Simply Six: Ed Pettersen

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?  ****June 3, 1978, Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale LI, NY.  I was working at my high school radio station, WKWZ-FM, as a sophomore when the station manager, who was a senior and didn't normally hang with us soph's and freshman, told me he had an extra ticket someone bailed out on for a rock concert by some guy named Bruce Springsteen who I had barely heard of (I knew onlythe song Born to Run).  By some miracle my usually protective parents said yes and gave me the $17.50 for the ticket.  It changed my life.  It was like entering the everlasting church of rock n' roll holiness inhabited by the best rag tag bunch of outcasts and misfits I ever saw.  I was hooked.  I came home that night, many hours later than expected, and proclaimed to my mother as she stand waiting at the front door. "I know what I want to do with the rest of my life".  My mother asked, "What's that?".  "ROCK N' ROLL!!!!", I practically screamed.  Shesaid, "That's nice dear, now get to bed.  It's late".  I've never been the same since.

2. When you’re not creating music what are you listening to? Who are some of your favorites? ****Generally I mostly listen to jazz because I like it, it was my first love before rock n' roll, and because instrumentally it doesn't mess with my own writing.  It's nice to have something completely different to clear my head.  But of the the popular music I listen to I think Richard Thompson, Leonard Cohen, Lyle Lovett, Nick Drake and Neil Young come to mind off the top of my head.  I also listen to a lot of Norwegian artists like my friends Sivert Hoyem ( formerly of the band Madrugada), Henning Kvitnes and Susanna and the Magical Orchestra among others.

3. What would you say is your greatest moment so far as an artist, either on record or live? ****Hmmmm, tough question.  Having some of my songs covered by artists I revere like Candi Staton and Bettye LaVette is certainly up there but the two moments I remember best is meeting Dion for the first time and bringing him to hang with Bruce Springsteen at an unannounced gig in NJ and working on the Song of America and Happening operetta with some many great artists who gave of their time so freely.  Happening (which is available as a free download at:www.noisetrade.com/madkingedmund) is I think my highest artistic achievement because I never thought I could write a libretto and operetta (albeit a free jazz one) and because of the subject matter, representing the 99% and the Occupy movement which I think is still very important.

4. Do you believe music can change the world or is just something to listen to? How much can music influence current events? ****Music has often been a the forefront of changing the world, attitudes and mores for as long as I've been listening to music and it continues to be though I think in today's' disposable mass media and reality crap it tends to get lost.  I shudder to think where we'd be without protest music and socially conscious artists.  Plus music would REALLY be boring without it.  I'm usually attracted to stuff that comes up from the streets anyway.

5. How has technology affected the music industry? How has technology affected your career as a musician? ****At one time I though technology was great and was really opening doors creatively and as a production vehicle.  Now I think it actually slows things down and is creating a morass by allowing too much out at one time.  There's no filters anymore.  Some A&R is good.  For instance, when my second record was released by Universal there were roughly 2500 records a week being released.  Now there are 25,000 because people can make records in their bedrooms and pressing is cheaper and more accessible.  But we all know the print press has declined and even blogs can't keep up with that kind of volume so the only thing the major outlets have room for is Lady Gaga.  However it's affected my life as a musician in a positive manner because I have worked outside the major label system since 1998 and there's no way I could keep making music if I hadn't learned Pro Tools and invested in myself.  So it's a double edged sword.

6. Now for my Barbara Walters question: If you were a pair of shoes what type of shoes would you be? ****Converse Chuck Taylor High Tops, size 13.  Most comfortable shoes I've ever worn (and I'm a shoe hog).

Simply Six: David Bronson

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 distinctly remember one day in 6^th grade when I felt an overwhelming urge to learn to play the guitar. I was around music, listening to a lot of rock (Guns n Roses, Tom Petty, Pearl Jam, INXS – stuff that was kind of mainstream popular at the time), and my brother was already playing drums and had a little band with some of our good school friends, so it wasn’t really ‘out of the blue’ or anything. But I do remember all of a sudden this intense kind of pang to play guitar. And my mom had an old nylon-string folk guitar in the basement that I just dug out and started messing around with. As far as when I ‘knew’ I wanted to be a singer, per se, there was no real single kind of moment like that. It was just a natural outgrowth of being a very personal songwriter and realizing at a certain point that I needed to be the one to kind of define the vocal interpretation of these songs, all of which are very autobiographical.

