Tag: Nashville

BGS 5+5: Daniel Donato

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Artist: Daniel Donato
Hometown: Spring Hill, Tennessee, an hour south of Nashville.
Latest Album: A Young Man’s Country (August 7, 2020)
Personal Nicknames: DD, sometimes.

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

I was walking by Legend’s Corner, a bar in Nashville with my father. This was the first day I ever busked on the street, and I made $0. The lead singer was taking a break to pass the tip jug. The bass player called me on stage, over the microphone. “You look like you play guitar,” he said. “I try,” I said! I got on stage, plugged in, and played for two songs that were completely improvised. That was it for me. I knew the stage was my soon to be dojo.

What other art forms inform your music?

Podcasts are big for me. Hence, why I started my own “The Lost Highway.” I think podcasts and jam bands aren’t all that different. What you have is complete improvisation with the instrument of language. Improvisation forces honesty but also unique expression out of your skill with said instrument. A moment in time is created by humans that truly could never happen again. It also is OK if this moment lasts a few hours! That sounds a whole lot like the Grateful Dead. Or a Cosmic Country show!

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

DD’s 3 P’s! Patience. Persistence. Positivity. These fuels are essential to keeping things Cosmic.

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

Songwriting is day one, each time. A perpetual white belt. Because each song is different. Quite literally, each song is the toughest one to write. Performance, content creation, and guitar playing are not like this at all.

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

I get as calm as possible. I get stoic. Essentially, view yourself outside of being yourself. This gives you a humbling perspective that allows you to see that everyone is quite on the same level. On stage, it is important for me to keep that in mind, so I can steer the wheel in the way that the audience will get the most out of the experience. It is all about the people. The more calm I am, the better the moment will be for the listeners on the other side of the guitar.

Photo credit: Jason Stoltzfus

LISTEN: Adam Wright, “Darlene”

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Artist: Adam Wright
Hometown: Newnan, Georgia
Song: “Darlene”
Album: I Win
Release Date: October 9, 2020
Label: De Casa

In Their Words: I don’t really remember how this song started. Most of my character songs come from something I see or hear and then develop in the notebook later. My grandfather was a mechanic and I guess I have a bit of an affinity for them. I have several songs where the character works on cars. I just like this guy’s attitude. He badly needs this girl to make him feel better. He’s just had it with everything. I can relate. ” — Adam Wright

Photo credit: Shannon Wright

LISTEN: Bella White, “All I Gave to You”

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Artist: Bella White
Hometown: Calgary, Alberta, Canada; now living in Nashville
Song: “All I Gave to You”
Album: Just Like Leaving
Release Date: September 25, 2020

In Their Words: “‘All I Gave To You’ feels explicitly gentle to me. However, underneath all that sweetness, there is definitely a tinge of heat. A little fire burning in 18-year-old Bella. I wrote it about being far away from something that I wanted so badly and for all I know, irrationally. A puppy love interest. It talks about wanting to be wanted, or better yet wondering if you’re wanted… a common theme in songwriting. Something I believe to be extremely human. Wanting to feel revered and liked. Especially by those that you’re fond of. In retrospect, I wrote ‘All I Gave To You’ when I was 18 and liked a boy, wasn’t sure if he liked me back, and then tried to be a poet about it.” — Bella White

Photo credit: Sheena Zillinski

LISTEN: Golden Shoals, “Old Buffalo”

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Artist: Golden Shoals
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Old Buffalo”
Album: Golden Shoals
Release Date: August 7, 2020
Label: Self-released, distributed by Free Dirt

In Their Words: “This one fits in a genre I like to call Cowboy Existentialism. You’ve got imagery like buffalo, coyotes, hobos, and trains. The cheerful mood of the song belies themes of economic inequality, and the burden of worldly possessions, summed up in lines like ‘it’s mighty hard to catch your meal when you ain’t had enough to eat.’ The melodies and cadences of this song are derived, intentionally or not, from old American fiddle tunes like ‘Roll Boys Roll’ and ‘Booth Shot Lincoln.’

“I originally wrote it with clawhammer banjo as the accompaniment, but I had really been searching for a song to do with two guitars as a faster breakdown to showcase the style of flatpicking I love to do. We’re really emulating the two-guitar style of Norman and Nancy Blake here. They have always been a major influence on us. Norman is one of my favorite guitar players, along with Doc Watson and Michael Daves. I’m not a big fan of the more modern bluegrass guitar players; I gravitate toward those whose playing is more rooted in the old-time square dance fiddle style — very rhythmic, very driving, a little dirty.

