Artist Interview: The Assured, Authentic Americana of The Keller Sisters

Since releasing their debut CD Shine in 2013, The Keller Sisters have quickly taken their place at the top of the Americana and Folk Charts and the San Francisco songwriting community for their warm harmonies, keen perspective and sense of humor.  Following up Shine up with 2014's equally assured House of Cards, the success of siblings Sheryl and Kerry is well deserved: They bring an easy grace forged by a strong family bond,and a lifetime of musical experience, to any stage they take.  The two discussed their life in music as they prepared to perform at the American River Music Festival.  

Q: Did you have similar tastes growing up? Did you go through any sibling rivalry or rebellion?
KS: We have been singing together as long as we can remember. We shared a room and
our mother dressed us alike so a strong bond was formed early on. We can not remember a time that either one of us was jealous of the other. We still finish each other’s sentences. One of our songs has the line "Two peas in a pod two nuts in one shell"...pretty much sums it up.

Q: How does (or doesn't!) your first teen duo project reflect your current sound?
KS: Back then, we played the music we were listening to: Music rooted in harmony and lyrics with strong melody.  Crosby Stills and Nash, Neil Young, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell, Simon and Garfunkel and the Beatles. Over the years, we have developed a love for every genre but our music definitely has these early influences.

Q:Can you describe events that led to you forming officially as The Keller Sisters and recording Shine?
KS: Our cover band, Blue Tuesday was playing a lot — local clubs and some festivals — and while it was and is very fun, we started missing the stripped-down sound and the music that we played when we were young. In 2011, we were asked to play a fundraiser and decided to do a few songs, just the two of us.  We played some of the old songs and one original tune. It went well and we really enjoyed it. The first time playing the original song in public was an “Ah Hah” moment and we realized we wanted to do more of that.  After writing more songs, we decided to record them just to have for us and our family. We found a wonderful producer and during the process decided that we would release a CD to have something to share when we played live. It all came together quickly, and we did a residency at a local venue to fine tune the songs and try out new ones. One of our first rehearsals we thought of all kinds of clever names for our duo, then gave up and decided to go with who we are.

Q:  Your mother was a singer and actress and you've been exposed to music for most of your life: Was there ever a time you weren't doing music or wanted to do something else?
KS:  Our mother was a huge influence on us. She had an incredible voice with gorgeous tone and perfect pitch. She moved the family from San Francisco to Los Angeles after our older brother was born. We lived our early lives in Hollywood while she worked in films and did local television. Dad taught the movie stars kids at a private school. His father asked him to join the family insurance business back in SF and the decision was made to come back home. Mom decided that she would go back to her first love which was musical theater. She toured extensively and when she was home was constantly rehearsing. This exposed us to a world of music and wonderful training. We grew up watching her perform and meeting her on tour. We were fortunate to do summer stock with her which was a real education. We both sang in the school Glee Club and did lavish productions in our bedroom.

We worked out all the harmony parts to Beatles songs and aspired to be the next Simon and Garfunkel.  We are having so much fun right now, but those moments where our voices become one still bring us the most joy.

Q: How do you write? Do you write together or individually bring songs to the table?
KS: So far, Sheryl does all of the songwriting. The ideas come from personal experience reading and observing life.  Kerry is the editor and sounding board. When a song is close, we work together on the details and fine-tune, tweaking the melody to highlight the harmonies which is so important to us.

Q:  Who are you listening to or reading now? Any sounds you're especially loving?
KS: We recently saw the amazing Ruthie Foster and had our first Steve Poltz experience. We see as much live music as we can and always come away completely inspired... It is thrilling to discover new music. Currently we are listening to Jason Isbell and Gretchen Peters.

Q: What's next? Anything new audiences can expect at the American River Music Fest in Sept?

KS: We have a collection of new songs and only one of them has been performed live. We will be spending the next few months fine-tuning them and are hoping to record another CD early in 2016. We are so excited to play the American River Music Festival and are looking forward to hearing all of the music... We will surely discover and become fans of someone we have never heard before and what a thrill that is!

The Keller Sisters perform Friday, September 18 at The American River Music Festival 950 Lotus Road Coloma, CA 95651 530.622.6044

Artist Interview: Annette Conlon Reclaims Her Voice on 'Life, Death and the Spaces Between'

I've known songwriter Annette Conlon for nearly as long as I've been recording music. The Los Angeles based artist has long been an avid support of other artists as the host of 'Nette Radio, 'one of the longest running radio shows dedicated to promoting women in music.'  She's also hosted many a songwriter showcase over the years and collaborated with her husband in duo The Conlons. But after a harrowing few years of health challenges, Annette is putting her own voice front and center, embarking on a solo project inspired by the events she's weathered, "Life, Death and The Spaces Between." Amidst a crowdfunding campaign to support the project and some unexpected family events, Annette discussed her road to healing and writing her most inspired material.

Q: You've been so active in music, I didn't realize you hadn't recorded your own solo work. How did you know it was time?

Annette Conlon: I fell and hit my head on a trashcan on April 17, 2014. I suffered a pretty severe concussion and during my recovery I started writing. I had written an entire album’s worth of songs between April 17th and Sept 5^th; but really by mid-June I knew I wanted to record the songs I has written thus far. These songs felt special to me, and to Doug, and seemed to really connect with people when we played them live.  I told Doug I wanted to record right around my birthday in June. It wasn’t until we were in the studio and recording that we realized this was really my baby. Even though I had written everything, we went in with the intention of recording a “The Conlons” record; however, we realized that wasn’t what it was. Doug is fully supportive of my first full-length solo record, has generously played on it, and is currently working on his third solo record.  

