1 00:00:09,520 --> 00:00:14,400 Hey everyone, Ashley Gahn here. I'm an author, journalist, 2 00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:18,680 educator and happy to be part of this panel. 3 00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:22,040 I'm Nate Shannon and yeah, everything, Ashley said. 4 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:26,600 My name is Marcus J Moore. I'm an author of music, 5 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:30,200 journalist and professor at the University of Maryland, teaching 6 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:32,840 young kids how to write. I'm Ann Powers. 7 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:36,640 I'm a critic and correspondent for NPR Music, also an author. 8 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:41,320 And I love Big Ears. And I love my Big Ears clan. 9 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:44,320 We've all been regulars of Big Ears for a while. 10 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:47,480 One thing I love about Big Ears is just seeing your smiling 11 00:00:47,480 --> 00:00:49,920 faces on the street of Knoxville, TN. 12 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:52,240 I'm looking forward to doing that again this year. 13 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:54,560 It's going to be cool. Where's our first meal? 14 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:56,560 That's my first question. Oh yeah? 15 00:00:56,680 --> 00:00:59,160 Well, and you've always got good Intel on the food, too. 16 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:04,120 No, it's, it's a family reunion. It's Opotchke all the way for 17 00:01:04,120 --> 00:01:06,880 sure. No, it's a total family reunion. 18 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:09,800 Can we feel try humble hog again? 19 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:12,880 Oh. Oh, yeah, I, I didn't do that. 20 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:14,400 I didn't do that last time we got it. 21 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:17,920 Yeah, I, it's on my list. I've also, I've also got some 22 00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:20,440 Intel on a pretty, pretty serious biscuit joint. 23 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:23,720 So, you know, I'll be sharing. I'll be sharing that. 24 00:01:23,880 --> 00:01:26,280 Where was that place? We had dinner with you, Marcus. 25 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:29,160 What's it called that That pan? Oh yeah, the BBQ spot or 26 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:31,360 something. Yeah, I think it was Pan Asian, 27 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:35,960 that with the patio. Oh yeah, right, Kaizen. 28 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:39,400 Kaizen where friends meet. That. 29 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:41,880 Patio. That patio's insane, though. 30 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:45,000 You walk in there and there's like, you know, Taishan Sori 31 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:49,440 having dinner over there and there's Ambrose and Kamusari 32 00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:51,200 having dinner over there. It's so much fun. 33 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:54,480 Anyway, I digress. Yeah. 34 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:58,920 So, you know, thinking about our respective histories with the 35 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:03,720 festival, is it possible that I was the first among us to attend 36 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:06,000 a big years? What year did you attend first? 37 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:13,040 I my first year was 2018. Oh no, I went in 2015 I think. 38 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:14,120 Oh, OK. All right. 39 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:17,520 So you are the you are the, the senior of the the Big Ears 40 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:20,200 veterans. This is kind of a funny 41 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:23,840 conversation for me to be having 'cause I have a absolutely 42 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:25,920 failed sense of time and dates and things. 43 00:02:25,920 --> 00:02:30,240 But it was the year, I believe. I believe it was the year that 44 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:33,280 Terry Riley was the featured artist. 45 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:38,280 And I remember this crazy in Sea at the end of the night where 46 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:41,720 like everyone at the end of the night, on the climactic day of 47 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:45,720 the festival, all of the musicians, it seemed like every 48 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:48,440 musician who was playing the festival got on stage at the 49 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:51,080 Tennessee Theatre and they performed in Sea. 50 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:54,560 And that to me, to find the spirit of big ears in those 51 00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:57,920 early days, just the the controlled chaos, but also the 52 00:02:57,920 --> 00:03:01,520 community, you know, that crossed genre lines completely. 53 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:05,960 Love that, love that I'm I'm going to trump you guys though 54 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:08,280 my connection. To to. 55 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:12,920 Big Ears, OK, goes all the way back to the, you know, sorry, 56 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:20,920 the the 1980s when Ashley Capps, who founded Big Ears, of course, 57 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:27,840 he had a club that was part of the idea of reviving was kind of 58 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:32,560 a really dilapidated part of Knoxville, which is down near 59 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:37,640 the, the, the train tracks and with a club called Ella Guru's 60 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:40,760 named after the Captain Beefheart tune, of course. 61 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:44,720 And he kept booking all these African groups that I was torn 62 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:47,280 managing in the late 80s and early 90s. 63 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:50,000 And that's when I first met Ashley. 64 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:53,600 And of course, being another Ashley, there's not not many of 65 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:58,360 us male Ashley's left. But you know, I just remembered, 66 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:03,800 you know, it felt like us meeting a kindred spirit as far 67 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:08,680 as someone who was very much inclined to the outer reaches of 68 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:13,640 what was, you know, roots music at the time, etcetera. 69 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:18,079 And we could always count on Knoxville as a gig when we they 70 00:04:18,079 --> 00:04:24,520 did our our tour. So all these years later, Nate 71 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:29,360 pulls me aside at one event, you know, up here in New York and 72 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:32,560 says, you know, you really need to check out big years. 73 00:04:32,840 --> 00:04:36,160 And that's what led to an assignment with Downbeat 74 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:38,760 magazine and the Visit last year. 75 00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:43,400 So for me, it's kind of a reunion with with Ashley, with 76 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:49,840 Knoxville, but you know, to see what he's created all these 77 00:04:49,840 --> 00:04:53,480 years later and how his, you know, his vision has just 78 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:59,560 continued to expand and connect to all the these musical out 79 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:04,120 layers, you know, in such a creative way. 80 00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:08,160 It is incredible. And the BBQ. 81 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:12,280 Marcus, when did you, when did you drop in Marcus? 82 00:05:12,280 --> 00:05:15,400 I'm trying to remember. I want to say I was a late 83 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:20,840 Comer, I want to say it was like 2021, but I I think my lasting 84 00:05:20,840 --> 00:05:24,760 memory so far of Big ears is the amount of work that I did in 85 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:26,200 2021 like. You. 86 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:29,240 You were. It was madness. 87 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:30,200 It was. More everywhere. 88 00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:31,520 It was almost kind of like low, right? 89 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:34,200 It's like I'm talking like 7 different people, you know? 90 00:05:34,840 --> 00:05:36,680 It was a thing like, Oh yeah, I saw you over there. 