Tag: rock and roll

MIXTAPE: Turn Turn Turn’s Sonic Journey

Posted on by Editor

Me and my Turn Turn Turn bandmates Savannah Smith and Barb Brynstad have chosen a mix of music that’s either helped shape us as musicians and songwriters, resonates with us in these uncertain times, or is stuff we keep coming back to, like that lover we can’t seem to shake. It’s old and new like our band — we “turn” to the distant past of early American recorded music, “turn” again to that renaissance of the 1960s and 1970s, and finally “turn” again to the present looking forward. We hope you dig the sonic journey. — Adam Levy

Ry Cooder – “Boomer’s Story”

Probably one of the most influential players of my life. Evocative, funky, reverent of past blues players, but super innovative. All the double stops sound like he’s often imitating fiddlers. I do that on the guitar solo for our song “Fourteen.” This song is the ultimate Ry Cooder groove with Jim Keltner on drums. Reminds me of years listening to it touring in a van with my band, The Honeydogs. — Adam

Luluc – “Controversy”

There’s another level of calm within Luluc’s music I have always appreciated. Nico with modern themes… I don’t know how they do it, but they do it so well. — Savannah

The Staple Singers – “Freedom Highway”

Who can say they HAVEN’T been influenced by the Staple Singers? Unvarnished, insistent, and catchy as hell, it’s no surprise that “Freedom Highway” is as eminently listenable today as it was in 1965. And sadly, although it was written more than five decades ago, this song’s imperative message resonates just as strongly in 2020 as it did during the apogee of the Civil Rights movement. — Barb

Judee Sill – “The Lamb Ran Away With the Crown”

It’s hard to choose a favorite of hers. One of the greatest underappreciated American songwriters. She crosses genres, she sings some of the most profoundly spiritual music and she hooks the listener with amazing harmonic movement and melodies. If you don’t have goosebumps at the rousing end of this gem you might need to check your pulse. As good as anything on Pet Sounds — maybe better. — Adam

Turn Turn Turn – “Delaware Water Gap”

Imagine if Dylan wrote a song about a female serial killer and had Emmylou Harris and Stevie Nicks join him while Grady Martin and Clarence White duel on guitar. — Turn Turn Turn

Sarah Jarosz – “House of Mercy”

I fell in love with multi-instrumentalist Sarah Jarosz a few years ago, when I saw her perform at the Dakota, a renowned live-music venue in Minneapolis. Fresh-faced and not too far out of college (New England Conservatory of Music), she played as a part of a well-oiled trio of seasoned twentysomethings. This particular song appeals to me because it pierces the conventions of traditional bluegrass music — lyrically, vocally, and instrumentally. Importantly, it was my gateway to a deeper appreciation of bluegrass and old-time music. — Barb

Lefty Frizzell – “Treasures Untold”

Lefty is often overlooked in the country music pantheon. His voice is velvety voice and cheeky chords meld honky-tonk gently with Tin Pan Alley pop. This song is nearly perfect to me as a composition. — Adam

Jessica Pratt – “As the World Turns”

Jessica Pratt’s voice and melodies are incredibly ethereal. I’ve always admired her songwriting, especially in this song. To me, I feel the driving, unstoppable passing of time while stuck in a trance of reflection. — Savannah

Turn Turn Turn – “Cold Hard Truth”

Adam wrote this one about deep self-examination and suggested Barb and Savannah do the vocal heavy lifting. We’re pretty proud of this bridge and we bet Phil Spector or Jeff Lynne would give us a nod of approval. — Turn Turn Turn

Dixie Chicks – “The Long Way Around”

I love the Dixie Chicks for their fearless defiance of conformity. And I love this song’s transcendent harmonies, soaring hooks, and in-your-face lyrics (“I wouldn’t kiss all the asses that they told me to”) that serve as a clarion call to all the uppity movers and shakers who refuse to be conventional. — Barb

The Rolling Stones – “Loving Cup”

I came to country music through the Stones. They always had a couple country nods with close harmonies, twangy pedal steel-like riffs and stories about dissipation, loneliness, yearning, and travel. “Loving Cup” is loose and sexy, takes you by the hand, spanks you and just keeps building with that piano-horn driven, drum-tripping outro. — Adam

Laura Stevenson – “Time Bandits”

Laura Stevenson is someone I have always really looked up to. Both her voice and her songwriting are incredibly powerful. This song hit me really hard during quarantine; it’s heartbreakingly hopeful. — Savannah