Q: Backing up to 2012? Can you brief us on what happened? What was vocal therapy like — was it regaining or learning a whole knew toolkit? I gather you focused on physical recovery first and then the emotional work didn't kick in until the concussion....

AC: I had a retropharyngeal abscess resultant from bacteria that was residing on some cervical fusion hardware put in back in 2003. I had three surgeries through my esophagus: two due to the abscess and one to repair a hole in my esophagus. During the second surgery my right vocal laryngeal nerve was damaged and the result was the right cord became paralyzed. My surgeon, who is a top ENT surgeon, used Radiesse for Voice, and injected that through my neck into the right vocal cord, having me sing while injecting the gel to move the right cord back into the middle. Now my left vocal cord basically does all of the work and my right cord just kind of sits there, in one place. I had swallow therapy to learn how to swallow again as my swallowing muscles were damaged. I also went to speech therapy/vocal therapy sessions at the hospital to learn how to speak correctly again. (I basically went until my benefits ran out). I did all of the homework for swallow and speech/vocal exercises, and once I was given permission to do so, I began one-on-one vocal coaching with the amazing Jan Linder-Koda via Skype. I also used her vocal warm-ups on my own time.  I kept old mp3s of when I was first talking and trying to sing. It’s amazing to me how far I’ve come. I don’t have as big of a voice as I had before I got sick. That power is gone. I have to remember not to push too hard or I will lose my voice. I get vocal fatigue easier – and I have noticed that if my neck muscles are tired my voice will change. All of those surgeries have affected me and I have had to learn to work with it and not fight it. That’s okay, it’s really a small price to pay to still be able to do something I love so much. Not only did I survive all of that, but I’m singing? I’m pretty lucky! I’m so happy when I sing, and I’m so thrilled to say I’m making a record without auto-tune. It’s authentically me. This new voice is purely me and I really like it.

I think the reason I didn’t focus on the emotional healing was that my “job” was to get well. Some days I had 2-3 doctors’ appointments. Some weeks I went to the doctor 3-4 days of the week. Recovering from 3 major surgeries, the feeding tubes, the PICC line, all of the drains, etc, required so many visits, physical therapy, etc., that it was all I really did for a while. Not to mention the very real fear for the first year that the infection could resurface. I think emotionally I didn’t feel well for a long time. Physically, I was still not super strong even at a year and a half. When I had that concussion in April I was still not as strong as I am now. My legs collapsed as I stepped off the curb and down I went.

In August 2014 I celebrated my two-year anniversary of the first surgery. It really wasn’t all that long ago. It is remarkable to me know to look back and see how far I have come.

Q: How was writing a part of your emotional recovery? All these songs were written in this period. How are they different than your previous work? What do you hope listeners will take away from the work?

AC: Writing these songs was cathartic. I confronted, relived, and experienced… however you want to say it, thoughts and feelings that were veiled in my subconscious because I had focused all of my energy ‘getting well’. Once I had quiet time to just sit, without any outside input, my mind opened up, and I started listening. It was amazing to me to experience this as an artist/writer. I’ve always been a writer, but sometimes you try to force things. You tell yourself “I must write this song or finish this short story.” Instead, I merely listened and wrote. The words and the music came not independent from each other but almost in concert. I had to learn how to listen and convey this from inside my head to pen, paper and guitar. I’m still listening and writing, and I’m grateful that I’m able to stay connected to this inner voice.

In the past I didn’t have an inner voice, or muse, specifically guiding me as I do now. When I would have an idea of a poem, I would write it down, and then struggle with cords to come up with a song. If a melody came first I would sing it into a voice recorder or my phone, and struggle to convert it into cords. Sometimes weeks went by before I found words that made sense to that melody. Those struggles seem to be gone for now and I’m grateful. 

I definitely want the listener to take away that this is a collected body of work. There can be hope after sorrow; there is joy in overcoming struggle. While each song stands alone, I think together they tell a story. We are frail beings, we are strong, and we can take and make beautiful music out of really awful circumstances, which in and of itself is very healing.

  
Q: Tell us about your plans for the record and going forward? Are you fully recovered from the events of the past few years? Will you be touring?

AC: I plan to release the record on April 17, 2015. That is the one-year anniversary of the concussion, and it seems like the perfect day for THIS record to be released! I really hope we make the Kickstarter goal.... I am so grateful to everyone who has supported me and donated thus far. We were doing really well at first and had a lot of momentum but my Uncle died on Nov 1 and I flew to Alabama to be with my family for the funeral. From Alabama, I flew to Colorado with my parents to attend the funeral of my mom’s best friend’s on Monday of this week. I’ve known this sweet lady since I was in kindergarten. Her daughter and I were in church choir together all through junior high and high school. It’s been a long week of funerals and sadness. [And] I am still in Colorado due to the Arctic Front that moved in. I hope to be able to return to Los Angeles on Friday. ... I am focusing my thoughts on the positive energy of all the support I have received thus far and praying that it works out as it should. I wouldn’t change a thing, because I put my family first, but the timing was rotten. That’s sometimes how life works out. I do hope your readers will check out the Kickstarter and find a reward they like!  There are some really great things there! 

Once the record IS finished and released I will reach out to the Internet radio shows I’ve connected with throughout the years through my time doing NetteRadio. I want to take it as far as I possibly can and I think this is a good first step.