91 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:39,400 I was just always the dude that had on the jumpsuit, you know? 92 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:42,000 So that was the thing, like people would be like, where'd 93 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:45,320 you get that food from? Like so it almost kind of became 94 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:48,680 like this, like the fashion plate, but also this dude that 95 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:50,880 was just talking to everybody and not getting any rest. 96 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:56,160 So I also think that was a year. My lasting memory as well is 97 00:05:56,160 --> 00:05:59,840 like seeing Damon Lotz because I hadn't seen the Black Monument 98 00:05:59,840 --> 00:06:02,280 ensemble live. And I remember I was there with 99 00:06:02,280 --> 00:06:08,320 Gio of the Times, and I almost cried watching that show, you 100 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:09,960 know, because I've never seen anything like that. 101 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:22,880 So those are my two takeaways, but also just the amount of work 102 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:26,320 that I had to do that first year was crazy. 103 00:06:26,320 --> 00:06:28,280 I don't think I'll be doing that much again. 104 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:30,160 That was. Yeah, you, you scaled back 105 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:34,240 health healthfully a little bit after that year because I 106 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:37,600 remember running into you a few times and you were like, you 107 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:40,320 know, I'm, I'm barely, I'm barely holding on. 108 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:42,760 Listen, seven different interviews. 109 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:45,800 That was crazy. But I saw, I saw a few of those 110 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:48,960 and like, you know, it has to be said that you, you brought it 111 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:52,720 every single time. So you know, you like you, you 112 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:57,400 saved up all the all the, the Primo energy for the the artist 113 00:06:57,400 --> 00:07:01,000 engagement. Listen, I try to, I try to be a 114 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:03,160 prime time performer as best as I can. 115 00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:06,560 Like all while I'm on stage, I'm like, I'm hanging on for dear 116 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:09,200 life here. But the fans, the crowd would 117 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:12,320 never know it. And you mentioned Gio Giovanni 118 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:15,240 Ruslanello, he was on the 1st panel I ever did at Big Ears, 119 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:18,640 which was a critics panel before any of y'all came. 120 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:20,280 And it was. It was him. 121 00:07:20,280 --> 00:07:22,320 And Grayson Haver Kern was on it. 122 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:25,360 And John Schaefer. I was on that Ann OH. 123 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:27,960 Wait, I was on that name. Never mind you were there. 124 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:30,320 OK, sorry you were there. Never mind I. 125 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:33,120 Blocked you. But but you know, that that that 126 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:36,120 speaks to something that I wanted to bring up because 127 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:43,320 really unlike any other festival I've ever attended, Big Ears 128 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:48,480 centers critical discourse and dialogue to the point where it 129 00:07:48,480 --> 00:07:52,040 it's almost the thing that I think of first. 130 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:56,440 Like, yeah, it's it's discovery. It's like just cramming all this 131 00:07:56,440 --> 00:07:58,960 music in. But like my experience of this 132 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:03,160 festival, even from before the time that I first attended, has 133 00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:06,520 always been tied to this idea of criticism. 134 00:08:06,560 --> 00:08:09,800 And I think that's partly because people like you and were 135 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:14,680 were going and bearing witness. But I have a very specific case 136 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:18,960 study, which is, you know, when I was covering music for the New 137 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:21,720 York Times, everybody kind of had their fiefdoms, you know? 138 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:24,280 Yes, yes. I remember I back when I worked 139 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:26,680 there. John Perales used to go to 140 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:31,880 Bonnaroo every year and and from the very first year, Ben Ratliff 141 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:36,039 kind of laid claim to big ears. You know, he was like, he was 142 00:08:36,039 --> 00:08:39,559 like, this is this is my joint here, you know, And so every 143 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:45,760 year I would read Ben's reviews from Knoxville and they always 144 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:52,400 had this like air of euphoria that you don't necessarily 145 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:55,400 associate with a Ben Ratliff live review. 146 00:08:55,680 --> 00:08:59,120 You know, he was he was basically like quelling about 147 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:02,200 this event. And I was like, man was he? 148 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:06,040 Actually using exclamation points. 149 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:09,360 I don't know if he used exclamation points but but in in 150 00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:11,600 one of his first reviews, it might have even been his first 151 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:14,000 one. He he said that it it was like 152 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:16,000 heaven. Wow. 153 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:22,760 You know, and so I was like, man, this is someone who is not 154 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:26,280 easily impressed and, and he's raving. 155 00:09:26,280 --> 00:09:30,120 And so I knew, you know, as soon as I was able to make it work 156 00:09:30,120 --> 00:09:33,680 that I, I had to make it out. And since then I haven't missed 157 00:09:33,680 --> 00:09:34,920 1. You know it. 158 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:38,440 It gets its hooks into you well. I think what you're talking 159 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:41,920 about, I mean let's let's engage in a little critical discourse 160 00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:45,880 like why does that happen in relation to the line up? 161 00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:49,520 I'm curious what y'all think. What about the, you know, the 162 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:53,440 curation of this festival brings that euphoric feeling because I 163 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:57,400 think there are other aspects of the festival that that enhance 164 00:09:57,400 --> 00:10:01,680 the euphoric feeling, including Knoxville, TN itself, which we 165 00:10:01,680 --> 00:10:04,120 can talk about a little bit later. 166 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:09,120 But I'm curious, like maybe I'll just ask what's the, what was 167 00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:13,280 the moment of euphoria for you? The first moment maybe that you 168 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:15,160 felt mine was that NC performance. 169 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:18,560 So what about y'all you talked about Damon Locks Marcus. 170 00:10:18,560 --> 00:10:20,240 Maybe that was your first moment of euphoria. 171 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:24,520 Yeah, it was, it was, it was that, but it was also, you know, 172 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:27,960 you're in a place where, you know, we all pretty much have 173 00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:30,920 similar taste in music. And you know how sometimes it 174 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:35,120 can be challenging to put people on to the stuff that you're into 175 00:10:35,680 --> 00:10:39,280 because they're, you know, it's a takes a very specific year to 176 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:42,640 like the stuff that we like. So I think for me that moment of 177 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:48,240 euphoria was was just realizing that this is pretty much my, you 178 00:10:48,240 --> 00:10:52,320 know, my whatever, my Apple Music, just in real life, you 179 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:53,920 know, this is all the stuff that I cover. 