Big Bill Broonzy – “Glory of Love”

First time hearing this I was struck by the driving rhythm. I thought it was a couple guitarists. I spent a couple days figuring out this relatively simple three-chord song. And I only recently figured out how to get that ragtime banging drive happening — some 30 years after first hearing it. — Adam

Photo credit: Ilia Stockert

LISTEN: Larkin Poe, “Easy Street”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Larkin Poe
Hometown: Atlanta-bred, Nashville-based
Song: “Easy Street”
Album: Self Made Man
Release Date: June 12, 2020
Label: Tricki-Woo

In Their Words: “Every now and again, we all need a little dose of raw optimism to help us get through the darker days. We wrote ‘Easy Street’ direct from the heart and we hope that it’ll be a rainbow for your ears.” — Megan Lovell

“Lyrically, I think Self Made Man is our most uplifting album to date. With so much uncertainty in the world, it feels really good to unleash some unapologetic optimistic.” — Rebecca Lovell

Photo credit: Robby Klein

LISTEN: Grizzly Goat, “Wallowa, OR 1877”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Grizzly Goat
Hometown: Provo, Utah/ Knoxville, Tennessee
Song: “Wallowa, OR 1877”
Album: Bound to Go to Waste
Release Date: May 29, 2020

In Their Words: “While in Oregon, performing in the Joseph Mountain Jubilee festival, I spotted a statue of Chief Joseph. This sparked my curiosity as a history enthusiast and I soon listened to the 18-hour audiobook, Thunder in the Mountains. I learned that the area had been home to Joseph’s Nez Perce tribe which the US government wanted to claim for white settlers. Despite Chief Joseph’s efforts to negotiate rights for his people peacefully, a war broke out causing the tribe to flee 1,170 miles before they were surrounded near the Canadian border. When this ‘spaghetti western’ melody came to me, I was inspired to shed light on the story of Chief Joseph and a neglected piece of American history.” — Nate Waggoner, Grizzly Goat

Photo credit: Ryan Carter

Forgiving Herself, Maya de Vitry Feels Better and Better on New Solo Album

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

When Maya de Vitry quit her most recent full-time touring gig, she did it for self-preservation. Before her solo debut Adaptations was released in 2019, the multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter prioritized her life by centering community, home, and a sense of place in what had often been a frantic, taxing, and nomadic daily life.

Her second, just-released album, How to Break a Fall, was tracked almost immediately after Adaptations hit shelves, and with a harder, more grizzled, rockier aesthetic it demonstrated the growth and transformation that had occurred in the meantime. A sense of movement, of excited, unapologetic momentum permeates the Dan Knobler-produced project. Where Adaptations had seen de Vitry through a transition to stillness, How to Break a Fall was poised to carry her into still another new period for the budding solo artist. 

Enter a global pandemic. With nearly all of that momentum and her entire release cycle squandered on a music industry that had to shutter itself in the face of COVID-19, de Vitry found herself once again prioritizing, enjoying each individual moment at home, focusing on community in whatever shape it can take at this point, and baking banana bread, too. It turns out practice does make perfect. 

BGS spoke to de Vitry over the phone, immediately diving into how serendipitous this collection of songs is for a moment of global pausing.

BGS: The last record, Adaptations, was written in isolation and now you’ve landed with this new record, How to Break a Fall, and on the back end of it you’ve ended up in isolation again. I wondered if you’ve thought about that? Or considered the strange symmetry, the way that these records are bookended by the idea of intentional solitude?

de Vitry: [Laughs] Wow, I absolutely did not connect those dots and that is so wild. It’s so ironic, because I was feeling very frustrated and angry about losing all of these shows this spring and I was finally feeling like [I was ready to get on the road] — because with Adaptations I didn’t tour really at all. I wasn’t emotionally or mentally healthy enough to be touring my music, I wasn’t ready to be on stage. Then this time, I felt emotionally healthy to go out there and play shows and it was like, “Oh, but the world has another health situation going on.” 

In some ways, How to Break a Fall was also written in isolation. I had kind of cut myself off a bit from the East Nashville scene, because I needed some space from the patterns and circles of people. I needed space from touring and leaving [the Stray Birds]. I was working at Starbucks while I was writing the album and I was essentially in isolation. You go to work for eight hours, come home, and you’re just in your house again. It was still voluntary, and I definitely still had some community. I could still pop out and play a show. 

