio announcer and singing songs on my pretend radio station. They are pretty classic when you go back and hear them! But it was 5th grade, a year later, when my vocal teacher during class had each of us take turns singing a solo. She was taken aback and gave me my first concert solo. It was a song about Amelia Earhart. I still remember all the words. It was then that I realized that I wanted to take it more seriously.

What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?

In June 2014, we made our Grand Ole Opry debut. Emily was 7 months pregnant with our son, Wilder at the time. To be able to stand in that sacred circle surrounded by family and friends where our heroes once stood is something that we will never forget.


Photo credit: Laura E. Partain

ANNOUNCING: 2018 Americana Music Awards Nominations

The Americana Music Association announced the nominees for its 17th annual Honors & Awards show this afternoon at an intimate members-only ceremony held at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The live-streamed event featured performances by its hosts The Milk Carton Kids as well as Daniel Donato, Brittany Haas, Jerry Pentecost, Molly Tuttle and more special guests. The winners of each category will be announced during the Americana Honors & Awards show on September 12, 2018 at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN.

Americana Music Awards Nominees

Album of the Year:
All American Made, Margo Price, Produced by Jeremy Ivey, Alex Munoz, Margo Price and Matt Ross-Spang
By The Way, I Forgive You, Brandi Carlile, Produced by Dave Cobb and Shooter Jennings
The Nashville Sound, Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, Produced by Dave Cobb
Rifles & Rosary Beads, Mary Gauthier, Produced by Neilson Hubbard

Artist of the Year:
Brandi Carlile
Jason Isbell
Margo 
Price
John Prine

Duo/Group of the Year:
I’m With Her
Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit
Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real
Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats

Emerging Artist of the Year:
Courtney Marie Andrews
Tyler Childers
Anderson East
Lilly Hiatt

Song of the Year:

A Little Pain,” Margo Price, Written by Margo Price
“All The Trouble,” Lee Ann Womack, Written by Waylon Payne, Lee Ann Womack and Adam Wright
“If We Were Vampires,” Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, Written by Jason Isbell
“The Joke,” Brandi Carlile, Written by Brandi Carlile, Dave Cobb, Phil Hanseroth and Tim Hanseroth

Instrumentalist of the Year:
Daniel Donato
Brittany Haas
Jerry Pentecost
Molly Tuttle

John Prine: The Difficulty of Forgiveness

In the days following the release of The Tree of Forgiveness, John Prine — the 71-year-old master song crafter, storyteller, and lover of a good meatloaf — had the best sales week of his decades-long career. His first album of originals since 2005’s Fair and Square, it’s a rare bit of triumph for the good guys — and for an artist like Prine, who has shaped our current musical climate in ways that are often beyond measure. Because, despite being one of the primary influences on Americana’s best and brightest — from Jason Isbell to Margo Price and Deer Tick — Prine’s never banked those platinum albums. Though 1991’s The Missing Years eventually sold around a half-million copies some 20 years after his self-titled debut, records, like the rest of human life, then went online: People stopped buying, and started streaming.

“Just as I started selling records, records stopped selling. I hope it wasn’t my fault,” Prine says, chuckling from his living room at home in Nashville. “I’d be spoiled, if I sold a million records. I probably wouldn’t go on the road for 10 years. But I don’t ever want to sell so many records that I have to do shows in a stadium. Stadiums are for sporting events: They’re not to watch a guy with a guitar come out and tell his story.”

He’s right, though if there’s anyone who could capture a stadium full of people with just an acoustic guitar and his heart-shaking stories, it would be Prine. The Tree of Forgiveness, an exquisite record that finds Prine looking at love, death, and the passage of time with humor, lightness, and his own quirky sort of grace, isn’t a set of arena rock barnburners (obviously). Instead, it’s touching moments of humanity that stick to the bones and linger in the mind, letting the imagination wander in exactly the direction that Prine wants it to … which is everywhere. Take “Summer’s End,” a nostalgic track if there ever was one, though it’s not explicitly clear for what — for summer, for a relationship, for life itself. “I could sell John Prine Kleenex with a song like that,” he says, laughing.

