Transcript
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Hello and welcome to this week's episode of Uncle Dad Talks.
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I'm Uncle Dad and with me as always is the ever so charismatic,
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the handsomest one of all.
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Give it up for Mike Hampton or just Mike as you all know him. What's up, Mike?
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The intros never get old. Thank you. Hello, hello, everybody. Thank you, Uncle Dad.
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They should never get old because I want you to feel hyped up every single time,
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every interview, because you know what? You deserve to feel that way, Mike. Somebody has to.
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And I just get old, so there we go.
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Older. Older. There you go, right. Older. Mike, we have a very,
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very special episode, as we usually do.
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Today, we have two, arguably, people that could be your brothers,
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because I was looking at you guys, and I was like, oh, man, it's Mike's family here.
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Two also super studs. So let me tell you, this is a stud fest today.
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Mike, go ahead and introduce our audience, our guests.
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And this is one of those episodes where Mike's going to take the keys,
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and I'm going to be chomping in here and there. So, Mike, take those keys and introduce our guests.
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Yes, thank you. And you just keep it easy over there, big guy.
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So we've got, yeah, we've got, I'm excited to announce these guys.
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I really love the band that they play in, one of the bands that they play in,
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and we'll talk more about that.
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But two of the members of the band, Rising Appalachia, and we have David Brown and Duncan Wickle.
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Duncan, I said your last name correct, yes? Okay. Okay, I was saying it in the
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mirror over and over, hoping I'm saying it right.
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But yeah, so thank you guys for coming on. I know the band has produced about,
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what, nine studio albums? I think there's other remix albums.
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You guys have toured all over the world, like toured in some of the best venues
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in the U.S., I would say, like Red Rocks and the Preservation Hall in New Orleans.
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And that's just with Rising Appalachia. And I know you guys tour with other bands too.
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So welcome to the show, guys. Please say hello.
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Thank you. Thank you, Mike and Uncle Dad. It's a pleasure to be here. I miss you all.
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Yeah, thanks so much, guys. I'm really tickled to be on your podcast and to get to chat it up.
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And so, you guys, just so the listeners can know, because we can see your beautiful
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faces, say your name so people can put the name to your voice.
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Sure. Well, I'm Duncan Wickle, and I play fiddle and cello and do various other
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things in Rising Appalachia.
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And this voice belongs to me, David Brown.
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Yeah, and I think David wins. You guys listening can't see it,
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but he wins the award for best background out of all of us in our little windows
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here. I thought you were going to say best hat.
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I thought you didn't think of that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's also wearing a barber's hat. Go figure.
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Yeah, David, so where are you at right now, David, that has that beautiful backdrop?
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I am sitting at a friend's kitchen table in Basalt, Colorado.
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And this is more or less been not this house in particular, but this region
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in general has kind of been a second home to me for the past several years.
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And Duncan and I actually were just about a dozen miles up the road from here
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this winter and working on a project that I'm sure we'll get into.
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But yeah, this is really one of my favorite parts of the world outside of Asheville where I grew up.
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Right on. And yeah, Duncan, you look like you're in a recording studio,
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but I don't know, what's that red thing behind you?
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This is indeed some sound treatment that's behind me. I've picked the corner
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of my house with the least amount of chaos.
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I'm currently moving to Nashville this week, so I'm a little upside down.
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But yeah, you're dead on. It's my currently turned upside down home recording studio.
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You know, for a second, I actually thought it was a classroom.
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I was like, oh, he's at a classroom.
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Room so you
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so you're going from ashville to primary for the kids
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that's right he's in
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uh after school class so you're going from ashville to nashville
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is that right well my wife actually just
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finished program in connecticut so we've been
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living here we've been we've been moving a lot kind of
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since the pandemic which i think will continue into the future
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we're kind of just being nomadic nomadic couple
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of musicians yeah because y'all were when when
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when when were you all in paris was that pre-pandemic or
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post-pandemic uh we can't we arrived here from overseas about a year and a half
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ago we were there for about 10 months that's right yeah y'all have really been
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covering some ground for sure yeah well asphalte's such a beautiful place so
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so let's talk about that since we've mentioned it several times here.
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So the band's brainchilds, Leah and Chloe, are from Atlanta.
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So how did you guys meet and all come together to form the band or join the
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band, I should say? Nice. Nice.
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Well, it's a story with many layers, of course, like most good stories do have.
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I have a friend who I met in Asheville maybe about 20 years ago,
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this amazing musician by the name of Kalen Campbell, who I've got to credit
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for introducing me to both Leah and Chloe and to Duncan.
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He and I were in this bluegrass band right when I was finishing college. This was like 2005.
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The band was called The Greasy Beans. And Kalen was kind of like an older brother to me.
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I didn't grow up with any older brothers, but he introduced me to a lot of stuff,
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including old time music.
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And foraging for food and just kind of living this off-grid kind of semi-feral
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lifestyle, which was kind of something I was pretty passionate about there for a little while.
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And I guess it was within a year or two of becoming friends with him that he got out a CD.
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And it was a burnt CD. And it just said Leah and Chloe Rising Appalachia on it.
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And he put it on. And we were driving to this gig in Tennessee.
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And it was these two sisters, the two sisters of Rising Appalachia,
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the Founding Sisters. And I was just so smitten with the sound.
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I'd never heard an approach like theirs to the traditional Appalachian music
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that we're all so passionate about.
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And as the way things go, a few years went by, and eventually,
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I started to sort of run in the same circles as Leah and Chloe.
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And eventually they invited me to sit in for a few gigs, which turned into about,
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I think, 12 years now of playing together.
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And around the same time that I first met them, I was playing what's called
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a concert dance with this guy, Kalen in Asheville.
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And he, Kalen at the time to me was probably the best fiddler I'd ever heard
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of or had the chance to play with.
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And he said, I really want you to meet this teenager. His name is Duncan.
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He's 19 and he is so good. And I was like, wow, I've never heard.
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My favorite fiddler talk about another fiddler in such high esteem.
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And so within a few nights, Duncan and I were playing together and we just had a total blast.
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And that began our friendship. And maybe Duncan, maybe you can chime in with
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your side of it from there.