I’m kind of an introverted person, so I’m always in isolation when I’m writing — in some way. I’ve been writing so much in the last couple of weeks. I was ready to kind of emerge, I was ready to go and be out there, and in interaction, instead of isolation. Now it’s like mandatory isolation and I’m going to write.

What does that feel like to you? Does it feel like a grinding of the gears? Like, “Oh, hold on, we’ve gotta turn this ship around and it’s going to take some effort and energy for me to go back into the writing frame of mind when I was ready to be in the outward-facing, extroverted frame of mind.”

It feels like muscle memory. It’s like a pivot. That part of it has not been difficult. I think accessing the writing part, the inward part of being an artist, is [always] within reach. I get as much satisfaction from creating the stuff as I do performing the stuff, if not more. I would say the process of writing an album, recording an album, and being in the studio with people is so fulfilling to me. Just creating it. There’s almost a grieving process when that’s over. Then there’s the next thing, when the songs come alive… I was looking forward to that, seeing how the songs would live and evolve and change. How they would land, out there in the world in real time with people. What other choice do I have? Let’s just pivot. Let’s write another record. [Laughs]

“Better and Better” is about the idea of building something and the song feels pertinent in this moment of… pausing, let’s say, because I think we could all eventually agree that life isn’t about being the best, it’s about being better. It’s about being better than the moment before, the day before, the year before. How do you see that song’s potential for connecting with listeners right now?

That song was like the doorway for writing the rest of that album and it was the doorway because, through writing it, I was realizing that I was actually unwell. Some of the things I was singing about, those lyrics were all things that I wanted to believe, and I realized that I had to make changes. I had to stop doing something that felt normal. I had to leave the band that I was in, I had to stop touring for a while, and yeah, that in some ways does remind me of this moment, too. The only thing we really can control right now is how we take care of ourselves — and that’s also sort of the only thing we ever can control. But it’s easier to feel that when it feels like other things are so outside of our control. 

I felt myself stop, stock still in the moment that I heard the line, “Forgiving myself is the most I can do” go by, because I don’t think a lot of people realize that’s what we’re doing every day right now, to get through. Letting ourselves just be enough. Where does that line come from for you?

That line is specifically about staying. About staying in the situation I was in. Before I was in [the Stray Birds], I was a musician. I was playing fiddle tunes, I was really into old-time music, I was writing songs, and I started to draft up what would be a solo record — in like 2009 and 2010. Then the band became like an invisible fence. There was no room for anyone to be doing anything outside of the band. There was no physical room, for all of the time we were on the road, and there was no emotional room with the interpersonal dynamic of the band. It was not possible to continue to be myself, to nurture my own voice as a writer and musician and also be a member of that band, because of the environment of the band. 

Forgiving myself, in that line, is about forgiving my nineteen-year-old self for not knowing any better at the time. And forgiving myself for my fears, because it was easier [to avoid them instead]. It’s vulnerable to sing your lyrics at all, ever, and I’m forgiving myself for those fears I had. Instead of standing up with my name and my lyrics, it was easier to climb inside the identity of a band and feel protected and more secure.


Which is quite the contrast from How to Break a Fall, because, to me, this record feels like a statement, a declaration for women to be allowed to take up space. And to be allowed to access and enjoy as much of the oxygen in those spaces as they like. Songs like “Something In the Way She Moves,” “Gray,” definitely “Open the Door” all speak to this. And the rock ‘n’ roll aesthetic often feels angry and impassioned, but the music doesn’t feel hostile in the way that it channels those energies.

That’s one hundred percent right. That comes from that process of forgiveness. It comes from walking through that doorway, the doorway being “Better and Better,” and walking into this landscape of songs and being receptive to writing that story. I think the record doesn’t sound hostile because it’s not. These are the songs, these are the sounds that I felt like making, this is a story. These things are true for me. 

There’s this video of Sister Rosetta Tharpe playing incredible guitar, walking up and down this train platform, it’s an iconic taking-up-of-space. An iconic expression of joy. That kind of spirit is what’s behind this music and this record. For as much as I can control what people can get from it, I would hope that some of what it unlocks or awakens is, “Huh… there are a lot of female characters on this record taking up space and doing what they want.”

It’s not hostile because it’s taking the responsibility of going inward by going to my own interior and inviting listeners to go into their interiors and see what’s going on in there. In the song “Revolution” it’s like, What are these walls? What’s inside of me? If this is the way that my eyes have been trained to see, what new world am I going to see? If I can’t shift the lens or something on the inside, how am I going to see a world that’s [different?] It’s happened so many times in history, whether it’s women’s rights or gay rights or the civil rights movement. We have to practice imagining the impossible. That’s connected to why it’s not hostile. 

