Will Kimbrough
The influence of the songwriter in popular music is both unquestionable and under-appreciated. Where figures like Carole King and Burt Bacharach would emerge to receive their due – their talent irrepressible – many others remained cached in fine print, identifiable primarily to a narrow cadre of industry insiders, journalists, and erudite fans.
It would be undoubtedly tempting to peg Nashville-based singer-songwriter Will Kimbrough as a parallel fixture of liner notes and album credits. Such a multifaceted talent is not so easily construed, however.
Initially rising within the popular consciousness as a member of the Bis-quits, Kimbrough’s songs have been recorded by artists from Little Feat to Jimmy Buffett. An equally prolific sideman and studio hand, Kimbrough was tapped by Trigger Hippy to replace departing session ace Audley Freed. Country legend Emmylou Harris sought Kimbrough’s accompaniment as a guitarist, while Rodney Crowell and Portland-native Todd Snider have enlisted him to produce albums on their behalf.
Kimbrough has recently turned his focus to the resumption of a dormant solo career, a directional evolution he attributes to events taking place within his own family. Interviewed in advance of his Wednesday, February 4 performance at Portland’s Doug Fir Lounge, with Brigitte Demeyer, doors 8pm show 9pm, $10, 21+, tickets.
Kimbrough thoughtfully touches on the role of his family in the context of his career’s variegated character, as well as his time with Trigger Hippy and his ongoing friendship with drummer Steve Gorman - formerly of the Black Crowes. Kimbrough also expresses his thoughts on Nashville and its best clubs, and plans for a follow-up to 2014’s “Sideshow Love,” his most recent solo release.
Just briefly, before we get to the album, I wanted to get a little background and context. You have a pretty interesting story. What first drew you to music, and what are some of your earliest memories in that regard?
The first thing that drew me to music was just hearing music!
I have an older sister who had lots of cool records, so I heard that coming out of her room. I grew up on the Gulf Coast, and in the early to mid-70s, there was a great FM radio station that played great stuff. You know, they played the first early [Elvis] Costello records, played the early Springsteen records, and played the Who and the Kinks, and the Allman Brothers – good, old classic stuff that not everybody was playing in 1975 or 76, you know?
So I heard that, and I was also into regular old stuff, too, like regular old 70s hits when I was a kid. And they were some good songs. But I was not only interested in hearing it – I was interested in playing it. By the time I was 12, I had convinced my parents to get me a $20 guitar for my 12th birthday, and I started playing. And, you know, six months later, I was playing a show at, like, a skating rink, which is where you played when you were 12 years-old in the 70s. It was kind of where bands played.
I played skating rinks and I played bar-mitzvahs, and then I started playing clubs by the time I was about 16. And I’ve been a writer and a player my whole life, basically. I moved to Nashville in my early 20s because it was just the closest place where I could go and do that, and it’s remained a mecca for musicians, you know? Of all kinds.
And it’s even gotten more and more diverse as the years go on. But even back in the late 80s – when I moved there – it was pretty diverse as far as not being just mainstream country and that kind of stuff. Now I like to tell people, the first time I played at the Bluebird Cafe, I was probably 23 and I was nervous and I was playing a song that was new and I didn’t know if it was any good or not – but I had decided to play it because it was new – and I played it and I kind of felt like I hadn’t exactly wowed ‘em over, and I looked up, and there’s John Prine and Townes Van Zandt sitting there!
No kidding!
And so I thought – one thing I thought was, “Oh my god, those guys just heard me suck! “ And I also thought, “If they’re here, I can be here, too – if they’ve been here that long, I should stay here for a while.”