Am I recovered? I think I’m as recovered as I’ll ever be although I can always get stronger, or in better shape, and I work towards that every day. I’ll never be like I was before I got sick. When they told me that at the hospital it made me so mad. I don’t ever want someone else to define me. I understand now what they were trying to say, to caution me and keep me from being disappointed.  This isn’t something I dwell on. I’m certainly much stronger now than I was in April and I hope that I’ll be stronger next April than I am right now.

I would definitely consider touring to support the record. I might do several smaller tours instead of one big tour. That seems like a good way to stay healthy, happy and strong.

 http://www.annetteconlon.com/

Artist Interview: Trouble No More for Corinne West

After more than a decade of touring the globe, California songwriter Corinne West put her guitar down, moved to Austria, and spent more than a year working on visual art. Instead of taking her away from music, the break served to bring her deeper into the creative territory she's mined on four well-received collections of original music. In 2013, she returned to the Bay Area, making a seemingly effortless transition back to where she left off: forming new collaborations with top players, showcasing at the recent FAR-West Conference, and writing a new batch of songs for what will be her fifth recording, TROUBLE NO MORE. Amidst a crowd-funding campaign to support the new work, Corinne discussed her time away from, and joyful return to, a life immersed in making music. 

Q:  After a long run of touring and living abroad, you're back living and creating in the Bay Area. How is it to be back and how is it shaping your current work?

CW: I am quite happy to be back in California, (although I do miss Austria.) My current body of songs have been deeply influenced by the year I spent in the Alpine mountains, and my experiences leading up to that time. Returning to America provided distance and space to reflect on what it meant in my life to be away from home, and what it means to have a true home away from home… which lead to the fertile ground of contemplating the meaning of home in the first place. 

Q: Tell me about your break? Did you plan it consciously or did it just evolve?

CW: In 2011, after 10 years of full-time touring, and on the back-end of a two-year duo project, I took a sabbatical from music completely and lived in a village in the Alpine mountains in Austria for 13 months. I had been moving at such a fast clip that I began to lack a connection to what I was doing and saying and feeling during performances. All the pieces were moving, yet somehow on a soul level, I wasn’t there. It was time to recalibrate and figure out what held meaning for me, and the only way to really address this was to flip the switch, and pull the entire plug out of the wall. When I stepped away from my identity as a musician it got very very quiet. In the middle of that silence I had the powerful and often difficult experience of looking myself in the eye and asking myself what it means to me to create for a living, why am I doing this - and what am I doing. 

Q: You practice multiple art forms (visual media, etc). Is there a typical rhythm to your days creating? 

CW: I am finally at a place in my life where the mediums I work in are all informing one another. If I am working on mono prints, I am infusing the work with the music I am listening to or writing. In making the new record TROUBLE NO MORE, I will be creating the artwork for the CD lending a visual reference for some of the sonic landscapes in the music. It’s all one energy with different outlets or manifestations. So to answer your question, every day holds one facet or another of creation, and the rhythm of the day is a blend of letting it unfold, and keeping in time with the tasks at hand. 

Q How was writing this collection different (or similar) to your past projects? Do you have an idea of what the songs will be about/what rhythms, etc, when you start or are you a fairly organic writer? Why did you choose Redwood Canyon to write this collection?

CW TROUBLE NO MORE has her own character for certain. Some of her songs were written in 2011 as co-writes. Then there was a huge sabbatical from music and a 13-month life in a foreign land. Then a return to music, and a return to songs that have been existing in limbo for a year. In addition, there are pieces that were written very recently, so there is an arc to the record, of time, and change. I would say this is the most intimate and directly autobiographical record I will have offered. At the same time there is a mythic cycle underneath the pieces —  the vulnerability of unity, the pain of leaving familiar ground and love, the loneliness of a desolate heart, and the diamonds gathered (for the sharing) for taking a journey into the unknown. Universal principals through one person’s experiences. It’s everywhere… I just happen to be someone who writes and sings about it. 

The songs were written in the redwoods in Marin county. This California canyon is majestic, and has an abundant history of songwriting and music, a bit like Laurel Canyon. It just seems to be in the air — when one sits to listen and write it out. 

I would have to say, yes, I am a fairly organic writer in that I don’t have a formal process at all. Being quiet and undistracted is vital. I feel the creative process once “in” it, is quite hypnotic and trance-like. I am also a hypnotherapist, and I use self-hypnosis to inform my writing. I like to go deep inside and see what can be brought to the outside. 

Q:Tell us more about what you have planned for the recording. Are dates set, studios booked? Where do you see yourself a year from now?

CW: TROUBLE NO MORE will be recorded in Berkeley. It is my hope that the recording will be wrapped by the end of December. There are some wonderful players lined up for the tunes. This is my 5th studio record, and I have never embarked on crowd-funding, but this time, it’s needed. We have been focused on the campaign so that we can get in the studio and get these songs out into the world. 

Where do I see myself a year from now? Shoot… hopefully smiling at the day with my hands deep in the next batch of fresh music. 
For more information visit http://www.corinnewest.com/

Artist Interview: Songwriter Melissa Phillips

East Bay artist Melissa Phillips has steadily attracted new fans since leaving the songwriting gates in 2012 with the release of her debut album "Fits & Starts."  A song from the collection, "Centralia," was selected for the KFOG Local Scene 10 compilation (2013), and she  regularly appears at notable area venues with her stellar backing band The Sincerelys. After a whirlwind fall which included a performance at The Great American Hall and getting married, Phillips reflected on her songwriting process and what's currently feeding her muse.

