Getting to Know. . . Nels Andrews
 by Kathy S-B  ·  25 March 2010

Nels is a knock-your-socks off type of musician. Lyrics you can dive into and music that will inspire, enlighten and move you like no one else. I got to hear Nels at a few folk music conferences and knew I wanted to hear more! “Off Track Betting” is a very tasty recording with all the right kinds of rhythms and nuances that make for a very special listening experience. Check out Nels’ music on his website. Catch a glimpse of Nels performing on this YouTube video.

You’ve gotten pretty terrific press from the UK. What do you attribute your notoriety over the big pond to?

A bunch of things happened at once for me over there when my first record came out. I think the small size of those places makes it easier for word to spread without the budget and push it takes to make a similar splash in the states. It’s like the effect of dropping a little pebble like myself in a kiddie pool versus a lake, you see a ripple effect. and word spreads. The stacks of CDs in rotation are often the same on top of the stereos of all the promoters i’ll visit.

The tipping point (aka “wow, I’m actually selling some records”) over there happened when BBC DJ Bob Harris, (whose TV show “The Old Grey Whistle Test” was the first place Brits were introduced to the likes of Bob Marley, Tom Waits, Tom Petty and Emmylou Harris) started playing the record in heavy rotation and invited me out to do a session. The next year of touring was filled with people all over the UK who’d enthusiastically tell me “i heard you on Bob Harris.” It’s pretty surreal to go from playing punk rock dives in Albuquerque, NM to The Vrendenburg Theater in Utrecht, NL (my first real gig out of New Mexico).

What is it about “Americana” music that non-Americans tend to like?

Maybe because of the geographical and cultural distance they can fit our whole musical history in frame, and can see the thread of modern music that’s spun from older, traditional sources. I’m often embarrassed by my own lack of knowledge of American music compared to the typical (especially the Dutch — they are scholars) Americana fan over there. There have been many nights after the show where I’ve found myself admiring a floor to ceiling record collection that spans Carter Family to John Cale, is thick with Townes Van Zandt, and then doglegs into someone like Captain Beefheart or David Baerwald. and ends with friends of mine, like AJ Roach and Danny Schmidt. Folk, Rock, and Jazz are all simply “American” music. They have the outsiders’ perspective to their advantage.

One UK reviewer calls you the “anti-Jack Johnson.” You’re said to be the real deal as opposed to the acoustic pop rock blues stylings of former surfer-dude Johnson. Gotta ask: have you ever been on a surfboard?

There are actually a few magazines that come to my house addressed to “Moondoggie.”

How would you compare your last two CDs: “Off Track Betting” and “Sunday Shoes.”

I just got back from a homecoming gig in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which is where i wrote and recorded my first record (“Sunday Shoes”). Within two hours of my arrival, a guy with a neck full of tattoos pulled a knife on me at the bus station because I refused to give him my hat (a straw fedora - guy had good taste). Then, at the end of the night, waiting for the bus home, I found myself in the company of a similarly tattooed man, who befriended me enthusiastically, eager to share the booze and the smokes that he’d just been released from prison with. Both of these types of things happen in Albuquerque, and not infrequently. The beauty of the desert lie in its extremes, and I think “Sunday Shoes” is a product of that. The album was homemade in a little adobe house overlooking Route 66 with a sixteen track recorder and some cheap mikes, and all those elements gave the record a sepia toned matte finish.

For the second record (Off Track Betting) I had the honor of working with producer/ bassist Todd Sickafoose (Ani DIfranco, Erin Mceowen, Andrew Bird, AJ Roach) here in NYC. We recorded the bulk of it live to analog tape and experimented with electronics, harps, and even a wine glass orchestra. Our goal was to capture the clinks and clanks of the city, but still keep a bit of the open space of the western landscape. Imagine the city, but from a rooftop. I think it’s a warmer, more optimistic record.

One thing both records have in common is I have unsold boxes of both cluttering up my living room.

Has your move to New York City affected your songwriting?

New York is a traveler’s city. Whenever I am off the road, a jump on the subway reminds me that we are always in motion. I think the fractal-ated nature of being around so many different types of people has made me work a bit more impressionistically. I’m encouraged to capture a mood with a string of images rather than the thread of a strict narrative. Plus, I’m certainly eating a lot better, living here.

You and your musical colleagues are part of a self-titled “hobo” movement. Watching some of the “Cursing Kerouac” videos on You Tube, I’ve learned oh-so-much about what life is like for those of you who are “on the road.” What words of wisdom would you care to impart to any aspiring folk hobos?

Know your history (read John Hodgeman), keep $5 in the flask in your sock, and never bring more than you can carry.

Photo by marteen kools