“Playing a ’33 Gibson L-00 helps me get the sound I want too. Nothing like the growl a well-loved Gibson has to it. This guitar also fits my body better. I’m not a large person, and although I love dreadnaughts, a 00 body size is way more comfortable for me.” — Mark Kilianski, Golden Shoals

Photo credit: Kyle Wolff

LISTEN: Jordan Lehning, “The Quarry Song”

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Artist: Jordan Lehning
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “The Quarry Song”
Album: Little Idols
Release Date: August 7, 2020

In Their Words: “Once I realized ‘The Quarry Song’ would [not] act [as just] a standalone song about a breakup, but as a chapter to a bigger story, I was able to zoom out and understand more about the potential for the rest of the record. Treating the record as a film with scenes and arcs was incredibly informative to the pacing and sequence of the final product. In particular, there are interludes between the songs. ‘The Quarry Song’ is preceded by ‘Hey Boy,’ where the two main characters are lying in their own beds at their respective homes pining over one another telepathically. But after that song, during the interlude, we can hear her emotions shift. A longer interlude than exists in the rest of the record occurs. She pushes and pulls her emotions apart, and after some time has passed she reluctantly agrees to meet our hero one last time in ‘The Quarry Song.’” — Jordan Lehning

Photo credit: Laura E. Partain

WATCH: Logan Ledger, “Starlight”

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Artist: Logan Ledger
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee (by way of San Francisco)
Song: “Starlight”
Album: Logan Ledger
Release Date: May 3, 2020
Label: Rounder Records

In Their Words: “I was very fortunate to work with Joshua Shoemaker on the video for ‘Starlight.’ He’s a fantastic director. He conjured up the shadow world of sleepless nights and broken dreams. We shot it on the banks of the Cumberland River as the sun sank beneath the trees. It was a beautiful time.” — Logan Ledger

Photo credit: Bella Mazzola

BGS 5+5: Carolina Story

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Artist: Carolina Story
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Latest album: Dandelion (to be released September 4, 2020)
Personal nicknames (or rejected band names): Ben – Big Ben, Kingfish, Burly; Emily – Emmy, Em, Merley

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

This is a toss-up between Neil Young and Kurt Cobain. When I was a kid, my dad and I used to go fishing south of town from where I grew up in Arkansas. I’ll never forget the day he put CSNY’s 4 Way Street cassette into the tape deck. I was impacted by it all, but once I heard Neil do “Cowgirl in the Sand” I was hooked. I’ve been trying to play the acoustic and harmonica like him ever since. As far as Kurt goes, once I heard “Smells Like Teen Spirit” I begged my mom to get me a guitar and lessons so that I could start a band as soon as possible. – Ben

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

If I’m feeling uninspired I will turn to any outlet that brings me a way to be creative. I have taught myself how to macrame, which is ropes tied in tedious knots to make a beautiful wall hanging. I always have canvas on hand to paint using acrylics and watercolor paper for watercolors. I love interior design and really spend a lot of time creating an aesthetic that is pleasing to the eye but also relaxing and inspiring. Most of what I find for our home is from hours of me at antique or thrift stores to find pieces that weren’t made in mass productions. Last fall I took my first pottery class and look forward to when I can sit in another class again. And most recently, I have taken an interest in woodworking. We have a pile of scrap wood and I am determined to make some sort of wood sculpture. All that to say, I would love to go to art school someday. – Emily

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

In the summer of ‘97, once I had discovered Nirvana, Oasis, Stone Temple Pilots and many others, I started guitar lessons. I was 11 years old. After I had taken four or five lessons, I quit and just stayed in my room most of that summer with my ear glued to my jam box learning new songs. I took “Wonderwall” and made up all new words and played it in my 6th grade talent show and got some great applause from my peers. It was called “Another Night Downtown.” (I know, I know. What in the hell does a 6th grader know about a night downtown, much less another one?) That was definitely a defining moment for me. – Ben

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

About a year ago we moved just outside of Nashville. We have about three acres of land with two small children so the outdoors has become a dear friend. We spend a lot of time outside our own home saving turtles crossing the road, burying a blue bird who looked to have fallen peacefully from the sky, or removing a snake on its way to eat bird eggs. But also just down the road from us is our family farm, Harpeth Moon Farm. We spend a lot of time there helping harvest and pack produce for the upcoming farmer’s markets or spend relaxing days canoeing down the Harpeth River. This lifestyle has helped give us some major mental clarity and to really treasure the things that matter most. – Emily