 

 

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

 

I like a lot of different things and listen to a decent variety of stuff but my true musical heart has never swayed very far from rock; traditional kind of vocal-based verse/chorus song structure just tends to move me the most. I also do get very much into certain types of instrumental music, both modern as well as classical, but 99% of the time I’m completely about the song as my format of choice (followed closely by the album).

 

That being said, a few of my all time favorites are many of the classic rock giants: certainly The Stones and the Beatles (including most of their solo recordings), Neil Young, Van Morrison, David Bowie, Tom Petty, Pink Floyd, Paul Simon, Cat Stevens. I’ve always been an enormous fan of Peter Gabriel. And Joni Mitchell. And as far as all time favorites go, (and I know this is certainly not any kind of novel sentiment or anything) Radiohead is pretty much one of the very best things we’ve been given as a culture, artistically speaking. I see them in a certain way like being the modern analog to the Beatles.

 

And these days, some of the ‘newer’ stuff I’ve been listening to: I’ve become a huge fan of Iron and Wine (Sam Beam) – love his older stuff and completely love his newest record. I’m a big fan of TV on the Radio, especially their last 2 records, and, much like the rest of the world, I really love Adele’s last record. I also couldn’t stop listening to The Killers’ Day & Age record for a little while, and also recently heard the Mumford & Sons record start to finish for the first time and thought that was really great. And from a writing/recording/production/arrangement point of view I’m extremely impressed whenever I hear Janelle Monae’s stuff.

 

 

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

 

It wouldn’t be possible for me to pick one moment or thing that has happened in a very specific sense. There have been a lot of great moments as an artist (as well as a lot of difficult ones), but I would have to say that the best kind of ‘single’ thing that has happened, which has been the result of a much more gradual process, has been the honing in on what it is that I want to do as a creating individual; what I want to express and what that expression would look like, in a very over-arching kind of way.

 

 

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

 

I definitely don’t believe that music is just something to listen to. Obviously to very, very many people (including myself) it’s much more than that. And I think it can change the world probably as much as anything else can or cannot. I definitely think that pieces of music, being pieces of expression, can change a person’s level of awareness or perspective in direct correlation to the degree to which that person allows it in. But it is no different than any other form of expression or communication or art in that sense.

 

 

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

 

I think anyone who has anything do with the music industry realizes how much of an effect technology has had on almost every aspect of the industry side of music (i.e. the production, marketing, replication, distribution, promotion, selling of music, as opposed to the music / art side, which has remained the same as it always has been).

 

Technology (specifically the computer, software, and the internet) has completely affected my career as a musician. Not only have I recorded every piece of music I’ve ever made digitally, but my entire ability to self-release, promote, and broadcast my music online is something that has only become possible in the last few years, due to the development of numerous internet-based platforms, systems, and applications.

 

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

 

Easy – Converse All Stars.  

Simply Six: Lilli Lewis

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?

Although the piano was my first love and friend, I think I became enamored with the idea of being a singer somewhere between two childhood obsessions: Jackson 5 and Ed McMahon's Start Search. If you were to fast forward a few years to the middle school me, the obsession became Anita Baker and Bobby McFerrin, and the attention shifted from being interested in "entertaining" to being mesmerized by the magic of voices. That's something I never outgrew.

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

Well, my all-time favorite music on the planet is probably the chamber music of Gabriel Faure, but I listen to a little of everything. I recently discovered Anais Mitchell's folk opera "Hadestown" which I love, and lately I've been hung up on Real World Records artist Daby Touré. I think there's just a beautiful haunting and grounded peace in his sound. I listen to Bach to organize my innards, I listen to artists like Ferron, The Indigo Girls, Odetta, and of course Nina Simone when I want to spread my wings a little and study the art of speaking your truth, I listen to Neil Young when I want to feel human, Tom Petty when I want to feel like a righteous dude, the classic ladies like Anita O'Day, Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan when I gotta get my inner swing track on. And a LOT of indie rock because I love witnessing people's infinite ability to self-express. 

