- Is drinking at gigs a positive or a negative?
DdM: I quit drinking in 2013 after a lifetime of boozing. I used to always drink before and after playing shows. And often during. And sometimes in the van.
BB: I don’t usually drink before I perform, but I might nurse a glass of something throughout the night. I’m such a lightweight.
- Do you write about personal experience, the experience of others, observations, made-up stories, something else or a combination?
DdM/BB: We both write about our personal stuff. It’s both challenging to do, in a way that doesn’t make you feel too vulnerable or embarrassed, and easy, in that you always feel like your experience is potent. But we also really listen and think about other people’s stories – they’re even more interesting than your own and there’s a whole world of people whose stories deserve a song. Observations always have their place.
- What’s the best advice to give to a musician just starting out?
DdM/BB: Don’t take any of it too seriously. No gig is gonna make or break you. People you want to work with, or who you wish would see you, get you – these people may not like you, may be booked already, might not understand your reality even though it seems like they should. Be pragmatic about it all. The allies come along at the right time.
- Favorite thing to do on a day off?
DdM/BB: We like to get to the water. When we’re in Nevada City, we always go with our friends up to the Yuba River. That is the best river-swimming there is. We once skinny-dipped in a stream as a family while a flock of wood thrushes warbled and fluted in the trees all around.
- What do you love most about being on the road?
DdM: I love the minimalism of road life – so little stuff, such a clear focus, such a limited scope of distractions you can get into. It’s almost like a vow of simplicity, and that simplicity is golden.
- Who would you love to collaborate with?
BB: Rhiannon Giddens
DdM: The drummer Jay Bellerose
DdM: I quit drinking in 2013 after a lifetime of boozing. I used to always drink before and after playing shows. And often during. And sometimes in the van.
BB: I don’t usually drink before I perform, but I might nurse a glass of something throughout the night. I’m such a lightweight.
- Do you write about personal experience, the experience of others, observations, made-up stories, something else or a combination?
DdM/BB: We both write about our personal stuff. It’s both challenging to do, in a way that doesn’t make you feel too vulnerable or embarrassed, and easy, in that you always feel like your experience is potent. But we also really listen and think about other people’s stories – they’re even more interesting than your own and there’s a whole world of people whose stories deserve a song. Observations always have their place.
- What’s the best advice to give to a musician just starting out?
DdM/BB: Don’t take any of it too seriously. No gig is gonna make or break you. People you want to work with, or who you wish would see you, get you – these people may not like you, may be booked already, might not understand your reality even though it seems like they should. Be pragmatic about it all. The allies come along at the right time.
- Favorite thing to do on a day off?
DdM/BB: We like to get to the water. When we’re in Nevada City, we always go with our friends up to the Yuba River. That is the best river-swimming there is. We once skinny-dipped in a stream as a family while a flock of wood thrushes warbled and fluted in the trees all around.
- What do you love most about being on the road?
DdM: I love the minimalism of road life – so little stuff, such a clear focus, such a limited scope of distractions you can get into. It’s almost like a vow of simplicity, and that simplicity is golden.
- Who would you love to collaborate with?
BB: Rhiannon Giddens
DdM: The drummer Jay Bellerose
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Born of the American zeitgeist, as well as the personal experiences of Blackbird and de Man, Heart Hunter's American Eclipse is simultaneously a deeply personal and overtly political album. But even in the album’s more personal moments, Heart Hunters don’t shy away from what they see as their responsibility to confront injustice.
“The Good Fight” offers another striking blend of the personal and political, indulging the dream of jackhammering parking lots and tearing down dilapidated strip malls and big-box stores in an effort to reclaim communities, trading the evils of suburban sprawl for vibrant gardens, carbon sinks, and dedicated green spaces. It’s sort of an inversion of Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi.” “People need a place where they can recover from the suffering and alienation of urban capitalism by loving the land,” Blackbird says. The married Blackbird and de Man often trade lead vocal duties between verses when not singing in gorgeous two-part harmony. Sonically, the record ranges from sparse acoustic folk songs to epic anthems featuring lush string sections. While the subject matter may be heavy, the melodic progressions of these songs are quite the opposite, creating a clever balance with catchy hooks, bright production flourishes, and oft-dark lyricism. These are potent tunes--picked out on old guitars and upright bass, doused with pedal steel and sparkling with harmony. New video for "The Good Fight" is a rocking folk tune led by an Eastern-inspired melodic string section. Paired with a rocking drum beat, bright acoustic guitars, and witty lyricism, this song is sure to get stuck in your head. Thematically, it's a take on original sin and the urbanization of America--"The Good Fight" being an effort to return to a simple, agrarian lifestyle. |