180 00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:56,360 Like right there, there's Damon locks right there. 181 00:10:56,360 --> 00:10:59,920 I can cut the corner and I'm seeing Don Rashard, I'm seeing 182 00:10:59,960 --> 00:11:04,800 Ambrose, I'm seeing all these people that like when I try to 183 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:07,880 explain how great they are to other people, they their eyes 184 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:10,120 may glaze over a little bit until they see it. 185 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:12,440 So I think that's the moment for me. 186 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:15,560 It's like you can explain, you can, you can mention these 187 00:11:15,560 --> 00:11:18,120 names, but it's not until you see these artists that you 188 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:21,920 realize that you know, this is something that is going to be 189 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:25,720 around for a long time. And it sort of reminds me a 190 00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:28,920 little bit of like just growing up watching MTV and watching 191 00:11:29,320 --> 00:11:31,800 like music videos and you're seeing all this different 192 00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:35,120 variety, but now you're seeing it in alternative music form. 193 00:11:36,920 --> 00:11:43,280 Yeah, I think for me, so my, my first figures was 2018 and I 194 00:11:43,280 --> 00:11:47,680 very fondly remember 2 concerts at the Bijou Theatre, both 195 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:52,680 featuring Milford Graves and one was a solo percussion concert 196 00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:55,480 and the other was a duo with Jason Moran. 197 00:11:56,800 --> 00:12:03,600 And both of those were, you know, just fantastic just to see 198 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:07,960 Milford, like, being himself, being his full self, you know, 199 00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:10,520 to an audience that was there for it. 200 00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:15,840 You know, I mean, completely improvised solo percussion on a 201 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:19,480 proscenium stage, you know, and people were on the edges of 202 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:24,320 their seats. Another moment from that that I 203 00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:29,680 wrote into a piece for NPR Music at the time was, you know, I was 204 00:12:29,680 --> 00:12:33,880 waiting in line to get into the Milford and Jason duo concert. 205 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:38,960 And there was an older, you know, white bearded Tennessee 206 00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:41,360 gentleman standing in line next to me. 207 00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:47,480 And we struck up a conversation and, and he was just so excited, 208 00:12:47,520 --> 00:12:51,080 you know, about going in. And I said, oh, are you are you 209 00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:53,240 a fan of of these guys? And he's like, I've never heard 210 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:55,360 of him. I don't know the first thing 211 00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:56,560 about him that's. Awesome. 212 00:12:57,400 --> 00:13:00,840 And he had this, it turns out this this guy, you know, had 213 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:05,160 been to every single big ears. He never knew what he was going 214 00:13:05,160 --> 00:13:07,200 to get. He loved that about it. 215 00:13:07,360 --> 00:13:10,080 Every year he came away with like, new favorites. 216 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:13,800 And, you know, this is not a coastal elite. 217 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:17,320 You know, this guy was, you know, he lived up in a mountain, 218 00:13:17,560 --> 00:13:22,400 you know, in eastern Tennessee. And and that is one of the 219 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:24,800 magical things about the festival. 220 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:28,520 You know, I think there's a selection bias because, you 221 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:33,320 know, one reason critics feel so at home there is because the way 222 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:37,400 that we like to think that we listen all the time, that's the 223 00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:39,920 way everybody listens at Big Ears. 224 00:13:49,360 --> 00:13:51,440 I have a similar story with Aja Monet. 225 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:54,960 So it was she was playing last year and it was a similar 226 00:13:54,960 --> 00:13:58,000 looking, looking gentleman who was standing in line and was 227 00:13:58,000 --> 00:13:59,640 like, what can I expect from this show? 228 00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:04,720 And I was like, well, you know, you just got to go experience 229 00:14:04,720 --> 00:14:06,720 it. And I remember thinking like, 230 00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:08,560 oh, I don't know if this music is for him. 231 00:14:08,680 --> 00:14:13,000 You know, I don't know, he may walk out, but I where I was 232 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:16,240 sitting, I saw him the entire time and he didn't move. 233 00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:19,360 He was on the front row and he made it appointment find me 234 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:21,840 after the show and was like, that was incredible. 235 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,640 I'm going to go stream all our music and like just where can I 236 00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:26,520 buy her CD? Stuff like that. 237 00:14:26,520 --> 00:14:28,640 So yeah, I think that's the spirit of. 238 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:33,440 Well, I want to talk about how Big Ears is for artists just 239 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:37,720 through the lens of one very special artist attached to 240 00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:42,080 Tennessee, William Tyler. So I love William. 241 00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:45,440 He's the sweetest soul, and he's an amazing guitarist and 242 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:49,040 incredibly innovative, not only in terms of his own 243 00:14:49,040 --> 00:14:51,880 compositions, but in terms of his collaborations and working 244 00:14:51,880 --> 00:14:55,280 in multimedia. And, you know, William, 245 00:14:55,280 --> 00:14:58,520 William's gone back and forth between Nashville at which was 246 00:14:58,520 --> 00:15:03,000 his home base when I moved to Nashville ten years ago, and Los 247 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:05,120 Angeles. But I really think of him as a 248 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:07,800 Nashville artist and he's totally treasured here. 249 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:13,400 But there's not a ton of recognition in a way, you know, 250 00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:15,360 for him. I mean, he's certainly not 251 00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:20,560 recognized in the way, I don't know, like a country star would 252 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:23,120 be or even Jason Isbel or someone like that, you know, an 253 00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:28,520 Americana superstar. But in his world, in my world, 254 00:15:28,520 --> 00:15:31,520 he is a superstar. And big ears have supported 255 00:15:31,520 --> 00:15:34,120 William in so many different projects, you know, from his 256 00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:37,520 Electric Appalachia project with Mary Lattimore to his Corduroy 257 00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:41,080 Rhodes project to solo things. And what I one thing I love 258 00:15:41,080 --> 00:15:44,800 about the festival is just seeing him pop up playing with 259 00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:48,240 all different kinds of people. You know, you walk into some 260 00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:52,840 basement room and there he is performing with, I don't know, a 261 00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:55,360 a flute player from Tibet. That's I made that up. 262 00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:59,320 But you know what I mean. And I think this festival is so 263 00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:01,920 important for artists and particularly for Southern 264 00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:05,920 artists and who who don't necessarily have the venues and 265 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:08,720 the institutions to support them as much as they should be 266 00:16:08,720 --> 00:16:11,680 supported. I mean, y'all, you know, if you 267 00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:13,960 live in New York, if you live in the New York area, in the 268 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:18,440 tri-state area, you or even DC area, you have a different, you 269 00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:21,440 just have a different range of opportunity all the time. 270 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:25,920 And Big Ears brings it for the artists as well as the audience 271 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:28,160 here in the South. What about you, Ashley? 