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

I'm not sure there's anything I love more than making music on a stage with a bunch of people I love and admire, and over the years, there have just been too many glorious moments to pick a highlight. I can say that my favorite recording to date is my first a cappella album "Out From Yonder" (http://goo.gl/hTRC4) because it truly was a spontaneous and surprising endeavor. I was living at a Buddhist retreat center in Colorado where music didn't have much of a place in the community culture, so I was feeling kind of lonely and lost in that department. Then I finally asked my boss if they could arrange my schedule so that I could have one day a week to make music. Tuesday became my sacred day, and since I didn't really have any instruments with me, I ended up going back to the method I used as a kid (probably inspired by Bobby McFerrin by the way), overdubbing my own vocals to create layers of harmony and rhythm. My personal favorite track on the album was a cover of John Coltrane's "Alabama" which I ended up calling "incantation: flame." Another serendipitous story involving a 19 year old mystic named Bobby Elbers brought this rendering together. Bobby played the role McCoy Tyner in the recording, performing Zen Buddhist chants in the Tuvan throat singing style where Tyner's piano tremolos would have been. It was magic to me me.

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

I'm afraid I fall into the category of those who not only believe music *can* change the world, but it's actually the responsibility of those called to music to go about generating the change they wish to see in the world. Here's where I can easily slip into hippie talk meets quantum physics, yadda yadda. But the power of music to heal, to transform, to awaken, to enlighten! has been revealed over and over again, so I feel it should be self-evident at this point. 

The Greeks had an interesting approach when talked about music in terms of various levels of harmony: harmony of the heavens, of the world, of the body, music of the instruments, etc. The idea that anything that exists must do so because it is in harmony with the systems related to it. That's a pretty metaphysical observation that is mirrored in Eastern philosophy and religion as well, and I truly believe when it comes to the harmony or balance that we experience as human beings, that which we call "music" can very much assist in bring things that have fallen out of balance back in to "harmony." 

I think that changes from season to season. Sometimes that can be accomplished through the endeavors of "art for art's sake." But sometimes that means being a little more direct, and perhaps little more confrontational, whether you're Beethoven feverishly scratching Napoleon's name out of your heroic score, or Bob Marley standing up for the rights of the people. 

I'm completely with Jimi Hendrix who I'm told believed the vibrations of music could literally change the chemistry of the mind/body mechanism, and that the intention placed in the music is of utmost importance. Music can be used to make us stronger, more aware, more present, and can just as easily be used to distract and make us more complacent. For those who experience music as a "practiced" pursuit, and by that I'm referring to the hours upon hours musicians spend honing their craft, discovering possibilities, new layers of awareness, inflection, themselves and their own humanity, etc., it seems more often than not, the intention is for music to serve as an ennobling vehicle for liberation and progress.

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

I think it's safe to say technology has had a "double-edged" affect on musicians and the industry in which we work. It has certainly required that new business models be explored and employed, which ultimately I think will be a good thing. We're in transition now, and a lot of paradigms we used to take for granted have dissolved, leaving some coddled business people disillusioned, and a lot of artists struggling. I do believe the dust will settle on this within the decade, and we'll find a new equilibrium in which to settle ourselves.

For myself, technology has been wildly empowering. The fact that $2k can give me access to that which would have costed $20k only two decades ago means that I am allowed to be largely self-sufficient when it comes to creating music and presenting to the public. Given the current musical climate, I think I would have gone crazy without my iMac and MBox interface!