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Yeah. And long before I met David, I also knew Leah and Chloe independently
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of that from a series of summer workshops that would go on nearby,
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which I first attended when I was 11 in Swannanoa, called the Swannanoa Gathering,
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which, if you know, it's about 25 minutes outside of Asheville proper.
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And we kind of, we were, I'd say that we were acquainted.
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I was more of a sort of like scholarly nerd about fiddle music from the area and from elsewhere.
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And they were already kind of on to being the excellent performance artists
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and stage crafters and kind of mystical artists that they're known for now.
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I mean, I guess at the time they would have been teenagers as well.
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And then I would see them at the Lee Festival, which is also,
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if you're, for any listeners familiar with the Asheville area,
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you'll probably know about the leaf festivals and it's like a legacy
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cultural thing in the area i would see them there the following like i would
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see leah and chloe pop up and be like oh hey those are those girls from swananoa
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and every year at the leaf festival their audiences would it would grow and
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grow they would it would grow from.
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Them kind of doing tweener sets in the front of the
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main stage on on a little like muddy dance floor
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but while the crew set up the next band they were kind of
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like yeah you guys can kind of play and pretty soon the
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the crowds gathering around them in the front became bigger
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than the crowds that were coming for the main acts
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and they started to really kind of dominate and headline leaf and become associated
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as their kind of child band of the leaf festival And I saw that growth happen
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gradually over a very slow amount of a period of probably 10 years or so.
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And I never in my life imagined that I would have such a close working and personal
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relationship with them.
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I wasn't running in that circle, but I was very adjacent to it.
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The actual music scene in the early 2000s was very small, and that's how we all knew of each other.
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Me and David knew each other independently of Lee and Chloe,
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and we all were pretty well acquainted,
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and it finally kind of all meshed together for us at the right time.
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And David, I'd say, heavily lobbied,
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I don't know how he'd say it in his words, for me to be in the band.
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I think they were honestly a little skeptical at first.
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That's so true. From my reputation, or their association of me being a kind
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of conservative fiddle nerd, if you will.
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But eventually, we all won each other over, and I'm so glad that we did.
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I've been playing myself with them
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for about seven years now with everyone
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and the relationship just deepens every
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year awesome amazing it's like uh
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you're you're they've broken you down
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to be less the less conservative fiddle player
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they worked you in so how does that work though
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with with you guys with them when you're when
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you're making a a song do they come to
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you guys with with the melody and lyrics and say all right
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now you guys write the music or is it something that's a collective i'm sure
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there's different things for different songs but what's like a general give
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me an example of how you come up with a with a song together yeah i'm sure that
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process has changed a lot over the years and maybe david has more to say about
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how it's evolved i i think.
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What i've noticed since my involvement is is that there really is this nucleus
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of leah and chloe working on a seed together. And that's a very...
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Working on a song, it can be a very intimate thing.
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That's kind of how it happens, but there can be a pretty large variety additionally
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to how things unfold in natural ways.
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They can be inspired by a groove that's going on from within the circle of the band.
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And when we're just like playing during a soundcheck or something,
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Leo will just like be walking around with a phone like, ooh,
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play that again. We'll just be improvising something.
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Totally. So at some point, somebody is going to go through all these voice memos
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on her phone and, you know, 20% of them are just going to be sheer gold,
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like the inception moments.
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And then some of them are going to be us just acting so strange,
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being like, what was happening at 3.44 p.m. in Santa Cruz?
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But yeah, it's really run quite a full spectrum of the way songwriting has happened.
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And frankly, I think the pandemic, you know, it's affected us in so many different ways.
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But I think one of them was that it separated us.
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Like it created a lot of space between us for almost an entire year.
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And so I think that really changed the
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way some of our songwriting looked what I would
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say would probably be my favorite way that we've come
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up with music is literally when we just
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get all of our instruments out for for several days and we're just in a space
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together and you know we might have this like agenda of like okay this is what
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we're going to work on now but maybe when somebody's preparing a meal a couple
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of the band members get out their instruments and some interesting
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little musical conversations just kind of start happening.
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And then somebody is like, wait, what if I did this with that?
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And then all, you know, next thing you know, there's a really beautiful song
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just kind of emerging between us.
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But it's also really fun to be on the side of things where Leah or Chloe,
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they usually do, they definitely write the lyrics to the songs that we do.
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And sometimes they'll just bring a song that's underway, but they're looking
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for our input in it. And it's really fun to just figure out ways that we can
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all contribute something to it.
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Yeah, that's great that it kind of becomes a communal effort.
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You all can kind of have that openness to put something to it.
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Because sometimes it's not that way with a band, right?
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Like you're just, you're all sharing a dream job and basically have to be on
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the same page or willing to be enough on the same page.
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And I think it also relates to the kind of people that come and see all the shows.
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It's the same kind of communal kindness, openness, and willingness to kind of
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work together, right? Yeah.
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And would you agree?
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Wholeheartedly, personally, yeah. I mean, I think one of the interesting things
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about being a touring musician is that you play a lot of the same songs like many times in a row.
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And it's just such a gift to be able to kind of come up with your own part for
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it and have it feel true to oneself, as opposed to somebody just handing you
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a chord chart or something like that and just saying, play this.
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You get to feel like your soul is coming through it in a bigger way.
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And I think that feels really good.
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I'm curious, is there ever a challenge with collaboration? Do you ever feel
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like collaboration can't be as easy as it should be?
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There's definitely a lot of trust in this band. And I'm really grateful for that.
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I think that that's not something to be taken for granted.
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Having worked in, me and David both worked in a lot of other bands.
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And anyone who's ever been in the band or a
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marriage for for that matter or lived or
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had a family or traveled intensely can
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basically imagine what that dynamic would be like if you had to do that full
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time there's a lot of beautiful trust there's also a lot of negotiating that
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has to happen and that can take a lot of time and energy and sometimes you know
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of course you're like wow wow,
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this is taking so much time and energy.
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Is this trying to push my idea forward really worth what I'm putting into this?
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And usually, I mean, we've all been doing this a long time, and we know each other pretty well.
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And I think we're all in the band, we're all pretty solid.