But it’s hard to be too sad about the end of life or love in Prine’s world, particularly life, if what happens next is as fun as “When I Get to Heaven,” the album’s closer. With Amanda Shires, Jason Isbell, and Brandi Carlile all chiming in on kazoo and vocals — all three appear across the Dave Cobb-produced LP — it details Prine’s perfect afterlife, where he can smoke again, post-cancer, hug his loved ones, and drink his signature cocktail, the Handsome Johnny, to his heart’s content. Like most of what Prine does, “When I Get to Heaven” is loaded with a potent combination of humor and vulnerability. Death is life’s biggest mystery, and Prine would rather solve that problem with lightness than exist in the dark, reality be damned. And Prine likes a good story as much as he likes (or doesn’t like) reality, anyway.

Prine’s own life story is a bit of rock ‘n’ roll lore: He grew up outside of Chicago in a mill town, and formed his songwriting voice after leaving the Army, writing between shifts as a mailman. But much of his signature finger-picking style and his artistic identity come from Kentucky, where his father hailed from, and which feeds the deep bluegrass presence within his songs.

Prine is equally important to Kentucky, too — and to Kentucky’s artists, like Kelsey Waldon, who will open select shows for him in the fall. “John Prine’s music is very special and significant to me,” says Waldon. “He brought together my country and bluegrass worlds, but with relevant and honest songwriting that I think would touch most any walk of life. As a Kentuckian, yes, of course his bluegrass roots make me proud. I have spent some time in Muhlenberg County, and I believe that’s where John learned to play, from his grandfather. That is the area where the great Merle Travis is from, and you can really hear a lot of Merle in John’s pickin’ style — that rhythmic thumb picking. The Everly Brothers and Bill Monroe are also from around the same area so, you know, it’s a lush environment for music. Something has always been in the water. I had heard in an interview that his daddy used to drill the kids that they were not only from Illinois, but also from Kentucky. So, I’d say the roots run deep.”

“I can never really lose those roots,” Prine says. “My family is a big part of my life. A lot of the older relatives are gone now, but I still have family in Kentucky, and I still go to my family reunions every year. Country and bluegrass have always been big influences on me and my music. I still listen to that music.”

Prine listens to a lot of Isbell and Shires, too, and Sturgill Simpson, a fellow Kentucky native with whom he shares a songwriting office — which has never actually been used for any songwriting. Prine stores a big pool table there and, besides, they can’t give it up. Producer/engineer Dave Ferguson uses the space next door, and he likes to smoke there, so Prine and Simpson hold on to it so a new tenant doesn’t put the kibosh on the stogies. “Friendship and cigarettes,” Prine says.

“I would love Sturgill if he was from New York City,” says Prine, “but he is from Kentucky, and I love that he respects and cherishes those roots as I do. He and I both come from the same long line of country-folk-bluegrass guitar-playing musicians. I learned to fingerpick by listening to Elizabeth Cotton and musicians in our tradition. We are all still playing and writing about stuff we know.”

One of the reasons that Prine’s songs are so impactful is how they balance what he knows and what he doesn’t — the mysteries of life, its frustrations, and unknowns. On The Tree of Forgiveness, recorded at RCA Studio A, he’s thinking a lot about forgiveness, itself, and what it means to be kind, something that resonates loud and clear in the Trump era. Prine didn’t write explicitly political songs on this record, but that simple act of forgiveness and kindness is political, in and of itself, in 2018 — a concept that other country and folk singers, like Kacey Musgraves and Courtney Marie Andrews, have also explored on their recent albums.

“Forgiveness, to me, it’s probably the most difficult thing to do,” Prine says. “And the most difficult person to forgive is yourself. A lot of people go through life not forgiving themselves for short-selling something, or paying enough attention to kids or parents, not looking after them when they get old. But the most difficult thing is to forgive yourself.”

Prine’s songs include so much permission to forgive ourselves for being imperfect, for acknowledging that we can love our weaknesses as much as our strengths, and for being content with our priorities, however skewed they may be. Some of Prine’s personal priorities are songs, a good meatloaf, and friends and family. His record label, Oh Boy, is a family affair, with his wife and manager Fiona running things with their son, Jody Whelan. When he’s not touring or playing with his grandkids, he’s writing with friends like Dan Auerbach, who appears on the record, and Pat McLaughlin, or seeing shows around town. He recently checked out the I’m With Her gig at the Station Inn in Nashville. “His support is incredibly meaningful,” says Sara Watkins, who could see he him bopping along from the stage.