And then there was a variety of particularly great songwriters – Todd Snider, Rodney Crowell and Emmylou Harris, in particular. And then I did things as diverse as playing on records where the great African musician Toumani Diabaté was playing, playing on records by Jimmy Buffett – and they were cutting my songs – by Little Feat, you know, all this different stuff. And then working on all kinds of records. I mean, I’ve played as a session musician on over 100 records over the last 15 years, so I try to look for the creative work, but also – you know, I’m just another freelance worker in the world, as well. Although, in Nashville, there’s like 50,000 freelance musicians. [laughs]
Right. [laughs]
So I field offers, and I do try to keep it interesting, because it is what I’m doing with my life. I’m not clocking in and getting any kinds of benefits or anything.
So in the last few years, after playing with Emmylou, which was a thrill and an honor and a pleasure -
I didn’t know you’d played with her!
Yeah, I played with her through 2011 and 2012 – right to the end of 2012. And then I decided that I needed to just follow my stuff. Because I had a kid graduating from college, and my father was diagnosed with dementia – I mean I had a kid graduating from high school and going off to college. And my father got sick. So, I needed to make my own schedule. And I make a very busy and hard-to-keep-up-with schedule, but it’s still mine and then I can block out times when I can pull up the stakes and go check on my parents monthly, which I’ve been doing for the past two or three years.
So, anyway, I just decided to pursue full-time only my stuff – as far as going on the road – and playing on people’s records and producing a few records here and there. I produced Doug Spears’ record last year, which was a big hit in Scandinavia – it went gold and everything – not that that’s really my yardstick anymore. My yardstick is how good the music is and whether or not I’m making a living. But, nevertheless, it was a good record and it did well. So that was an interesting thing – for me to actually have some commercial success.
I mean, I’ve written some songs that were on records that sold. And, again, I’m not trying to make that the yardstick, but you do have to live!
No, I totally understand. My guitar teacher says that all the time. [laughs]
It’s like, “How do I make a living, and keep the quality there? And I’ve been able to do that over the last couple years. I’m in this band called Willie Sugarcapps, which is down on the Gulf Coast, even though I live in Nashville – so it’s about 450 miles away. But I’m down there a lot, anyway, checking in on my folks so it’s worked out. And that’s one of my favorite collaborations ever. Everybody’s so good, and everybody’s grown up now to the point where all they want to do is be free to do what they want to do, so the band is very – we sort of make it up every time we play.
Right. And it’s centered on that.
Yeah! So, it’s super fun and people like it, so it’s kind of got a communal vibe to it down there. And it’s spread out a little bit – we’ve got shows booked in Europe.
You know, part of what I say when I’m rambling on about all this stuff, is it’s really – it’s just a life. It’s sort of a way of life. It’s the musical way of life. I mean, it’d be nice to have just a little bit of a handle on the schedule and stay home a little bit more, but until that happens – and by the same token, you could also say I’m running a very small business, and so I have to do what I have to do. [laughs]
Watch him perform “Soulfully”
Click here to view the embedded video.
It seems like there’s an interesting dichotomy in Nashville – you’ve got this big pop-country industry and then there are the songwriters and the musicians behind the scenes who are doing their own thing. And they’re starting to get some recognition. Jason Isbell played here a couple of years ago on the Southeastern tour, and he was so good! What is going on in that city? It’s like there’s this simmering pot of substantive talent there. I know that’s kind of a silly analogy, but is that accurate?
Yeah, totally! You know, I’ll tell you one thing about it is this – just a nuts and bolts thing. I’m kind of a practical fellow – and not just by what I’ve chosen to do for a living – it’s an easy place to live. It’s easy to get around, it’s not very big compared to, you know, both coasts. It’s cheap, and, so you can have a little bit of a quality of life and not make much money.
And that changes, as we know. Everywhere – it gets popular and the rents go up and people that have money start moving in and all that stuff.