  

Q: How did you first start singing?  Who are some of your earliest influences?
MP: I remember singing along with the radio pretty early on and being encouraged to "sing louder!" I loved picking out the harmonies. I didn't really start performing until later. Having access to music classes in school was huge for me. I had some great music teachers in junior high and high school who pushed me in a very positive way. I was in chorus, singing ensembles, I did district chorus competitions, musical theater, church choir — all of those things helped me figure out that singing was something I was good at and that I wanted to pursue it in a bigger way.
I grew up on Top 40 radio, that's the soundtrack of my childhood. If it got played on the radio between the 1970s and 1990s, I probably know the words! I loved Whitney Houston and the first tape I ever bought was "I Wanna Dance With Somebody". When I was 11 or 12 she was just it for me. But I grew up in small towns and you don't get a lot of variety on small town radio. I don't think I really had any idea what was out there until I went to college and I was exposed to what my friends were listening to. We used to sit around the dorm rooms with our CDs and a stack of cassettes and we'd make mix tapes. I still have those mixes and they have some really good music on them. It was the first time I heard Paul Simon, Crowded House, Van Morrison, [and] Indigo Girls. I really think that time spent making those tapes was more valuable than some of the music courses I took because it really helped me develop my own opinion about what I liked and ultimately, what I wanted to do.

Q How did you make your way to California from Oregon and have the different places you've lived influenced your work? 
MP: I did move to California from Oregon (I lived there for a few years in my early twenties) but I actually grew up all over the place. I had a sort of unconventional nomadic upbringing, we moved around a lot. I got to see so much of the country from the back seat of a car as a kid. I didn't start writing my own music until I was much older but I do think being able to experience that kind of a life as a young person informed how I see the world. It gave me a good awareness of how other people live, which is definitely something I find important, not just for writing, but also for being a human.

Q  Do you keep to a writing schedule or do you write as inspiration strikes? Words first or do you write to the music? 
MP: I get ideas in bits and pieces. Mostly lyrics first but sometimes they come with a melody. On any given day, my bag is full of post-it notes scribbled with lyric ideas. I carry a notebook to write stuff down and if I come up with a melody I record it into my phone. I don't have a writing schedule but I do sit down frequently with my ideas and see what I can wrestle into shape. Sometimes it comes fast and easy, but more often than not it is a slow process for me. I try not to rush, I'm not in a race. Songs will be done when they're ready. I just finished a song that I started back in 2010! I kept going back to it and I tried for a long time to force it into being done, but it wasn't ever quite right. I stepped away for a while and came back with fresh eyes and finally knew when I'd figured it out.

Q  Any current listening or reading obsessions feeding your muse? 
MP: I am in the middle of a lot of books right now, my goal is to read 38 over the next year! Here is what I currently have a bookmark in: "Where I Was From" by Joan Didion, she's a favorite, especially her non-fiction. I'm reading a book of short stories by Alice Munro, a memoir by Mary Karr, and a biography of Dorthea Lang. As for music, I have these in heavy rotation right now in my car: Rosanne Cash - The River and the Thread; John Hiatt - Dirty Jeans & Mudslide Hymns; Holly Williams - The Highway. I also really like the newest Tom Petty and Ryan Adams albums. As far as other obsessions, I am pretty addicted to Instagram. It's a nice community of supportive, creative people sharing interesting images of their daily lives — crafters, photographers, musicians, writers. Sometimes looking at beautiful stuff is what I need to simultaneously calm and stimulate my brain after a work day. Just seeing someone else do something creative can motivate me to do the same.

Q What can listeners expect in the next six months? Any big shows or new recordings?
 MP: I'm on a little hiatus from performing right now so I'm focusing on writing. I hope to go back into the studio next year with a batch of new songs. I'd also like to do some regional touring again and definitely get back on stage with the full band.

Artist Interview: Annie Bacon's Pounding Corps

When I think of artists who exemplify The Bay Area's creative culture, I think of people like Annie Bacon. Highly original, filled with integrity and continually questing, the SF-dwelling singer/songwriter/composer/bandleader and mother has several EPs and a full-length CD with annie bacon and her oshen, as well as a highly acclaimed musical suite, The Folk Opera, to her name.  She's also sung and played on a slew of other artist's recordings and projects (Corinne West, Savannah Jo Lack), and just received an Arts Incubator award from Intersection for the Arts for her next creation. I recently caught up with her as she prepared for a benefit performance she's doing for The Liberation Institute Urban Retreat Center, Sunday, October 26, in San Francisco.

Q When did you first embrace songwriting? Who was a big early influence on your becoming an artist and who or what is fueling your muse currently?

AB: Before December of 2007, I'd definitely written songs, but I never considered myself a songwriter. I was content to play other people's music. That was the month, however, when I got Garageband, which changed everything. Suddenly I could sketch out concepts of songs across multiple tracks, and it was like a floodgate had been opened. Within a few weeks I knew that this was what I was supposed to be when I grew up. Pink Floyd and whatever was playing on the soft rock station in the late 80s ... those were my early influences. Music that was emotional. Right now I'm dealing with an Alt-J infatuation, a British art-band that does everything I love: harmonies, highly literate lyrics, dirty-grimy bass drops, ear-worming melodies, and arrangements that keep you on your toes. A few songs of theirs I love: "Fitzpleasure"and "Ripe &Ruin."

Q Tell us about the new EP and the 'community effort' it's entailed? 

