Quick Q and A with Kevin May (Guggenheim Grotto)
 by Kathy S-B  ·  24 November 2012

Guggenheim Grotto is a folk-pop duo from County Mayo, Ireland. Kevin May and Mick Lynch have been playing as a duo for nearly a decade. Their sound has a pop feel to it but it’s definitely hugely influenced by the folk / singer-songwriter tradition. In fact, Guggenheim Grotto won a coveted Independent Music Award for “A Lifetime in Heat.” Their music has also appeared on major network TV shows. Their lives shows have been greatly received in the United States, especially after their tour with Ingrid Michelson.

Tell us about your new CD, This Time Round. How does it compare to your last recorded effort, The Universe is Laughing?

Our newest album This Time Round (not yet released) was a fan funded album. We used a site called PledgeMusic.com to allow our fans to help us realize the recording of the album while also allowing them an opportunity to be more a part of the process. It differs to our previous album in many ways but mostly because we had access to working with a producer for the first time. Chris Kuffner not only brought a fresh new perspective as producer and engineer to the process but he also played bass and electric guitar on the album which brought a whole new muscle and weight to our sound.

Where did you record the CD? Did you have some guest musicians participate?

The album was recorded almost entirely in Brooklyn which again was a departure from previous albums which were recorded in Dublin, Ireland. I say almost entirely as I had to leave the country during the recording sessions to renew my visa and while at home I took advantage of the down time to record some intimate vocals. With the right microphone, pre-amp and a few bed quilts it is impressive the quality of recording you can achieve at home. Regards other players who performed on this album, we were extremely fortunate to have Elliot Jacobson drum for us. Not only is he a superb musician but he and Chris have a great musical relationship bordering on telepathy and as a rhythm section we would have been hard pressed to find a better one. We also had a number of great guest vocalists join us such as Lelia Broussard, Katie Costello, Bess Rogers and Hannah Winkler.

You’ve played gigs all over the world. Do you come to expect certain types of audiences in various geographic locations?

Whenever we play a new place I don’t have any expectations and allow the show to be what it will be. But when we return to a place where we’ve played and had a really good show my expectation is to have that same experience again and to deliver it again.

Have you discovered any cool music that you’ve been listening to lately?

Michael Kiwanuka is a new favourite. Lisa Hannigan from home is also a songwriter to check out if you have not yet.

When you’re not playing music, what do you do to have fun or to relax?

I read a lot. Currently I am reading gardening books, books about making compost and growing herbs and vegetables. The last two years have been the first time in a long while that I have not been living a nomadic lifestyle and have had the right space to do a little digging in the dirt.

Quick Q and A with Jenee Halstead
 by Kathy S-B  ·  24 November 2012

Watching the blossoming of Jenne Halstead’s music career since she first burst onto my musical radar in early 2008 has been as exciting as it has been educational. Discussions about creativity and the process of writing and producing new music is something that thrills my soul in a deep and profound way — probably because as a non-musician I am always most curious about what it is that moves someone to take an idea . . . and actually turn it into something that others can appreciate. Music heals. Music elevates the spirit. Music soothes the soul. Speaking with musicians like Jenee is like talking to Harry Houdini about his magic tricks. . . .

I’ve had the pleasure of presenting Jenee a couple of times at the me&thee coffeehouse and have seen her numerous times at venues, conferences, and festivals. She never fails to entertain, inspire, and perhaps most of all inhabit her music.

Here are some questions that I recently posed to Jenee about her newest CD, Raised by Wolves, and about life on the road across the pond.

Raised by Wolves had an interesting genesis, I understand. It is an album that came together pretty quickly when you arrived at the studio. You’ve said that you followed your creative instincts and out popped Raised by Wolves. The sound is definitely different than anything you’ve ever done before which is exciting but probably very perplexing to some of your fans. What kind of reaction have you gotten thus far?

I think overall the response has been very positive. I think people who love all types of music see it as a natural progression from my last album. I think the reaction has been positive because the essence of who I am as a singer and songwriter is still there. It is my voice that drives the album. The phrasing, the emotional and vocal stretch is just so much more expressive on this album, and I think fans appreciate this. I have had a few people come to me and tell me they would prefer I do a more Emmylou Harris country style album and stay on that track. I may do this in the future, but for now following a path that is a little more pop or rock is just essential to me.

Because the music is so different, are you perhaps gaining fans who might not have paid attention to your music in the past?

I really hope I am gaining fans!! It is that funny thing you know. You hope you can reach more people, become more accessible. The River Grace certainly wasn’t for everyone. It was retrospective and dealt with a lot of uncomfortable subjects in a quiet, delicate way. I do think that it sort of has a cult following. People who love it REALLY love it, and these may be the people who don’t like the new album as much. I just see this as that start of something huge for me. . . . Hopefully I will look back after the fifth or sixth album and see a beautiful thread woven through them all.

Tell us about your producer, Evan Brubaker. He plays quite an assortment of instruments on the CD as well as “programming” . . . . The computerized rhythms are probably what makes this record stand out as not just another singer-​songwriter folkie album. What was his vision of the album?

