Tell us about:

Your latest single you have released:

The song is called “We Won’t Relent,” and it’s the first single from my forthcoming second solo album titled “So Little, Close to Nothing.” It’s about the tug of nostalgia even as people drift apart and the feeling that compromise at that stage won’t make things return to what they once were. 

Your favourite lyric in this song: 

I like this short verse: 

Nothing lasts in this world for twenty years

Breaking down what you see and what you hear

Till you insist on throwing it all away

For me lyrics come from some other place, emerging from the song, and I just try to capture them as purely as I can. Which means I feel like I’m interpreting just like every other listener. To me, this seems to speak to the feeling of accepting that the passage of time naturally erodes what you have and what you’ve experienced and sometimes you just can’t hold on any longer. You have to let things go and move on.

Your favourite song that you have created that is an album track:

I really love the song “Tempest,” which was the lead song on my first solo record. Some of that feeling is that I really like the way it sounds and how it’s constructed. But also when I was releasing the record I did a live stream for people to hear what I had been cooking up for the first time. The way that song starts and brings you into the record felt like it was so tied to me emerging as a new solo artist, and the memory of that moment — of letting people into this aspect of my creative output — fills me with big feels each time I hear the song.

Your favourite song to play live:

I haven’t ventured out to translate with my solo projects into live shows just yet … but I’ve been thinking the time may come soon. I can imagine that another song on the upcoming record called “Do You Want to Change Your Life?” will be a real rager live, and can’t wait to hear that one fill up a room. It’s got some interesting contrasts between big moments and sort of droning grooves. I’m really interested in hearing how it translates into a live setting.

The song that was the longest to write and why?

Most of the songs on the new record “So Little, Close to Nothing” started as music. Then, I would listen, listen, listen until melodies and words start to make themselves heard. The one that had probably the longest period from initial musical idea to fully fleshed out vocals was probably Pick Up The Fight. I think the reason for that is that I wrote one verse and then copied and pasted it throughout the song for the demo. Then, I would listen to that over and over again and the music would take me away, I would forget to focus on trying to flesh out the message. So it took a while to come back and force myself to add some additional words to that one. I think it paid off in the end.

One of your previous tracks you would recommend for first time listeners of your music and why? 

In terms of giving a bit of a primer on what my output sounds like, I would probably recommend “Punch, Crumble, and Crawl” off of my first record, It Will Still Keep Feeling Rough. That one has a meaty groove and big drums, and kind of marries roughness and prettiness in some ways that seem to me to be characteristic of what my material generally feels like. 

Dream collaboration:

This is tough. I have been a fan of U2 forever and ever. The first CD I ever bought was “Rattle and Hum.” It wasn’t until much later that I learned the sound of many of U2’s records was largely due to producers Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno. As I kept digging in, I really followed Daniel Lanois through a lot of great work producing Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, and his own solo material. So, I’d say I would probably dream of working with Lanois the most, as I love the characteristic of the sounds he brings to the projects he takes on.

Describe the feeling you get when you walk on stage to do a show:

In the final steps to the stage, nerves kick in and kind of stir up your stomach. But then, once things start rolling, a good show is about letting go, channelling, allowing the music and emotion to flow through you and into the room. And then, from there, it’s about the swirl with the energy the crowd gives back and how it all intertwines. Live music is community and the energy of that, the crackle of shared emotion, is what makes it so exciting.

A song released in the last few years by an artist or band you wish you had written:

“Right Back to It” by Waxahatchee (featuring MJ Lenderman) is so, so good. Just a really nice mood and vibe, with a perfect guitar tone and the banjo picking along. The vocal melodies are so strong and the harmonies from MJ Lenderman are just stellar. 

What we can look forward to from your band this year: 

After the release of the album — coming December 5 — I’ve got a few other recording projects cooking. One is a collaboration with a couple other Boston area songwriters that’s been slowly unfolding over the last year or so. I’m working with Justin Keane of Canyons and Locusts and Peter Buzzelle of Devil Love on songs of Justin’s that we’re fleshing out into a nice record. We’ve made some good progress over the last couple months and I think we’re starting to round the corner with a finish line off in the distance. I also have been considering pulling a live band together to present my solo material — now that I’ve got two records under my belt it’s probably time. 

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