When that’s the reason behind the music and the intent behind the record, the volume of it or whether it’s an electric or an acoustic guitar or if it’s rock or folk — none of that matters to me. [Laughs] This is the story I’m telling! 

All photos: Laura Partain

BGS 5+5: American Aquarium

Posted on by Editor

Artist: American Aquarium
Hometown: Raleigh, North Carolina
Latest album: Lamentations

Answers provided by BJ Barham

Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?

I can confidently say that I wouldn’t be the songwriter I am today if it weren’t for the discovery of Bruce Springsteen and his music in my early twenties. A friend played me Nebraska and I was floored. Must have listened to that album for a month straight. He was one of the first artists I have a clear memory of hearing and saying, “I want to do that.”

He writes these elaborate short stories set to music. The songs are expansive and cinematic. The characters are all people we know personally. Intimate snapshots into the lives of the working class. He speaks the universal language in a way not many people will ever be able to. There is something so simple, yet so complex about the way he tells stories. I don’t trust a songwriter who says they aren’t a fan of Springsteen.

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

I read a lot. I usually prefer fiction, but I’ll occasionally do a deep dive into a music-related autobiography. I tend to go for Southern writers and gravitate to the darker side of the genre. My songs take place in the darker corners of the Southern experience, so it doesn’t surprise me that my literary taste tend to go there as well. Faulkner, O’Connor, Harper Lee. The greats are what sucked me in.

I’ve been reading a lot of Cormac McCarthy, David Joy and Barry Hannah as of late. There is a familiarity of place that I really enjoy about them. I think a lot of the flaws in the characters of my songs are a direct result of the books I read in my leisure time. In my lifetime, literature has informed so much of what I know about people, I would be lying if I said it didn’t have an effect on me as a writer.

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

The first time I played songs in front of people I was hooked. I was double majoring in political science and history at NC State University with every intention of going to law school after my undergraduate work. Then I fell in love with songs. I remember the first show like it was yesterday. Me and some friends from high school played (horribly) at Tate Street Coffee in Greensboro, North Carolina, in front of about 20 people. I was hooked. I became a student of every aspect of the trade. Songwriting. Performing. Business. There was no looking back after that first show. I had found my calling.

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

I played a lot of sports growing up and every time I would complain about a loss or another player just getting a “lucky” shot, my father always said that “luck was the product of hard work” and that is something that has always stuck with me. Work Hard. Get Lucky. It’s so simple, yet so profound. I have those words tattooed across my chest to remind me every morning that luck is not just something that happens to people. There’s a really great quote about luck being the intersection of hard work and opportunity. I think that was what my Dad was trying to say all those years ago, just a little less poetic.

When I started this band back in 2005, I knew I wasn’t the best writer. I knew I didn’t have the best voice. The one thing I did have control over was how hard I was willing to work. I truly believe that willingness to outwork anyone that was better than me is the only reason that I am where I am today. I get to earn a living from writing songs and playing them for people because I dedicated myself to the craft of songwriting and refused to take no for an answer. Some friends always say that I’m so lucky to be able to play music for a living. I just smile and silently thank my father for the lessons he instilled in me at such an early age.

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

When I first started writing songs, they were extremely detailed and autobiographical accounts of my youth. The partying, the mistakes, the love lost. As I got older, I started moving more toward character based fictional narrative. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a little bit of myself in every single one of my characters. Some more than others. I believe it’s important to always add those dashes of personal experience into the songs. It makes them more believable to the listener and allows you to fall into those characters as you perform these songs every night.

The fiction is where you have the ability to make the songs universal and not just about you. The bigger picture versus the guy looking back at you in the mirror. I think part of the craft of songwriting is learning that balance. The greats came out of the gate with that gift. The rest of us had to learn it the hard way. It took me quite a few years to stop writing about the person that I currently am and start writing about the better versions of myself that I hope to become.

Photo Credit: Cal & Aly

BGS Long Reads of the Week // May 1

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

It’s gonna be… May! Welcome to a new month of long reads, where each week we look back into the BGS archives for some of our favorite content from across the years. If you haven’t yet, follow our #longreadoftheday series on social media [on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram] and as always, we’ll put all of our picks together right here at the end of each week.