272 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:31,200 Like we're all sharing our kind of, it sounds like we've gone to 273 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:34,200 like where the essence of Big Ears is for us. 274 00:16:34,200 --> 00:16:38,920 What about for you? Well, you know, the, the word 275 00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:43,760 curatorial to me kind of hits just about every festival, you 276 00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:47,520 know, but what's what makes Big Ears stand out from the kind of 277 00:16:47,520 --> 00:16:51,960 family of festivals is that there's a lot of mini narratives 278 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:55,600 kind of connecting so many different artists. 279 00:16:55,600 --> 00:17:00,120 So it's not, you know, and and certain artists serve as a kind 280 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:06,359 of Nexus to various projects, various collaborations, big, you 281 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:11,400 know, large projects, smaller trios and duets, etcetera. 282 00:17:11,880 --> 00:17:17,599 And Ashley Caps definitely feeds off of that kind of energy that 283 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:22,440 the connections as well as the the special projects. 284 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:30,320 And so a Vijay Iyer or Tyshawn Sori or Aruj Aftab, you know, 285 00:17:30,320 --> 00:17:35,560 all of them serve have played around in the community so much 286 00:17:35,920 --> 00:17:41,760 and, and he he takes full advantage or what out of Leo 287 00:17:41,760 --> 00:17:47,680 Smith, you know, and, and offers him multiple opportunities to 288 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:51,200 show off various facets of what they're doing. 289 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:57,360 And you can talk about it, but most festivals get one chance 290 00:17:57,360 --> 00:18:00,760 per artist or each artist gets one opportunity. 291 00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:06,680 Big ears makes the most of this. And to really understand and 292 00:18:06,680 --> 00:18:11,000 feel that community aspect seems to be a priority. 293 00:18:11,280 --> 00:18:14,600 And that curatorial feel is really subtle. 294 00:18:14,920 --> 00:18:20,640 It's not like 60th anniversary of this or 50th anniversary or 295 00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:25,640 reunion thing as other festivals try and do every year. 296 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:30,200 It's more this is what we've done, this is where we are now 297 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:33,920 and there might be a peek at some future project too. 298 00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:37,920 So it's a little more subtle. But as such, you know, you 299 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:42,200 really feel that idea that there's this knowledge and this 300 00:18:42,240 --> 00:18:47,240 insight that comes from years and years of experience and 301 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:49,720 being within the music community. 302 00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:52,800 And so that's how it stands out for me. 303 00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:06,680 You mentioned that Rusev tab and I think that's a good jump to 304 00:19:06,680 --> 00:19:13,200 talking about kind of moments of arrival or or moments like high 305 00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:17,800 points in terms of artists careers that we've witnessed at 306 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:19,560 Big ears. And they, I think were you with 307 00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:22,880 me at the Arush show at the Tennessee Theatre. 308 00:19:23,080 --> 00:19:28,520 I mean, when it was this is the year Vulture Prince was out and 309 00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:33,800 Aruge and her incredible band played the set at the Tennessee 310 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:36,880 Theatre. And you it was just one of those 311 00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:40,920 sets you see and you're like, wow, this is a superstar being 312 00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:42,560 born. And it's interesting, though, 313 00:19:42,560 --> 00:19:46,840 Ashley, that I don't think it would have had the impact 314 00:19:47,360 --> 00:19:51,560 anywhere else, you know, had she played, had they played even 315 00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:56,600 such a focused, powerful set as they played, because everyone in 316 00:19:56,600 --> 00:19:59,800 that room, well, not everyone, but many people in that room had 317 00:19:59,800 --> 00:20:02,600 been with her on this journey for so long, right? 318 00:20:02,880 --> 00:20:06,600 Do you think I'm right, Nate? Yeah, I mean, my impression of 319 00:20:06,600 --> 00:20:09,440 it, you know, having heard Vulture prints and and I was 320 00:20:09,440 --> 00:20:11,400 like, I had a certain impression of her. 321 00:20:12,600 --> 00:20:15,440 And I probably should have known better, but I I, I didn't until 322 00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:17,800 I was in that, in that concert hall. 323 00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:22,680 And you realize, oh, she is first of all, an absolute 324 00:20:22,680 --> 00:20:25,000 musical boss. Like she is a she's a 325 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:26,760 bandleader. She's mixing it up. 326 00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:31,160 She's got, you know, the, the most incredible virtuosos in 327 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:33,200 this group. And she is going toe to toe with 328 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:36,520 each of them and also very generous, you know, about 329 00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:39,320 celebrating them. And then the other part was 330 00:20:39,320 --> 00:20:43,800 she's just so funny. She's hilarious and like, you 331 00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:48,680 know, whatever celestial, precious, you know, nurturing 332 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:50,920 vibe you get from her from her vocals. 333 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:53,720 Like she knows exactly how to undercut that. 334 00:20:54,120 --> 00:20:57,680 Yeah, she's got swag. That woman is so much swagger. 335 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:00,040 So it was just kind of all there, right? 336 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:03,200 And and she was so comfortable and like just enjoying the 337 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:06,280 moment. And I think the, you know, that 338 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:10,560 that's what is it like a 1200 seat haul, but it felt like both 339 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:14,040 like grandeur and then also like a like a living room vibe. 340 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:17,840 Yes, totally, totally. Yeah, like, and I've, I've had 341 00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:22,480 tons of little moments like that where you're like, oh, OK, I get 342 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:26,440 it now. You know, it's interesting too, 343 00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:30,640 Ashley, when you were talking about like the curatorial thing, 344 00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:33,920 There's there's. OK, I want to unpack this. 345 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:37,920 There is a certain kind of artist, and I, and I talked 346 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:40,600 about this on the first episode of this podcast a little. 347 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:46,480 There is a, there is a species of artist who just fits right in 348 00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:49,320 with this festival. And it doesn't have anything to 349 00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:52,360 do with musical style or genre or idiom. 350 00:21:52,360 --> 00:21:54,880 It has to do with a kind of spirit. 351 00:21:55,960 --> 00:21:59,560 And so I would say just rattling off some names like Rhiannon 352 00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:05,400 Giddens is 1, Balaflek is 1, Christian McBride is another. 353 00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:08,120 They mix well. Yeah, like people, people who 354 00:22:08,120 --> 00:22:10,960 are kind of down for whatever. Play well with. 355 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:15,520 Always at the highest level and and and also have like 6 356 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:19,200 different projects cooking of their own at any given time. 357 00:22:20,240 --> 00:22:21,880 And so like, what can we say about that? 358 00:22:21,880 --> 00:22:25,440 Like it, you know, is this is this actually its own genre like 359 00:22:25,560 --> 00:22:28,560 big ears, the big ears artist as a kind of. 360 00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:30,840 Like. Like phenotype? 