“The longer I live in Nashville, I only co-write with friends,” says Prine. “Because, if you spend an afternoon together and you don’t write a song, at least you get to hang out.” For one of The Tree of Forgiveness‘s tracks — “Egg & Daughter Nite, Lincoln Nebraska, 1967 (Crazy Bone)” — Prine and McLaughlin were writing together on a Tuesday (“meatloaf day, that’s our carrot on a stick”) and Prine brought up a story about how he’d heard of farmers taking their daughters to town in order to pawn them off for marriage — which he’d heard jokingly referred to as “egg and daughter night.” Naturally, this gave Prine a good laugh. And an idea.

Prine didn’t think it was a real thing, though (according to Google, apparently, it is), but they wrote the song anyway. “We didn’t think it was about the truth and, when you aren’t writing about the truth,” he says, “the world is your oyster.”


Illustration by Zachary Johnson

BGS Class of 2018: Preview

At only 11 days old, this year already looks to be a stellar one for roots music. From Marlon Williams to John Prine, Sunny War to Bettye LaVette, artists young and old are making some of the best records of their careers, and it is a thrilling thing to behold. Here are some of the releases that our writers are most excited about you hearing.

Brandi Carlile: By the Way, I Forgive You

Marlon Williams: Make Way for Love

Anderson East: Encore

HC McEntire: Lionheart

Courtney Marie Andrews: May Your Kindness Remain

John Prine: TBD

Gretchen Peters: Dancing with the Beast

Sunny War: With the Sun

Lindi Ortega: Liberty

— Kelly McCartney

* * * * *

Stick in the Wheel: Follow Them True

Belle Adair: Tuscumbia

Julian Lage: Modern Lore

Red River Dialect: Broken Stay Open Sky 

Jerry David DeCicca: Time the Teacher 

Ed Romanoff: The Orphan King

Haley Heynderickx: I Need to Start a Garden

Various: The Ballad of Shirley Collins OST

Bettye Lavette: Things Have Changed

— Stephen Deusner

* * * * *

Brandi Carlile: By the Way, I Forgive You

First Aid Kit: Ruins

Lucy Dacus: Historian

Anderson East: Encore

Kacey Musgraves: Golden Hour

Jack White: Boarding House Reach

Darlingside: Extralife

I’m With Her: See You Around

Calexico: The Thread That Keeps Us

Sunflower Bean: TBD

— Desiré Moses

* * * * *

Anderson East: Encore

Marlon Williams: Make Way for Love

First Aid Kit: Ruins

Loma: Loma

Femi Kuti: One People One World

Joan Baez: Whistle Down the Wind

S. Carey: Hundred Acres

They Might Be Giants: I Like Fun

— Amanda Wicks

* * * * *

Jack White: Boarding House Reach

Brandi Carlile: By the Way, I Forgive You

Ashley McBryde: TBD

Brothers Osborne: TBD

Joshua Hedley: TBD

Traveller: TBD

Bruce Springsteen: TBD

Courtney Marie Andrews: May Your Kindness Remain

John Prine: TBD

Kacey Musgraves: Golden Hour

— Marissa Moss

* * * * *

High Fidelity: TBD

I’m With Her: See You Around

Ms. Adventure: TBD

Hawktail: TBD

Missy Raines: TBD

Jeff Scroggins & Colorado: TBD

— Justin Hiltner

* * * * *

Sunny War: With the Sun

I’m With Her: See You Around

David Byrne: American Utopia

Hawktail: TBD

Jamie Drake: TBD

Bahamas: Earthtones

Fruition: Watching It All Fall Apart

Darlingside: Extralife

— Amy Reitnouer

3×3: Chamomile and Whiskey on Prine, Performing, and Pairing Socks

Artist: Koda Kerl (of Chamomile and Whiskey)
Hometown: Charlottesville, VA
Latest Album: Sweet Afton
Personal Nicknames: My sister calls me Shiny and Lavin (banjo player) calls me Kokomo sometimes. We also call our new guitar player Drew “Old Spice.”