Our long reads this week are southern rock and blues, bluegrass and rock and roll, Americana and country, and a dash of… hard-to-put-a-finger-on-it, too. Read on:

Marcus King: A “Young Man’s Dream” Come to Life

A cover story from earlier this year, our conversation with 23-year-old singer/songwriter/guitarist Marcus King digs deep into the creative processes that shaped his debut album, El Dorado — his first project outside of his critically acclaimed group, The Marcus King Band. With Dan Auerbach producing and an absolutely stacked roster of studio musicians, the project came together “on the fly,” yes, but that turned out to be a pretty natural pace. [Read the entire interview]

Canon Fodder: The Flying Burrito Brothers, The Gilded Palace of Sin

Given the canonization of Gram Parsons over the last few decades, as well as the gradual breakdown of genres and styles over time, it’s easy to forget just how contrarian it would have been for a West Coast rock band to embrace country and bluegrass. But that’s exactly what the Flying Burrito Brothers did. This edition of Canon Fodder explores their first album, The Gilded Palace of Sin, which despite its near-flop at the time of its release is perhaps their most important work. [Read more]

Linda Ronstadt Talks Bluegrass

One of the most important vocalists/artists in rock and roll and popular music over the last century, Linda Ronstadt also knows a thing or two about bluegrass — as evidenced in this 1996 interview from Bluegrass Unlimited magazine. We pulled this fascinating article out of the BU archives to commemorate the release of the documentary film, Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice last year. It’s a two-parter, so we spread it out over a couple of days this week!
[Read part one] [Read part two]

John Moreland Figures out How to Love Music Again

Turns out there are drawbacks to any career – even when it’s your dream job – and you can confirm that with dark-folk and Americana favorite, John Moreland. The Oklahoman singer/songwriter released his latest album, LP5, earlier this year. The project surprised some listeners by exploring new sonic territory for Moreland — new territory that revived the spark that got Moreland into writing to begin with. [Read our conversation]

 

Bright Sunshine and Intense Badassery: Lilly Hiatt’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Style

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

This shoot happened just a few days after venues began closing and tours were being cancelled due to the coronavirus. Lilly Hiatt and I decided to continue, holing up in an empty venue called Drkmttr Collective here in Nashville by ourselves for a few hours. (You can support Drkmttr’s GoFundMe to help keep them afloat, if you feel inclined.)

Lilly is a mixture of bright sunshine and intense badassery; her good nature and spirit was a welcomed respite from the scary unknown so many of us artists were heading into then, and of course are still navigating. I thought Drkmttr Collective would be a great spot for her — a little quirky, a lotta rock ‘n’ roll. The three outfits she sported fit easily into the feel of the place.

As it stands, this was my last shoot before so much was canceled and shut down, but we no doubt ended on a high note. Until next time! Stay safe and well out there, y’all. — Laura Partain

Pictured above, Lilly wears a Low Cut Connie tee and Blank NYC leather jacket.

Lilly wears a glitter mock turtleneck top from H&M, Top Shop jeans, and Frye boots.

Strap and buckle detail of Lilly’s Frye boots.

Lilly wearing a red Petites by Willi top from Anaconda Vintage in Nashville, necklace by Madewell, and Top Shop jeans.

Necklace by Madewell, Frito Pie ring by Snash Jewelry, black stone ring by Pale Silver, and red Petites by Willi top.

The top by Petites by Willi, necklace by Madewell, Frye boots, and Top Shop jeans look is completed with a Rickenbacker and an earplug dispenser at Drkmttr Collective in Nashville.

All photos by Laura Partain

LISTEN: Casey Van Beek and the Tulsa Groove, “Since You Said Goodbye”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Casey Van Beek and the Tulsa Groove
Hometown: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Song: “Since You Said Goodbye”
Album: Heaven Forever
Release Date: April 24, 2020
Label: Little Village Foundation

In Their Words: “I’ve been performing JJ Cale songs beginning with his very first album. When [producer] Walt Richmond suggested ‘Since You Said Goodbye’ as a cover, I was in with both feet. We were extremely pleased with the outcome. We were especially happy with the performances of Steve Hickerson on guitar and Steve Bagsby on steel guitar. I hope Cale would have approved.” — Casey Van Beek

Photo credit: Susan Webb

LISTEN: Nick Lowe, “Lay It on Me Baby”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Nick Lowe
Hometown: London, England
Song: “Lay It on Me Baby”
Album: Lay It on Me
Release Date: June 5, 2020
Label: Yep Roc Records

In Their Words: “In the late 1960s CBS had an inspired idea; they invented the ‘sampler’ LP. It was called The Rock Machine Turns You On and consisted of a dozen tracks, each one lifted from the current album releases of twelve of the label’s ‘second tier’ of talent. It was an unashamed promotional device and sold by the truckload. I had a copy, as did everyone I knew. One night in London a few years back, I had Neil Brockbank and Bobby Irwin (my late friends and collaborators), round for dinner at my house. During what might be described as the ‘port and cigars’ part of the evening, we found ourselves riffing on the idea of producing a sampler for an imaginary record label of its imaginary artists.

