Simply Six: American Anodyne

Erick Jones (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) and Chris Thacker (lead guitar, backing vocals) respond 

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? 

(Erick Jones)  In elementary school a group of high schoolers were allowed to bring their rock band to perform for the little kiddies (of which I was one).  Now, I had grown up around acoustic music all my life but I was in 5th grade the first time I heard a rock show.  The guys weren't overly good as I remember, and I can't tell you to this day what the songs were that they were playing, but the interplay between the instruments and the loud amplifiers left an impression on, and I can still vividly remember that feeling of sheer awe.  I went right out and demanded guitar lessons.  I got piano lessons instead and quit immediately.

(Chris Thacker)  My mother gave me her record collection when I was about 13 years old along with an old record player.  The moment I realized I wanted to be a guitar player was the moment I set the needle to Jimi Hendrix Experience 'Smash Hits' album.  My brother and I had began learning to play guitar, but when the first notes of "Purple Haze" rang through the speakers I was sold!  I remember thinking, "Holy shit, I want to be able to do that!".  I listened to that record non-stop for months and still have it in my collection.  I revisit it from time to time to grab that youthful feeling of curiosity.

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

your favorites? 

(Erick Jones) Steve Earle, Bruce Springsteen, Kathleen Edwards, Kasey Chambers, Ryan Adams/Whiskeytown, Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt, Wilco, My Morning Jacket, R.L. Burnside, John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, The Allman Brothers, Doc Watson, Shovels and Rope, The Band, The Black Keys, Bob Dylan, Gillian Welch/Dave Rawlings, etc...

(Chris Thacker)  I've been stuck on four records the last couple of months; Drive-By Truckers 'Decoration Day', Son Volt's 'Trace', Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent's 'Shovels and Rope' and Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit's 'Here We Rest' (no particular order).  Four amazing albums that I just can't seem to get enough of.  I can always listen to Paul Simon's 'Graceland' and have a huge smile on my face; definitely one of my all-time favorite records.  Tony Rice's 'Church Street Blues' is one of my all-time favorite acoustic guitar records and reminds me of my childhood.  I also love the entire Outkast catalouge from start to finish. 

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

or live? 

(Erick Jones)  I saw a young lady start getting a little weepy the other night while listening to me sing a song that I wrote.  Not that I like to make girls cry, but anytime you can touch someone emotionally like that has to be a great moment

 (Chris Thacker)  I don't know that I can choose one shining moment that has been the apex for me so far.  Each experience is exciting and unique.  I love to play music, whether in the studio or in front of an audience, and I've had some wonderful experiences with bands that I have been in, and sitting in with others bands that I love.  Each musical encounter has the potential to be the greatest one you've had to date; you just have to be open to the opportunity.

4.  Do you believe music can change the world or is just something to listen to?

How much can music influence current events? 

(Erick Jones)  People change the world and nothing else does.  That's the way is always has been and I believe that's the way it always will be.  Music can be instrumental in facilitating change in that it can help bring together like-minded individuals and serve as a rallying cry.  In that sense I believe music can be very influential in bringing about change, but only if the music itself speaks to the basic truths of the human condition.

 (Chris Thacker)  Music does have the ability to change the world and is always influencing culture both directly and indirectly.  The enigmatic beauty of music is that it’s on the listener to allow it to affect them.  Music is like the setting sun: it happens every day around us, but it is our responsibility to take the time to appreciate the beauty.  We choose how much we listen and let music affect us.

5. How has technology affected the music industry?  How has technology affected

your career as a musician? 

(Erick Jones)  Technology has constantly been affecting music since the dawn of man (make a better mousetrap and someone will try to play a d minor on it), but the recent advances in the retail delivery of music to the consumer (and subsequently the ease of piracy on large and small scales) has really been a game changer.  I personally witnessed the demise of the record store from the inside working for a smaller chain based out of Atlanta.  It's heartbreaking to think that our generation is probably the last that will ever know what it feels like to walk into a room of like-minded music lovers and hear that great new band/song/style of music etc..  blaring a little too loud over the speakers and be changed, just a little bit, forever by it.

    Now, as the piece of the pie gets smaller due to piracy and lower cost to consumers I feel like the days of large all-powerful labels is in a free-fall slide and the rise of smaller, boutique artist-driven labels is on the rise.  As the business models continue to change, I think we're all just scrambling to find our place in it.  Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing is yet to be determined.

(Chris Thacker)  Technology has obviously turned the music industry up-side-down and people are still trying to find the next working 'business model'.  There are no longer 'dream deals' available to artist and we use television and popular vote to determine who has the next shot at being a 'star'.  That being said, technology allows independent artist to make a living and retain more of their earning.  We can reach out to a larger fan base through social media, we can have our music available for sale through multiple outlets on a global scale, and we can connect with our audiences on a personal level that has never been available in the past. 

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

shoes would you be? 

(Erick Jones) A pair of well-worn cowboy boots

(Chris Thacker)  I'd be the pair of Durango boots I've got on my feet.  These boots have traveled the world with me from Seattle to Prague (and literally everywhere in between), seen some dingy clubs, and stood on the stages of stadiums.  There's nothing in this world like a good pair of boots.

Simply Six: Andrew Cole

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: Seeing Michael Jackson perform Billie Jean on the Motown 25 Live show.