If you could safely have any animal in the world as a pet, which would you choose?

An elephant would be cool, could work him in as part of our act.

Do your socks always match?

No, they almost never do.

If you could have a superpower, what would you choose?

To write songs as well as John Prine.

Which describes you as a kid — tree climber, video gamer, or book reader?

Tree climber

Who was the best teacher you ever had — and why?

My high school theater teacher, Mrs. Driver. She’s so wonderful, and I’d never even thought about performing, until I met her. She completely changed my life.

What’s your favorite city?

New Orleans

Bubbly and tunes for a summer Sunday today @earlymountain …duo set with Koda and Marie till 4.

A post shared by Chamomile And Whiskey (@chamomileandwhiskey) on

Boots or sneakers?

Boots. Always.

Which brothers do you prefer — Avett, Wood, Stanley, Comatose, or Louvin?

Louvin

Head or heart?

Heart


Photo credit: Aaron Farrington

A Lot of Life: A Conversation with Becca Mancari

Becca Mancari may live in Nashville, but the sound she’s developed in her music is anything but “Nashville.” It makes a good deal of sense, though, when you consider Mancari’s earlier life, which included stints in India, the Blue Ridge Mountains, south Florida, and Staten Island.

On her debut album Good Woman, Mancari weaves her myriad life experiences into a lush tapestry of gold-toned tales which, sonically, hew far more closely to dreamy California folk-pop than the tradition-heavy throwback country currently making the rounds in much of Music City’s music scene. In doing so, Mancari has transcended her status as a local favorite to that of a nationally acclaimed artist, songs like “Golden” and “Arizona Fire” earning her nods from major outlets like NPR and Rolling Stone.

Mancari is also one third of one of the most buzzed-about new bands of any genre — Bermuda Triangle. Alongside singer/songwriter Jesse Lafser and Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard, Mancari and Bermuda Triangle recently released a single (the Laurel Canyon-esque ballad “Rosey”) and have plans to tour intermittently throughout the rest of the year. 

You have a new solo album. Can you tell me how the album first started to take shape for you?

The album, it’s my debut record. I’ve only had one song out, “Summertime Mama,” and now we have two versions, which I think confused people a little bit. But it’s so great, the idea of the power of one song. I had that one song do its work and time-and-a-half. Everything from Ann Powers featuring us last year with NPR for AmericanaFest — which is huge, she’s been a huge blessing in my life.

I decided I was going to take my time. I met a lot of producers and I just couldn’t get the right vibe. I noticed that this guy — his name is Kyle Ryan — he would be coming to our shows all the time. I know he’s a busy guy. He’s Kacey Musgraves’ band leader, and he’s also deeply involved in her recordings now. But he would just keep showing up and, by the last time, he had a notebook in his hand and was taking notes at my show. I went up to him afternoon and I go, “Hey man, you wanna get coffee?” So we did.

I actually had never really heard anything that he had done production-wise, but everything that he talked to me about, I was on the same page, from inspirations like Tame Impala to the way he is more of a Beatles fan and less of a — and this is not against the Nashville sound or the country way, but I just don’t feel like I fit in that world, and I didn’t want to make a throwback record. I would say he was like another member of our band. Tracking was all done by my live band. The only “studio” musician was a trumpet player that I had come in.

Did y’all do the actual recording in Nashville?

Yeah, we did it over at his studio, which is right behind his house, right close to Mas Tacos. Of course, there’s like a million studios everywhere. He makes gold, man. He’s incredible.

You mentioned how the Nashville sound of the current isn’t necessarily what you’re after or what you do, but it does seem like you’ve still been embraced by that fan base — which, granted, is pretty broad these days. What do you think it is about your music that still appeals to that contingent?

That’s a good question. I don’t know. I feel like we are so much of a family in Nashville, so I feel like that’s kind of playing into it. I have friends like JP Harris or Christina Murray or Margo [Price] — real country musicians — and they listen to other music, too. It’s not the only music they listen to, and I think that what I’ve noticed is that they’ve been excited to come to the shows because they’re like, “Hey, you’re doing something different on that steel. I don’t know what you’re doing, but I really like it.” I think it’s just refreshing, maybe.