“We started by fancying what the names of those artists might be and what kind of music they’d do, and from there began to create likely song titles to suit them. Even though the whole idea started as a joke, we got into it pretty seriously and made copious notes as the plan unfolded. Song titles became songs. The next day when the enormous cost and limited commercial appeal of such a project became clearer, our enthusiasm soon waned and most of the fruits of the evening are now lost. Two examples however remain. They are ‘Restless Feeling’ originally written for Coastline [and released on Lowe’s The Old Magic LP] and ‘Lay It on Me Baby’ for Turk Collins.” — Nick Lowe

Photo credit: Dan Burn-Forti

The White Buffalo Gives Fans an Escape with Live-Streamed Set, New Songs

Posted on by Editor

With a tour scrapped and a new album to unveil, The White Buffalo (musician Jake Smith) will be bringing the concert experience — and a bunch of previously unheard songs — directly to fans for a live-streaming experience on Sunday, April 5. By email, Smith fielded a few questions from BGS about what his loyal listeners can expect, both from the streaming concert and the upcoming project, On the Widow’s Walk, out on April 17.

BGS: You have found an interesting way to connect with fans during this time. Can you tell us what the visual component of this show will look like?

The White Buffalo: It won’t be a bunch of smoke and mirrors. That being said we are shooting for something of a much higher quality both sonically and visually. It will be lit and shot on multiple cameras. We are really trying to elevate the live online streaming experience and people’s homes.

How about the sound — acoustic, full band, or a mixture of both?

We are recording in a studio so the sound will be of the highest quality. It’s going to be full band, a trio like we’ve toured with for years. This time we’re going to have Christopher Hoffee who plays bass on piano on some songs and I’m trying to elevate my guitar tone to bring some dirtier sounds to match the new album.

This event differs from a tour date to some degree, but what goes through your mind in the moments before taking the stage?

I just try to step back and appreciate that this is my job. I feel very lucky to have people care and connect with what I have to say. The live setting cannot be replaced. I think it’s the most visceral way to absorb music.

With a new record on the way, I am sure you will drop in some new material. What is that experience like for you as a writer, sharing something new for the first time?

It’s a bit nerve-racking playing songs that no one’s ever heard but it’s exciting for the most part. On the upcoming album I again tried to run the scope and breadth of emotions. Dark, gothic, lighter, hope-filled, optimistic, heartfelt, heavy… It’s hard to judge what songs will really resonate with crowds until you get out and play them.

You have already introduced the world to “The Rapture” prior to the album. What was on your mind when you wrote that?

That one’s a twisted, primal tale of murder. The first few lines just spilled out of silence as they do. From there I put myself in the shoes of this fantasy character and it was obvious to me where he’d end up. He’s trying to restrain his evil ways but the animal in him is too wicked and strong.

What surprised you the most about the time you spent making the new record?

Truly how fast everything came to be. I wrote and finished the bulk of the songs within a couple weeks after an inspired and validating meeting with Shooter. During two sessions we recorded the whole thing in 6-7 days. The recording process was the most honest, organic thing we’ve done to date. With Shooter Jennings producing and sitting in on piano, we’d all sit in a room and record what happened. Recording and documenting live takes until we felt like we had the right feel and emotion for the song. It sounds simple but it was about catching those real, live, special moments.

So much of the live experience is about connection. Will there be a way for fans to have that interaction with you during this event?

I’m hoping so. I’m hoping they’ll feel it. We plan on bringing the same unbridled passion for performance as we do to live shows. There will be an interactive part of it as well, a little Q&A. That’s something we don’t do at shows, so trying to fill the distance a bit with that.

What would you like your audience to take away from this experience, in the midst of these uncertain times?

Hoping to give people an escape. To connect with them through the music… make them feel pain, joy, hope, fear… Take them on an emotional journey… for them to have a respite in the these crazy times and be entertained and lose themselves in the moment.

Photo credit: Cheyenne Ellis