Interviews
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Squared Roots: Shawn Mullins x Doc Watson
Born in Deep Gap, North Carolina, in 1923, Arthel Lane \”Doc\” Watson went blind before he saw his first birthday, but that didn\’t keep him from greatness. Watson bought his first guitar for $10 from Sears Roebuck and taught himself how to play the Carter Family\’s \”When Roses Bloom in Dixieland.\” Jimmie Rodgers was another…
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The Forever of a Moment: An Interview with Ani DiFranco
Pretty much since she started releasing records in the early 1990s, Ani DiFranco\’s songwriting has been the gold standard by which others in her realm are measured. And, yet, very few even come close to challenging her gift. They can\’t. DiFranco\’s phrases and phrasing are so unique and specific to who she is as a…
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Five Questions: Pieta Brown
Anyone writing about Pieta Brown would be remiss to not mention that her father is the incredibly prolific and thoroughly respected singer/songwriter Greg Brown. But for the writing to stop there, would be negligent because the younger Brown has certainly made a name for herself with five albums and three EPs. On her latest studio…
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A Voice of Dissent, a Sphere of Influence: An Interview with Antony Hegarty
Back in 2006, Antony and the Johnsons partnered with Charles Atlas for a remarkable performance piece called Turning. In it, Antony\’s profoundly meaningful songs were presented alongside an array of women quite literally turning on a pedestal. The troupe toured Europe that year, documenting the travels as they went, resulting in a concert-film of the…
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The Geography of Sound: An Interview with the Ting Tings’ Katie White
When most bands knock a surprise hit out of the park, they\’ll do everything they can to replicate that success on their next at-bat. But the Ting Tings aren\’t most bands. After they scored big with “Shut Up and Let Me Go” and “That\’s Not My Name” off their first album, 2008\’s We Started Nothing,…
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Five Questions: Shawn Mullins
Although he\’s most known for, basically, a pop hit, Shawn Mullins is one of those singer/songwriters who spins old-school yarns with his words, telling tales of hard-lived lives and hard-fought battles. Some of his characters are real, some aren\’t… but they are all true. And it\’s that focus, that care which sets Mullins apart. His…
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Five Questions: Michael Franti
Having just caught his breath after undertaking the Soulshine Tour this summer, Spearhead front man Michael Franti is now ramping up to do his first-ever acoustic run in November. But, from Vancouver in the north to Solana Beach in the south, only the west coast gets this little bit of Franti love. The tour accounts…
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The Qualities of the Modern: An Interview with Bruce Hornsby
In an age when so many pop stars are auto-tuned, if not ghosted, it is refreshing to see true musicians out there still striving for more, still pushing for better. Piano man Bruce Hornsby, even when he was riding high on the charts, has always challenged himself and his audiences. Before the drum groove and…
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A Lesson and a Gift: An Interview with Lisa Fischer
Very few people can hold their own against the likes of talents as huge as Mick Jagger, Tina Turner, Sting, Chris Botti, Luther Vandross, Roberta Flack, Chaka Khan, Anita Baker, and so many others. Singer Lisa Fischer can… and has… and will again. Featured as one of the voices in 20 Feet from Stardom in…
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Five Questions: Josh Rouse
Across continents and decades, singer/songwriter Josh Rouse has spread his own feel-good brand of soft rock for deep thinkers. Though he would sidle up alongside classic songwriters like Harry Chapin and Jim Croce, Rouse is also uniquely contemporary — especially in his trans-continental geography. A Nebraska boy who logged a lot of hours in Nashville, Rouse…
