And it looks different than what it would look like I think if I didn't have kids. I'm a dad, my kids are almost 8 and 12, and so I feel like I kind of see the world a lot of times through their eyes.
Questions about our obligations to one another. MT: Like I mentioned a couple minutes ago, questions about spirituality and what place that occupies in my life. IF YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE SHARING, I'D LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT THAT, AND YOUR PROCESS FROM FEELINGS TO WRITING. WHAT ARE TYPICALLY THE SORTS OF TOPICS YOU WRITE YOUR MUSIC ABOUT? I SEE A LOT OF EMOTIONAL LYRICS WITHIN YOUR MUSIC. So, I had a lot of time to sit with my thoughts and my instruments and come up with this thing that feels uninterrupted, maybe. I did a lot of writing that wasn't interrupted by having to play shows. I was just at home here, in this room I'm sitting in actually. But I think this record feels really condensed because I wasn't traveling at all. They're about questions about spirit, and about what our obligations are to each other as humans. MT: To be honest, I am continually working with the same themes on my records. HOW IS THIS DIFFERENT FROM THE REST OF DISCOGRAPHY? WHAT'S SPECIAL ABOUT THIS ALBUM? THE BAND HAS A NEW ALBUM RELEASING IN JUNE WHICH I READ IS KIND OF A PICTURE OF YOUR LIFE THESE PAST 5 YEARS. I think we need to find those places, certainly right now. But I think it's important to do that, to be able to do that, or start to do that. Speaking truth out into the world, standing up for what you really think and not backing down from that can put you in a vulnerable place. I think part of the inspiration for that song was the ways of telling the truth and speaking the truth. THE BAND'S TOP SONG, "SANCTUARY" THAT WE PLAY ON WERS, CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE INSPIRATION AND DRIVE BEHIND THAT ONE? People aren't really going to mistake my music for reggae, but that's what I listen to a lot of. That's stuff I feel really connected to and that sort of musical influence comes into my own music in sideways ways. Everybody from King Tubby to Freddie McGregor to Marsha Griffiths, Cornell Campbell. That's what I spend most of my time listening to. You know, roots reggae which is kind of like devotional reggae or dub reggae. My favorite era is the 1970s-1980s which is most of what I listen to and buy.
I think he was an amazing songwriter and had a really incredible touch when it comes to rhythm. MT: I love Curtis Mayfield, he's a really big one for me. WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR MUSICAL INSPIRATIONS OF THE PAST OR PRESENT? I get a lot of questions about it and I don't really have a great answer. It just kind of exists in this mysterious sort of universe. I was still playing in another band, so it was sort of my side thing. That's when the earliest Hiss Golden Messenger shows started happening. I started using the name probably about 2006 I would say. MT: It's a name that I came up with when I was still living in San Francisco at the time.
HOW DID THE NAME HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER COME TO BE? I FIND IT VERY INTERESTING. Like when I make music and listen to my own music as I'm working on it, it has to feel emotionally believable to me. Soulful to me means something that feels emotionally genuine. But I feel like I am just trying to make music that feels soulful. I feel connected to some of that music, or parts of it. I understand why people say that it's folk or a lot of times Americana. I KNOW YOUR BAND'S GENRE LISTED ON MUSIC PLATFORMS IS FOLK, BUT IF YOU COULD PUT AN ADJECTIVE TO DESCRIBE YOUR TYPE OF FOLK MUSIC, WHAT WOULD THAT WORD BE? They talked about everything from the upcoming release to the band's origins, inspirations and musical process. Taylor recently sat down with staff writer Kelsey Sidman. North Carolina-based folk group Hiss Golden Messenger is set to release their latest studio album, Quietly Blowing It, next month.
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