Yeah, that’s Portland now. [laughs]
Yeah, totally – I can only imagine. And so it’s happening in Nashville – the East Nashville thing and all that stuff. And now because of East Nashville, scenes of people are starting to pop up in parts of town that weren’t so highly regarded a few years ago. And I’m sure that’s happening in Portland, and in the Bay Area, in New York – Brooklyn, etcetera. So, it’s doing the same thing as that. And I think artistic people are trying to find a place where they can go and get started without having to have a massive inheritance or something. [laughs]
Right, right. [laughs]
Not having to go work for 20 years in the corporate world to try and make some money – and some people do that and they do well. Anyway, I think it’s that. And I think it’s because when you go there, you realize that – I mean, and I heard this the other day – I think it’s something like 80 people that move there every week now. So, on one hand, for the people who already live there, it’s kind of – there’s a little bit of a drag aspect to it. And that traffic gets worse, and rents go up, and all that stuff. And the property tax goes up, and all stuff.
But nevertheless, you still get this bigger diversity and it seems like I keep meeting new creative people who have moved there, or who have come into their own. And that can be a negative thing – the bar is continually set a little bit higher.
And Jason’s a great example of how it can be done without a major label. I know Sturgill Simpson just got signed to Atlantic Records – it’s a bit of a big-budget record. And I hope it does great.
Oh, he’s awesome. Yeah!
And I hope he does great. And we’ll see. And also, Doug Seegers - you can look him up, and look up his story. He has a really fascinating and interesting story, and he did really well in Scandinavia and is still trying to get it going here. And he’s not young. I mean, it probably helps to be young – when people look up on stage and they can relate to the fact that you’re their age.
But at the same time, I’m not really worried about that, because I’m in the middle of this continuous musical life. And so I go from playing with Willie Sugarcapps, to solo tours, and this trip I’m playing with Brigitte DeMeyer. We wrote her whole album and so when we go out and play together, we just play the whole show together because we can sing harmony together and play guitars together, and it has its own thing.
So the last time I was out here, I was playing solo, and so I’m doing this. And the next thing might be Willie Sugarcapps. Anyway, yeah, it’s a real creative and diverse life. So I’m really happy to have it!
Totally. Just for my own interest, where do the real musicians and performers in Nashville usually hang out at and play?
Well, there’s a basement which is downstairs from Grimey’s Records – the great record store. And so there’s tons of in-stores, and there’s show in the basement every night – they’re all in the same place. And there’s a great bookstore called Howlin’ Books right there, too. And then there’s the Station Inn. What CBGB is to punk rock, the Station Inn is to bluegrass. And it’s a great room.
And then there’s all the stuff on the eastside – the Family Wash, the Five Spot, and there’s several other places, too. But if you were there for a weekend and you hit all those places, you’d be good.
That’s cool.
And there’s going to be a basement on the eastside – there’s going to be a bigger venue, like a 300-seater. There’s the Exit/ In, which is a great, venerable – it’s been there forever. It’s been there since the 70s and everybody’s played there, from Steve Martin and Neil Young back in the 70s, to J.J. Cale – all those kinds of people. I took my daughter to see J. Mascis.
But young bands play there – new bands, of course. So the Exit/ In is there, and the End is across the street. And it’s kind of what’s left of the old alternative rock scene, the bygone rock bands with the big amps.
So there’s a lot of fun stuff. Mainly for me, I get to do sessions with people. I mean, I’ve done records this year with artists from inner Chicago, from England, and from Boston in Nashville. And that’s just exciting, you know? To get with artists and bring all my instruments and play with some great players and get influenced by somebody’s stuff.
It makes me grow, and it keeps me getting inside other people’s heads. I like that. Not everybody likes that. A lot of people find that to be hard work, but I find it to be a pleasure.
Yeah, it just stretches you out a little bit. Do a lot of the session cats and people like that usually play those clubs as well?
I mean, there’s many different varieties of artist and there’s the same diversity of session people so there’s a whole group of session people who never get called for mainstream country stuff. And at the same time, they’re starting to get more of that work because there’s a little bit more. There’s artists, you know, like Kacey Musgraves, who’s trying to do good music in the context of mainstream country – which is interesting to see people try, because it hasn’t been done all that much. [laughs]
Right. [laughs]
There’s plenty of great music. And the idea that Jason [Isbell] and Sturgill [Simpson] haven’t had hits in country is insane.