AB: The new EP, which I haven't yet named, is a collection of ukulele songs that I've written across five or six years, but which never quite fit on any other release.  2012-13 were hard years for me and my family. Without going into it, I'll say that I was creatively paralyzed coming out of it and having trouble getting re-started. A kind friend set me in motion with a gentle nudge, another friend stepped forward to engineer it, and others threw down their massive talent as the OSHEN. And still other friends have offered ears, insights, and hours of talking them through. It's one of those projects that has happened for me, not because of me, which is a sweet and humbling relief. I feel really blessed by my community.

Q You just were just awarded an Arts Incubator by Intersection for the Arts. What does that mean for your work and will you build upon The Folk Opera or drum up something else altogether?

AB: Yes! This is really exciting for me. There's another project altogether that inspired me reaching out to them for support. It's a project that needs to happen within a certain framework, and to be honest I don't even know what exactly it is going to be yet, only that I'm supposed to set out to do it. I'm being necessarily vague, you'll forgive that I hope. But I do also see the potential for the IFTA sponsorship as a platform for finding the Folk Opera's next life, which is on stage. Maybe I'll find funding to get the incredible Alphabet Arts puppet production of the piece out here from Brooklyn.

Q You're doing a benefit performance for The Liberation Institute. Tell us about their work in the Bay Area (and any more details about the show) and how it's important to you.

AB: The Liberation Institute is an organization dear to my heart. I sit on their Board of Directors and am consistently amazed and impressed by how much they do with so little. Their community-mental-health model means that absolutely anyone can access their services. As an artist, I know how often I and other artists need support, but feel limited by finances, so this accessibility is a key part of what I love about them.

The show is to raise funds for their services for children, teens and families. As a mama myself now, I also have deep empathy for how necessary therapy can be in the process of both being and raising a child! Holy moly. The show will be kid-friendly, with those under 12 free to enter and the show happening from 3-5p. (After nap before dinner!) It's going to be an intimate show with only about 30 tickets available for purchase. Since it's a fundraiser we're asking $25-50/ticket, fully tax-deductible since Libi is a 501(c)3 non-profit. I'll play the Folk Opera, followed by a set of ukulele songs from the EP.  

Details: Music Is Love: An afternoon with Annie Bacon, Sunday October 26th, 3pm-5pm at the Liberation Institute's Urban Retreat Center, 1227-A Folsom Street at 8th, San Francisco. $25-50 tax-deductible donation suggested, kids 12 and under are free! Tickets available via www.anniebacon.me

Artist Interview: Michele Kappel-Stone's Full Heart

Oakland musician Michele Kappel-Stone is one of those rare hybrids of cool, talented and nice. The Baltimore native is always playing somewhere and she's a seemingly tireless advocate of her fellow artists. When she's not working on her own projects, she can often be found sitting in with another band, helping book a show or organizing an event for The California Roots Union.  
I've been catching  Kappel-Stone on various stages in various guises — playing as Tippy Canoe, putting together shows at The Starry Plough — around the Bay for years, but one of my favorite of her artistic incarnations is her recent collaboration with Laura Benitez, Heartache Sisters. The duo project is a winning spin-off of Laura Benitez & The Heartache in which Kappel-Stone plays drums and sings backup. The duo's voices blend well, they can play multiple instruments, they exude fun and look great doing it. Think Shovels & Rope crossed with Loretta Lynn and you start to get an idea of what the Heartache Sisters have going on.
After meeting up for coffee in the burgeoning Grand Lake District of Oakland, which she now calls home, Kappel-Stone answered some questions about the evolution of her musical life.

Q How did you first start singing and writing songs? Who were some of your earliest influences?
MKS: My professional singing debut was dressed in a head-to-toe white leotard performing a song called “Sex In Wetsuits” for multi-media avant theater company Impossible Industrial Action’s original play “The Pleasure Raiders.” This was 1990 in Baltimore. Before that it was mostly singing into a hairbrush in my bedroom and daydreaming. I started writing songs seven years later when I was the drummer in The Kirby Grips. I was learning to play the guitar and set my sights on becoming a songwriter.
A portion of my earliest influences include the Grease Soundtrack, Patsy Cline, The Monkees, Donna Summer, Barbara Mandrell, Earth, Wind & Fire, Eurythmics, and The Pretenders. That’s a combination of my mother’s record collection and my first order from Columbia House Record Club (cost just a penny). My first instrument is drums. I have the theater company, I.I.A., to thank for this, too. They gave me a shot behind the kit when the “real drummer” suddenly quit.

Q What brought you to the Bay Area? Does the East Coast ever pull you back?
MKS The Bay Area’s arts and music scene was the initial draw. Secondly, I was deciding between New Orleans and San Francisco in the heat and humidity of Baltimore in August and my air conditioning broke. SF sounded “cool.” Lastly, my best friend, Mandy, decided to move here first and that sealed the deal. One of the reasons I’m excited to return to touring next year (both solo and with Heartache Sisters) is to get to visit my homeland again. I miss it, but always feel connected.

Q You've got your finger on the pulse of the Bay Area music scene as a steadily performing artist and a talent buyer — whose inspiring you now?
MKS There are far too many to name and I’d hate to leave out someone I really adore. Instead, I think I’ll name the bands I’ll be sharing bills with coming up. The Demons I Knew (10/11 at Amnesia, SF), The McCoy Tyler Band, Secret Town (11/13’s The Heartless Woman Ball at Leo’s, Oakland), Maurice Tani, Loretta Lynch, and Yard Sale (featuring Jill Olson, Denise Funari and Melanie deGiovanni) (11/22 at The Starry Plough, Berkeley).

Q Describe your writing process. Do you write words first or start on an instrument?
MKS The melody and chord progression come along first, then the words fit themselves in. Sometimes a single line of a lyric and the melody occur together while driving in the car and I’ll develop the rest when I have a guitar or ukulele in my hand later, but that’s less common.

