Interviews
A collection of interviews and Q&As published between 2005 and 2024.
- JOTA ESE “Super Dank III” ()
“My last three tapes I put out were made for smoking […] filled with bong sounds and things. The tracks are all 10-15 minutes long and made to be extra blunted.” While looking out for herbal connoisseurs with his last few productions, JOTA ESE’s Super Dank III isn’t strictly for the smokers. “Despite the name,” […]
- Super Duper ()
“There was just a lot of noise to sort through,” says Josh Hawkins, speaking to the time he spent living in New York City. “I think the best thing about Nashville is the country music overload. I’m not a country music fan, but in New York it was hard to meet people who were really […]
- Chris West Interview ()
“I wanted to play the saxophone, and had for as long as I can remember,” explains Chris West. Despite starting his musical journey with the trumpet in elementary school, “saxophone has always felt very natural to me,” he says. While always returning to his weapon of choice, West has always tilted toward establishing a broad […]
- Day Old Bred ()
“Everyone’s in it to make music, not to make money.” There’s nothing new about musicians giving their work away for free, forfeiting track or album sales to encourage future gains. Free downloads hypothetically attract more fans to listen, encouraging increased attention and exposure, and potentially leading to performance income or merch sales. The formula isn’t […]
- *repeat repeat Interview ()
Within the spectrum of rock music, surf isn’t all that different from ska: the originals are the ones who did it best, and few who presently indulge in the genres tend to contribute little beyond imitation. “It was my musical mentor and our producer Gregory Lattimer (of Now Records) that really started to get me […]
- Jesse Lafser Interview ()
“It happened to me for a dark and frightening couple of years,” writes Jesse Lafser, sharing a story of creative drought in a new piece she calls “Muses and Canyons.” “But I have come to trust the stillness – almost as much as I love the canyon winds. Because the longer the land lays fallow, […]
- Andrew Muller Interview ()
Already playing for the Deep Fried 5, as well as Nashville neo-soul outfits DeRobert & the Half-Truths and AJ & the Jiggawatts, Andrew Muller has long-since earned his place in the Nashville music scene as one of the city’s most prolific and dextrous funk-inspired guitarists. Recording and performing with his new group, the Grips, only […]
- AL-D Interview ()
“Between sampling local funk monsters DeRobert and the Half-Truths, conscripting The Boom Bap’s DJ Rate for cuts and scratches and dropping dope rhymes over dope beats, AL-D delivers the tru-school goods with this one,” noted the Nashville Scene of Al-D’s Free Delivery in honoring it as the “Best Hip-Hop Mixtape” of 2013. “[It’s] a must-listen […]
- Troglodyte Interview ()
Having worked in the indie movie world for years as a special effects make-up artist, Jeff Sisson flipped the script in 2005 when he formed Troglodyte with a group of KC metal vets. Using the gory Bigfoot exploitation flick Night of the Demon as inspiration, the band summons tales from the bog, crafting its Sasquatch-themed […]
- The Dead Girls Interview ()
Cameron Joel Hawk is the guitarist for the Lawrence power-pop four-piece the Dead Girls, the “old school punk rock” group Stiff Middle Fingers, and Many Moods of Dad. He also drums for Hidden Pictures. And up until this year, was regularly tackling music on his Record Geek Heaven blog. But despite being so thoroughly tied […]
- Bloodbirds Interview ()
Mike Tuley’s been around. Madd Scientists, Or Die Trying, Short Bus Kids, Hairy Belafonte, Ad Astra Per Aspera, Ad Astra Arkestra… he’s played in them all. And with Bloodbirds he’s added hyperdistorted psych-tinged post-punk garage rock to his musical resume, assuming guitar and vocal duties in the trio along with Brooke Tuley on drums and […]
- Hataraqq Interview ()
Javan Brewer is Hataraqq, and Hataraqq is Javan Brewer. Javan Brewer doesn’t say much, only briefly elaborating on his electronic productions here. Hataraqq’s audio output is ripe with concise sound clips, only teasing what they might become if they were fully expanded compositions. Throughout his music there are Eddie Murphy, James Brown, and Blackalicious samples, […]
- c-Logik Interview ()
With about a decade and a half of beat tinkering behind him, Seth Morris recently released a new mainline electro-funk track with “theHunt,” which is how I was introduced to his music. To say that he “dabbles” in music sounds dismissive of both his interest-level and creativity, but under his c-Logik moniker Seth dabbles, in […]
- Gee Watts Interview ()
“A certain sense of believable honesty combs through Gee’s lyrics,” writes The Smoking Section’s J. Tinsley, in his review of Gee Watts’ new Watts Up mixtape. “As does depth.” Gee Watts has two more things going for him that most rappers never achieve: he has patience, and he actually knows what he wants. A year […]
- Derek Minor “PSA Volume 3” ()
“I am entering a new chapter in my career,” revealed Derek Minor in a recent blog post, explaining his decision to shed his PRo moniker. “This new chapter includes a new direction, and new goals.” The first major act under his new name has arrived in the form of the third installment in his PSA […]
- Zion I Interview ()