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We're surprised all of us...
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Fairly mature communicators i i would i
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i think i could safely say and it's it's
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it's it's special i think it's why i've i
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think it's a huge reason personally why i've been in this band as long as i
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have at this point as opposed to maybe some other ones i i didn't stay with
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as long yeah i think i think sometimes getting together to to make music with
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somebody is especially something new,
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it can kind of feel like, you know, when, when people at a zoo put two pandas
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together and they're just trying to, they're hoping that they're just going
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to make a baby happen or something,
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but it feels a little bit contrived, but thankfully we, we haven't encountered
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too much of that in, in our little project.
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Usually, you know, there's, there's plenty of creativity in the air,
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but I think we've both had those moments where it's like, wow.
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So I guess, I guess this is what's supposed to happen right now.
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Yeah, none of us have seen any pandas more beautiful than us all together.
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Oh, there's some beautiful pandas, I'll tell you. So, yeah, communication.
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I love what you said, mature communicators, because not everyone,
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no matter how old of a panda you are, is going to be a great mature communicator.
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So i know you know it's it's it's it's happening that the band is going to take a break a sabbatical.
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And so how do you guys communicate how does that communication go like are you
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guys like well what are we going to do now we're in a band real quick you don't
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have to go too deep into it but like how does it how does how does that conversation
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kind of unfold and then refold into a lovely way for y'all.
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Well, yeah, I think,
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Well, I think for me, you know, I'll speak for myself, of course,
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I'm the youngest member of the band.
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I think I was maybe of the party that was a little bit like less ready to to
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be like, oh, yeah, let's take a break, you know, in the middle of things going
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really well, because this this band.
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It's we we've we've been on the up and up.
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I think it's it's kind of it's really much by
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by design and it's
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kind of deliberate in the face of of a lot of progress in
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recent years for the band i think in in the
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career of the band which i think strikes a lot of
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people as odd but there there's there's a
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number of good reasons for it that
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i recognize and respect i i
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so we so in
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fact we're taking a sabbatical from being on the road
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we're working on a lot of projects and
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and filling the coffers to use an analogy that that our leader leah loves to
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use with with new material that that we're going to have on lock and ready to
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we're going to be ready to release an album by the end of the sabbatical we've also just released.
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An album which is a covers album that that
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came out last week falcon anchor falcon
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anchor it's called there's some really beautiful songs in
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there there's everything from willie nelson to erica badu
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and hosier songs that are
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favorites of flea and chloe and favorites of the band so so we're really taking
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this time you know when you're on the road as much as we are it's It's hard
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to really give the attention that your material deserves in this, you know, your,
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your studio material and your, your, your compositional material.
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And it's hard to keep that stuff at your standard of quality that you want to
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with so much moving around and logistical things happening all the time.
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So I think we all see that this as an opportunity to really hone in on those things.
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And so we're working on that all the time together and got a lot of things to
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look out for on the horizon.
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Yeah, I would just chime in and add that, yeah, in terms of the decision to
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take a creative sabbatical this year,
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I personally, my first reaction was sort of like, wait, I felt like 2020 was
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one heck of a sabbatical for me.
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I didn't play any shows at all.
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I've kind of had this attitude of just like, put me in, coach.
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Put me in, put me in. Let's do this thing. I'm not getting any younger.
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But after that initial reaction, I just found myself reflecting a little bit
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on so many of the decisions that Lee and Chloe as leaders of the band have made,
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probably too, as Duncan hinted at, that too, like a lot of people,
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they might have said, why are you all doing that?
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That just doesn't make any sense in a conventional music career, say, to instead of,
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I don't know, shopping around record labels in Nashville or L.A.
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To go study folk music in Bulgaria for the summer.
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Like little things like that when they were young women leading all the way
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to the way that we've toured over the years and the things that we've turned down.
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But they've all turned out.
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I mean, I can't think of any time that a decision that Leah or Chloe have made
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hasn't worked out really well for us.
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And so, although I had some initial resistance to the idea of like kind of really
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slowing down, the more that I felt into it myself, remember the trust that I
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have in their leadership, which is really special.
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And I think like Duncan is saying too, it's just really important to carve out
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the time to remember why we do what we do and hopefully come up with some new stuff too.
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Otherwise, we're just kind of like a, we risk maybe repeating ourselves.
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Ourselves and i don't think we want to be doing that too much yeah yeah you
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want to have some new new gems to kick right from for when you guys play the
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next the next new round of shows and you know just i said it more profoundly
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yeah yeah right i really need some fresh jams.
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But you know and obviously they know they know what they know what they're doing
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and you know you guys like you said don't can you guys have been successful
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and you've continued to rise, no pun intended.
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But yeah, just as like a visual artist too, like I do tons of events and shows
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throughout the year and I fill my calendar up.
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And if I don't give my time, the actual space to work on new stuff,
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it's just going to be the same, the same things that I'm selling over and over.
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And at some point people will be like, dude, where's your new stuff?
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You know, I can't wait to hear it. And so while that's happening or something
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happened, and I think you guys, you know, I want to dive into the details of it.
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So not long ago, you guys, both of you, David and Duncan, are on some kind of
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retreat in Colorado, and you come up with the idea to come up with an acoustic
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album together while this kind of sabbatical thing is happening.
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Is that kind of the gist of the way it goes?
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Absolutely, yeah. Me and David, you know, our musical relationship
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started out primarily, you know, pre us being in Rising Appalachia together,
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playing Irish music and old time music together on banjo and fiddle and guitar.
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And we were doing an event at the Bayul Retreat Center, which is run by some
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dear friends of ours near where David is right now, outside of Basalt.
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And we were doing a Rising Appalachia event there this winter.
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And we're kind of, you know, the sort of cliff of this determined sabbatical
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was starting to loom closer and closer.