Q How do you feel to have your first solo show is coming up? What can audiences expect?
MKS I’m excited for my first solo show under my very own legal name. Audiences can expect a slight tingling sensation, but it won’t be anything to be alarmed by. Musically it will be a mix of my new songs, with a few older tunes from projects that have stuck with me and deserve to live on. Style-wise, I suppose you can revert back to the earliest influences question and imagine what that mix sounds like filtered through my personality.

Michele Kappel-Stone plays a rare solo show at Amnesia, 835 Valencia, San Francisco, October 11 at 6pm; Laura Benitez & The Heartache celebrate the release of their full-length CD Heartless Woman November 13 at Leo's Music Club, 5447 Telegraph, Oakland. For more information visit http://michelekappelstone.com/ 

Artist Interview: Oakland Musician Blood & Dust

Blood & Dust, aka Oakland-based artist Doug Tiemann, first came to my attention through the Balanced Breakfast East Bay music meet-ups. A hard-working and well-respected artist, the Midwest native has been tearing up the Bay Area circuit, garnering raves for his brand of acoustic soul. Leading up to our shared gig at The Monkey House in Berkeley this Saturday, September 27, Blood & Dust kindly answered my questions about his musical path.
 
 Q: How did you first start singing and writing songs?

BD: I actually started writing songs pretty late in the game.  I spent many years playing drums and percussion and picked up the guitar in college.  It wasn't until grad school that I got the gumption to write a song.  Life had changed a lot and I had my first quarter life crisis, so I decided to write about it.

Q:  Who were some of your earliest influences?

BD: I have an interesting mix of influences.  My father grew up in the 50's and 60's so naturally there is a lot of early rock n' roll and Motown in my influences.  I still draw a lot of inspiration from early soul singers like Al Green, Marvin Gaye, and Otis Redding.   My mother brought to the table a lot of songwriters from the 60's and 70's like Simon & Garfunkel and John Prine.  I can't help but acknowledge these influences mix in the way that I approach my singing and writing. Today I find a lot of inspiration from songwriters like David Ramirez and Amos Lee among many others.

Q: Blood and Dust. Great name. What led to it?

BD: Blood & Dust came out of needing a name.  Doug Tiemann isn't a bad name, but it's not a great stage name either.  It pretentious to me to change my name to something cool so I thought that I would choose a name that could work whether I was playing solo or if I had a whole band behind me.  I wanted something gritty and earthy, something that when you heard my music, it made sense with the name.  Blood & Dust was where I landed, I figured that it's either a great name for an Americana band or perhaps some sort of death metal band.  It seemed to make sense to me so there I landed.

Q  What/who led you to California? Can you say anything in respect to how the Bay Area music scene is influencing you in contrast to/or similarly to your experience as a musician in the Midwest and South?

BD: I originally came to bay area to attend graduate school.  I'm a Midwest boy, so you can imagine that the Bay Area changed my life a bit.  I even moved away for a short while but I couldn't stand NOT to live here so I moved back. The Bay Area has been a huge part of my influence as a songwriter.  I've been a musician in the south and the Midwest and while there are definitely scenes, the Bay Area music community inspired me to write, to build community, and to try to be part of something bigger than myself.  While every music scene is competitive, the Bay Area scene has a sense of camaraderie that, I believe, has allowed me to pursue music and grow in my craft.

Q4: What are you working on now? Any new projects or recordings shaping up?

BD:  I've been working on a new block of songs since my first album.  Sophomore albums are definitely a challenge across the board, but I'm excited to explore new sounds. My first album ended up sounding a little more like a rock album, but I'm excited about the using roots instruments and what that will bring to the mix.  Revisiting old songs with new instrumentation has been really refreshing as well.

Q: You host a music series—what's it like for you being on the other side of putting on a show? Any rewards, pitfalls, or recommendations to share with us? 

BD: I was doing a concert series called "An Evening in DogTown."  While it's currently on hiatus, the experience there has been invaluable to me.  I think what made our concert series so valuable to those who participated was that we kept our focus on the most important thing: the music and the people making it.  When you abandon that for just trying to get people in the door you lose something.  I would say that there are too many venues that are only concerned about making a quick buck.  It's a business, and to be successful money has to be made, but you have to care about the product you put out.  I think this is why so many of my fellow Bay Area musicians are seeking out more house show gigs.  I would encourage anyone that wants to pursue putting on house shows to clearly define their reasons for doing so — that's a good start. 
Blood & Dust appears live at The Monkey House Theater in Berkeley, Saturday, September 27, 2014 7:30pm. Tickets & more information: http://monkeyhousetheater.com/ 

Artist Interview: Brent Malin's Two Trees

I met many, many, fine songwriters back in the day when I frequented the Bazaar Cafe in San Francisco, many of whom became important players in my life and music. I all but lost touch with one artist I met at the Bazaar, guitarist and songwriter Brent Malin —with whom I shared an appreciation for alt-country music and an occasional show —when he moved back East.  So I was very happy to hear he'd completed a new CD "Two Trees." I recently caught up with Brent about his music life circa 2014: 

Q Tell us about your new CD Two Trees. How did you go about choosing this selection of tunes?