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

Unfortunately my ultimate meal pairing with a musician will never happen. I would have loved to have written a song with John Prine and see if we could get it finished before they ran out of meatloaf that day at Arnold’s Country Kitchen here in Nashville. But to take that a step further, the cherry on top would have been to have John and Anthony Bourdain over to my house outside of town for a Nashville Pt. 2 episode of Parts Unknown. I would have smoked an 18-hour brisket and made collard greens fresh from Harpeth Moon Farm. We would have all had one or two too many vodka and ginger ales. – Ben

Photo credit: Chrissy Nix

LISTEN: Kelly Bosworth and Libby Weitnauer, “Phoebe in Her Petticoat”

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Artist: Kelly Bosworth and Libby Weitnauer
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Phoebe in Her Petticoat”
Album: Pocket Full of Candy EP
Release Date: September 4, 2020

In Their Words: “We learned this centuries-old song via the playing of Bruce Greene on River in Time. We were struck by the beauty of his performance and wanted to stay out of the way of the song as much as possible. To capture this, we set it to a simple guitar duet with sparse harmonies that come and go as they please. Traditionally an ‘add-as-you-go nonsense’ song, the version we learned spoke more to stereotypical gender roles than we were comfortable with, so we scrambled some of the words to offset that in our recording. As the rest of the material on the EP developed, we realized a line in the song, ‘pocket full of candy,’ was the perfect descriptor for the sweet, simple, and sad little collection of songs we had put together, and so this became our title track.” – Kelly Bosworth and Libby Weitnauer

Photo credit: Joseph Dejarnette

BGS 5+5: Jerry Castle

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Artist: Jerry Castle
Hometown: Abingdon, Virginia
Latest Album: Midnight Testaments (August 28, 2020)
Personal Nicknames: “Jer Bear,” Jerry “Cob”

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

As far back as I can remember really, which is since about the age of 3 or 4. My family would get together for parties and take turns singing country and gospel songs. I started writing lyrics by the age of 8, but I didn’t actually get my first guitar until I was 20. The first weekend I got it, I learned a bunch of cover songs and knew then that this was going to be my lot in life. There have been a lot of twists and turns in my life, but after all of these years, here I am, still doing it. Not only am I still doing it, but besides my kids, it has been the center of my universe.

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

I’m an ocean guy and always have been, which is a bit strange given that I grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. At 17, I moved to Myrtle Beach for a short time and along the way, I ended up living in Virginia Beach, Venice Beach, and Honolulu. Being that I’m now landlocked in Nashville, Tennessee, I use my trips to the ocean to rejuvenate my spirit, to wash away all of the noise, and to give me a clean slate for creating. I also get a lot of my video ideas while I’m at the beach. It’s just easier for me to keep things in order while I’m near the ocean.

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

For me, art is art. All of it bleeds over into my music. When I was still living in Abingdon, Virginia, I’d hang out with a bunch of painters that also loved music. That set the stage for understanding that art is sacred and that it’s important to pour every bit of yourself into it and if you don’t, you can’t expect to do your best work. About five years ago I was really influenced by literature and these days I’m probably more influenced by film than any other art form.

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

Be yourself, don’t compare yourself as an artist to others, do the work, don’t judge the work, and move on. At this point of my life, I really don’t have any problem with being myself but the takes some work.

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

The two artists that come to mind right off the bat are Tom Petty and Willie Nelson. They’re both unique, they both do the work, and they both come across as 100 percent authentic. Again, all you can be is yourself. As an artist and a human, you fuck up the most when you’re trying to be someone other than yourself. I’d say that both of those guys would say the exact same thing.

Photo credit: Scott Lukes

LISTEN: Gillian Welch, “Strange Isabella” and “Mighty Good Book”

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Artist: Gillian Welch
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Songs: “Strange Isabella” and “Mighty Good Book”
Album: Boots No. 2: The Lost Songs*
Label: Acony Records
Release Date: July 31, 2020

In Their Words: “We stashed these recordings away years ago. Their shortcomings, real or imagined, technical or compositional, no longer seem bothersome today. Hearing them now is like seeing snapshots that captured moments the more formal portraits missed. So here we are hurrying them for release before the next tornado blows the whole shoebox away.” — Gillian Welch and David Rawlings

*The 16 songs on Boots No. 2: The Lost Songs are unearthed from a cache of home demos and reel-to-reel recordings. Boots No. 2: The Lost Songs, Vol. 2 and Vol. 3 will follow in the coming months. The three-volume, 48-song collection was produced by David Rawlings and recorded between the making of 2001’s Time (The Revelator) and 2003’s Soul Journey. Released in 2016, Boots No. 1: The Official Revival Bootleg is a double album of unreleased outtakes, alternate versions, and demos from the making of Gillian Welch’s seminal 1996 debut album.

Photo credit: David Gahr