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And we were kind
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of we were we were sharing a cabin together me and david
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and david's espresso machine and we
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were sitting around for a lot of days and and
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one day we we were we were discussing a lot
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you know like what you know well how about all
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the all the uncertainty and everything we're kind of relating about
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that and and at a certain point we just
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started playing some tunes the way that
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we used to going back to our roots together and
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you know just it it felt really
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good and it made a lot of sense to be doing that it was there was a comforting
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thing about it and and i think that that that was the point that the the seed
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of the idea came together like you know this is a beautiful place where we are
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in this wooden cabin out here in the the total wilderness wilderness,
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just a snowy blanket of forests and mountains and streams and an espresso machine, I'll add. And we...
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And I think that was the moment where we were like, well, we should make this an official thing.
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We should actually bring some proper equipment out here to this spot.
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There was some time where we were like, well, we should just do it in Asheville
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because it's just logistically, it's going to make sense and it's going to be
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less expensive to us and everything.
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But we really felt like there was a magic in that place that we had to capture.
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Capture and and so it became pretty
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evident that that was what we should do yeah it
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was it was especially evident because like we we talked through the the concept
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you know like hey what if we just did this this year like we don't have much
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on the schedule and then the espresso machine just kind of gurgled in affirmation
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and i was like and we're like perhaps it's a sign i think
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that's why duncan mentioned the espresso machine but it
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was certainly a well caffeinated moment of inspiration for
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sure so so wait let me get this
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right so you do an espresso machine came up with an idea to make an album in
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the cabin in colorado in the snow while everyone else is possibly some other
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stimulants than caffeine oh maybe that's what i figured yeah well you know So
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if you're in a safe space,
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I mean, hey, what are you going to do? You have to.
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So not only did you lug your espresso machine in there, so did you lug, so correct me if.
390
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Did you record it or did you just write the songs and rehearse them and you're
391
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going to record them as a show or is everything in the can ready to go?
392
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We are in the finishing stages of it, actually.
393
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Yeah, to backtrack a little bit, our band, we did a tour of Colorado back in
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February and it ended at this place that Duncan mentioned called the Bayou Retreat,
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which is this amazing old like
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hunter's lodge with a bunch of kind of satellite cabins
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around it and for several years now our whole band has
398
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been going there and hosting these like small intimate shows there and gatherings
399
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that include you know song workshops and all of our little spin-off side projects
400
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and around that time yeah we were drinking espresso and we were playing a lot
401
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of tunes and And we were, you know,
402
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everybody was kind of scheduled to leave within a few days,
403
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but we had this conversation and this inspiration.
404
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And a lot of people there were really, as soon as they heard about it,
405
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they were like, yeah, you should totally do this, including the folks,
406
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the friends of ours that run Bay Yule.
407
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And we started thinking about dates in which we could head back up there later in the winter.
408
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For me, it felt really important to do it in the winter just because I'm just
409
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a huge huge lover of powder and snow and just the peacefulness of that.
410
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And so we started to look at some dates together and think through the logistics
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of how we could get both of ourselves and all of our quite a few instruments
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back across the country to do it and what support we might need to ask for from other people.
413
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And it ultimately led to a Kickstarter
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campaign, which which we're really happy to say went very well.
415
00:29:30,124 --> 00:29:35,404
And so we got back up there, we recorded it, and now we're just in the stages
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of doing the sort of post-recording work.
417
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Duncan spearheading the mixing of it and recording,
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There's a lot of things that go into an album, especially when you're looking
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at making physical copies of it, like with vinyl and CDs and that kind of stuff.
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So we're working away on all that right now and trying not to have too tight
421
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of a time frame of when to expect it being out.
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But hopefully it'll be here in the next few months.
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You know, you guys, that sounds like some fun little side projects that I need
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to get involved with. but some of my fun side projects are alphabetizing my comic book collection.
425
00:30:12,850 --> 00:30:17,390
So you guys are way cooler than me, but, but yeah, I wanted to mention you guys,
426
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you had your, your, your Kickstarter that really surpassed its goal.
427
00:30:22,450 --> 00:30:26,790
And two things that the name of the album we haven't mentioned yet is going
428
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to be the long, long branch sessions.
429
00:30:29,830 --> 00:30:33,510
One, why that name? And two, how does it feel?
430
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You know, and either one of you can take one of these answer one of these on your own.
431
00:30:38,090 --> 00:30:40,930
How does it feel to know like that the fans just
432
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are like show that much support you
433
00:30:44,210 --> 00:30:47,190
know when you guys could you imagine that you would have that much support
434
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from your fans i guess i should say well i
435
00:30:51,590 --> 00:30:58,030
will say that it's it's been incredibly i don't know if humbling is the word
436
00:30:58,030 --> 00:31:05,930
for it but but it's inspired an incredible amount of almost a sense of indebtedness
437
00:31:05,930 --> 00:31:10,210
a lot of the people you You know, I can see who the donors were.
438
00:31:10,510 --> 00:31:15,390
And a lot of these folks are strangers to me and a lot of whom are people that
439
00:31:15,390 --> 00:31:20,250
I know that decided to take, you know, part of their earnings,
440
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which just means so much to me personally.
441
00:31:23,650 --> 00:31:27,310
I had no idea that folks would just turn out the way that they did.
442
00:31:27,470 --> 00:31:30,870
I don't know if I'm expressing my gratitude in quite the right way,
443
00:31:30,990 --> 00:31:34,290
but I feel very indebted and really moved by it.
444
00:31:34,290 --> 00:31:38,290
But it's one thing to be a part of a bigger project and have fans show up,
445
00:31:38,330 --> 00:31:44,590
but to go out on a limb a little bit, that might be a connecting phrase to the Long Branch idea,
446
00:31:44,770 --> 00:31:50,850
but to go out on a limb and just try something new and to feel support from
447
00:31:50,850 --> 00:31:56,210
dozens upon dozens of people for me has been really meaningful for me.
448
00:31:57,090 --> 00:32:01,970
I don't know about you, Duncan, what do you think? Yeah, I can only agree I
449
00:32:01,970 --> 00:32:05,270
have so much gratitude and as you said from the,
450
00:32:05,890 --> 00:32:10,270
folks we don't know which is always a surprise when folks are coming out of
451
00:32:10,270 --> 00:32:13,710
the woodwork that you don't even know how they know of you,
452
00:32:14,670 --> 00:32:22,050
but also the friends and colleagues and fellow musicians that you know that
453
00:32:22,050 --> 00:32:26,670
they're working just as hard as you are to make a living doing the thing,
454
00:32:28,183 --> 00:32:33,183
totally it's yeah it makes it makes me want to do it right you know which is
455
00:32:33,183 --> 00:32:38,443
a really cool feeling it's it's a really as an as an artist like you you do
456
00:32:38,443 --> 00:32:42,083
face a lot of great you do you do.