Brent: I released my last CD, Long, Long, Way, in 2007.  In many ways that was my first real recording.  Although I'd done several self-produced, home-studio solo CDs in the past, this was the first time I'd recorded with a full band in a studio.  I still produced it myself, but it was nice to have someone else taking care of the technical details of the recording.  In the end, half of the songs were full band songs, and half were solo acoustic numbers.  After that album, I found myself writing both songs that were more solo-acoustic tunes and ones that were more geared towards a full band—though almost all of my songs I'll perform as acoustic solo numbers when I play live.  The recording of Two Trees coincided with my 40th birthday, so it was a celebration of sorts.  I had a written quite a few songs since I recorded Long, Long Way—and, in fact, I had a number of tunes that didn't make it onto that album—so I had quite a few tunes to choose from.  Since 2007, when I moved from San Francisco to Pittsburgh, I'd been playing with a new backing band, so some of my decision of what to record came from the songs that I thought had worked best in our live shows.  Some of these songs we had been playing for five our more years, so we could just go into the studio and knock them out in two or three takes, which really gave the nice, live feel I was going for on the album.  Still, a few songs—"The Gambler," "Honeysuckle Charms," "Moon Over Santa Fe"—we had never played together as a band.  That's another way to give a live feel—we just sat down and started playing!  I had actually planned to do "Moon Over Santa Fe" as a solo acoustic number, but after I heard how the other songs sounded I asked the guys in the band to try playing it with me.  A few takes later we had another full-band song for the recording. 

Q: You're from Kansas, spent some time in California and now call Pittsburgh home. Have these places affected your music differently? If so, how?  

Brent: So many of my songs are about places, including moving from one place to another.  Even though I haven't lived in Kansas for 20 years it still figures very heavily in the songs I write.  I grew up in a small town, so I find myself often writing about small town experiences, and when I do that, Kansas makes a natural touch-stone for me.  Some of the common themes of Americana music—dirt roads, big skies, farms¨are typical of Kansas imagery as well, and since my Dad grew up on a farm in Western Kansas, I find that I can channel some of that experience by thinking about my memories of going there when I was a kid.  I also spent five years in Iowa City, Iowa, which has a really great roots-rock, Americana, and Folk scene.  The first time I heard Greg Brown, whose from those parts, I really felt like he was singing about a small-town mid-western experience that I shared with him.  Ironically enough, though, I felt like it was when I was playing in San Francisco that I really began thinking of myself as a roots, Americana, or Alt-country musician (as opposed to a folk musician, which is more how I identified before that).  I had always had a love for country music, but somehow it took living in a big city to get me writing consistently in that vein.  San Francisco has a great Americana scene of its own, of course.  When I moved to Pittsburgh I found much of the same.  There are a lot of great country and American groups playing here.  Now, I still find myself singing songs about Kansas, but I've got tunes about Pittsburgh and California, and lots of parts in between and beyond.  It turns out, if you need a rhyme for a difficult-sounding word, you can almost always find a city or town that fits the bill.  That leads me to lots of place-based songs!

Q: Who are you listening to now? Is there an aesthetic you aspire to?

Brent: I still listen to a lot of Americana music--some of which, like John Prine, Greg Brown, Steve Earle, Lyle Lovett, Lucinda Williams,and Todd Snider, I've been listening to for a long time.  These folks have all written classic songs that I never get tired of listening to, but they always manage to write new tunes as well, and without ever having to make a major departure from their main musical style.  I like a number of new singer-songwriters as well.  Christ Knight is a more recent favorite of mine.  He's a kind of hillbilly Walt Whitman—he does amazing things with lyrics, while sticking to some very classic small-town country themes.  Lately I've been trying to listen to more solo-acoustic songs and get back in touch with my own solo-acoustic song writing.  Part of this is pragmatic—after I recorded "Two Trees," my band mates scattered around a bit; my drummer is in Uganda and my bass player is in Nashville.  Rather than trying to put together a new band right away, I thought I'd get back to writing and performing solo, since that's how I really got my start.   At the same, though, I've been listening to some more contemporary pop-country songs.  Folks like Taylor Swift, Will Hoge, and Sarah Siskind, write some great hooks and just great, emotional tunes.  And I'll listen to anything produced by Buddy Miller or T-Bone Burnett—which is a lot of music these days.

Q: You've become a dad in recent years. How do you balance, work, family and music?

Brent: Being a Dad has been really inspiring musically.  Not only do I have a lot of new experiences and feelings to write about, but I get to see music, and life, from a new perspective.  I end up looking at some many things through the perspectives of my sons, which opens up a lot of different ways of thinking about things.  Fortunately, my wife is very supportive of my music, so I can always make a bit of time to play.  Still, I've had to make adjustments in how I write and when and how I perform.  Right now, it always seems like someone is taking a nap at my house.  As a result, I've found myself doing a lot more silent songwriting—I'll compose lyrics without singing or playing the guitar.  This has given me some different ways to think about melodies, which I basically end up conceiving in my head.  In the past I've found that changing up my writing process periodically is really helpful and I'm enjoying this new change.  Though I'm looking forward to being able to make some more noise as well!

Q: What's next for Brent Malin?

Brent: I want to get back out in terms of performing.  I've slowed down a bit since releasing "Two Trees" and since my second son was born.  I'd like to do some small-scale touring near home so that I can play without having to spend time away from my family.  Hopefully I won't wait another six years before putting out another album.
To keep up with Brent, visit his site http://www.brentmalin.com/

Artist Interview: Cosy Sheridan on Making and Taking Songs and Vitamin C (Creativity)

My ears went on high alert and I sat up a little straighter when I first heard Cosy Sheridan play at the Far-West Conference in Irvine last month. Playing impeccably wrought and heartfelt songs about everything from the wonders of learning to play your own guitar to the dangers lurking in the waters of a mining town, it was immediately clear why she was one of the conference's official showcasing artists. Of all the very fine music I heard that weekend,  her songs were exemplary... you know, songs with a capital S, songs that make you believe songs can change the world.  Plus she had that uncanny ability to make everyone in the audience feel as if she'd known you your whole life and knew exactly what type of song you wanted to hear.

