DJ Buddy Beaverhausen: Martha, thank you so much for
doing this interview with us. I'm thrilled your album, Garden of Love,
is now nominated for Best Concept Album at the upcoming Independent Music
Awards. How do you feel about it?
Martha Redbone: It’s always an honor to be recognized for your work. This particular project is extra special because it was a sort of tribute to my family.
Martha Redbone: It’s always an honor to be recognized for your work. This particular project is extra special because it was a sort of tribute to my family.
DBB: What inspired you to put the
poems of William Blake to music? And to reinvent them as blues and honky-tonk
and rock ballads?
MR: My partner Aaron Whitby rediscovered the book on our living room shelves and it immediately opened up to the poem “A Poison Tree”. He thought the poem was great and might make a great song. Then I checked it out and started humming a honky-tonk blues kind of melody and before we knew it we had a song. We flipped through a few more pages and found another. And another and so on. We ended up with about 50 poems we loved the language and imagery which described Appalachia and Black Mountain to me. The language reminded me of what I imagined my great-great grandmother might sing in church.
MR: My partner Aaron Whitby rediscovered the book on our living room shelves and it immediately opened up to the poem “A Poison Tree”. He thought the poem was great and might make a great song. Then I checked it out and started humming a honky-tonk blues kind of melody and before we knew it we had a song. We flipped through a few more pages and found another. And another and so on. We ended up with about 50 poems we loved the language and imagery which described Appalachia and Black Mountain to me. The language reminded me of what I imagined my great-great grandmother might sing in church.
DBB: Garden of Love is your
fourth album in 11 years. How do you think your music may have evolved over
this time span?
MB: The music has always been soulful; this hasn’t changed. There has always been music played with real instruments by real musicians. The style has changed but it’s always been the roots of American music, be it blues, soul, rock, funk. All these things are Americana to me.
MB: The music has always been soulful; this hasn’t changed. There has always been music played with real instruments by real musicians. The style has changed but it’s always been the roots of American music, be it blues, soul, rock, funk. All these things are Americana to me.
DBB: Who are the musicians who most
strongly influenced you and your music in your life?
MR: This is always a tough one because there are hundreds. I can’t name a first person because they are equally important in my music influence, so I will say that my family has strongly influenced the music in my life. From the music in the mountains growing up in a Harlan County coal-mining family, to the sound of blues and soul music on the stereo my parents would dance to at dinner parties. Then my own personal influences.... I’m a singer today mostly because of two powerful women: Buffy Sainte-Marie and Chaka Khan.
DBB: Lady Gaga, Vampire Weekend, Beyoncé
and you (among others) are on pop music critic Robert Christgau's Dean's List
that was reprinted on the Barnes & Noble site. What's it like for you to
find yourself in that company?
MR: To be honest, I think I help give those pop icons some credibility being on that list.
DBB: I think you're absolutely right!
MR: Mr. Christgau’s a very intelligent man and I’m so thankful he got to hear AND ENJOY our album. If I were they, I’d be honored to have an independent musician with an album of William Blake poems set to music... once I’d figured out who William Blake was. Ha!
MR: To be honest, I think I help give those pop icons some credibility being on that list.
DBB: I think you're absolutely right!
MR: Mr. Christgau’s a very intelligent man and I’m so thankful he got to hear AND ENJOY our album. If I were they, I’d be honored to have an independent musician with an album of William Blake poems set to music... once I’d figured out who William Blake was. Ha!
DBB: What was your experience working
on this album with Nitty Gritty Dirt Band founder and GRAMMY winner John McEuen
like for you?
MR: We had a blast on that album; the musicians were a dream come true. Byron House, Mark Casstevens, Debra Dobkin, Aaron Whitby, David Hoffner in Nashville and LA… and the background singers, Keith Fluitt, Mary Wormworth, Michael Inge, Ann Klein in NYC. We had the dream ensemble and it was a dream to record. John’s arrangements to our songs are simply gorgeous. Nicholas Sevilla is our mixing engineer who put the magic touches on the finishing and the guys who mastered it truly MASTERED it. John is a legendary recording and touring musician, he knows a lot about a lot. And he’s very funny.
