Quick Q and A with Jason Myles Goss
 by Kathy S-B  ·  5 February 2011

Jason Myles Goss has garnered many accolades for his songwriting during his relatively short musical career. He’s won the hearts and minds of those who enjoy thinking people’s music. His lyrics contain timely and timeless messages and the music that underlies them just seems to exactly fit the mood making each song a holistic melodic entity. For more information about this talented artist, check out his website. To get a taste of his live show, here’s a video!

When did you first start playing music?

When I was about 12 my parents surprised me with an electric guitar for Christmas. It was this 3/4 size black-and-white guitar with a little shoe-box sized amp. It was awesome.

I started taking guitar lessons and tried very unsuccessfully to grow my hair long. I ended up looking more like Greg Brady than Bon Jovi.

Do you remember the first time you played a gig? How did it go?

Yes, In high school I sang and played guitar in a rock band called Hubris and we had our first gig in the old gymnasium as part of a “Dance Marathon” event, which was basically a dance & fundraiser that lasted almost six hours. We took the stage and played for about thirty minutes, a couple of original songs and a few cover songs by bands like The Smashing Pumpkins and Pearl Jam. We were really loud and we thought that was good. I don’t know if we were actually good, but when we finished we were feeling pretty great and people were clapping. My dad recorded it on VHS tape so we could re-live the glory. . . if we still had a VCR.

If you weren’t playing music for a living, what can you see yourself doing?

I was an English major in college and I have always loved reading and writing. If I wasn’t playing music I would love to try being a high school English teacher. Both my parents are teachers and I have a tremendous respect for the job, for how much work and dedication it requires, and for how important it is. I think all of us remember those few teachers who really inspired us when we were in high school or college. I have a younger brother who is graduating from UMass Amherst this year, it’s been fun to talk with him about his ideas for his essays, to hear about the novels he was reading, etc. I think I could really enjoy that world.

Did your experience as a literature major in college help you in the craft of songwriting?

I think so, I get inspired by the things that I read, and also by the ways different writers explore the big questions (Life, Death, Love, God, War) and also how they frame the smallest details. As a songwriter and performer, it’s as if you get to write the screenplay and be the director; you get to choose what is going to be in the frame and also how it is going to be shown, and that can be fun to play with. There are so many layers that can give meaning to a song and to the performance of a song: the lyrics, the key, the tempo, the timbre of the voice, the instrumentation, etc. Trying to tune into these things has been a good learning experience for me as a performer. I also really like how songs evolve over time in the same way that other texts do, depending on the perspective of the reader/writer. Hearing Dylan play “The Times They Are A Changin.’” live at the White House as a much older man sounds very different than when he was younger. What it lost in its brashness its gained in a gentler, almost melancholic, wisdom. It feels like he is singing more about something that’s about to pass rather than something that’s about to come. I like how songs can be living things like that.

What’s the longest road trip you’ve taken? What’s the hardest thing about being on the road?

There’s so many places that I haven’t been to yet that I would like to play — the West Coast, the North & Southwest. The longest road trip so far was this past December. I had some dates in Tennessee and secured a last-minute, in-the-round gig in Nashville. I drove out there straight from Brooklyn, which was about 15 hours, only to arrive during an unexpected blizzard which cancelled the show and shut down the city for two days. That was a little tough. I also went to Texas for the first time in December, but flew out for those shows. In terms of things that can be difficult, I do virtually all of my traveling alone, and after a week or so of not seeing anyone familiar or living the entirety of your day internally, I get a little homesick. I am a homebody and like to be around those things that are familiar to me. I have a lot of friends who play music and travel way more than I do and never seem to be in one place for very long. I have a lot of respect for them, it is not an easy thing to do. Another difficulty is finding places to eat that are not fast food chains but still cheap and good. Routing around the gas station mini mart at a Sheetz in West Virginia, checking ingredients on beef jerky and granola bars can get a little old.

Quick Q and A with Nancy Josephson (Angel Band)
 by Kathy S-B  ·  22 January 2011

The Angel Band is a powerhouse of talent. The tight harmonies are heavenly and the instrumental accompaniment is beyond compare. It isn’t every band that gets an accolade from Linda Ronstadt, who says: “I love Angel Band’s wonderful strong voices and beautiful songs!” This is a band to savor because it delivers in so many ways!

For more information about the band go to their website and take some time to watch this lovely video of the Angel Band’s work in earthquake stricken Haiti.

Your music is a regular potpourri of styles: folk, gospel, Americana, country. When you sit down to write a song, do you intentionally decide on a particular genre or does it just come about organically?

