Will Scott
9th Annual Blues Album Nominee
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Genre: Blues
Weather-Tone
www.willscottmusic.com
HOMEBASE/COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA—Raised in Indiana, living in Brooklyn, New York
ALBUM NOMINATED: GNAWBONE
WHERE WAS ALBUM RECORDED?
Produced by Preacher Boy.
Drums recorded at Kaleidoscope Sound, Union City, New Jersey (Sal Mormando, Engineer; Carey Neal and Dan Fleisher, Assts).
Bass recorded at Mark Dann Recording, New York Rich Lamb, Engineer).
Lead vocals and other instruments recorded at MARS Studio, Aptos, California (Christopher Chase and Ken Capitanich, Engineers).
Backing vocals and fiddle recorded at Strange Weather Brooklyn, New York (Joel Hamilton, Engineer; Francisco Botero, Asst).
Mixed and Mastered at Indigital Recording Studio, Santa Cruz, California (Brody Bergholz and Mason Rothschild, Engineers)
WHICH GENRES BEST DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC? Americana, Rock, Blues
IS THERE A THEME TO THE ALBUM? There are a number of themes running through the album. The dynamic between city and country is addressed in Gnawbone: “Make Her Love Me,” “Country Soil,” and “Paper Match.” “Louisiana Lullaby” and “Sarah” touch on that theme as well. My home state, Indiana, figures prominently. “Jack’s Defeat Creek”and Gnawbone are both names of Indiana towns. Jack’s is based, in fact, on myths about how that town got its name. A number of religious topics play out on the album: sex, love and morality (“Make Her Love Me” and “Mother May I”), contrition (“Stain Lifter”), theodicy (“Sarah,” inspired by the Book of Tobit).
WHAT UNUSUAL INSTRUMENTS OR TECHNIQUES DID YOU USE ON THIS ALBUM? Preach played the noise solo on “Make Her Love Me” using an Epiphone Flying V kneeling in front of a fully-cranked Fender amp. We also used a Metal music stand for additional percussion on “Paper Match.” The B3 on the album is considered to be one of the best sounding Hammonds out there–at MARS studio in Aptos, CA. The record was tracked at four different studios in three states (NY, NJ, and CA), and mixed at a fifth studio. That wasn’t intended to be a unique recording approach. It just turned out that way.
WHERE IS YOUR MUSIC AVAILABLE? www.cdbaby.net/all/willscottmusic, iTunes, Amazon and other retailers. If you’re in Park Slope, Brooklyn, stop by Music Matters on 7th Ave. near 14th St. It’s my favorite old-school record store and they sell a lot of GNAWBONE.
DID FANS HELP FUND THIS PROJECT? Proceeds from performances and sales of my last album helped fund GNAWBONE, as well as family contributions, personal investment, and generous rate discounts and donations of time from some of the folk involved in the project.
WHO IS SITTING IN YOUR AUDIENCE: They are very good looking. Many are talented artists and musicians, as well.
WHAT MAKES YOUR FANS UNIQUE? Really, quite good looking… and they can dance, too.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE PLACES TO PLAY? I have loved playing some of the higher-profile venues in and out of New York, but the smaller 68 Jay Street Bar in DUMBO, Brooklyn, has been my regular favorite for two years. They have a great sounding room and there is a sense of community there that is hard to find in a venue. It has a notable an underground music scene as well with some of the top touring acts in the country come to do surprise shows. Booking is by invitation only.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE BANDS’ MOST MEMORABLE ACHIEVEMENT TO DATE? Finishing GNAWBONE, and receiving excellent reviews for the album, including the IMA nomination, has been quite exciting–it was over three years in the making. Debuting at Glastonbury this past summer was a highlight, as well.
WHAT’S IN THE WORKS FOR 2010? I am working on USA, UK and European Tours for 2010 and writing toward the next album. In New York, I will be returning to doing regular shows with a full band (keys, drums, lead guitar, upright bass and occasionally horns).
FINISH THIS SENTENCE: THE MUSIC INDUSTRY IS….. Still in business.
WHAT IS YOUR DEFINITION OF SUCCESS? Getting to write and perform regularly.
WHAT’S ON YOUR IPOD THAT WOULD SURPRISE YOUR FANS? That might be a long list. I have a fairly large collection of Arabic and Middle-Eastern music, seven different versions of “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” including an excellent cover by Cyndi Lauper, a large number of tracks by female singers and songwriters including (I believe) everything ever released by Jan Bell, Jolie Holland, and Dayna Kurtz.
NAME SOME ARTISTS YOU ARE CHAMPIONING:
Here are some folks I’d recommend checking out…
Jan Bell (and The Maybelles) (www.janbellmusic.com, www.themaybellesmusic.com)
Preacher Boy (www.preacherboy.com)
Jolie Holland (www.jolieholland.com)
Dayna Kurtz (www.daynakurtz.com)
C. Gibbs (www.cgibbsreview.com)
Bryan Miller (www.millersfarm.net)
Elyas Khan (and Nervous Cabaret) (www.elyaskhan.com, www.nervouscabaret.com)
M Shanghai String Band (www.mshanghaistringband.com)