361 00:22:31,960 --> 00:22:35,040 I'll just interject that that at NPR Music, we definitely have 362 00:22:35,040 --> 00:22:38,520 had the conversation of this is like an NPR music genre in that 363 00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:43,120 we attempt to be eclectic just as the festival attempts to be 364 00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:45,440 eclectic. But I wonder if it's, it's 365 00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:49,520 actually increasingly not the norm, but it's increasingly 366 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:53,320 available. Big Ears, though, has the stamp 367 00:22:53,320 --> 00:22:55,000 on it. But I'm just thinking about how 368 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:58,480 people listen now and how genre maybe is diminishing. 369 00:22:58,480 --> 00:23:01,080 But actually I'm interested in your point of view because as 370 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:03,840 someone deep in the jazz world, yeah. 371 00:23:03,840 --> 00:23:07,760 How do you place this in terms of like the gradations and 372 00:23:07,760 --> 00:23:11,320 stratifications of jazz? Well, that, that's a great 373 00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:14,560 question. And I'll never forget on the on 374 00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:18,640 the last day last year on Sunday, I was coming out of the 375 00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:21,320 elevator. It's in my hotel, staying at the 376 00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:24,600 same hotel as Henry Threadgill. And you know, I've worked with 377 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:28,640 Henry and Henry saw many Kim's running up to me like he needs 378 00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:31,320 to tell me something. He goes, Ashley, this is the 379 00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:36,560 first truly American festival I've ever been part of. 380 00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:40,560 And then he starts to like go into it and he goes, wait a 381 00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:43,720 second, the George Crumb movie starting got to. 382 00:23:44,040 --> 00:23:47,080 Go. That's it right there. 383 00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:52,480 That's the podcast. Henry but it it and and the more 384 00:23:52,480 --> 00:23:55,640 I thought about it, the more, you know, it really makes sense 385 00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:59,320 that it's really about it's not just cross genre, it's sort of 386 00:23:59,360 --> 00:24:02,440 anti genre. You know, it's this idea. 387 00:24:02,440 --> 00:24:05,040 And so we say eclectic, etcetera. 388 00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:11,440 It's just it's sound and music in its most liberated sense. 389 00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:16,080 And I think, again, you know, not to mention Ashley's name too 390 00:24:16,080 --> 00:24:19,600 often, but, you know, and that was his sensibility from the 391 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:21,760 start. And he's really. 392 00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:25,480 So when you know, Nate, you, you say there are these kind of 393 00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:29,920 artists that mix well and that are always collaborating and 394 00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:32,320 looking for new challenges and new ideas. 395 00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:38,040 Joe Lovano, you know, but also artists who kind of, you know, 396 00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:43,040 like a Beth Gibbons who's defined a sound that finds its 397 00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:47,200 home in so many different types of music, you know, and 398 00:24:47,200 --> 00:24:52,320 different approaches it. That's what really again makes 399 00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:54,560 this festival stand out from others. 400 00:24:54,680 --> 00:24:57,240 And notice that the word jazz is not attached to it. 401 00:24:57,720 --> 00:25:11,080 It's just Big Ears festival. I want to talk about a different 402 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:15,920 range that this festival honours and realizes, which is which is 403 00:25:15,920 --> 00:25:19,960 age range. You know, one of my favorite 404 00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:24,000 things about Big Ears is it gives me an opportunity to see 405 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:28,360 elders that I would never get to see otherwise living in 406 00:25:28,360 --> 00:25:32,160 Nashville again. It's more available to those of 407 00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:33,640 y'all who are in the New York area. 408 00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:36,640 But you know, I can think of so many. 409 00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:40,200 And I'll just mention one concert I saw, which was Carla 410 00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:44,040 Blair with her trio at the Tennessee again was so I just 411 00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:47,720 felt honored to be in that presence and have that 412 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:50,120 opportunity. And I wonder if y'all had 413 00:25:50,120 --> 00:25:55,120 opportunities like that where you got to see someone so 414 00:25:55,120 --> 00:26:01,040 important who is, I mean, truly at close to the end of their 415 00:26:01,040 --> 00:26:05,520 career and they're, they're being honored, but they're also 416 00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:08,640 flourishing artistically in that moment, you know? 417 00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:13,400 My answer, and I think and you were also at this one, is 418 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:16,320 Annette Peacock. Oh my God, so that was a life 419 00:26:16,320 --> 00:26:17,800 changing moment for me. True. 420 00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:21,920 Yeah. I mean, just and. 421 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:30,040 And like it was regal and it was like so deep and so like 422 00:26:30,720 --> 00:26:32,920 philosophical. And then it was also like 423 00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:35,600 extremely kind of puckish. Oh my God. 424 00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:39,440 Attitudinal to the Max. She was like toying with 425 00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:42,560 expectations like it was. It was really kind of marvelous, 426 00:26:42,920 --> 00:26:44,720 yes. Do you remember how she just so 427 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:49,440 Emmett Peacock, of course, a a jazz composer and performer, but 428 00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:53,120 also an, I would call her kind of a singer, song writer, 429 00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:57,680 totally chanteuse, you know? And do you remember how she, 430 00:26:57,760 --> 00:27:02,320 like, just walked off stage at the end with no acknowledgement 431 00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:03,960 of the audience at all? Yeah. 432 00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:07,640 There was, there was also a moment where she had a, she, she 433 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:12,840 was like playing a track that like, and so there was, she was 434 00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:16,320 sort of playing with this idea. I mean, I, I interpreted this as 435 00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:20,720 like playing with like the veneration and the, the idea of 436 00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:24,320 authenticity because it was just her in a piano, you know, in 437 00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:27,120 this very hushed cathedral like environment. 438 00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:31,280 But at a certain point she like was playing a track and then 439 00:27:31,280 --> 00:27:35,480 like very kind of intentionally, like took her hands off the 440 00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:38,360 piano keyboard. It was like, wait, what's 441 00:27:38,360 --> 00:27:41,720 happening here? Like definitely felt like we 442 00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:43,360 were, we were being punked a little bit. 443 00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:53,000 The scene that's so big, Marcus had missing that. 444 00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:56,120 Like, did you ever have any outstanding performances by 445 00:27:56,120 --> 00:27:59,960 like, old heads, older artists? You know, I was sitting here 446 00:27:59,960 --> 00:28:03,520 trying to scour my brain right now because it's kind of fried, 447 00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:07,480 admittedly. And my stories aren't as cool. 448 00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:12,560 You know, like I think the the oldest head I saw, but of 449 00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:15,240 course, like he's like super famous was Herbie Hancock. 450 00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:17,680 That counts, I have to say that. Counts. 