But here's where I turn a little hypo/hypercritical. The democratization brought on by the technology has changed the culture of music making and I'm not sure it's for the better. I don't know why, but I'm still holding on to music as a "practiced pursuit. I still expect the music makers to have studied, to understand basic principles of music from various traditions, to have put immeasurable amounts of blood, sweat, tears, and time into the study of their instruments, and to have done some soul-searching about their role in the world as a generator of musical content. I think the ease brought on by some of the current tools has diminished the time it takes to make "marketable" sounding music, and therefore has diminished the amount of time the music generator spends thinking about his or her intention. It in turn creates an industry that is more about cranking out new tracks to feed an insatiable consumer base than discovering something good that might actually "feed" the *people* they should be serving. Plus, innovations in data reporting structures and communications has made the executive's analysis of its "bottom line" more exacting and dehumanizing in a way that is negatively affecting musicians, venues, and media outlets alike. At the end of the day, it feels like the current climate callously and unapologetically cuts artistry out of the large-scale picture, which I think is unfortunate and dangerous for us all.

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

I'd be some kind of expensive hippie shoe, that may not look all that attractive at first, but you know I'm good for you, so you buy me anyway, and I grow on you, 'cause I take on your shape, and I make you feel awesome when you're out climbing mountains in the the wilderness.

Simply Six: Steven Graves

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?

Its hard to say, but I guess it was when I was about 5 yrs old listening to the Beatles, Motown, Jackson 5, Creedence and others.  I could feel this music in my soul.  It made me feel alive.  I knew there was magic in music and that it was something I would always have in my life.    When I was younger I always thought of myself as a guitar player.  It was about 10 years ago that I realized that I could express so much more by singing as well and then I started writing my own music, and there was no turning back!

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

your favorites?

I love the old school records and artists such as The Subdudes, Derek Trucks Band, Ben Harper, Robben Ford, Mark Knopler, Lyle Lovette.  I absolutely love everything that David Gilmour does!   Same goes for Jerry 

Garcia.  Ocassionally I like to listen to old CDs from the 70's era like James Gang, Pat Travers, Eagles, Eric Clapton, JJ. Cale, and Neil Young to name a few.   And then there are the 60's music compilations that I love too.  That music was so free and loving!   When I want to be on the quieter side I like Kirtan chants, and meditation music like Carlos Nakai.

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

or live?

I would have to say that my greatest moment is still in front of me.  Everyday I wake up and feel gratitude for my ability to play music, to connect with the audience and hopefully make the world a better place through the music that comes through me.   Everytime a new song comes through me, I am amazed and thrilled.    I can't wait to share it with the world.  I try to live in that space where anything is possible.  My last CD Release Party was  certainly a magical day, we packed the place, beautiful outdoor  garden, band sounded awesome,  and  it was an amazing  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 believe that music ABOVE all other cultural elements in our time, has had the greatest influence on our world, more than all the politicians combined.  Music has always been the catalyst for change.  From the rock n roll of the 1950's breaking down the racial barriers,  to Motown of the 60's providing the music soundtrack for our lives as the civil rights movement blossomed.   The popular music of the 60's Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Rolling Stones, the Bryds, Cream, CSNY, etc. the list goes on and on this music brought millions of people together for a common consciousness   The counter culture, the environmental movements, gay rights, feminism, Malcom X, Mohamad Ali, they all coinsided with massively popular music.    In more recent times, there have been all the great benefit concerts, Farm Aid, Micheal Jackson's "We are the world".   John Lennon's imagine.  I feel that as artists we have a responsibility to reflect something positive and offer inspiration in our music.   I  hold this goal  for all that I do in my life.

It seems to me that much of popular music today has less to do with the message or with emotion, depth, or musicianship, but more with selling a product.   This is not to say that there aren't thousands of GREAT artists out there making quality music and saying something positive with their music as well.   I believe that there remains a enormous population of folks out there who still love music and want to hear music that makes them feel good, moves them and makes an impact on their lives.    I hope in some way to have this type of impact on people and to make this world a better place.

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

your career as a musician?