I really don’t have any background in country music. I didn’t really listen to it growing up. I don’t know how to play it, even. I do think, though, that I love songwriters, and I’d say my greatest influences, when I was young and still now, are Bob Dylan, Neil Young, even John Prine. To me, these people are able to translate even in the indie world because they’re just great songs. You can kind of do whatever you want, when you have great songs. I let my guys take what I write and put the sounds to it, put the vibe on it, and that’s how we function as a band.

Since you’re an artist crafting such song- and lyric-driven music, do you have a tried-and-true writing process that you follow?

I do the traditional sit down and pull out my guitar and be by myself thing. “Golden” came to me in the night, which is fairly rare. I think one of the things I also like to do is I listen to one record over and over and over again. I was listening to Gillian Welch at the time when I wrote that song, and I just wouldn’t stop listening to it, and there was this one song — I think it’s called “Orphan Girl” and it’s not the same thing at all — but there’s this one note that I keep turning in my brain.

That’s how I kind of take melodies sometimes, where I’m like … it’s not their melody, but it’s a hearing thing. I write a lot as a hearer. I don’t know how to read music. I wish I did, but I don’t. I play it by ear and I always have. I’ve always been really sensitive to sound, so a lot of times, it’s sound. I write better when I’m in the car driving, watching things and hearing things. I also voice memo a lot, then I take it back and figure it out on guitar. So it depends. But a lot of it is from sound, for some reason.

Lyrically, the songs sound like they are very personal. Do you draw very heavily from your own life?

I think I do. I’m in awe of the John Prines of the world who write these stories, but they are very personal. I also try and allow space for somebody else’s emotions and feelings and thoughts. There’s an element of somebody wanting to take it for themselves. But yes, a lot of this record has an overarch of time and life in it. I think it’s just because it’s my first record, too, so there’s a lot of life in this one, including mine.

It sounds like you’ve led a pretty nomadic existence, moving from place to place and seeing lots of things. How do you think that transience, if at all, has influenced you as an artist?

Oh, man. When you grow up with parents like mine that just wanted us to see so much of the world … My first time leaving the country was at 14. Not many people get to do that. I went to Peru when I was a kid and experienced that and saw so much of another part of the world that we aren’t introduced to, oftentimes. I think that has helped me open my eyes to seeing the other side of things, with empathy and compassion, I hope.

It’s easy to forget, in the world that we live in. We become obsessed with our own stuff. But I do think that helped. I was talking the other day in an interview with Ann [Powers], and she was asking me about that. I got to live in India for a while, and my older sister lived there for five years. Just spending time around Hindi culture — which is so different than anything I’ve ever experienced. I can’t explain India. Even the way we made “Arizona Fire,” I feel like there’s an entrancing, kind of dream-like aspect to it where I did get inspired by the hypnotic, circular sound that is in traditional Hindi music. Traveling all over the country, seeing different ways of life, I feel like, if I could tell any young person, I’d say, “Go. Go see everything you can, because it’s going to seep into you.”

Going back to what you said about writing from a place of compassion and empathy … one thing I find myself wondering about anybody who’s releasing a piece of art right now is whether or not the political climate had an impact on those pieces. Did you find yourself feeling influenced by that, when you were writing some of these songs?

Yeah, there’s definitely some social aspects. “Devil’s Mouth” is very personal to me. It has my family involved in it. I had some even — I don’t know what the word is — baggage, or pain, I guess, from feeling like I’m on the outside of things, even being somebody that came out [as gay] pretty young, when it was pretty scary still. Those things are definitely reflected in there.

The current climate that we live in reminds me a lot of when I was little. There’s a lot of fear-based living. And there’s a lot of an idea of pushing us away from people who have really worked hard to be open. And even what happened just recently with DACA … I wrote a song with Bermuda Triangle, another band that I’m in, called “Tear Us Apart,” and it has everything to do with it. It’s actually really emotional for me to even get into right now because it deeply affects my family — my nuclear family of me and my girlfriend — and just the life we have. It’s a lot.