457
00:32:43,563 --> 00:32:48,523
General you do end up in situations where where where people are expressing
458
00:32:48,523 --> 00:32:57,923
a lot of gratitude and joy about what you're doing and And it's amazing work.
459
00:32:58,063 --> 00:33:05,743
Sometimes it's difficult, but those moments always make it all worth it instantly.
460
00:33:06,683 --> 00:33:13,023
Yeah, I kind of think that if other people are taking you as an artist seriously
461
00:33:13,023 --> 00:33:20,883
or showing belief in what you're doing, it kind of forces us to do the same about ourselves.
462
00:33:20,883 --> 00:33:26,343
And I don't know that I've never felt like, oh, wow, this this actually is important
463
00:33:26,343 --> 00:33:29,823
until other people showed me in a sense that it was important to them.
464
00:33:30,063 --> 00:33:32,043
And that was really beautiful. Wonderful.
465
00:33:32,303 --> 00:33:35,443
I will say just a brief note about the name since you asked.
466
00:33:35,883 --> 00:33:40,043
So this retreat center that we've mentioned several times, Bayou,
467
00:33:40,123 --> 00:33:45,123
it has several cabins on it that are probably about 100 years old.
468
00:33:45,503 --> 00:33:51,603
And the one that we were staying in when this fateful kind of jam session and
469
00:33:51,603 --> 00:33:54,723
conversation happened, that cabin was called Long Branch.
470
00:33:54,723 --> 00:33:58,063
And so we just thought well if we
471
00:33:58,063 --> 00:34:01,463
just record an album up here at long branch with all of its old
472
00:34:01,463 --> 00:34:04,563
timbers and kind of slightly askew
473
00:34:04,563 --> 00:34:07,263
floors and all its old charm maybe we
474
00:34:07,263 --> 00:34:10,163
could just name it the long branch sessions it has a nice ring to
475
00:34:10,163 --> 00:34:16,323
it yeah it has a nice rustic vibe to it which we felt like was appropriate for
476
00:34:16,323 --> 00:34:21,203
the aesthetic of this particular release that we're going for and the whole
477
00:34:21,203 --> 00:34:27,383
experience for us that we wanted to make sure came across to the listener also.
478
00:34:28,471 --> 00:34:32,211
That's awesome. I mean, yeah, I love that you guys were doing a retreat.
479
00:34:32,391 --> 00:34:36,491
And then here comes an album and an idea for a Kickstarter and everything.
480
00:34:37,031 --> 00:34:40,751
Uncle Dad, you and I need to go do a retreat together, it sounds like,
481
00:34:40,851 --> 00:34:45,291
so we can get our acts together, right? I was literally thinking the same thing.
482
00:34:45,351 --> 00:34:47,251
I was like, we've never done that. We've got to do that, man.
483
00:34:47,271 --> 00:34:51,731
We've got to do a retreat and reconfigure what we can do next.
484
00:34:51,911 --> 00:34:57,091
I also wanted to add really fast on what you guys were saying about your support from your audience.
485
00:34:58,011 --> 00:35:02,551
It's truly something special when you realize that there are other people out
486
00:35:02,551 --> 00:35:05,891
there who connect to this in a way that maybe you will never understand.
487
00:35:06,731 --> 00:35:11,931
They connect to it in a way because it makes them think of something specific or whatever.
488
00:35:11,931 --> 00:35:17,111
Right and that to me is like the best branch anybody can offer right is the
489
00:35:17,111 --> 00:35:22,151
can hold on to that because you know kind of like the name right you're you're
490
00:35:22,151 --> 00:35:28,471
giving them a branch to hold on to so i think it's very good do you guys beautifully said.
491
00:35:29,631 --> 00:35:35,111
He's been doing really great at at saying very heartfelt things and so i want
492
00:35:35,111 --> 00:35:40,211
to commend them for that on the show very good yeah but to you guys let me really
493
00:35:40,211 --> 00:35:45,211
quick ask did you guys Are you guys doing vocals on this album,
494
00:35:45,411 --> 00:35:47,311
or is it just strictly acoustic,
495
00:35:47,791 --> 00:35:49,851
the instruments that you play?
496
00:35:50,631 --> 00:35:54,631
I think it's about, so we have, I think, nine songs in the can,
497
00:35:54,871 --> 00:35:59,091
give or take, and it stands at about half and half.
498
00:35:59,951 --> 00:36:07,271
It's a pretty equal balance of instrumental fiddle and banjo tunes from Appalachia
499
00:36:07,271 --> 00:36:09,071
and the British Isles and Ireland.
500
00:36:10,391 --> 00:36:19,891
And songs, the bulk of which, and I'm singing about half of those songs,
501
00:36:19,991 --> 00:36:22,371
David's singing about the other half of the song.
502
00:36:22,451 --> 00:36:24,811
I think it's basically two songs.
503
00:36:25,631 --> 00:36:29,731
I sing an original song of mine and a traditional song.
504
00:36:29,891 --> 00:36:34,291
David sings a really, really beautiful song that's a contemporary song.
505
00:36:34,531 --> 00:36:40,351
And also, maybe you want to talk about your songs, David. I think they're really.
506
00:36:41,525 --> 00:36:49,405
The two songs that David sings, I think, are very well fitted, knowing him as a person.
507
00:36:49,945 --> 00:36:55,265
And having said too much, I'll hand it over to you, David, about your thoughts.
508
00:36:55,425 --> 00:36:58,525
But yeah, I'm singing a couple songs. David's singing a couple songs.
509
00:36:59,565 --> 00:37:03,045
Well, I will say this. Duncan has one of my favorite voices.
510
00:37:03,465 --> 00:37:08,105
I mean, he's a beautiful singer. And to me, it was a real no-brainer to get
511
00:37:08,105 --> 00:37:10,965
him to sing on at least a couple of the things on it.