Technology has had a tremendous impact on the industry.   Now almost anyone can record using simple devices such as phones or sophisticated computer programs which are not accessible to everyone.   Internet radio stations, bloggers, on-line magazines, JANGO radio, Pandora, Last FM, you tube, and literally hundreds of on-line sites provide music for free.   This has lead to a title wave of artists and music,  some not very good, and some extremely well done.   There seems to be a perception that music should be free, which makes it difficult for musicians to make a living unless you achieve major success.   On one hand their are so many avenues for my music to heard, and most of them are free.   On the other, its very difficult to be heard or even listened to over the flood of music and musicians.   Also culture has shifted to some degree away from the days when you would look forward to sitting down with a bottle of wine or six pack of beer, a joint, and listening to side A and side B of a record.   Pink Floyld's Dark Side of the Moon comes to mind!  Music in the not so distant past was more of an active experience.  Now many artists sell more music for 3 or 4 second cell phone ring tones then they do CDs!   A sign of our instant gratification, minimal attention span, popular consumer culture.  However, out of much this seemingly soulless and shallow experience, millions of people and thousands of artists are getting back to making great music and performing at house concerts, festivals and other venues where its about the experience and connecting with people.   Also the computer age has altered the quality of music.  MP3's compromise the musical integrity of the sound, but there's no getting around their convenience and popularity.  Digital recording has for the most part replaced analogue which most will agree was a higher quality, bigger and warmer sound.  For my recordings, Blue Coast Records has mastered them, trying to achieve the highest quality most analogue-like sound possible.  Social networking is both a blessing and  curse for us musicians!!    Sometimes I need to remind myself that I need to be playing my guitar, writing music, rehearsing, etc. and not spending hours on the computer trying to promote my music and attempting to be heard by the masses!

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

shoes would you be?

I would have to say barefoot!   When you go barefoot you are able to connect to the energy of the earth!   I believe we are all being called to reconnect to ourselves, to each other and to our planet.   Barefoot in the forest, barefoot on the beach, connecting to the land and to mother earth.   Symbolically barefoot is back to the basic human element.  No  consumerism, no looking  good, no pretense, just feet for walking, we all have them, we're all the same when you get down to it, and we all have a path to walk, individually and collectively!

Simply Six: Alexis Foxe

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 defining moment was in Brazil working at The Rock in Rio music festival in 2001.  I had just come back from a long day of working directly with artists such as The Red Hot Chili Peppers, REM, Neil Young and realizing how human and normal they were.  I was lying in bed, reflecting, writing a song, and that was the moment I knew I wanted to be a song writer.  The moment I knew I wanted to be a singer came later.  I was in New York working with a producer on a song and we needed a vocal track.  There was no one else around to sing what we were working on and I got on the mic and from that moment on I knew.  I just wanted to stay on that mic making music with my own voice.


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


The Beatles, The White Stripes, Joao Gilerto, The Black Keys, Gorillaz, Diplo, Mark Ronson, Nina Simone, Billy Holiday, Serge Gainsbourg, Donna Summer, Florence and The Machine, Adele, MIA, Lady Gaga


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


My favorite moments are in the studio when the song I'm working on suddenly declares itself, even if it's not finished yet.  The song is born.  Those moments are the greatest for me.  That said, it was extremely special for me to perform with my own dancers for the first time this Labor Day weekend in Puerto Rico at the Medalla Light Festival.


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


 Music can change people.  And people determine the world.  A song or a band can define a movement, a zeitgeist, and affect change on every level, both minor and major. 


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


Technology has changed the way people discover and access music, which means it's also changed the way musicians market and distribute themselves.  I, like every other musician out there, use mostly internet-related technology to promote my music and to sell it.


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


 I would be satin slippers.

Simply SIx: Glen Foster

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 defining moment was hearing Walk Don't Run by the Ventures at the fall fair played really loud on a great record player. That changed my life as I just had to play guitar.
    

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

your favorites?

I'm from the guitar school of Clapton, Hendrix, Beck, Page so I draw inspiration from them. Chet Atkins also is a big influence and I still listen to and practice that style. I enjoy listening to Dylan, Neil Young and the folkie songwriters. My other love is vocal groups like the Beach Boys and Four Seasons. There are a number of great Canadian Bands like The Odds, Streetheart, Trooper, Guess Who, that I dig.
To keep up with new music I listen to the radio in my car and internet radio at home.