I really don’t have a genre in mind when I start writing. Usually a phrase or idea pops into my mind, then I run with it. Frequently something I see or hear outside my head (!) catches which will roll around until something comes together lyrically. Marc Moss (guitarist) and I then get together and work on the music. Sometimes this is where it begins to get genre specific. Also we start the discussion about whose voice is best suited for the song.

The Angel Band has been compared to the Dixie Chicks quite a bit — probably in part due to the fact that Lloyd Maines was involved with the project. What do you say to those who want to compare you to the Dixie Chicks?

I’m flattered at the comparison. The Chicks are a great band who have the harmony AND the attitude. I think our sound is a bit more roots-y and each of the Angel Band vocalists bring something different to the table that enable us to break genre. Lloyd was amazing to work with. I sat in on all the sessions for “With Roots and Wings”. It was like going to school with a master teacher.

“Hope is On the Way” is a very positive song and was written at a time of historical change in this country. Its message is more important now than ever, wouldn’t you say?

I think it’s an important message ALWAYS.

“Didn’t See It Coming” is a very powerful song. Have you spent any time in New Orleans since Katrina?

Oddly enough this song didn’t stem directly from Katrina. I was in an overseas airplane listening to Chris Whitely (one of my favorite singer/songwriters). I was LOVING how he painted such a specific picture. You could smell the dirt in the song. That’s what I wanted to do in Didn’t See it Coming. That it wove a story that was about this kid just hanging out listening to the radio one minute...and the next minute the world just changed . . . is about Katrina and ANY natural disaster, I guess.

Tell us about your involvement with Haitian art and voodou culture. (Is there a difference between voodoo and voodou?) By the way, the cover art of Bless My Sole is outstanding.

I’ve been going down to Haiti for almost 15 years. I went down as an artist (doing visual art) to meet other artists. In the process I found a different world, a different voice which ended up morphing into pieces that have integrated into who I am and what I do. I ended up writing a book called Spirits in Sequins: Vodou Flags of Haiti after working with most of the flagmakers over the course of years. The textile (flag) on the cover of Bless My Sole was designed by me and fabricated by one of the great makers, Georges Valris.

I have been studying Vodou for the years I have been going to Haiti. Vodou is what the religion is called in Haiti. Voodoo is what it’s called here. There is so much negative stigma attached to the word Voodoo that the other pronunciation takes some of the “weird” off of it, I think.

Quick Q and A with Hayley Reardon
 by Kathy S-B  ·  13 January 2011

We first became acquainted with Hayley Reardon when beloved Marblehead musician, Jeanie Stahl, brought her to the me&thee two years ago and asked Bill Staines and some of our volunteers to listen to her sing her songs after the concert. We were all amazed at her blossoming talent and asked her to take part in our annual showcase that spring. We’ve gotten to know Hayley since then and are thrilled to have her open for the Angel Band.

Take a moment and check out Hayley’s website. Take a look at this video that gives you a glimpse of who Hayley is and what her music is all about.

Do you recall what prompted you to pick up a guitar in the first place?

I had always loved music and we always had a guitar in the house so one summer I was bored and decided to pick it up. I asked my dad to show me a few chords and spent the rest of that summer writing as many songs as I could.

Who were your early role models in the music business?

I remember when Taylor Swift’s first single came out and I became completely obsessed with her and the idea that someone so young could be out writing and performing their own music. She was a big inspiration for me back then. Another artist that I still look up to is Christofer Drew of NeverShoutNever, from the start, I was taken by his writing style and originality.

Since becoming active in the Boston music scene, have you discovered some new musical influences?

Being a part of the Boston music scene has introduced me to so many new influences. I really look up to songwriters like Lori McKenna, Antje Duvekot, and especially Bob Dylan. I stay up late watching Bob Dylan documentaries because everything about him and his music fascinates me. Even though he’s not from New England, I associate him with the early Cambridge folk scene.

Your song about bullying, “Stand Together,” has made an impact on many people, especially kids your age. Are kids feeling more empowered to speak up and against bullying when they witness it in their everyday lives?

The reaction I’ve been getting about my two bullying songs (“Stand Together” and “She’s Falling”) has been much more positive than I imagined. I was lucky enough to work with PACER’s National Center for Bullying Prevention to come up with questions and classroom discussions to go along with the songs. Then in October as a part of their National Bullying Prevention month, the music and discussion questions were sent out to schools across the country as part of a classroom tool kit. I’m still receiving emails and messages from kids telling me how they relate to the song... even a few from England and Germany. Every single one of them have been the kind of people I’d want to be friends with and just being able to talk and connect with them is so amazing.

Where do you see yourself five or ten years from now?

I ask myself this question all the time but I think we’re just gonna have to wait and see. Wherever my life takes me I want music to be a big part of it.

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