451 00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:21,960 OK, I was, I was struggling with that because I'm like, OK, I 452 00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:23,920 don't, you know, it's Herbie Hancock, but should it be 453 00:28:23,920 --> 00:28:26,520 somebody who's more like avant-garde and cooler or 454 00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:28,720 whatever, whatever. Nobody's cooler than Herbie 455 00:28:28,720 --> 00:28:30,640 Hancock. Herbie, only. 456 00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:33,800 Herbie only acts like he's in his 40s It's true. 457 00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:38,320 That's rare. That's fair. 458 00:28:38,320 --> 00:28:40,920 But I, I thought I remember seeing him last year and just 459 00:28:40,920 --> 00:28:44,280 wondering like, you know, how does he have the energy to keep 460 00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:45,520 going? Because how old is he, like 461 00:28:45,520 --> 00:28:50,160 8483, something like that. Like, and like you said, like 462 00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:53,280 you alluded to, like you would think just by his energy, you 463 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:57,120 would think he's in his 40s, you know, So I remember seeing that 464 00:28:57,120 --> 00:29:01,200 and just wondering like, you know, where does he derive that 465 00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:03,720 energy from, especially after all these years of performing 466 00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:07,320 the same music over and over? But you would never know that he 467 00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:10,840 had to do that because there was just such joy deriving from how 468 00:29:10,840 --> 00:29:14,920 he was playing piano. And you know how Terence 469 00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:17,800 Blanchard was playing. Like, the band was so energized 470 00:29:18,240 --> 00:29:21,160 that you would have thought it was the 70s, you know, or the 471 00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:36,920 80s or something like that. Charles Lloyd. 472 00:29:37,520 --> 00:29:40,480 Oh that's I love that. That was an incredible, that was 473 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:42,720 an incredible show. I love that show. 474 00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:45,960 That was, that was an example of a show where I was like, you 475 00:29:45,960 --> 00:29:48,560 know, I've seen, I've seen many, many Charles Lloyd concerts. 476 00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:52,160 I'm going to, I'm going to sit with this one, you know, 477 00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:54,280 probably catch half of it and then slip out. 478 00:29:54,280 --> 00:29:57,280 No, no, I was lazy there. I was there for the long haul. 479 00:29:57,280 --> 00:29:59,720 I I could not, could not tear myself away. 480 00:29:59,720 --> 00:30:00,960 I know he. Was he? 481 00:30:00,960 --> 00:30:05,000 He was calling on the spirits and calling on the elders and 482 00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:09,040 sculpting with smoke and dancing, you know. 483 00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:13,160 It was so I Yeah. And dapping up Larry Grenadier. 484 00:30:13,160 --> 00:30:15,600 That's. That's who just Oh my God, and 485 00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:20,000 how how Larry's Larry, just the level of his playing in that set 486 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:23,800 was incredible to me is that was killer. 487 00:30:32,390 --> 00:30:34,870 I thought that might be a good segue to, you know, we're, we're 488 00:30:34,870 --> 00:30:37,950 all doing a bunch of stuff. Maybe each of us could like 489 00:30:38,030 --> 00:30:43,160 forward promote one thing that we're doing because this there's 490 00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:45,920 so much. Well, definitely Barry Alshaw 491 00:30:46,440 --> 00:30:49,920 to, to kind of catch up with him to talk about the history, but 492 00:30:49,920 --> 00:30:54,160 also see what he's doing now because he, you know, he, he 493 00:30:54,160 --> 00:31:00,000 connected to, to such, so many great improvisers at such an 494 00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:04,160 important moment in the New York scene in the early 70s. 495 00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:11,360 And you know, to, to, to hear what's going on with him is I'm, 496 00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:15,760 I'm very excited about it. So I, I have the schedule up. 497 00:31:15,760 --> 00:31:19,040 So I will say for the record that that conversation is 498 00:31:19,040 --> 00:31:24,040 happening on Friday, March 28th at 11:30 AM. 499 00:31:24,120 --> 00:31:28,760 So if you're building your big year schedule, that is the, the 500 00:31:28,760 --> 00:31:31,000 Barry Altchell, Ashley Con conversation. 501 00:31:32,320 --> 00:31:34,720 Marcus what, What are you excited about? 502 00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:39,640 So I'm going to be in conversation with Don Richard 503 00:31:39,880 --> 00:31:43,600 this year and this will be the second time I've spoken with 504 00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:45,880 Don. The first time was during that 505 00:31:45,880 --> 00:31:51,400 epic Seven interview run that I did in 2021 that that I'm trying 506 00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:54,520 to forget about. But so no, this time I'm talking 507 00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:57,400 to Don. Obviously, there's some other 508 00:31:57,400 --> 00:31:58,720 things that haven't locked in yet. 509 00:31:58,720 --> 00:32:03,560 But with Don, Dawn is she's become a colleague. 510 00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:05,240 She's become a friend, so to speak. 511 00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:08,760 You know, so every time I talk to Don, it always feels like 512 00:32:09,320 --> 00:32:12,120 there's a conversation between two people who know each other. 513 00:32:12,520 --> 00:32:16,120 And but I'm fascinated by Dawn's trajectory, you know, because 514 00:32:16,120 --> 00:32:19,160 obviously we all know her as like, you know, being at the 515 00:32:19,160 --> 00:32:23,040 height of fame and like, you know, she was in the pop group 516 00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:26,000 Danity Kane. But now she has since become 517 00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:29,040 like ambient musician, you know, with Spencer's on. 518 00:32:29,040 --> 00:32:33,920 So I'm interested to talk to her about her trajectory from that 519 00:32:34,280 --> 00:32:39,760 to now and what she's learned about herself along the way and 520 00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:44,400 what the new music and what her recent sort of music conveys 521 00:32:44,400 --> 00:32:46,600 about where she's going artistically. 522 00:32:46,680 --> 00:32:51,400 That will be also on Friday, March 28th at 12:30 PM. 523 00:32:51,400 --> 00:32:57,040 So you could conceivably do Ashley's panel and then book it 524 00:32:57,040 --> 00:33:00,120 over to Marcus's panel back-to-back. 525 00:33:02,080 --> 00:33:04,640 Yes, do that. So, Anne, what have you got? 526 00:33:05,120 --> 00:33:08,000 Well, I'm very thrilled to be speaking with Joe Boyd, the 527 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:14,400 legendary polymath producer, filmmaker, writer, man who 528 00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:18,640 helped invent the 60s and 70s and, and just an endlessly 529 00:33:18,640 --> 00:33:22,080 curious person. I mean, I, I, I first discovered 530 00:33:22,080 --> 00:33:28,120 Joe Boyd's work because I was a massive Nick Drake fanatic when 531 00:33:28,120 --> 00:33:32,600 I was in my early 20s. And Joe, of course, was Nick 532 00:33:32,600 --> 00:33:36,400 Drake's producer and, and really like his kind of amanensis in 533 00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:40,080 the world. But I mean, what hasn't Joe Boyd 534 00:33:40,080 --> 00:33:42,400 done? He's done so much and he's going 535 00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:49,720 to be having a residency as part of the film series that Lily 536 00:33:49,720 --> 00:33:52,840 Keebler puts together for Big ears. 537 00:33:53,240 --> 00:33:56,920 And I'm going to be talking to him about his incredible new 538 00:33:56,920 --> 00:34:00,240 book, which is called and the roots of rhythm remain a journey 539 00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:05,280 through global music. This book is insane. 540 00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:08,199 It's like almost 1000 pages long. 541 00:34:08,600 --> 00:34:14,239 It, it, it really does tell the history of not just musical 542 00:34:14,320 --> 00:34:18,840 history, but, you know, politics and culture through the lens of 543 00:34:18,840 --> 00:34:21,199 rhythm. And I just leave it on my dining 544 00:34:21,199 --> 00:34:24,760 room table and read a little bit of it every day, you know, But I 545 00:34:24,760 --> 00:34:26,560 couldn't be more excited to talk to Joe Boy. 546 00:34:26,560 --> 00:34:31,159 It's going to be great. You know, I, I am excited for 547 00:34:31,159 --> 00:34:34,920 that talk and I have to say I just got my copy of that book. 548 00:34:34,920 --> 00:34:39,280 It's insane it's so thick. It's it's the Finnegan's way. 549 00:34:39,280 --> 00:34:41,199 It's. The Finnegan's way of music. 