Quick Q and A with Antje Duvekot
 by Kathy S-B  ·  19 September 2008

Antje Duvekot has appeared at the me&thee on at least three occasions but this is the first time that she comes to us as a headliner and we are more than thrilled. Antje has been called the “real deal” and I’ll be the first to admit that she grabbed my attention from very first listen. Her song “Judas” caused me to pull over to the side of the road to listen. That doesn’t happen all that often. Check out this wonderful interview and video — it really shows the Antje that touches my heart and soul so deeply. Antje’s songwriting is brilliant and I highly recommend tooling on over to this YouTube video which is static but if you click on “more info,” you’ll see the lyrics to her amazing song, “Judas.” Just listen and read the words. You won’t be the same at the end of the song. I promise. Money back guaranteed.

So what's this about a tour by bike with Peter Mulvey?

this is all peter mulvey’s idea. he’s done it before . . . out of environmental reasons and to be natural and self-sufficient and healthy i think. i said i would come along. 60 miles a day sounds totally reasonable as an abstract number. i have no idea how it will be in practice. i’ve had no time to train because i was sick for 2 weeks and then hit the studio (where one sits on the couch all day listening to takes) so i am just HOPING that i can keep up with peter. . . .

Have you ever done long-distance biking before?

never. i hardly even ever ride a bike. i mean i know how to ride a bike. i don’t fall over. other than that i am a total novice to biking but i love the idea because on tour i hate missing a nice day by having to be in an enclosed car all day because i am an outdoor person. of course i haven’t considered the possibility of rain. rain is not part of my vision for this awesome experience. . . .

I understand that you are going into the studio to record your next album and that Richard Shindell is producing it. That’s exciting news. What is it about Richard’s style and musical sensibility that you think he will bring to your music?

i’m in the studio now in fact and richard shindell is laying down a guitar track as we speak. i love love love the intensity he brings to music. his vocal, guitar and production style give such a sense of driving urgency to music. his records always sound open and organic and he captures the stark, mournful souls of songs so damn well. and i am, well, a confessed mournfulness-junkie. his music never falls short of ripping your heart out of your chest and a lot of that is the songs but a lot of it is sonic too. i feel so lucky to have gotten to work and play with so many of the inspirations of my youth as i have entered the folk scene myself.

Is there any kind of theme to the new songs?

i think the songs are actually more diverse than my previous record. unlike big dream boulevard, this one contains a few co-writes and even a cover song. there are still many ‘dark’ songs about life’s struggles (apparently my trademark) but also a few upbeat, whimsical ones. honestly i can’t wait for this record to come out. i am recording at the signature sounds studio which is in a barn so it’s an inspiring setting which enhances performers’ comfort levels and definitely aids in making a great record.

From what I’ve read about your adolescence, it sounds like that was the time that you gravitated toward folk music — discovering John Gorka and Ani DiFranco and the like. In your wildest dreams, did you ever imagine that you would be working in the same circles with them?

well no, not really. and while i am not the adulating teenager i was and i no longer believe that john gorka, ellis paul or richard shindell have superhuman qualities, i still get occasionally warm and fuzzy inside imagining that i could tell my 19 year old self that i would one day be working with these guys who back then comprised a very big — and, in a pathetic way, the most joyful part — of my insulated teenage life.