Artist:Alexa Wildish Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Song: “The Well” Album:Alexa Wildish
In Their Words: “‘The Well’ was originally written years ago, then released in 2020 on my eponymous EP, and it was not until this year that I fully lived its meaning. This video was filmed in Lake Atitlán, Guatemala. The pristine beauty and undeniably loud earth presence helped me to see myself more lucidly than ever before. It seems as if the surrounding volcanic energy erupted from me all that I was unwilling and too afraid to see, and then the water offered me grace in return in its loving reflection. The footage was captured over a few days of adventuring and playing with the elements. We collected video during a torrential downpour, parts of it at 5 in the morning when no one was on the lake other than a few local fishers, and the rest tucked away in the deep parts of the forest. My gratitude for this land and the way it brought me back home to myself will forever be imprinted on my heart.” — Alexa Wildish
Artist:Jesse Lynn Madera Hometown: LA and Nashville Song: “Revel” Release Date: July 23, 2021
In Their Words: “Writing ‘Revel’ changed the way I approach songwriting. It made me understand more about the opportunity we have as artists to positively impact a person’s day. I’ve written a lot of sad, emotional songs, and I’ve seen that those can be therapeutic. Knowing someone is getting cheered up, cheered on, inspired, by listening to one of my songs is pretty mind-blowing. I try to be a source of light for the people close to me, and this is the first time I’ve really been able to tap into that with my songwriting. ‘Revel’ was written around the holidays in 2020, in a living room that was still vibrating with all the good times we’ve had. I needed ‘Revel.’ I needed a reminder of all the light that follows darkness. Being human is rollercoaster enough without a pandemic to further complicate the experience. We’ve all suffered through our share, and hopefully we’ve all experienced the sun coming up over the horizon of despair. This will be no exception. The glow shall return, and we’ll all be reveling in it.” — Jesse Lynn Madera
Artist:Luke LeBlanc Hometown: Minneapolis, Minnesota Song: “Same Blues” Album:Only Human Release Date: July 9, 2021
In Their Words: “It was October 2018 and I’d just moved to Nashville. I didn’t know I’d only live there six months, but as proud as I was to have been born and raised in North Minneapolis, I knew I had to explore the Nashville music scene: the songs, the stories, the mystique. It had been a long day, but I had to make my first move. So I called Roy August. I had met Roy about six years prior when I was 16 and visiting Nashville for the first time, playing an open mic near Music Row. Now in his 80s, Roy had co-written the Oak Ridge Boys’ “Fancy Free,” their first #1 on the Billboard country chart back in 1981. He happened to be in the audience and he loved my music. We kept in touch every so often through Facebook.
“Roy told me to meet him at the Hardee’s for brunch in Lebanon, Tennessee, just northeast of Nashville. We didn’t have a goal in mind, just to catch up and say hello. At the end of our conversation, he pulled out a folded piece of paper and told me it was something he’d been working on. ‘See what you can do; we’ll co-write it.’ I went home and wrote the rest of the lyrics, changed some, added others, and put music to it. With regards to the video, we tried to capture what the song is about: the tug between the status quo and what you’re currently doing versus that thing you really want to do. It portrays someone who has ‘fooled himself into working all day,’ knowing that deep down, the ‘fever won’t die young.’ Cody Hansen at Exist Media filmed and edited the video and John Cleve Richardson appears in the video playing piano.” — Luke LeBlanc
On his new album Depreciated, John R. Miller shows a true appreciation for traditional country songwriting and progressive bluegrass musicianship, even though his music isn’t neatly defined by either one. A West Virginia native who now lives in Madison, Tennessee, Miller unveiled the material at a club show in Nashville just a few days after the album’s release on Rounder Records. His original songs are rich in detail and humor, although his lyrics can get moody enough to satisfy anybody who’s looking for the darker side of acoustic music. Delivered in his rough-hewn baritone, his songs somehow feel like familiar stories that you want to hear again.
Before returning to the road, Miller caught up with BGS at an East Nashville coffee shop to talk about his acoustic heroes, where he found his first guitar, and why he puts a fiddle in a rock ‘n’ roll band.