MR: We had a blast on that album; the musicians were a dream come true. Byron House, Mark Casstevens, Debra Dobkin, Aaron Whitby, David Hoffner in Nashville and LA… and the background singers, Keith Fluitt, Mary Wormworth, Michael Inge, Ann Klein in NYC. We had the dream ensemble and it was a dream to record. John’s arrangements to our songs are simply gorgeous. Nicholas Sevilla is our mixing engineer who put the magic touches on the finishing and the guys who mastered it truly MASTERED it. John is a legendary recording and touring musician, he knows a lot about a lot. And he’s very funny.
DBB: As a Native American, did the
voices of other women of Native American backgrounds ~ Buffy St Marie or Rita
Coolidge ~ inspire you whatsoever?
MR: Of course, as I said earlier, I am a singer/songwriter today partly because of Buffy Sainte-Marie. I saw someone on TV who looked like my mother breast feeding her baby on Sesame Street and singing songs she had written about the injustices of the world, her culture, her homeland. Fearless, she walks the walk. I want to be her when I grow up.
MR: Of course, as I said earlier, I am a singer/songwriter today partly because of Buffy Sainte-Marie. I saw someone on TV who looked like my mother breast feeding her baby on Sesame Street and singing songs she had written about the injustices of the world, her culture, her homeland. Fearless, she walks the walk. I want to be her when I grow up.
DBB: Could you tell us a little about
your growing up and what music you were exposed to in your home and throughout
your formative years?
MR: Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, Dolly Parton, BB King, Aretha Franklin, George Jones, Loretta Lynn, James Brown, The Staple Singers, Doobie Brothers, Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac. The list goes on and on for childhood.
DBB: Besides the glowing review you
received from Christgau, who once wrote for the Village Voice, the Village
Voice recently wrote you were "poised to be Americana's next
superstar." Are you prepared to take that mantle on?
MR: In the words of amazing musician friend Meshell Ndegeocello “Stars tend to fall, I’d much rather be a moon.” I couldn’t agree more.
MR: In the words of amazing musician friend Meshell Ndegeocello “Stars tend to fall, I’d much rather be a moon.” I couldn’t agree more.
DBB: The independent music business.
There is a large and ever-growing market for it among the public in the USA and
around the world. As an indie artist, what are your thoughts on this
phenomenon? And, surely, there are advantages and disadvantages you experience
as an indie artist. Could you discuss those as well?
MR: I’ve always been indie, from the very beginning. Never had a major record deal; never had the experience of a big machine working behind me. So I can’t speak on how that might feel. But my independent music journey has brought me so much joy, so much closer to the people, grassroots, has allowed me to become deeply involved with causes I believe in, WhyHunger.org’s Artist Against Hunger & Poverty program, ManUp Campaign, Bayou Healers Cultural Camp, The Great Anishinaabe Canoe Races, Dennis Banks’ Sacred Run. All these causes helping to preserve our culture and encourage community support. These are gifts that being an indie artist bring me.
MR: I’ve always been indie, from the very beginning. Never had a major record deal; never had the experience of a big machine working behind me. So I can’t speak on how that might feel. But my independent music journey has brought me so much joy, so much closer to the people, grassroots, has allowed me to become deeply involved with causes I believe in, WhyHunger.org’s Artist Against Hunger & Poverty program, ManUp Campaign, Bayou Healers Cultural Camp, The Great Anishinaabe Canoe Races, Dennis Banks’ Sacred Run. All these causes helping to preserve our culture and encourage community support. These are gifts that being an indie artist bring me.
DBB: Martha Redbone, again I thank
you and wish you the best on your brilliant new album. Any last shout-outs to
our readers around the world?
MR: Thanks so much for your belief and support of our music! As an indie artist we do not exist without you, so if you discover us and like the music, please help us out by spreading the word, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and any other social media outlets.
[Please check out the following link ~ Bj Buddy Beaverhausen
http://www.martharedbone.com/ ]
MR: Thanks so much for your belief and support of our music! As an indie artist we do not exist without you, so if you discover us and like the music, please help us out by spreading the word, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and any other social media outlets.
[Please check out the following link ~ Bj Buddy Beaverhausen
http://www.martharedbone.com/ ]
Great interview of one of our most talented modern vocalists.
ReplyDelete