Right now, I feel like I have not even gone to those places yet to figure out how to have a voice. I just talk openly, and I will use my music however to defend people that are in trouble right now. And there are a lot of people that are, and a lot of people that don’t really understand what it’s like to be affected by the Trump administration. I grew up in a Hispanic culture, and it’s a scary time for a lot of us. I’ve been really upset for the last few days. I don’t even know how to explain it right now.

Well, on a more optimistic note, you did mention Bermuda Triangle. I haven’t seen people this excited about a new band in a while. How did y’all first start pulling this project together?

Oh, man. Thank God for the light-hearted things in life. We have serious songs — serious heartbreak, political things — but we are just so about having fun. If you’re ever able to come to a show, it’s just funny. Brittany is hilarious. I like to have a good time, and we’re all truly best friends. I hang out with them all the time. They’re the people I’m spending my life with. So it was just a natural progression. Brittany and I met each other four years ago, and we joke/believe that we met each other in a past life, all three of us. We talked to a psychic and she was like, “Oh yeah, you’ve known each other for forever.” So there’s a little element of mystery and fun and also just true friendship.

For us, what a wonderful time to be together and enjoy each other, and that’s what we want our shows to be like. I don’t know why I’ve read any of this stuff, but I’ve read some haters already, but Brittany is so special to people, and I get that. But the thing is, we’re also special to each other and she understands that. I think the world needs to understand that more, especially with us as women. We celebrate each other. We don’t compete against each other. We push each other to be better, and that’s what this band is about. We really truly love each other, and we really truly believe in each other’s music. We get to demonstrate that in the way we want to and not because we have to survive off this band. We all have our projects. Brittany is going to continue to blow our minds. Jesse has been the most underrated writer in Nashville for years, and I’m just so proud to see her finally get the attention she deserves. I’m just excited that this Triangle is going to give us an open door to have fun, but also to put out some really great stuff. Yeah, we basically met on porches drinking tequila and started playing music.


Photo credit: Zachary Gray

3×3: Lo Carmen on Prine, Parton, and Pizza

Artist: Lo Carmen
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA via Sydney, AUS
Latest Album: Lovers Dreamers Fighters
Personal Nicknames: Carmo, Lo Lo, Yo Lo, Loey, Lolene, Leone

Uncanny resemblance @tfsrecords. Midnight portrait by jet lagged 6 year old.

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What song do you wish you had written?

“Be My Baby.” This is my 50th answer in five minutes. How can such a short question be so difficult?

Who would be in your dream songwriter round?

Will Oldham, Dolly Parton, John Prine

If you could only listen to one artist’s discography for the rest of your life, whose would you choose?

Dylan — pretty much got all bases covered for life there!

How often do you do laundry?

Constantly. I have small and rather grubby children, and sometimes I feel like Loretta Lynn in the bad ol’ days of “Hey Loretta.”

What was the last movie that you really loved?

Youth by Paulo Sorrentino. It had a really surreal, reflective Fellini-esque feel.

If you could re-live one year of your life, which would it be and why?

Maybe 14. Every crazy teenage story I have seems to be from when I was 14. I’d like to take notes this time and see how much is true.

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What’s your go-to comfort food?

Spaghetti marinara. Or pizza. I think I must have Italian heritage somewhere.

Kombucha — love it or hate it?

I’m suspicious, but occasionally curious/hopeful.

Mustard or mayo?

Chipotle mayo!

Photo credit: Katerina Stratos

STREAM: Ronnie Fauss, ‘Last of the True’

Artist: Ronnie Fauss
Hometown: Dallas, TX
Album: Last of the True
Release Date: October 27, 2017
Label: Normaltown Records

In Their Words: Last of the True is a love letter to the artists and genres of music I hold dear. I grew up in Texas, so the spirit of Guy Clark and Steve Earle runs deep in my veins. I came of age in the ’90s, so the alt-country movement of Whiskeytown and Uncle Tupelo had a seminal influence on my sound. I take the craft of songwriting seriously, so I have immersed myself in the works of John Prine and Bob Dylan.

With Last of the True, my goal was to pay homage to these voices while, at the same time, forging my own. I am thankful for their impact on my life and for the opportunity to make this record with great musicians who happen to be great people, as well. It’s an honor to share it with anyone who wants to listen.” — Ronnie Fauss