Simply Six: Alexandra Scott

Alexandra Scott is a singer/songwriter from New Orleans.

1. For many artists, they cite a defining moment for themselves when they knew they wanted to be a singer.  For many it was the appearance of Elvis on the Ed Sullivan show, to another generation it was the Beatles’ appearance on Sullivan half a decade later.  Is there such a defining moment for you?

a: My family has a mountain house in Virginia, on a former apple orchard. Every Saturday in summertime since my great-grandparents first built up there, we take a haywagon up to the top, build a fire, cook out, and then usually there's music. When I was a kid I was lucky enough to have some bluegrass-playing uncles and cousins. The greatest of these is Peter Stanley, who's technically not my uncle but I always called him that. He played Harvard Clubs with Joan Baez and Pete Seeger; he was and is a badass player with a deep leathery baritone; in his spare time, when he was younger, he climbed Mount McKinley and canoed all over Canada. So I'd eat as many smores as I could get away with before some adult noticed and stopped me, then I'd wrap up in a blanket and listen to guitars and fiddles and banjos and mandolins and voices singing together, under bright stars...and I wanted to make music just like that. I'm lucky that I can still revisit the place where it began for me, and that I still sometimes get to play with Uncle Peter.

2. When you’re not creating music what are you listening to?  Who are some of your favorites?

a: If I'm writing a lot, I don't actually listen to much music - I need to keep that space for the music that's emerging. My favorite band ever is The Replacements. Right up there are The Album Leaf, Suzanne Vega, REM up to but not after 'Green,' Gillian Welch, Chris Whitley...it's tempting to go on, and on, and on with that list. I listen to a lot of classical music, and in New Orleans we have an amazing radio station, WWOZ, and I listen to that a lot. 

3. What would you say is your greatest moment so far as an artist, either on record or live?

a: Playing Bonnaroo in 2005 was pretty amazing, especially as I didn't even have a manager, or a clue, and I nonetheless got myself booked there. Right after that I got badly injured & have had a series of surgeries that make walking hard, and of course Katrina happened soon after, all of which derailed my music career greatly - so I think there are greater moments to come. Honestly, though, every time I write something I love, or record something I love, I think 'this is the best I've ever felt' - and then the next song comes, and I feel that way again. I think that feeling, that lift of exaltation to feel music coming through me, is what I play for.

4.  Do you believe music can change the world or is just something to listen to?   How much can music influence current events?

a: I don't know how music can influence current events, but I know it influences people. After Katrina it was amazing and humbling how many people wrote and told me they'd had one of my records on repeat, and that the music had helped. There are songs I can't hear without remembering how that song saved my life - made me cry, made me dance, freed me to feel something I needed to feel but couldn't let out on my own. I believe everything we do changes the world, especially the small things like smiling at a stranger or choosing not to litter, so of course I believe music changes the world. Just look at the crowd of people at a good show: they're united, for that moment, and anytime people add their power together, amazing things happen. 

5. How has technology affected the music industry?  How has technology affected your career as a musician?

a: Well, I've had to learn a lot of things that maybe I wouldn't have learned on my own, and that's probably character-building. Right now, I feel like technology's on my side. I'm not physically able to tour anymore, and I don't know if I ever will be again, but with a computer and a webcam and the willingness to mess with websites and things, an artist can build a career these days, one that doesn't necessarily require hours on the road and a carbon footprint the size of the former Soviet Union. I'm continually inspired by how Amanda Palmer uses new media to support her art. Technology has broken the big labels, and I think that will ultimately be a good thing for artists. 

6.  Now for my Barbara Walters question:  If you were a pair of shoes what type of shoes would you be?

a: A really awesome pair of boots!