512
00:37:10,965 --> 00:37:15,245
And myself, I've always felt a lot more comfortable as instrumental accompanist
513
00:37:15,245 --> 00:37:20,165
and as a DJ and all kinds of things, ways of playing music that don't involve
514
00:37:20,165 --> 00:37:21,645
me actually having to sing.
515
00:37:21,725 --> 00:37:26,485
So it was a little bit of a stretch for me.
516
00:37:26,605 --> 00:37:31,145
And I guess it was a bit of a part of that branching out process for me to harp
517
00:37:31,145 --> 00:37:33,065
on the metaphor a little bit more.
518
00:37:33,205 --> 00:37:35,625
But I'm really glad we did it.
519
00:37:36,025 --> 00:37:41,865
I mean, I'll be totally candid here. Like some of my favorite albums have a
520
00:37:41,865 --> 00:37:46,525
mix of, say, like instrumental guitar playing or other instruments.
521
00:37:46,725 --> 00:37:50,125
And then there's a few tracks on it. I'd love Duncan your opinion on this.
522
00:37:50,305 --> 00:37:55,885
But like some of my favorite albums have some mix of both. And I usually just skip over the singing.
523
00:37:56,125 --> 00:37:59,505
Like I'll just skip those tracks because it just interests me less.
524
00:37:59,705 --> 00:38:05,165
But I thought to myself, you know, that's a really silly reason.
525
00:38:05,165 --> 00:38:08,785
And like, that's not the way that most people feel about music.
526
00:38:08,905 --> 00:38:13,325
And, and when I am really truthful with myself, there's actually some songs
527
00:38:13,325 --> 00:38:17,645
that are really meaningful to me that I think people would enjoy hearing.
528
00:38:17,705 --> 00:38:24,625
So I kind of just got over my little feeling about instrumental versus vocals
529
00:38:24,625 --> 00:38:26,085
and just kind of went for it.
530
00:38:26,185 --> 00:38:31,125
And I'm stoked to hear how they turn out when Duncan's done mixing them.
531
00:38:31,125 --> 00:38:37,045
Yeah, I have to say that I was really pleasantly delighted to...
532
00:38:38,015 --> 00:38:42,135
When I, when we arrived to do the retreat and, and I didn't know if,
533
00:38:42,235 --> 00:38:46,335
you know, what, what songs, I didn't know that, that, that, that one song,
534
00:38:46,435 --> 00:38:49,175
Wild Rose on the Mountain is one that David sings.
535
00:38:49,355 --> 00:38:52,735
So we talked about recording. So there was one that was a for sure.
536
00:38:52,855 --> 00:38:57,715
And I didn't know if he was going to bring any others. And he arrived with some
537
00:38:57,715 --> 00:39:00,055
really beautiful candidates that,
538
00:39:00,095 --> 00:39:05,055
that were connected to his family and place and culture that I really appreciated that,
539
00:39:05,055 --> 00:39:07,995
that he chose to, to approach
540
00:39:07,995 --> 00:39:10,695
it from that from that sort of like true to his
541
00:39:10,695 --> 00:39:13,375
heart kind of angle so so we one of
542
00:39:13,375 --> 00:39:17,935
those made it on that's i believe it's a shaker melody right david yeah it's
543
00:39:17,935 --> 00:39:22,815
an old it's an old shape note melody yeah it's it's shape notes sorry yeah yeah
544
00:39:22,815 --> 00:39:27,675
which is if anybody listening isn't familiar with shape note singing it's it's
545
00:39:27,675 --> 00:39:31,775
it's a style of singing that really took hold on the East Coast,
546
00:39:31,955 --> 00:39:36,695
and I think in Appalachia in particular, in the 18th and 19th century.
547
00:39:37,075 --> 00:39:42,435
And it was a style of singing that was all oriented around shapes,
548
00:39:42,835 --> 00:39:48,695
like triangles, diamonds, squares, and each shape kind of represented a tone to people.
549
00:39:48,955 --> 00:39:54,215
And so choirs would see these shapes written out on pages, and they would sing these notes together.
550
00:39:54,395 --> 00:39:59,855
And it's some of the most haunting and powerful like choral music i've ever
551
00:39:59,855 --> 00:40:03,775
heard in my life they're one of these melodies.
552
00:40:04,455 --> 00:40:08,235
I'm trying to remember what the words of the original melody were it it's gosh
553
00:40:08,235 --> 00:40:12,735
it's worth looking up it's it's something to do with welcome welcome every guest
554
00:40:12,735 --> 00:40:17,255
welcome to our festival or something like that like somebody could do a pretty
555
00:40:17,255 --> 00:40:21,355
funny remix about it because it's it's It's all about a festival of sound.
556
00:40:21,815 --> 00:40:27,015
Anyways, more recently, somebody wrote new words to it that really have to do
557
00:40:27,015 --> 00:40:30,535
with a sense of connection to place and music.
558
00:40:31,803 --> 00:40:35,583
It it's a really beautiful melody yeah i'll just say that and the words mean
559
00:40:35,583 --> 00:40:40,663
a lot to me as well so i'm excited that we got to track it down in that kind
560
00:40:40,663 --> 00:40:46,243
of in a a personal take on that shapeness style i love that you guys are singing
561
00:40:46,243 --> 00:40:49,903
david i've heard i've heard you play i've heard your dj,
562
00:40:50,903 --> 00:40:55,343
but i've never heard you sing and so but also if you guys have room and you
563
00:40:55,343 --> 00:40:59,563
need a hot 16 i'm happy Happy to come and throw down a verse on a track for
564
00:40:59,563 --> 00:41:03,223
you guys and spit some flows on the remix.
565
00:41:03,423 --> 00:41:06,283
And let me know, and I'll fly right over.
566
00:41:07,023 --> 00:41:14,663
Nice. You guys have to do it. You have to do it. Well, I think it would be important that both of you.
567
00:41:15,683 --> 00:41:19,203
Yeah, well, you're supposed to sing a duet right now.