Well, I don’t know if Evan had a vision per se. I showed up with about eight songs that I wasn’t really wild about, so I think it initially made for more of an open space of thinking “what is it that we really want to do.” I think we both came to the table listening to some really cool stuff that spring and we were of the same mindset that it could and should be something really different from the previous album. The first day I got there he played me James Blake’s debut album and it rocked my world. Evan and I have a very similar aesthetic and a great imaginative space together. Basically we knew we wanted to take those electronic elements and incorporate them into the organic world . . . (sort of like The River Grace on steroids).

As far as a singer-songwriter “folk” albums are concerned I think there are a lot of semantics around this and it is tough to qualify or really know what that is. A lot of “folk” singer-songwriter albums rarely interest me. Albums that don’t feel incorporated or that don’t seem to have a vision or a sound really bore me, unless the songwriting is just so good that I am knocked off my chair by it. I have listened to a lot of great singer-songwriters, and I think they probably kick my ass on the songwriting or wordsmithing front, but the albums sound like musicians just came in and layered stuff and it is so predictable . . . even if the playing is really good. Those are just my two cents. . . .

“Havana Dress” reminds me of a sultry Kate Bush or Diana Krall song. It’s the perfect first song for the CD. . . . The song transports the listener into a dark, very mysterious and very sexy place. Any idea where that particular song “came” from?

Oooh thank you!! Yes, I have very visceral and deep feelings about where this song came from . . . and unfortunately, I can’t really speak about the “who or what” of this because it would probably horrify the person that this is about. All I can say is that I utterly fell in love with this man (and it wasn’t reciprocal) and I became sort of unhinged by it. The song really holds my own tension between trying to keep myself together and just falling off an emotional cliff into desperation, love and longing that I am in all honesty took me years to recover from. Oh my goodness I can’t believe I am admitting that. This is why falling in love can be so painful. It is even more so when it is unreciprocated and you don’t really understand what is happening. In my case, I had never really been “in love” like that before. Devastating.

The title song “Raised by Wolves” is a haunting song. I don’t think I’ve heard your voice so pure and crystalline. You were definitely in the zone during that take. The very simple instrumentation adds to the wonder of the song. I want to know how the song ties in with the cover of the CD.

Well thank you so much. Yes, due to the nature and delicacy of the song and the personal back story I felt like I owed it the most pure and straightforward approach. It was challenging to sing at first and I really needed to get the feeling in my bones and my nervous system -the feeling of being safe. I wrote this song about child abuse, but it can mean anything to anyone. For me I think I carried a subtle form of low grade anxiety around for years that was a direct outcome of what happened to me as a child. I am unraveling this and trying to find ways to cope with my nervous system being taxed due to stress at an early age. I really sort of checked out for a long time and am finally coming back into my own. Much of the album overall, and what I am trying to convey on the cover, is about reclaiming that deep and fierce/creative side of human nature that relates to the subconscious or the Yin aspect of the self. It is about capturing and owning our emotions: our rage, our fear, worries, love, etc. In order to do this most of us have to channel or funnel it through the dream state. In our society I feel the wild or true aspect of our nature get denied, the feminine aspect of our natures get denied. Anger and love are misconstrued and expression gets bottled up and sealed for a clean sterile environment that can be controlled. The true aspect of who we are before we bury emotions, and bury feelings is what excites me. The power of expression we all have inside of us is what excited me. Giving people a platform or holding a safe space for this is almost unheard of in our society. Thank God art, drama and music are a solid platform for this.

I know that you’ve been playing overseas fairly regularly the last couple of years. What’s it like touring abroad?

Touring abroad has been a really positive experience for me. I feel that the European crowd has more patience and love for the singer-songwriter. They seem to have a lot of patience and love for the craft of song that is rare in the U.S. and they are great listeners (except for places like Me and Thee Coffeehouse, which are rare gems). They value this and are willing to pay for art and music and see it as a vital part of a healthy society. It always feels great to get paid well and have people stand in line to buy your CD’s after a performance. It sort of makes what feels sometimes like schlepping it out in the U.S. (where everything is saturated and no one wants to pay for music) part of the reason I keep going with it. If I can go over there once a year, it rejuvenates my spirit and gives me hope. I have a great tour coming up this year with the Canadian songwriter “Oh Susanna” that I am looking forward to!

For more information about Jenee Halstead, visit her website.

Quick Q and A with Ward Hayden
 by Kathy S-B  ·  10 November 2012

Ward Hayden is the man behind Girls, Guns, and Glory. Within a few weeks of forming the band, he led them into the studio and out came an album, then another and then another — in just three years time. All of the music was well received and the band toured extensively. The latest iteration of the band released a CD called Sweet Nothings and it is considered by many to be the band’s best effort to date. As Ward relates in the interview below, the sound of the band has changed a bit since its inception - but they’re still pushing the envelope and celebrating the best of country, rock and roll, and rhythm and blues. All rolled up into one extremely tasty sound!