BGS: You announced this record by releasing “Lookin’ Over My Shoulder,” which is not exactly a happy song, but it does makes me laugh. What was on your mind as that song was taking shape?
Miller: I wrote that after I moved away from the town I’d lived in for a while. It’s a small-town scenario. When you go back after being away, you’re in the mode of trying to avoid some people. It can be tricky to navigate but I thought it was a funny little song that I didn’t think we would end up recording. Then we rearranged it a little bit and turned it into what it is now – and it’s the first song on the record. You just never know, I guess.
Where is your hometown?
The place where I grew up is just off the highway in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. It has historically been pretty rural. There’s a lot of development around the highway, so it’s turned into a strip mall highway town. Just over the mountain, it gets real country real quick. But for most of my 20s I lived in a river town called Shepherdstown. It’s small, just a couple of bars in town and everybody knows everybody. That was home for a long time, but I felt like I needed a fresh start, so I moved down here. I spent so much time traveling and felt untethered in the first place. A lot of my friends started getting older and moving away. A few of them actually came down here. This was the next place, where I knew the most people and the most couches to crash on for a little while. I decided to give it a shot and I’m still here.
When did you gravitate toward playing guitar?
I was about 14 when I picked up guitar. My dad had a nylon string guitar in the closet that I never saw him play. I was starting to get into music more, and into punk bands that I found out about from my friends. Basically I was trying to learn power chords on this classical nylon string guitar classical guitar. Eventually I wrote that out and got a Stratocaster and tried to do garage bands in high school.
Were you and your friends listening to acoustic music too?
Maybe not when I was a teenager. We were mostly into indie rock and punk rock growing up, like skater kids. It probably wasn’t until I was 19 that my musical interests expanded a little bit. I started getting into songwriters. The real gateway for me was that Steve Earle and Del McCoury Band album, [1999’s The Mountain], which is one of the best out there. I had already found my way into Steve Earle’s music and then that dovetailed nicely with bluegrass and old-time music with that record. That was a big one for me.
Are you a bluegrass fan?
Oh yeah. I’ve lived in the bluegrass world a little bit and during times in my life a whole lot. I used to play in a string band too. It was more like a fiddle-centric string band, but we did some bluegrass stuff as well and got on that circuit for a little while. There were a couple of guys in the string band that were ahead of me in terms of what they knew about and what they liked, so they helped me learn about a whole lot of stuff.
Who were some of your influences in bluegrass?
I’m a huge Jimmy Martin fan. That stuff’s so cool and just kind of ragged in all the right ways. The Stanley Brothers, of course. There are some modern bluegrass bands that I’ve grown to love a whole lot. Town Mountain is one of the best out there. We crossed paths with them a little bit back in the day and it’s cool to see them still doing it. The Seldom Scene’s Live at the Cellar Door record is a classic too. I really love that. I also really love that early newgrass stuff, like Old & In the Way and John Hartford. That Old & In the Way record was a constant in the van.
Speaking of that, how did you get the idea for “Half Ton Van“?
That song in particular, I spent months looking for an old van to get the band moving. I was on Craigslist and Marketplace a whole lot. I feel like I was seeing a lot of the same tricks, you know? I went to look at a lot of terrible vans. It was a few years ago and I had already been through a few vans with other bands, and it always feels like I’m trying to find one at the last minute. I ended up getting one that was full of rust holes and leaking oil and everything like that. So the song is an amalgam of all those experiences of people trying to sell their junk to you.
At your show, the crowd really responded to “Shenandoah Shakedown,” which surprised me. It has that gothic feel, and seems to be the sleeper on the record.
That one seems to be doing pretty good. I wouldn’t have expected that either because it’s kind of different. It doesn’t strike me as an accessible song necessarily. That one is heavily inspired by living on the river out there. It’s more of a collection of vignettes of time spent up there, and some mushrooms and whatnot involved, you know? Some of the characters are composites but there are specific people in it, for sure.
There’s a lot of fiddle on this record too. Why do you like having that in the mix?
