Simply Six: Paul Goodwin

 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?

I don't think so - it was more of a gradual thing - I started off
wanting to be a guitarist but then started writing songs. There was a
defining moment when I realised quite how good music could be live,
which was many years ago when I went on a whim to see The Frames.
Their drummer was missing for some reason so they had their bus driver
filling in, they ended up only playing to about 5 people and they
absolutely tore the place apart. I'd only been playing a little while
and it had a big impact on the kind of thing I've done ever since.

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

I've been listening to Okkervil River, The Mountain Goats and The Hold
Steady a lot over the last couple of years. Also Dan Mangan's last two
albums have been incredible. I only recently discovered The
Weakerthans even though they've been going for a long time, and I
really love them too.

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

I was really proud of my first proper album "Scars". It took a long
time and ended up as almost exactly what I was trying to do. For
better or worse. Also, that moment at live shows when you completely
win over an audience is always pretty sweet, because it doesn't happen
a lot of the time.

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

I've never really thought that political songwriting changes anyone's
mind about anything, but it can raise awareness of things I suppose.
Music and current events don't really go together for me.

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

I think technology has had both good and bad effects. The ease of home
recording these days means that there's more music being made than
ever before and the ease of downloading it means that there's no
barrier to "getting your stuff out there". Which is great. The problem
is that there is just so much of it that it's become more important to
be as immediate as possible which I think has led to an increased
emphasis on sound and production over depth of content. If something
hasn't grabbed people within the first 10 or 20 seconds then they're
pretty likely to skip. I'm just as guilty as anyone. Also you used to
have to buy things before hearing them so you were more likely to give
it a good go. Even the inconvenience of having gone and put a CD in a
CD player means you're less likely to turn it off. As far as the
effect on my career goes - it used to be much easier to find shows
before myspace.

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

A battered old pair of knock-off Converse probably.

SIMPLY SIX: Kelcy Mae

Kelcy Mae is a singer/songwriter from New Orleans.
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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?

My mom had me singing in the preschool choir when I was four years old, and though it was probably due to her motherly bias, I sang my first solo in church at five years old. I think that’s probably when I decided to be a singer, though I forgot about it during high school and the early part of college. Fortunately (I think), it came back to me a few years ago, and the bug hasn’t left. Nothing else is fulfilling in the way that songwriting and performing are for me.

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

The music I listen to always changes, but some of my standard go-to artists are: Chris Pureka, Bon Iver, Gregory Alan Isakov, Jason Anderson, and Sufjan Stevens. Some recent artists I’ve found that I love are The Tallest Man on Earth, Great Lake Swimmers, Chris Bathgate, Okkervil River, Little Gold, and Damien Jurado. For some international flavor, I’d check out Tinariwen or Manu Chao. On days when I’m down, I’ll set my Pandora radio to Kermit Ruffins for some good New Orleans music. WWOZ is good for that as well.

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

It’s hard to think of one great moment because great moments are constantly reinventing themselves. Usually for me the greatest moments are when I feel some connection mid-song with either the audience, the rest of the band, or both. A specific, and different, moment I recall is once when I was performing “Mr. Leopold” live in New Orleans, and it only occurred to me in the process of singing it what the song actually meant both to and for me. So, I guess sometimes it’s when I feel a strong connection to my own songs. That kind of connection is not always immediate.

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

For me, it’s just something to listen to… it’s an escape from the world. For others, music drives them to make big changes. There are political songs that affect me, sure. Ani DiFranco’s “Self Evident” comes to mind, but I’m not one of those large-scale movers and shakers. I want to change the world by telling people to read more poetry. And you can imagine how well that goes over.

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

That’s a pretty loaded question, and one you could spend hours upon hours discussing. It created the music industry, it destroyed the music industry, it re-created the music industry, and so on. It’s certainly easy to get your music out there, and I’ve taken advantage of that. While it’s great to have a million platforms with which to share my music, it’s also a huge pain to constantly be updating show schedules on several different websites. That’s the price we independent musicians pay, though. Technology is one of those things…like a day job…that I wish I could quit. I try to make my music as accessible as possible, but sometimes I have to remove myself from the computer and pick up the guitar instead. It’s easy to forget your priorities when you get caught up trying to anticipate the next big thing, making sure you’re covered from every angle. I’m all over the web but recently had a guy tell me he couldn’t find me anywhere. Turns out he was spelling my name wrong. I just had to laugh. Sometimes you can’t win no matter what you do, and then sometimes you find out you’re being played on the radio somewhere over in Germany. It’s hard to know how far-reaching your efforts can be.

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

A pair of cowboy boots, scuffed up, worn in, a little dirt caked to the sides. Ready to go anywhere.

SONG OF THE DAY

Our song today is from the Okkervil River and their album The Stand Ins and the song is "Pop Lie."