568
00:41:19,803 --> 00:41:24,343
This can be your audition. Oh, okay. Are you ready, Mike? I can be your hype
569
00:41:24,343 --> 00:41:26,323
man. You can be my hype man.
570
00:41:26,823 --> 00:41:29,723
I mean, I'll do your ad-lib. That's what I would be. I'd be the ad-lib guy.
571
00:41:30,963 --> 00:41:34,863
Hey, in the words of E40, I don't freestyle. I don't rap for free.
572
00:41:34,923 --> 00:41:37,043
Oh, sorry. See how I got out of that one?
573
00:41:38,743 --> 00:41:42,983
Man, well, okay. So I know we're going to slowly start to wrap up here.
574
00:41:43,203 --> 00:41:45,503
So you guys are pressing records.
575
00:41:46,403 --> 00:41:51,583
And so if people didn't contribute to the Kickstarter, is this something that
576
00:41:51,583 --> 00:41:54,823
you guys are going to have available online for people to purchase?
577
00:41:54,823 --> 00:41:58,063
Or like are you guys gonna do a tour with
578
00:41:58,063 --> 00:42:00,963
just the two of y'all for this for this project like what's the
579
00:42:00,963 --> 00:42:04,083
once you're done and the album's ready is it
580
00:42:04,083 --> 00:42:08,483
going on spotify like what are all the details so that we can all hear it sure
581
00:42:08,483 --> 00:42:12,823
enough yeah so we'll be publishing it to pretty much all the platforms that
582
00:42:12,823 --> 00:42:17,603
people listen to music on these days in terms of you know via the internet like
583
00:42:17,603 --> 00:42:22,943
things like Spotify and Apple Music and Bandcamp and Tidal.
584
00:42:23,743 --> 00:42:29,083
And we are going to do a limited run of vinyl and probably a few CDs in there
585
00:42:29,083 --> 00:42:35,323
too for the diehard folks that still consume music that way or listen to it that way.
586
00:42:35,603 --> 00:42:40,923
And one of the very top tier of reward that we did for our Kickstarter campaign
587
00:42:40,923 --> 00:42:45,963
was a in-home sort of house concert with the two of us.
588
00:42:45,963 --> 00:42:51,183
And we actually have a nice spread of shows where people signed up for that.
589
00:42:51,303 --> 00:42:55,103
So I think hopefully pretty soon after we have our albums made,
590
00:42:55,243 --> 00:43:02,303
we will do some traveling maybe as soon as late summer or early fall to play some shows.
591
00:43:02,523 --> 00:43:05,663
And maybe we'll try to put a few more together in conjunction with that.
592
00:43:06,323 --> 00:43:10,563
And we'd love to sell the physical copies at those.
593
00:43:10,563 --> 00:43:18,183
And I would say beyond that, people should just reach out to us and I think
594
00:43:18,183 --> 00:43:22,323
we could probably figure out a way to get an album in the mail or a CD in the
595
00:43:22,323 --> 00:43:23,483
mail for those that want one.
596
00:43:24,863 --> 00:43:28,823
Where would people reach out to you? Give us a couple.
597
00:43:29,323 --> 00:43:33,823
You could do your website or your Instagram, or what's the best way if someone's
598
00:43:33,823 --> 00:43:35,403
listening to get a hold of you guys?
599
00:43:35,883 --> 00:43:43,063
Yeah, sure. Well, I think what we're both most well-known for is our main band, Rising Appalachia.
600
00:43:43,143 --> 00:43:47,723
And if anybody wanders over to, say, the Rising Appalachia Instagram or Facebook
601
00:43:47,723 --> 00:43:53,643
page, it should be pretty simple to find their way to Duncan or I's personal accounts.
602
00:43:53,643 --> 00:43:59,583
My handle on Instagram is castaneasounds, and not the easiest to spell.
603
00:44:00,503 --> 00:44:03,563
And Duncan's also got an intentionally misspelled one.
604
00:44:03,863 --> 00:44:08,123
It's, what is it, Duncan? My Instagram, it's america with a K,
605
00:44:08,203 --> 00:44:14,283
underscore runs with a Z, underscore on, underscore Duncan.
606
00:44:14,563 --> 00:44:18,743
D-U-N-C-A-N, which is how I spell my first name. America runs on Duncan.
607
00:44:18,983 --> 00:44:22,803
Awesome. It's going to be up there until I get a seasoned assessed letter.
608
00:44:23,783 --> 00:44:30,143
And in any case you can also i update my website as much as i can at duncanwickle.com
609
00:44:30,143 --> 00:44:37,003
d-u-n-c-a-n-w-i-c-k-e-l oh i would suggest that i would suggest that somebody
610
00:44:37,003 --> 00:44:42,663
searched for david brown on google but there's quite a few imposters out there so.
611
00:44:44,227 --> 00:44:49,607
David, why don't you spell it, would you please, because Castanea is also your DJ name.
612
00:44:49,707 --> 00:44:53,367
You want to spell that for our listeners just in case they're listening and
613
00:44:53,367 --> 00:44:56,467
they want to just type that in and go directly to you.
614
00:44:57,287 --> 00:45:04,867
Yeah, I would be so honored if anybody wanted to make a note of it. It is C-A-S-T-A-N-E-A.
615
00:45:05,547 --> 00:45:10,107
And then the second word is sounds. And Castanea is the word,
616
00:45:10,187 --> 00:45:17,107
the Latin genus for the chestnut tree, which is a really special tree to the people of Appalachia.
617
00:45:17,367 --> 00:45:21,347
It's got a really amazing story behind it, which we might need to save for another podcast.
618
00:45:21,747 --> 00:45:26,907
Anyways, Castanea with a C sounds, and that's a Gmail or on Instagram.
619
00:45:27,227 --> 00:45:32,747
Yeah. I love that both of your Instagrams not just relate to you,
620
00:45:32,947 --> 00:45:34,687
but they relate to where you're from.
621
00:45:35,027 --> 00:45:37,887
Yours is from the chestnut trees of where you live. And Duncan,
622
00:45:37,967 --> 00:45:41,567
you were just in Connecticut where there's a million Dunkin' Donuts on every corner.