I love fiddle tunes and fiddle music and I spend a lot of time at fiddlers conventions, like the Clifftop Appalachian String Band Music Festival in West Virginia, or in Mt. Airy, North Carolina. It’s been a constant in my life for a really long time now. I’ve got a lot of buddies in that world and I play a little fiddle myself too. It’s a great way to just sit down and play tunes with people. The communal feeling and the non-commerciality of it is really cool. So I’m a little obsessive about it. Putting fiddle in a full rock ‘n’ roll band sounds good to my ears, and I also feel like if it wasn’t there, I would miss it — the presence of it.
Why did you want to include a guitar instrumental, “What’s Left of the Valley,” on here?
I’ve definitely written a couple of guitar pieces, but my partner Chloe really liked that one. I played it for her and it was her idea to just try it in the studio. We took a break from doing the stuff we had on the docket and gave that a try. It ended up feeling so nice, I thought it would be a good way to break up the songs on the record. I like that kind of stuff too, like an instrumental interlude.
At your show I was happy to hear you cover a Gary Stewart song, “Single Again.” What is it about that honky-tonk sound that appeals to you?
Man, it just sounds so cool to me. There’s a really wide range of it but that Gary Stewart stuff is so cool and so nuanced. A really high level of musicianship playing pretty accessible music is pretty awesome. I love country music very much. That’s been my soul food. Early to mid ‘70s is the sweet spot for me.
As a songwriter going into a music career, did you always want to have a full-band sound?
I don’t mind playing by myself — it’s kind of its own thing — but I’ve always played in bands and I love that connection. It’s so much fun. I prefer to be making music with my buddies and I’m fortunate to be playing with the band I’ve got now. They’re easygoing folks and great musicians. We’ve been on the road for a little over a week now and this is the first long tour that we’ve gotten to take together. We’re all getting used to it again.
Listening back to this record now, what goes through your mind?
I’m really proud of the work we did and what I love most about it is that I got to actually sit and play the songs live in a room with some of my close friends. Adam Meisterhans, who played guitar with us the other night, co-produced the record. He and I played in bands in West Virginia. I know him from Shepherdstown too. He’s like a brother to me. So it’s been cool to very intentionally work on a project and have it get finished and work out, you know? It’s nice to know that we did it the way we wanted to.
Joy Oladokun, a singer-songwriter based in Nashville, has had a long journey to get to where she is now. The daughter of Nigerian immigrants and the first of her family to be born in the US, Oladokun is fresh off the release of In Defense of My Own Happiness (Complete). The collection features 14 songs, as well as guest appearances by Maren Morris and Penny and Sparrow. The singer’s artistry comes from an incredibly unique experience of growing up as a young woman of color in rural Arizona and fostering her musicianship in the church before leaving the church and coming out of the closet. (Read the BGS interview.)
From Arizona to L.A. then across country to Nashville with a new outlook and perspective, Oladokun’s music stands on a plane with a unique vantage point. Her words are precise and delicate, mirroring her humble yet evocative instrumental style. Oladokun’s music has touched many ears and hearts, evidenced by the reward bestowed upon her by YouTube in 2021 when she received a grant from the #YouTubeBlackVoices fund. In this video release, Joy sings “Judas” off her latest album in the confined familiarity of a porch. She is able to do more with just an acoustic guitar and her voice than many artists can in an entire discography of work. Watch “Judas” performed live by Joy Oladokun below.