550 00:34:41,199 --> 00:34:44,960 Or so so so two thoughts #1 there's no way I'm going to 551 00:34:44,960 --> 00:34:50,400 digest even an appreciable part of it before the festival #2 I 552 00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:53,199 would love to bring it and have him sign it, but I would need an 553 00:34:53,199 --> 00:34:56,120 extra suitcase. Oh my God. 554 00:34:56,280 --> 00:34:59,520 In Tennessee, I am driving to the festival so I can do that. 555 00:35:00,280 --> 00:35:04,320 There you go. But yeah, he's, I, I have so 556 00:35:04,320 --> 00:35:08,040 much admiration for him and I hope I get to say hello. 557 00:35:08,480 --> 00:35:14,040 And so that talk is happening on Sunday, March 30th at 11:30 AM. 558 00:35:16,040 --> 00:35:21,200 And I guess I will mention a talk that I'm doing on Sunday at 559 00:35:21,200 --> 00:35:23,600 10:00 AM. So you could double dip again, 560 00:35:23,640 --> 00:35:27,800 this, this could be the, the appetizer course before the Joe 561 00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:32,240 Boyd conversation. So this this is this is an, an 562 00:35:32,240 --> 00:35:35,600 interesting panel. I'm really curious to see how it 563 00:35:35,600 --> 00:35:38,160 goes. The title we came up with is 564 00:35:38,160 --> 00:35:44,880 1965 Sound Fire and Revolution. And it's going to be a panel 565 00:35:44,880 --> 00:35:49,400 with three artists who are, you know, just heavy musicians and 566 00:35:49,400 --> 00:35:53,400 incredible listeners and, and kind of, you know, cultural 567 00:35:53,400 --> 00:35:58,680 historians in a way. Guitarist Nels Klein, bassist 568 00:35:58,680 --> 00:36:03,720 Melvin Gibbs and drummer Chad Taylor, which also sounds like a 569 00:36:03,720 --> 00:36:08,120 pretty killer rhythm section. I mean, it's going to be, it's 570 00:36:08,120 --> 00:36:10,760 going to be hard not to just be sitting up there and imagining 571 00:36:10,760 --> 00:36:12,960 what the three of them would sound like together. 572 00:36:14,040 --> 00:36:16,760 But, yeah, you know, I, I was sort of inspired by the idea 573 00:36:16,760 --> 00:36:20,720 that, you know, 1965, of course, is the year that brings us John 574 00:36:20,720 --> 00:36:27,160 Coltrane's A Love Supreme and Archie Shep's Fire Music and Don 575 00:36:27,160 --> 00:36:31,320 Cherry's complete Communion. You know, it's the it's the year 576 00:36:31,320 --> 00:36:35,560 that Malcolm X is assassinated. It's the year of the Selma to 577 00:36:35,560 --> 00:36:39,040 Montgomery March. American troops are landing in 578 00:36:39,040 --> 00:36:41,120 Vietnam. I mean, there's just, there's a 579 00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:45,520 lot going on in the culture and in the music and artists at that 580 00:36:45,520 --> 00:36:50,880 moment are speaking directly to the turmoil and also the sort of 581 00:36:51,640 --> 00:36:56,800 the push toward enlightenment. So there's just a lot to unpack. 582 00:36:56,800 --> 00:36:59,800 And I'm I'm looking forward to having a, a lively conversation 583 00:36:59,800 --> 00:37:03,920 about it with some people who really know how to connect the 584 00:37:03,920 --> 00:37:06,800 dots. Well, I love the panels that 585 00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:11,400 that we present at Big Ears and they always illuminate what's 586 00:37:11,400 --> 00:37:14,880 going on so powerfully, what's going on musically so 587 00:37:14,880 --> 00:37:17,880 powerfully, as do the one-on-one conversation. 588 00:37:17,880 --> 00:37:22,120 So everybody who might be listening out there, it's worth, 589 00:37:22,280 --> 00:37:25,920 you know, caffeinating and coming on over to to the talks. 590 00:37:26,520 --> 00:37:29,440 I know it's tempting to just go have brunch in one of 591 00:37:29,440 --> 00:37:32,440 Knoxville's beautiful restaurants, but come see our 592 00:37:32,440 --> 00:37:34,040 talks. They they're always really fun 593 00:37:34,040 --> 00:37:37,320 and great. I know the human. 594 00:37:37,320 --> 00:37:44,280 They're going to die. I think they're really about 595 00:37:44,360 --> 00:37:48,560 community outreach and the idea of audience building, which is 596 00:37:48,560 --> 00:37:52,080 the self perpetuating thing that every festival needs to 597 00:37:52,360 --> 00:37:54,720 consider. You know, year by year, they're 598 00:37:54,920 --> 00:37:57,040 almost competing with their own history. 599 00:37:57,440 --> 00:38:01,360 But the idea that you can build a community, build an audience, 600 00:38:01,720 --> 00:38:05,400 and that you really need to make sure that your audience doesn't 601 00:38:05,400 --> 00:38:09,400 just age out. And I think these kind of talks 602 00:38:09,560 --> 00:38:13,200 and also educational outreach, which I know Big Ears is 603 00:38:13,200 --> 00:38:16,360 involved with too. There's a course on Big Ears 604 00:38:16,360 --> 00:38:20,560 being taught at UT University of Tennessee this year for the 605 00:38:20,560 --> 00:38:22,360 first time. That's awesome. 606 00:38:22,760 --> 00:38:26,440 You know, as you're talking, it just occurs to me to say this 607 00:38:26,440 --> 00:38:30,320 out loud. You know, all of us can attest 608 00:38:30,480 --> 00:38:36,400 to the, you know, the erosion, if not dismantling of arts 609 00:38:36,400 --> 00:38:40,200 journalism, to say nothing of arts criticism. 610 00:38:41,320 --> 00:38:45,600 It's it's tough out there. It gets tougher every year, you 611 00:38:45,600 --> 00:38:48,040 know, and you mentioned John Schaefer earlier, you know, 612 00:38:48,920 --> 00:38:51,760 like. New sounds great. 613 00:38:51,760 --> 00:38:54,600 Program you. Know leaving the airwaves of 614 00:38:54,600 --> 00:38:57,800 WNRC. An institution, right and we've 615 00:38:57,800 --> 00:39:02,320 seen we've seen so many difficult turns in the 616 00:39:02,360 --> 00:39:05,840 ecosystem. And so I think it's really, you 617 00:39:05,840 --> 00:39:07,880 know, I don't think any of us takes it for granted, but it's, 618 00:39:08,160 --> 00:39:13,000 it's worth saying out loud that a, an event like this that 619 00:39:13,280 --> 00:39:17,400 platforms and prioritizes the critical perspective and 620 00:39:17,400 --> 00:39:22,480 critical engagement with artists, with audiences, with 621 00:39:22,480 --> 00:39:27,560 each other, as we're doing now, like that is something rare in 622 00:39:27,560 --> 00:39:30,880 this moment and we certainly appreciate it. 623 00:39:31,400 --> 00:39:35,160 Absolutely. Well, information and insight, 624 00:39:35,240 --> 00:39:40,240 you know, behind good writing, you know, is something that we 625 00:39:40,320 --> 00:39:44,200 always need more of. So hats off to you, Marcus, for 626 00:39:44,560 --> 00:39:48,280 doing what you're doing with your, your students there. 627 00:39:48,840 --> 00:39:51,320 I mean, that's, that's what we need. 628 00:39:52,840 --> 00:39:54,840 No, definitely. And what I always try to tell my 629 00:39:54,840 --> 00:39:57,600 students in class is, you know, like because they're learning 630 00:39:57,600 --> 00:40:01,080 hard news, so they're learning how to report on hard news and 631 00:40:01,080 --> 00:40:04,040 sports, but I'm like, no music journalism. 632 00:40:04,080 --> 00:40:08,320 You have to have the same rigor and you have to tap into the 633 00:40:08,320 --> 00:40:12,640 sort of emotion of these people. You know, it's essentially 634 00:40:12,640 --> 00:40:15,160 therapy on paper, at least that how it is for me. 635 00:40:15,640 --> 00:40:18,280 And so hopefully I'm teaching the kids the right way, but 636 00:40:18,280 --> 00:40:22,240 that's definitely how I. Convey my writing and I hope 637 00:40:22,240 --> 00:40:24,040 that the future generation can do the same. 638 00:40:24,440 --> 00:40:27,400 And I feel like, and I say all that to say, I feel like this 639 00:40:27,400 --> 00:40:31,320 festival does that in a real way because I mean, not to 640 00:40:31,320 --> 00:40:33,840 oversimplify it, but it's just some really good hang. 641 00:40:33,880 --> 00:40:34,600 You know what I mean? Yeah. 642 00:40:34,880 --> 00:40:36,440 Exactly. That's the thing. 643 00:40:36,440 --> 00:40:39,240 It's like we're getting all this crazy music, but then you can, 644 00:40:39,240 --> 00:40:41,480 like you say, you can cut the corner and see this person or 645 00:40:41,480 --> 00:40:44,440 see that person over there. And we all have these very 646 00:40:44,440 --> 00:40:48,240 pronounced memories of big Ears. And I think there's something to 647 00:40:48,240 --> 00:40:51,360 be said about us sitting here on a call right now is talking 648 00:40:51,360 --> 00:40:54,080 about it for an hour. You know, I think that speaks to 649 00:40:54,080 --> 00:40:56,920 the power of the festival and the fact that something like 650 00:40:56,920 --> 00:41:01,200 this needs to keep going on, keep marching on as strongly as 651 00:41:01,200 --> 00:41:03,600 possible. Yes, totally agree. 652 00:41:03,600 --> 00:41:07,880 And and another really important component of being a music 653 00:41:07,880 --> 00:41:12,960 critic for me is, is having casting the widest net possible 654 00:41:13,400 --> 00:41:15,880 in terms of what I learn about music. 655 00:41:15,880 --> 00:41:21,320 And that includes, you know, global music and and that 656 00:41:21,320 --> 00:41:24,000 includes, you know, every style and genre. 657 00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:27,440 And we've been talking a lot about the experimental music and 658 00:41:27,440 --> 00:41:28,680 the jazz that's at this festival. 