MC, writer, and father, veteran MC Zumbi (of west coast hip-hop stalwarts Zion I) is also a self-professed free-thinking tai chi fanatic. Somewhere within this web of persona is a balance between the family, spiritual and physical self that developing MCs would do well to emulate. Without disregarding each important layer that speaks to who […]
- Mac L’s “Raw Material” ()
It was just about 10 months ago that I first met Mac L. In a number of ways the cocksure MC served as my introduction to a side of Nashville that I didn’t know much about when first moving here, and certainly a sector that isn’t entirely visible unless you’re actively looking for it: the […]
- Wugazi Interview ()
It has been less than three weeks since Wugazi first reared its head on the Internet, the Fugazi/Wu-Tang Clan mashup project debuting in the form of the “I’m So Tired”/”C.R.E.A.M.” bootleg “Sleep Rules Everything Around Me” (which has since seen 135k Soundcloud plays). Though its creators were initially silent, the project was eventually pinned to Twin Cities artists Cecil Otter (Doomtree) and Swiss Andy (the Millionth Word, […]
- William Tyler Interview ()
Last year’s release from Nashville’s William Tyler, Behold the Spirit, conjures immediate feelings of warmth. Without a rough edge in sight, the recording serves as one massive gallery, each track standing as a unique showcase for a thought, style, or emotion. Much of the power of the album comes as a result of the years […]
- Doug Stanhope Interview ()
It’s hard to know where exactly to start in terms of introducing Doug Stanhope. With two decades of flight time already logged in his career as a stand-up comedian, the man’s long since established his voice amongst the infinitely vast sea of artists in the medium. Yet while Nashville Standup calls him one of “the […]
- Classic Williams Interview ()
Having just recently dropped his #SMH mixtape last month, Nashville’s Classic Williams is now inching his way closer to the release of his full length debut, Epic Win. Serving as an introduction to the MC, #SMH includes a wide range of genres reaching all the way from club-focused dance to no fuss hip hop. It’s […]
- Talib Kweli Interview ()
At the age of 36 Talib Kweli is moving into an interesting stage of his career. In the wake of 2007′s Eardrum he reopened the books on Reflection Eternal with Hi-Tek, hitting the road as part of the Rock the Bells tour before eventually releasing Revolutions per Minute last year. Now once again claiming independence […]
- Katie Lee (of Braids) Interview ()
As support for Braids‘ debut release began to gain momentum last year, the group received substantial coverage from a number of key outlets ranging from Canada’s National Post to Stereogum; later mentioned in the latter’s “Most Anticipated Albums Of 2011” and “Best New Bands Of 2010” lists. And if early Native Speaker feedback is any […]
- Finding Community in Ca$hville: An interview with Mac L ()
Despite still only being in his early 20s, Malcolm Lockridge has had plenty of time to gauge where he stands amongst Nashville’s hip hop community; where he stands and what he stands for. Growing up in a rough neighborhood has helped guide him toward who he has become, certainly instilling in him the idea that […]
- Tristen Interview ()
I really enjoy discussing the twists and turns that have led people’s lives to where they are now. Whether speaking with someone a few decades older than me or talking to people who are the same age — as is the case with Tristen Gaspadarek — it’s rare to hear an entirely uninteresting account of […]
- Josh Grier (of Tapes ‘n Tapes) Interview ()
Nearly three years after releasing the band’s last album, 2008′s Walk it Off (XL Recordings), Tapes ‘n Tapes have returned with Outside. Dropping the 12 track album on their own Ibid Records imprint, Outside retains a distinctive Tapes ‘n Tapes flavor while also exhibiting a bit of musical maturity along the way. Speaking to lead […]
- Little Viking ()
The past year was somewhat of a breakthrough for rock acts in Nashville; national publications were all too eager to fast-track editorials focusing on a “the scene” and its breakout stars, and many took to the road to make the most of their momentum. But that’s only true to a certain extent; the swath of […]
- Culture Bully’s Best of 2010 Guest Posts ()
To close the year out, Culture Bully solicited contributions from artists sharing their year-end lists, reflecting on their favorite things of 2010. Clubfeet A blend of South African and Austrailian musicians, Clubfeet released their debut album, Gold on Gold, this past summer. Comparing the trio to such acts as Hot Chip and the Junior Boys, […]
- DJ Wick-It Interview ()
Nashville might still be best known as Music City, but for the past three years Wick-It the Instigator and his crew of like-minded underground artists have done their best to rechristen the city as Mashville. Starting out as a group of six DJs in August of 2007, subsequent comings and goings within the collective have […]
- Hans Condor “Time Rhyme or Reason” Video ()
“Between the guns, booze, and stitches it’s been hard to piece it all together,” explained Hans Condor recently, discussing the production of the new video for “Time Rhyme or Reason.” “It got pretty messy for the two days we filmed it.” What might first appear as nothing more than a booze-soaked warzone is actually a fairly conceptual […]