Artist:Elijah Ocean Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Song: “Honky Tonk Hole” Album:Born Blue Release Date: July 23, 2021
In Their Words: “‘Honky Tonk Hole’ is about a guy who has seen better days and whose big dreams have all gone up in smoke. Now he spends all his time drinking and playing country music in bars. Not entirely sure why he’s complaining about it, though. Seems kinda fun and not a bad life. It’s a high-energy shuffle about falling into a rut but also kind of loving it.” — Elijah Ocean
Artist:Kashena Sampson Hometown: Nashville, TN Song: “Hello Darkness” Album:Time Machine Release Date: September 10, 2021 Label: New Moon Records
In Their Words: “This is a cover song by the Dutch rock band, Shocking Blue. I asked my best friend if she could choose one song for me to cover which one would she choose, it was this. I love Shocking Blue and I think it’s a great song and I connect to the lyrics, especially with what I was going through at that time in my life. To me, this song carries the message of yearning for someone who you cannot be with. It goes along with what a lot of the songs on this record are about. My struggles with codependency, fantasizing in relationships and thinking someone outside of me was the answer to my problems. It is a very heavy feeling when you think that someone else can fix you and you find out that they are not the answer. A good portion of the songs on this record are about a relationship I had with someone I cared for very much, who had gotten into some trouble and was incarcerated. I went into rescue mode and believed I had to save them in order to be ok.” — Kashena Sampson
Artist:Erik Stucky Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Song: “Heaven Only Knows” Album:Good Vibrations Release Date: August 6, 2021 Label: Binasaur Records
In Their Words: “This song is one of my favorites on the album. It brings a bit of depth and intensity to the concept of Good Vibrations. Specifically, there are things we can do with our time to improve this situation: ‘Heaven only knows what is possible, if we love ourselves like we are capable.’ This has a bit of a double meaning in that love for others is only possible to the extent that we love our individual selves. We are all one, and when we further love our individual self we simultaneously extend that love for the greater whole… humanity, the world, the universe, the never-ending consciousness. Amen.” — Erik Stucky
Artist:Charlie Worsham Hometown: Grenada, Mississippi Song: “Half Drunk” Album:Sugarcane EP Release Date: July 16, 2021 Label: Warner Music Nashville
In Their Words: “‘Half Drunk’ tells the story of the first time I told my wife I loved her. I’d just been fired by my publisher and my manager had quit management that week, but I was singing that day in one of my favorite rooms in all the world, the Station Inn. Powered by Yazoo Pale Ale, applause, and a sense that this girl I was crazy about might just be more special and more permanent than the whole music industry thing, I turned to Kristen, said those three magic words, and she said ‘I love you too.’ I hope this song inspires a lot of drunken making out and maybe a few last-time-saying-I-love-you-for-the-first-time moments.” — Charlie Worsham
Artist: Gabe Dixon Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee Latest Album:Lay It On Me
What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?
I think I was 11. I already loved music and had been taking piano lessons for a few years, but that summer, I went with my parents to see a music festival in downtown Nashville, and I watched a set by Béla Fleck & The Flecktones — the original group, with Béla, Victor Wooten, Future Man, and Howard Levy. Until then, I had no idea that people could be that good at playing their instruments. They were so virtuosic and fun, and the crowd loved it so much. Later that evening, I remember standing in the front yard of our house in Sylvan Park, looking up at the sky and thinking, “I want to be a musician when I grow up.”
What rituals do you have, either in the studio or before a show?
I’m not a very religious person, but before I go on stage, I always take a moment to be grateful and to ask God to work through me so that something bigger than me — love, joy, goodness, light — will shine through me and into the hearts and minds of the people I’m playing for. Sometimes I do that in the studio too. But the stakes feel higher in a live setting, so I’m looking for all the help I can get!
What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?
For a handful of years, I was a “staff writer” at a publishing company, and the most difficult songwriting sessions were the “blind date” country sessions they set up for me — you walk in the room, meet the other person, and your job is to write a song for “the country market.” Often you’re just hoping some big country star will cut it, and you’ll make some money, and they almost never do. Those sessions often became an exercise in putting limitations on what I wrote in hopes that it would be what some generic country singer would like. I often heard, “That line makes him sound like a wimp. Jason Aldean would never sing that.” Or, “We can’t put that chord in there, it’s too fancy-sounding.” Some people are really good at that kind of writing, but for me it was pretty soul-crushing. The only songs of mine that country artists ever ended up wanting to record were ones that I wrote for my own albums. So I mostly just write for myself now.
How often do you hide behind a character in a song or use “you” when it’s actually “me”?
It happens more than I mean for it to. The classic writing advice is to “write what you know,” but, to a certain extent you can’t help it. Even when you are trying to write from someone else’s perspective. I did this with my song “All Will Be Well,” “All Will Be Well/even after all the promises you’ve broken to yourself” and also with “Flow Like Wine.” “Why the furrow upon your brow / I see beauty between the lines / oh love, don’t you worry about our love / Let love flow like wine” were written for my wife, but when I really examine it, I realize I was probably writing to myself too.
If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?
Bring forth compassion, love, and peace through music.
Photo credit: Shervin Lainez
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