 

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

or live?

I just finished recording some new tunes in the studio and did a few 'live off the floor' including solos. That's a very satisfying feeling and quite a thrill. But anytime you're up in front of an appreciative audience and the whole band is just playing great it's a huge payoff.   

 

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

How much can music influence current events?

Music has already changed the world in the way that we entertain ourselves. The two elements that most influence change are rhythm and rhyme. Music styles influence people en mass and change is constant, so we're always on the lookout waiting for the latest craze! Lyric can be a strong influence when the message gets to the people. The problem is getting it there and that's a matter of marketing. 

 

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

your career as a musician?

I try to not get too hung up on technology. I still favour old Fender amps and Boss pedals, and use an older PA system that's reliable. But the studio is a different thing. Recording, mixing, editing, and mastering are now digital and computerized which has Pros and Cons. A lot of it is easier, faster, cheaper and can make an average musician sound great. But there's always sacrifices and we tend to lose authenticity, realism, enthusiasm and sometimes inspiration. Then there's Digital Releases, which has dramatically changed the entire music world. Bring it on, it's great, don't look back.

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

shoes would you be?

When I saw Jeff Beck Group play around 1973 JB was wearing some high top black leather boots. I bought a pair of handmade boots just like them in Montreal right after that and I still wear them today. They're solid, rugged, durable and when I play in them I feel the same way, well grounded and on a firm foundation. That's the type of shoes I would be. 

Simply Six: Hudson K

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 remember hearing Madonna for the first time and wanting painfully to BE her. She was just at the beginning of her career when my family discovered her and I would dress up in clothes to mimic her and dance around with a hairbrush as a microphone singing "Papa Don't Preach," (to the dismay of my parents as i was only ~6 years old and I didn't know what the song was about) and "Material Girl," etc. etc. I thought the words to "Like a Virgin" were 'like a bird dance' and my sister and i danced accordingly.


2. When you’re not creating music what are you listening to? Who are some of your favorites?
Terry Riley, Beethoven, Debussy, I still listen to classical music. But then I turn on Neil Young, Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, Buffalo Springfield, and also poppy female artists like Imogen Heap and Bat for Lashes.
I also love weird music...I realize weird is a vague term, but basically anything that stands out as being completely and utterly different. The most obvious example I can think of that people might recognize would be John Cage.

And I actually think his music is pretty tame.

3. What would you say is your greatest moment so far as an artist, either on record or live?
This past year when I realized that I AM an artist. And I can do whatever I want artistically and I don't have to care a damn about what other people think. I have no plans of getting rich:)

4. Do you believe music can change the world or is just something to listen to? How much can music influence current events?
Yes. Music has saved me from depression, anxiety, and drug abuse.
I also believe it shapes your consciousness and helps you understand differing world views. I have learned more about humanity through song-writers than from anywhere else.

Music has gotten me through the tough times...and I think about that when I am creating it for other people.

5. How has technology affected the music industry? How has technology affected your career as a musician?
Technology has made it possible for me to even MAKE a record that sound sas good as what we are used to hearing on the radio. It has also made i possible for me to reach out to venues and fans and build a relationship with those that I would not have had the chance to do so 10 years ago. Really, before Myspace existed and was mainstream, there was still very little way an indie had a chance of reaching the world at large without beating the pavement 365 days a year.

6. Now for my Barbara Walters question: If you were a pair of shoes what type of shoes would you be?
An old-but-loved-pair of leather boots

SImply SIx: Brett Ryan Stewart

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 sucha defining moment for you?

Absolutely. It was upon adopting my older brother's vinyl collection when I was about 12 years old. The first time I spun Neil Young's Harvest I was sold. I also discovered The Who, Pearl Jam, and Simon & Garfunkel around this time, and that sealed the deal.

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

It's a really vast canvas for me. I go from Leonard Cohen, to Tool, to Elliot Smith, to Mozart. Throw a little Sinatra in there and we've got ourselves a party!