Of course, I was just late to the party. To date, Cosy has released more than 10 CDs of original music, founded a successful folk camp and toured a one-woman show to much acclaim. Wanting to get more up-to-speed, I asked Cosy some questions about her work as she wrapped up another successful songwriting camp in Moab, Utah. 

Q: Tell us a little bit about early inspiration to be a writer & your writing process? Do you remember the first song you wrote? 

CS: The first song I wrote was in junior high. I had a guitar teacher in Concord NH who encouraged me to try writing a song. So I wrote about how it would feel to walk through the doors in the doll house I had when I was younger.

Q: What first brought you to Utah and motivated you to make a home there?  Listening to you play 'Don't Go in the Water' reminded me of Ed Abbey and Terry Tempest Williams who love(d) the land there and have fought for it's protection. Can you talk about living in Moab and how the Southern Utah landscape and community influence your work. What is your thinking about writer-as-activist?  

CS: I moved to Moab in 1994. I had been driving through there since the mid-80’s — I used to work in the Grand Canyon—I would sing in the Bright Angel Bar — in the summers and I would drive through Moab on the way there and back and I fell in love with the town, and with the southwest.

Living in Moab exposed me to the writers and artists of the southwest — like Ed Abbey and Terry Tempest Williams; “Desert Solitude” (Abbey) and “Refuge” (Tempest Williams) were two of the books that I read in my early years in Moab. They both taught me a lot. 

I think the landscape of the southern Utah influenced my writing in a couple of ways. First, I found I had more time to write — large blocks of time — because there really wasn’t much work (concert venues) in the immediate area of Moab, so I would either be on tour, or I would be home. In New England it was more likely I would be working every weekend and so I wouldn’t ever get as quiet and introverted as I might in Moab.

As to writer-as-activist: I have found that if an issue effects me enough — if it really gets into my heart — than a song will arise from it. I don’t think of myself as the sort of writer who can choose a topic, though — and then write a song about it. The one exception might be “Don’t Go In The Water” — which I wrote on a run on along the Colorado River. There was a lot of discussion in town at that time about how to raise awareness on the issue of the uranium tailings pile. I really wanted to write a song to help — and that song appeared.

Q: Your song 'Air Guitar' details the great value to ones life in having a guitar.  Can you tell us about some of the teachers who have had the biggest influence on your playing?

CS: My biggest influence was my babysitter Patsy Niswander who taught me how to play guitar when I was 9. She taught me for probably 2-3 years. The next biggest influence was probably the musicians in Portsmouth, NH in and around Boston in the mid-80’s. I dropped out of Amherst College and moved to Portsmouth in 1984. Harvey Reid was one of my first roommates — he was a  Winfield national fingerpicking champion. I also took guitar lessons from Eric Schoenberg and Guy Van Duser — they both taught in the Boston area. (Eric now has a guitar shop in Marin County, CA.)

Eric is a seemless player — he is one of the early DADGAD pioneers in fingerstyle guitar; and Guy developed a way of transcribing stride piano pieces to the guitar. Sitting in a room with him was  overwhelming and yet inspiring. He did things no one really was doing at that time.

Q: Who were some of your earliest influences and is there any music/writer you're finding especially, or newly, exciting or inspiring right now?

CS: My earliest influences were probably my brother and sister’s record collections — Peter Paul &a Mary, Joni Mitchell, the Beatles. My strongest memory is of my brother putting the little headphones from his Walkman on my ears in about 2nd grade — and playing me Bonnie Raitt’s “Streetlights” album (on a cassette, of course). 

"There's a lot to be lost in this great wide world

Don't walk away from love

It might not look like you planned

your family might not understand

Don't walk away from love

We move around the wheel

up and down how we feel

Don't walk away from love

We are darkness, we are light

we don't always do it right

Don't walk away from love"

     — Cosy Sheridan "Don't Walk Away From Love"  from The Horse King

Q: From the looks of the curriculum, Moab Folk Camp seems to be among the more comprehensive songwriting camps around. How has this evolved and what's new this year (if anything)?

CS: Moab Folk Camp is 6 years old this year! The curriculum started out being mostly centered on songwriting, singing and guitar; over the years I have tried to add in other instruments and styles. This year we have banjo, ukelele, mandolin and percussion — as well as photography and painting. My all-time music camp hero is  Puget Sound Guitar Workshop up in Washington State. They have a remarkably comprehensive program — and a very supportive open-hearted approach. They are a much bigger camp, and they have three weeks of workshops — but whenever possible, I have tried to model our little camp on them. 

I have to give a nod to my campers, though, for making Moab Folk Camp a success. They have returned year after year to help co-create this fabulous community of friends and musicians who spend a week together in a beautiful place — sharing and learning and filling up on Vitamin C (creativity).

Q: Gazing into the future a little bit, what can listeners expect over the next 6-12 months? Any big tours or recordings or?

CS: I just released a solo CD of songs that students have asked to learn over the years; there is a songbook coming out this winter with lead sheets and chord charts for each song.

I’m also working on a CD of new material that I hope to have out by the winter. It is tentatively titled “Lost & Found.”

Get the latest information about Cosy Sheridan's music, camps and shows at http://www.cosysheridan.com/