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

A: Everything from Mark Knoffler, Miles Kane, The Gallahger Brothers, Kathleen Edwards, Elton John to the Gypsy Kings.

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

A: Having some of my heros play on my record was a great moment for me. It was so special because I was also learning from the artists that I have so much respect 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: Look in the history books, music does change the world. Music is the most powerful form of art. In history rockstars have been more powerful than world leaders. The future is waiting and in desperate need of the next movement as icons aren’t as readily available as they were at the birth of decades such as the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. The world has been drenched with ego and worry. Which is a contradiction of the senses which in turn leaves earth and its people gagging and clawing for help and guidance. Not from those who know the truth or the future as a psychic but from those who are enriched with one collasal inner structure and that word is belief.

5. How has technology affected the music industry? How has technology affected your career as a musician?
A: The internet has given the opportunity to hear things that they would never be able to hear or experience visually or otherwise. But there are pros and cons as technology has ruined the beauty and excitement of lining up at your local record store for the latest release. Some of the kids of today unfortunately may never hear how beautiful a vinyl record sounds instead… well we know where we are now.

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

A: Clown shoes.

SONG OF THE DAY

Today we feature Kathleen Edwards from her 2003 album Failer with the song "One More Song The Radio Won't Like."

SIMPLY SIX: Dala

Dala is best friends Sheila Carabine and Amanda Walther from Canada, making beautiful music together.

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?

Amanda: There wasn't a specific moment when I suddenly knew I wanted to be a singer. I grew up singing with my family, so it's always been a part of my life.

Sheila: I knew I wanted to be a singer after going on tour with Tom Cochrane. It was our first cross-Canada tour, and I LOVED living out of a suitcase and playing for thousands of people every night.

Amanda: Um, that's a little far into our career for you to decide to be a singer. We had already released two albums at that point Sheila!

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

Sheila: I am currently listening to Fleet Foxes, Josh Ritter, The Arkells, Adam Crossley and Kathleen Edwards.

Amanda: I haven't taken Daniel Roth's new album 'Promised Land' out of my cd player since I bought it two months ago. But I always come back to Joni Mitchell's 'Blue'.

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

Amanda and Sheila: Newport, Newport and Newport! We just played the 50th Anniversary of the Newport Folk Festival (along with Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, Neko Case, Fleet Foxes and Josh Ritter). We were asked to sing one song on the main stage, right before Arlo Guthrie's set. It was a truly life-changing experience!

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

Amanda: I think art,( and especially music) is always the voice of coming change. Artists say the things that haven't been said yet, even if those things are sometimes hard to hear.

Sheila: Listening to music may seem passive, but the listener is fully participating, giving meaning to what they hear. Nothing moves me the way that music does, and I know it has shaped the way I experience the world.

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

Amanda: Wow, that's the million dollar question. In our case, it made it possible for us to record our first two albums on a humble budget. Having access to a home studio gave us control over our art from day one, and the confidence to continue building a career.

Sheila: The internet is such a gift! We are in close contact with our fans online, and I think that keeps us grounded as people and as artists.

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

Amanda: Birkenstocks

Sheila: Something shiny

SIMPLY SIX: Joe Croker

Joe Croker is a singer/songwriter from Nashville.

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?

This is a great question, and it's one that pushes my thoughts back to childhood. As a kid, I can recall taking on different guises when listening to tunes. One moment I would be Professor Harold Hill from Meredith Willson's "The Music Man"; the next I was a heart-strung Eric Clapton saddled with the "Bell Bottom Blues." Songs became a way of accessing feelings and possibilities, a bridge back and forth between adulthood and youth. The line dissolves.

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

I met Antje Duvekot the other night at a club in Nashville. There were only sixteen people in the audience, but everyone was enraptured because Antje brings it. She has access to the deep muse. So I listen to singers like Antje and Kathleen Edwards, Walt Wilkins, La Lupe, and Celia Cruz. Though the latter two women have left us, they still haunt me. I remember seeing Freedy Johnston out at McCabe's in LA one time, and he told me to get the hell out of Wichita, where I was living at the time. So Nashville became the place for new tunes and old, and it all sort of centers for me there. Mark Knopfler comes back to town from time to time and I always listen to him and seek out his show. The same is true of countless others.

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

For me, live performance is almost always the best. I like an audience, whether real or imaginary, so my best moments occur then. I knew that I was onto something when the tunes that came through my pen started to give me the same chill and shiver that Dylan and Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen evoked in me over the years. These "shiver" moments happen quite frequently, sometimes when I'm rehearsing alone. I remember playing a song of mine called "Sally, Everything's Changed" with Arkansas songwriter Dave Fredrick, and we both knew that we had gone to that rare space. Almost none of this stuff is on record. Like theater, musical performance is often a very ephemeral art.

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

Sure. It's both, or can be. I tend to lean toward the heavier stuff, with a social edge, but it can also be pure celebration. Delight and instruct said the old Roman. Songs often do both.

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

I like the openness of the non-system. New songwriters get their space. But there's a lot of anonymity, too. Valuable blogs like this one are a sound intermediary for bringing the anonymous artist to the public.

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

Something Italian -- elegant but sturdy. It may be time to cross The Alps.