To learn more about Girls, Guns, and Glory visit their website.

I’ve got to ask: Girls, Guns, and Glory. What prompted the selection of that band name?

Originally the name came to me in a dream where I saw the words written on a black­board & a teacher was telling her students about things they’d never be taught inside the classroom. I told people about it and they seemed to get a kick out of using the words for a band name.

But, lately I’ve viewed Girls, Guns, & Glory as a cosmic trinity of sorts. I read it like a wish list or a mission statement. It’s love, aggression and triumph, but with a nice alliteration. If you’ve got Girls, Guns, & Glory what more could you need?

It’s interesting to note that the Boston Phoenix voted you as Best Roots act and the Boston Music Awards voted you as the Best Americana act. Do you differentiate between the two “genres” or are they really one and the same? Many people can’t quite get a handle on what either one means!

I’m not sure that I really know what it means. The genre of “Country” has changed so much over the years. What was called “Country” in the 50’s and 60’s, sounds a whole lot different from what is labeled “Country” today.

Americana & Roots have become blanket terms for music that can’t find a home anywhere else. Seems like having a banjo or upright bass immediately labels an act as being Americana.

And I’m happy to be labeled as such. We call a lot of early American styles of music our inspiration: hillbilly boogie, western swing, traditional country, etc. But, lately with so many acts being labeled Americana we’ve tended to distance ourselves from the term because it doesn’t really explain what it is that we’re doing. The best description I’ve found yet it Retro Rock & Real Country.

Like the sounds that came out of Sun Studio in the era of Elvis Presley, Charlie Feathers, Johnny Cash & Carl Perkins. Early rockabilly with a little more thump and twang.

And let’s not forget that you won the WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble in 2008. Would you say that your music has changed since those days?

Our music has changed some since those days. We still perform all the songs that we were performing back in 2008, but our catalog of original material has expended quite a bit over the past few years.

We’ve also had lineup changes in every position in the band, with the exception of me.

The current lineup has been touring with me for about the past 2 1/2 years and I feel like this is the best the band has ever sounded. We’re just more road tested than we ever were before.

GGG tours internationally. Can you tell us a little bit about what it’s like to be an American band touring in foreign countries. How do the people get to know your music?

We’ve had some really good experiences touring internationally. In fact, the only rough experience we had abroad happened when a fellow American punched me in the eye while he was suffering a schizophrenic breakdown in France. It was not a pleasant experience, but the show must go on.

We’ve found that the venues having us in foreign countries have invited us to perform because they heard of us through radio or through folks who traveled to America and saw us at festivals or shows here in the States.

In 2010 we were given the Independent Artist of the Year Award at the French Country Music Awards, which was an awards show that also honored acts like Toby Keith, Brad Paisley and Miranda Lambert. Here in the States, we’d never get categorized with acts like that, that are coming out of Nashville. We felt honored that the music we’re making on a shoe-string budget could find a way to get recognized with acts that have major label support.

As the main songwriter, how do you usually present your songs to the band? Do you work collaboratively on each song’s arrangement?

Typically I’ll bring the basic outline of a song to the rest of the band and we’ll start going over each section of the song and all add our input as the arrangement of the song comes together.

On this last tour we wound up writing two songs together as a full band. We had a day off and a garage to set up our gear, so we started playing and I got out a pen and paper. By the end of the day we had two completed songs, both of which made their way into the live show the very next night.

We’re getting ready to record our next album with Eric Ambel producing in Brooklyn, NY next month, so I’m hoping we have some more magic like that happen between now and then.

You’ve said that your latest CD Sweet Nothings has a lot of influences from the past including Johnny Cash, the Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly, and Little Richard. That’s a wide spread or influential artists. If you had to choose your favorite song by each of these artists, what would they be?

Johnny Cash — “Meet Me In Heaven” off the album “Unchained.” It came out in the mid-90’s, but captured the spirit and voice of the man as well as anything else I’ve ever heard. Rick Rubin seems to have a knack from bringing out the best in an artist, even if the rest of the industry can’t find a use for them. This album is a gem.

Everly Brothers — “A Voice Within” such great production, horns and all.

Roy Orbison — “In Dreams” so classic, my dad turned me onto Roy Orbison and I’ve been crying ever since.

Buddy Holly — “I’m Looking for Someone to Love”

Little Richard — I love his version of “Slippin’ and Slidin’ ” and also “Rip It Up.” Enough energy on these songs to lift you off the ground. Timeless rock ’n’ roll.

What’s next for Girls, Guns, and Glory?

After we play me & thee coffeehouse on Nov 17th we head back to Europe for the end of Nov and into December. Gonna be touring in France and breaking new ground in Spain on this tour.

Then we return home to perform out 3rd Annual Tribute to Hank Williams, this year we’ll be doing it at the Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River on Dec 27th, and then at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

Miss Tess & The Talkbacks will be opening all the Hank Tribute shows & doing a tribute to him as well with her band. It’s gonna be a really great way to say goodbye to 2012 and hello to 2013.

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