659 00:41:28,680 --> 00:41:30,960 We've mentioned, you know, someone like Don Richard is a 660 00:41:30,960 --> 00:41:34,000 great example, though, of, of the kind of Big Ears artists 661 00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:37,840 that also connects to the mainstream pop world in the 662 00:41:37,840 --> 00:41:40,760 sense. And you know, those those kinds 663 00:41:40,760 --> 00:41:42,560 of artists are at this festival too. 664 00:41:42,880 --> 00:41:46,040 And, and I really encourage people, I always encourage 665 00:41:46,040 --> 00:41:50,000 people who have any interest in curiosity and even even if their 666 00:41:50,000 --> 00:41:57,160 main love is Americana music or R&B or, you know, even 667 00:41:57,160 --> 00:41:59,960 mainstream pop, it's you're going to find something at Big 668 00:41:59,960 --> 00:42:06,160 Ears that makes your head spin around and changes your, your 669 00:42:06,160 --> 00:42:09,360 vision. It changes your rather not your 670 00:42:09,360 --> 00:42:11,240 vision changes the way you hear things. 671 00:42:11,480 --> 00:42:14,400 That's what's most important. It might even be a breakfast 672 00:42:14,400 --> 00:42:16,960 sandwich at Potsky. Oh yeah, that changes the way I 673 00:42:16,960 --> 00:42:33,160 taste things for sure. Just to say one thing about 674 00:42:33,160 --> 00:42:36,680 Knoxville as a place and about the setting of the festival, I'm 675 00:42:36,680 --> 00:42:39,400 curious, like if each of you has one thing you love. 676 00:42:39,400 --> 00:42:42,080 And yes, I'm going to say I love the food at Potschke. 677 00:42:42,080 --> 00:42:46,040 It's incredible Eastern European food, so delicious. 678 00:42:47,800 --> 00:42:51,880 But there is something special about the locale of this 679 00:42:51,880 --> 00:42:53,880 festival. I don't know, Nate, what makes 680 00:42:53,880 --> 00:43:00,200 Knoxville special? I really think it's the, it's 681 00:43:00,200 --> 00:43:02,840 just the energy. It's like a, it's almost like a 682 00:43:02,880 --> 00:43:07,560 energy field in, in the downtown area during the festival where 683 00:43:07,560 --> 00:43:11,520 you're, you're sort of like and, and whether whether it's like 684 00:43:12,000 --> 00:43:14,880 during the the morning hours when not not much has really 685 00:43:14,880 --> 00:43:16,880 started up yet. Like you, you just get this 686 00:43:16,880 --> 00:43:24,880 feeling like it's, there's a, there's a mass receptivity just 687 00:43:24,880 --> 00:43:27,480 centered. I mean, during that weekend, 688 00:43:27,480 --> 00:43:32,320 it's probably the like most, you know, intense locale on the 689 00:43:32,320 --> 00:43:38,840 planet for like, like, like oral intake, you know, like so like 690 00:43:38,840 --> 00:43:41,520 thousands of people listening really intently at the same 691 00:43:41,520 --> 00:43:43,800 time. And then also like, you know, 692 00:43:43,800 --> 00:43:46,440 when you run into people on the street, you know, and you're 693 00:43:46,440 --> 00:43:49,320 like crossing paths, it's like, what did, what did you see? 694 00:43:49,320 --> 00:43:51,600 Well, where are you going? You know, sometimes you change 695 00:43:51,600 --> 00:43:54,920 your plans based on that, you know, And so I don't know, 696 00:43:54,920 --> 00:43:59,080 there's, there's just something. And it's funny, last year I was 697 00:43:59,080 --> 00:44:03,000 standing in line for biscuits and struck up a conversation 698 00:44:03,000 --> 00:44:07,000 with a couple who were in town for like a conference that had 699 00:44:07,000 --> 00:44:09,000 nothing to do with the festival. They didn't know what Big Ears 700 00:44:09,000 --> 00:44:13,640 was. And, you know, they were not big 701 00:44:13,640 --> 00:44:18,280 ears people per SE, but based on my conversation with them, they 702 00:44:18,280 --> 00:44:21,320 ended up buying a couple of tickets to see Andre 3000. 703 00:44:22,120 --> 00:44:24,880 I love it, you know, Well, they're like, well, while we're 704 00:44:24,880 --> 00:44:29,120 in town, we might as well go see Dre, you know, and I, I, I wish 705 00:44:29,120 --> 00:44:31,480 I could have, I wish I had gotten their information because 706 00:44:31,480 --> 00:44:34,400 I would have loved to hear what they thought after the fact. 707 00:44:35,080 --> 00:44:37,360 But like, as we were standing in line, they they got their 708 00:44:37,360 --> 00:44:39,920 tickets for that that evening. Wow, that's awesome. 709 00:44:41,280 --> 00:44:43,440 And their whole lifestyle has probably changed. 710 00:44:43,440 --> 00:44:45,200 They're dressing. Differently now. 711 00:44:45,840 --> 00:44:51,040 Going to commune and they're. Living exactly, you know, and it 712 00:44:51,040 --> 00:44:52,800 all comes down to that one moment. 713 00:44:53,000 --> 00:44:58,080 Completely cashew nut smoothies every morning, you know well 714 00:44:58,080 --> 00:45:00,440 what we were going to do. One pick. 715 00:45:00,440 --> 00:45:03,720 Like one thing that we were excited about, that was an off 716 00:45:03,720 --> 00:45:06,560 the beaten track pick for us y'all. 717 00:45:06,560 --> 00:45:09,400 We're going to, you know, get together at the festival and we 718 00:45:09,400 --> 00:45:13,080 hope everyone comes and hears us chop it up and talk about what 719 00:45:13,080 --> 00:45:17,080 we're excited about and, you know, in a bigger way. 720 00:45:17,520 --> 00:45:21,600 But I don't know, let's let's just let's just throw out one 721 00:45:21,600 --> 00:45:26,160 pick each something that you don't know what it's going to be 722 00:45:26,160 --> 00:45:29,280 like maybe, but you're intrigued. 723 00:45:29,680 --> 00:45:32,320 Who wants to go first? I want to. 724 00:45:32,440 --> 00:45:34,880 I want to see what Joy Guidry does. 725 00:45:37,440 --> 00:45:40,920 She plays the bassoon, She can play in orchestras, but she also 726 00:45:40,920 --> 00:45:46,320 does like this avant-garde jazz. I guess you can call it maybe. 727 00:45:47,360 --> 00:45:52,560 I've been intrigued by Joyce since I heard her do a remake of 728 00:45:52,760 --> 00:45:57,160 Max Roach's Members Don't Get Weary a couple of years ago on 729 00:45:57,160 --> 00:45:58,720 an album. I think it was like the opening 730 00:45:58,720 --> 00:46:00,760 track of her album. I could be getting that wrong, 731 00:46:00,840 --> 00:46:05,200 but I'm fascinated to see how that translates to a live stage. 732 00:46:05,200 --> 00:46:09,400 So my pick of a person who I haven't seen is going to be joy 733 00:46:09,400 --> 00:46:22,000 for sure. I love the idea of double Reed 734 00:46:22,000 --> 00:46:26,880 instrument in jazz and I also love the idea of an acoustic. 735 00:46:27,200 --> 00:46:31,520 You know, acoustic and laptop, you know, kind of combination, 736 00:46:31,520 --> 00:46:38,000 which is what I've seen Joy do. So I'm with you there for me. 737 00:46:38,080 --> 00:46:43,640 Hey, Lotto Negro, you know, and the the kind of melodies that he 738 00:46:43,640 --> 00:46:47,520 comes up, these subtle melodies. It's almost like for me, it 739 00:46:47,520 --> 00:46:50,800 echoes it. It's this echo with Yola Tango 740 00:46:50,960 --> 00:46:55,000 in that same way, you know, And so I want to catch both of them. 741 00:46:55,160 --> 00:46:57,160 But hey, Lotto Negro, I've never seen lives. 742 00:47:07,800 --> 00:47:12,800 I'm excited to go to a performance of a piece called 26 743 00:47:12,800 --> 00:47:18,760 Little Deaths by the composer and musician Carla Kilstedt. 744 00:47:19,160 --> 00:47:25,000 This work is based on Edward Gorey's Gastly Crumb tinies, The 745 00:47:25,520 --> 00:47:31,360 the alphabet that he created that my daughter memorized when 746 00:47:31,360 --> 00:47:36,520 she was about 10 years old, the entire Goshley Crum Tiny's. 747 00:47:36,600 --> 00:47:40,360 You know, it's a sort of a, a morbid, a wondrously morbid 748 00:47:40,360 --> 00:47:45,360 alphabet about all the ways that these figures died. 749 00:47:45,360 --> 00:47:48,160 So my favorite is Anne is for Neville, who died of ennui. 750 00:47:48,480 --> 00:47:52,000 So I'm very interested to see what Carla Kielcett does with 751 00:47:52,000 --> 00:47:55,600 this work that I love and yeah, creating it, making it into 752 00:47:55,600 --> 00:48:07,880 something new. Thinking about, you know, people 753 00:48:07,880 --> 00:48:12,360 I haven't seen do their thing. Probably the the name that I 754 00:48:12,360 --> 00:48:14,880 gravitate to is June Mcdoom. Oh yeah. 755 00:48:15,920 --> 00:48:18,640 And Marcus, you, you may have had the full June Mcdoom 756 00:48:18,640 --> 00:48:22,800 experience, but you know, I've, I've only really encountered her 757 00:48:23,280 --> 00:48:26,400 through the Emmanuel Wilkins Blues Blood Project, which is 758 00:48:26,400 --> 00:48:30,240 also at the festival and which I highly recommend. 759 00:48:31,000 --> 00:48:34,000 But, you know, June is a singer-songwriter with this kind 760 00:48:34,000 --> 00:48:44,280 of 70s folk influence that is also, you know, melding into her 761 00:48:44,280 --> 00:48:49,360 Jamaican upbringing and jazz and sort of art song. 762 00:48:51,160 --> 00:48:56,760 She wrote most of most, if not all of the lyrics on the songs 763 00:48:56,760 --> 00:49:01,040 in Blues Blood and, and she's a, you know, a really pervasive 764 00:49:01,040 --> 00:49:05,720 vocal presence in performance. I've found her to be really 765 00:49:05,720 --> 00:49:09,440 captivating, but I don't really know what it's going to be like 766 00:49:09,440 --> 00:49:12,480 to see her do her own thing entirely. 767 00:49:12,480 --> 00:49:14,280 So that's that's what I'm looking forward to. 768 00:49:23,960 --> 00:49:27,600 Well I'm also looking forward to seeing all of y'all so can't 769 00:49:27,600 --> 00:49:29,880 wait. Next time in Knoxville. 770 00:49:30,480 --> 00:49:32,440 All right. See you guys then. 771 00:49:45,310 --> 00:49:48,190 Big Ears Conversations about Music is a production of Big 772 00:49:48,190 --> 00:49:50,710 Ears Festival. The show is produced by Meet 773 00:49:50,710 --> 00:49:53,310 Matt Marowitz. Trevor Smith is our editor. 774 00:49:53,750 --> 00:49:56,790 Ashley Capps is the executive and artistic director of Big 775 00:49:56,790 --> 00:49:59,590 Ears Festival. For more information, visit 776 00:49:59,590 --> 00:50:01,550 bigearsfestival.org.