And people who go to a Jason Isbell show – in the South, there’s like every walk of life there. Or a Sturgill show. You know, old country fans, just regular Americans – middle Americans – hipsters, kids, college kids, frat boys – everybody’s there. And so, maybe it’ll change things. Maybe just the sheer fact that someone could, you know – it would be dumb not to try to make some money off of all that and let them do what they do. [laughs]
But I’m interested in all that, and seeing what happens. Meanwhile, I’m just going to get my thing – I remember after J.J. Cale passed away last year, or the year before, I listened to some interviews with him. And one of things he said – they were asking him, “How do you feel that you were not as famous as some of the people who recorded your songs?” And he said, “Oh, I’m just a guy in the fine print, you know? I just like to play and make up some songs and make records and go do shows sometimes. If you look in the fine print, there’s my name – I wrote the song.” That’s one of my mottos, too. I’m not trying to be obscure, but just carrying on and keeping our eyes open.
Those are always the most interesting people. I talked to David Lindley on New Year’s Eve for about an hour and a half, and he’s a consummate example.
Oh, yeah! Totally.
Speaking of bands that are starting to get some buzz, I’ve read that you were in Trigger Hippy for a little bit, replacing Audley Freed – which are some big shoes to fill. Is that true?
I was! Yeah, I did that. The thing that happened during the time I was out with Emmylou, and I was working on this record, “Sideshow Love,” or getting ready to start. And so, my plate was so full, that I did - I think it was the summer of 2012 – spring and summer 2012 dates – which weren’t that many – maybe 10 or 15. But they were kind of all over the place – out in California, the deep South, the East Coast, and up in the mountain west. And also some rehearsing, and jamming, and trying to figure out how to do it together. And, like what I said before, my dad was getting sick, my daughter was graduating from high school. And I finally had to to them, that I can’t do this, and everything else. So I had to back out.
Right, it was life stuff.
And they’ve got Tom Bukovac now, and I think they’re all happy.
Oh, he’s so good!
Yeah, and he’s a session cat, you know? He’s a good singer and guitar player, and he’s perfect for them, you know?
So did you know Steve Gorman and Jackie Greene and Joan [Osborne] beforehand?
Sure – yeah. I’ve known Gorman forever!
No kidding!
The Black Crowes actually used to come open for my band back in in the day!
I didn’t know that! I love them.
Well, before, they were Mr. Crowe’s Garden at first, and then they were the Black Crowes. They played a few shows with us as both. And they were young – like right out of high school at the oldest – which was really fun; to hear those guys and see them do really well. They’ve always been – and particularly Gorman. He’s one of the ones that we particularly stayed friends all these years.
And we ran into them at SXSW a few years ago, and he said something like, “I owe you a drink,” or “You know, when we opened for you in Mississippi that time, we drank on your tab and we didn’t pay it, and we were all saying that we owe Will a drink!” [laughs]
So that was fun, you know. And so I ended up in Trigger Hippy for a while, and I ended up having to bow out. It was a shame that I had to bow up, but I did. I needed to – and what ended up happening is that Willie Sugarcapps really came together right after that.
So in the end, it was all for the good, because I couldn’t really do both.
As you mentioned earlier, you’ve had a really prolific career as a songwriter and a sideman. How did that get started? Did you just get to know people and they liked your stuff, and that’s how it went? I always like hearing these stories.
Pretty much. That’s pretty much how that works in Nashville. I did actually audition for Emmylou, but she had also asked me previously to play with her, so I was on her radar. And when she asked me, I was playing with Rodney Crowell and I was in the middle of it, so I couldn’t just up and leave him in the middle of the tour.