623
00:45:41,667 --> 00:45:44,167
So that's clearly why that happened. Am I right?
624
00:45:44,787 --> 00:45:47,587
Yeah, I was born in the North.
625
00:45:47,607 --> 00:45:53,767
I consider myself a North Carolinian because I lived in Asheville from age six to about 18.
626
00:45:54,407 --> 00:46:00,207
Before I was six years old, I lived in the Northeast and I was made fun of by
627
00:46:00,207 --> 00:46:04,067
the kids on my block who always called me Dunkin' Donuts.
628
00:46:04,067 --> 00:46:07,547
And I just remember when I moved to North Carolina when I was six,
629
00:46:07,647 --> 00:46:10,087
I never heard it. And I was so happy.
630
00:46:10,287 --> 00:46:14,447
And then the moment I moved to Boston in 2007 to go to college,
631
00:46:14,627 --> 00:46:16,867
I walked into a Dunkin' Donuts.
632
00:46:16,947 --> 00:46:20,527
And the first friend that I made was like, hey, it's a Dunkin' in the Dunkin'
633
00:46:20,527 --> 00:46:22,467
Donuts. And I was like, no, this shit again.
634
00:46:24,547 --> 00:46:28,247
It's like a bad Twilight episode. But I'm moving to Nashville next week.
635
00:46:28,267 --> 00:46:29,667
So it's all going to be over.
636
00:46:30,107 --> 00:46:34,527
You know what, though? So Dunkin' Donuts are, they're just called Dunkin' now.
637
00:46:34,647 --> 00:46:37,327
Actually, did you know that? They dropped the donuts.
638
00:46:37,647 --> 00:46:40,647
Let's say my name's Donut. No problem.
639
00:46:42,903 --> 00:46:47,883
God, people are so nice. So you guys are also, I know there's a few tour stops
640
00:46:47,883 --> 00:46:52,023
that you guys have left with Rising that are throughout the month of June.
641
00:46:52,483 --> 00:46:58,543
Listeners can go to risingupalachia.com and see what you guys are playing in Asheville.
642
00:46:58,583 --> 00:47:02,843
I know you guys are playing in Big Sur at, what is it, Tree Bones,
643
00:47:02,863 --> 00:47:04,383
which is such a really cool place.
644
00:47:04,723 --> 00:47:06,543
So everyone, please go there.
645
00:47:07,283 --> 00:47:09,023
Uncle Dad, do you have any last questions?
646
00:47:09,983 --> 00:47:11,763
He always likes to do that to me. I'm going to throw this out there.
647
00:47:12,723 --> 00:47:16,223
Yeah. I'm going to throw this out there. Mike, you know I love throwing things out there.
648
00:47:16,923 --> 00:47:20,183
When you guys do some shows and you guys are out here on the West Coast,
649
00:47:20,323 --> 00:47:23,443
you guys need someone to give you guys the best intros ever.
650
00:47:24,103 --> 00:47:28,483
You let me know. I will do it for free. MC Uncle Dad.
651
00:47:29,823 --> 00:47:32,003
That's a great name. I'll give you your hype, man. No problem.
652
00:47:32,183 --> 00:47:35,143
I can get everybody ready to go. Just let me know because I would love to have
653
00:47:35,143 --> 00:47:37,603
the opportunity to introduce you on one show. If you want.
654
00:47:39,263 --> 00:47:43,043
He'll do it for free. I'll definitely take you up on that. Please, please do.
655
00:47:43,823 --> 00:47:48,603
Mike, I think we're good. Yeah, I just have one last question and it's very serious.
656
00:47:49,623 --> 00:47:53,083
Does the espresso machine make a guest appearance on the album?
657
00:47:54,563 --> 00:47:58,983
Just because you said that, I will include a soundbite on the album. There you go. All right.
658
00:47:59,263 --> 00:48:04,443
And not to be confused with an espresso machine out of Dunkin',
659
00:48:04,443 --> 00:48:06,043
right? Out of Dunkin' Donuts.
660
00:48:06,383 --> 00:48:09,163
No, no, no. I think that'd be like a...
661
00:48:10,083 --> 00:48:12,743
That that would be like the sound of like a
662
00:48:12,743 --> 00:48:15,703
friar exploding or something yeah yeah we
663
00:48:15,703 --> 00:48:18,943
don't like nobody likes that no one wants to hear that david duncan
664
00:48:18,943 --> 00:48:23,663
uncle dad thank you guys we're all we're so happy to have you guys on and we're
665
00:48:23,663 --> 00:48:27,743
so happy the success and the fan support that your album is coming out again
666
00:48:27,743 --> 00:48:34,563
it's called the long branch sessions and we'll stay tuned and and we will also
667
00:48:34,563 --> 00:48:38,423
So help promote it when it does come out. And thanks again for coming on guys.
668
00:48:39,163 --> 00:48:41,103
Appreciate you all. Thanks so much for your support.
669
00:48:42,263 --> 00:48:47,543
Thanks guys. Absolutely. Mike, before we leave, you gotta be the one that had us out. Come on now.
670
00:48:48,243 --> 00:48:52,023
That's right. And just to remember, we're not uncles, we're not dads.
671
00:48:52,643 --> 00:48:54,683
And we will see you all next week.
672
00:48:55,483 --> 00:48:58,083
God. And I totally screwed up that we're someone you can talk to.
673
00:48:58,323 --> 00:48:59,663
I was like, come on, dude.
674
00:49:00,743 --> 00:49:04,783
I guess I need an espresso. Jesus. Right. Three one. Mike, Mike,
675
00:49:04,783 --> 00:49:07,103
I can edit that part out. Let's do it again. Are you sure?
676
00:49:07,783 --> 00:49:11,923
Yeah, I'll bring it up. Okay. I mean, it's kind of funny. We can't do it without
677
00:49:11,923 --> 00:49:14,103
you having you exit us out. Come on now.
678
00:49:14,463 --> 00:49:17,163
All right. We are not uncles. We are not dads.
679
00:49:17,603 --> 00:49:22,503
We are just someone that you can listen to, and we will see you all next week. Take care, everybody.
680
00:49:22,480 --> 00:49:47,653
Music.