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

Every time I get an email from someone who tells me my song brought them to tears, or inspired them, or simply gave them peace. That's what it's all about. The rest is details.

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

It's both. My preference leans towards to the former. Not to say that the lighthearted tunes don't have their place, but I tend to connect more with the stuff that gets down to your core. I believe it can change the world. But I'm not talking about topical, "start a revolution" kind of music. That's fine too, but real change comes from within, not without. So for me, when a song cuts through to your very being, extracting your demons and presenting them before you, fully exposed in the light where they can't survive... that's when it changes the world.

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

This has obviously been a hot topic for a few years now. Just like a hammer, you can use it to build or destruct. The choice is in the beholder. 

I'm hopeful that we'll continue to progress towards proper and fair use of emerging technologies. I learned to embrace it a long while back. With this new album, "Tilt" we decided to only sell and promote it online. As a result we're able to reach our audience across the globe, to places we might have never gotten to tour!

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

Stilts.

Simply Six: Israel Nash Gripka

Israel Nash Gripka is from New York.

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 think it was my first performance of an orginal song.  I was in 7th grade singing this, well, 7th grade-minded pop song I had written.  Me and an acoustic guitar.  I thought, wow people dig this.  That was a rush and it was done for me.  I don't know where those recording went, but if you have them, we can negotiate.

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

I listen to a lot of Rolling Stones and Neil Young these days.  I have been amassing a pretty nice vinyl collection and have every Waylon Jennings record ever made.  I'm also really digging into Nilsson lately.  Timeless.

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

  I think it is always important that moments like that are happening regularly.  You know, I don't want to have my best moment be 2 years old.  These moments are happening all the time, but one of the best ones yet was definitely recording the new record.  It was just the closest people in my life in an old barn in the Catskill Mountains in June.  Late nights, bonfires, beer, guitars.  I don't think it gets better than that.

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

Well, I don't know if music can change the world, but I do think it is much more than something to just listen to.  I hope my music can affect people.  Kind of like individual reflections or movements.  I really want people to feel the music more than they hear it.  That's what exacts change, I think.  And it might not be a global change, it might just be an individual change, but to me, that is just fine.

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

Technology is real and I think a lot of people had been complaining about its adverse affects when the real discussion that some innovative people said was 'hey, this technology thing and global connection idea is cool, how can we use it?'  Sure, illegal downloads will happen and software makes it easy for anyone to make a record, but technology is not the white elephant in the room anymore.  Harnessing it to connect to your fans, giving them cool opportunities, special content, all of that.  Technology makes that happen.  Companies like Topspin and other innovative people are on to something really good.  

6.  If you were a pair of shoes what type of shoes would you be?

Cowboy Boots. They look good all the time.

 

SIMPLY SIX: Chad Hollister

Chad Hollister is a singer/songwriter from Vermont.


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 was 15 years old and living at Ghost ranch in Carrizozo, New Mexico for the summer w/ my parents where my Dad was working. There was a talent show and I sang Neil Young's "Sugar Mountain" and the felt the power of song and knew I wanted to do it a lot more .

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

really diggin' Brett Dennen, Spoon, Habib Koite,and  Jason Mraz of late.

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

opening for Bob Dylan and Paul Simon and getting the chance to chat for a bit w/ Paul Simon.

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

Music can change the world without a doubt. If you are able to affect one person, it can spread in amazing proportions. I know I am doing that now.
Music can also affect current events by attaching a true memory to the event through a song. It is much like taste and memory. A certain taste can take you back to that exact place you were. A song can do the same thing.

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

Technology has thrown the big record labels off. It has also allowed a lot of musicians to make discs that never thought it was possible. The web has done amazing things for independent musicians . It has allowed us to teach ourselves how to succeed and to communicate with our fans in a way that used to be very expensive--the mail. It is a lot of work but it is possible these days to make a living playing music without giving someone else most of your money.

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

green Lakai suede lowtops designed by Amir Dia!!