So it’s really just word of mouth. People know each other, and they work together and they see how it goes. And often times, if someone’s playing guitar for someone on the road and they’re a singer-songwriter on their own, they’re really kind of wanting to be doing that. You need to have backup – you need to have people waiting in the wings to take over, because there are a lot of busy people just trying to do their own thing. And that was always me.
But here’s how it actually started was I met Todd Snider and -
Oh, he’s from Portland.
He’s from Portland, yeah. And I met him at some kind of a music hook-up – a SXSW-esque event in Nashville in the early 90s. I was in a band called the Bis-quits. We were on John Prine’s label, Oh Boy Records, and he was just getting signed to MCA Records. And we met, like in a coat-check room at a BMI party or something. So we kind of just said, “Hey,” and then when his first record came out, Eddy Shaver was the guitar player and he wasn’t going to go on tour with Todd. He was going to play with his dad, Billy Joe Shaver.
So they went looking for a guitar player, and I was one of the people that got the call, so I went down to the label – and this was the 90s – I picked up a cassette of the album and listened to it, and was like, “Well, I can do this.” And at the time, the Bis-quits had just broken up, and I was trying to figure out what I was going to do, and so I started playing with Todd, and next thing I know, my wife and I had our first child, and I was with Todd for four or five years. And then I was working as a guitarist for people, because the ball sort of started rolling and I needed to make a living, and I didn’t really get to stopping with life – there was no pause for reflection at that point. [laughs]
Right. [laughs]
And so, just over time, I just kept writing songs and put out a couple of records and kept staying on tour with Todd and Rodney Crowell, and ultimately, Emmylou. And I’ve done a lot of touring on my own as much as it allowed. I went over to Europe a bunch, and went over to England a bunch. I went to Australia and toured around the United States, but it was always just sort of when I was off of playing with all those people. So now it’s just turned back around to where, you know, I’m really pursuing just my thing and really enjoying it.
You know, I ended up playing on those records with Todd and Rodney, and still do some, so it’s fun to have those partnerships out there, you know?
So you’re primarily doing your own stuff, then? You’re focused on developing your career as a solo performer as opposed to songwriting for other people?
Well, and the songwriting. What I’m less interested in is just going out with somebody and being the guitar player on a tour. You just get on someone else’s schedule and it just takes over your life. And that’s just the only thing I have a problem with.
And so I’ve just sort of moved on into doing my thing, and then the collaborations, like the collaboration with Brigitte and the collaboration with Willie Sugarcapps.
Let’s get to the new album. I was just listening to Sideshow Love earlier today and really dug it. Can you talk about that a little bit?
Thank you! Yeah, that record, came out of a couple of really close friends had long-term relationships bust up, and -
Yeah, I got that sense. [laughs]
Yeah. And also, making new relationships. So the record is obviously really based around that.
When I had written the song, I think a song called “I Want Too Much,” and a song called, “Home Economics” -
“I Want Too Much” was one of my favorites.
Oh, cool! I kind of felt like I had a centerpiece for a theme, and then at that point, other, older songs started saying raising their heads, saying, “Hey, look at me – I’m here!” and then I wrote a bunch of new songs, as well. And it felt like – for me – a pretty coherent batch of songs.
Yeah, I would agree with that.
And so, you know, I just decided to put it out. I ended up doing one of those Kickstarter things, and that worked out well. So, I put it out, and I’m looking forward to doing another one as soon as I can.
Who were you working with on that album? Were you doing most of the instrumentation?
Well, here’s what I did – I’ve done this the last few records. I do a good bit at home. A lot of times, the first sort of demos of the songs are often the most sort of vulnerable and fresh performances.
Right, like Springsteen’s “Nebraska.”
Yeah, I mean, I always felt like when I got the bootlegs or the demos of my heroes’ records, I was always like “Oh, man, I wish they’d just put the demos out.” Or when you’re making a record and you’re chasing the demos and it’s like,“Oh, man, I wish I could get the same feeling.” And, you know, a good producer would often say, “Just use that – it sounds great.”
Right!
You know, like everybody says about that new Springsteen collection and stuff, everybody’s favorite in terms of timelessness is “Nebraska,” because it’s just him playing. And, you know, so that should be a lesson to us all.
Anyway, so a lot of times on this record – like “I Want Too Much” – is just a person who really got through it without messing it up. That’s why I decided, “Oh, it’s really fresh, it’s going to be refined from here.” And I didn’t want it refined. I mean, it doesn’t sound like – I didn’t make any mistakes or anything.
No, I know what you mean. It’s not like you’re gridding it in Pro Tools and trying to make it perfect, robbing it of its humanity. [laughs]
Right. So, it was done that way, and then I had a day at a friend’s slightly more advanced studio. We put some drums on a few songs, and put some harmonies on a few songs. And then I left it with him to mix. And that guy’s name is David Henry. Now he’s teaching in middle schools.
Oh, no kidding.
He was done. Owned a studio for years and had done a lot of great work, but had gotten kind of tired of owning a studio. [laughs]
Yeah, I guess that could get a little stressful. So what else have you got in the works? What’s inspiring you right now?
Well, there’s a new Willie Sugarcapps album coming out this year. I did a live solo DVD in San Francisco at Coast Recorders, which is a great studio in the Mission, and that’s coming out this year. Brigitte DeMeyer and I wrote two songs last night and today – hopefully for her next record.
And I want to do another solo record. I may do it literally solo – like sitting in front of a microphone recording the songs and maybe getting people like Brigitte to sing on it. And then just leaving it – maybe with upright bass overdubs.
Because I tour so much that way, it’d be nice to have something. And, you know, one of the reasons for that – and not just the nuts and bolts of the fact that I play like that a lot – but I really love great solo records. I love Mississippi John Hurt’s records, I love Mance Lipcomb’s records, I love Hank Williams’ demos, I love Nick Drake’s “Pink Moon.” Those are really stark records, and I think in a lot of ways I feel I can pull it off.
I was talking to this amazing guitar player named Julian Lage, who just did a solo guitar record, and he said it was intimidating – and that’s why he did it. There’s nothing to hide behind.
Right. Yeah, and he probably had played tons of gigs that way, and he just hadn’t made a record that way. Or maybe not. But I’m just saying that, you know, the growth – growth is a funny word; it sounds like a tumor or something. [laughs]
You know, the way Brigitte and I got playing – Brigitte and I did a gig where it was just two of us and two microphones. When you’re looking at it, it’s like, “What’s this? Oh lord!” But then you start doing it. We have our own sense of time here and there’s a lot of space.
Where are you guys playing at right now?
We’re going to play at Don Quixote in Felton, California, which is in the hills above Santa Cruz. You know, up in the Redwoods. So that’ll be fun.
That’ll be a nice gig!
We’re going to be playing on KPIG radio down in the Santa Cruz zone. Then tomorrow, we’re down at Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, which is a great place.
Have you played up at the Doug Fir in Portland before? Where do you usually play when you come through town?
Yeah, there and I played at the – what’s that other place I played last time?
Was it the Wonder?
Oh, man, I’m bad with that! [laughs]
It’s all good! I mean, you’ve seen a ton of places, I’ll bet. [laughs] I was just curious. The Doug Fir is a good venue. Patterson Hood from the Drive By Truckers did a little residency there over the summer. It’s good for solo acoustic stuff.
Yeah, I’m glad to be going there this time, for sure. Like the last time I played, it was a bunch of bands, and then me. And I did fine and had fun. But I know the Doug Fir is better. Freight & Salvage and Doug Fir – Brigitte and I are both really excited about playing those venues because they’re just great acoustic venues.
Speaking of the Crowes, Rich Robinson played there on his solo tour, which I also really dug. His band was really ripping.
Oh, cool!
Well, I don’t want to keep you any longer, so I’ll let you go. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk! I’m looking forward to hearing you play.
Thank you so much – I enjoyed it!
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