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A Conversation with Thad Cockrell (continued)
PM: So how long have you lived in Nashville, Thad?
TC: About a year, I guess.
PM: And how are you liking it?
TC: I love it. It's very cool. Everybody is very supportive. I'm glad I didn't move here a complete nobody. I mean, I'm not famous, but if people in Nashville haven't heard my records, many at least have heard my name.
PM: Right. Yeah, I think a lot of people in Nashville knew who you were. At the last Americana Conference, I think you kicked quite a few hundred asses.
TC: That was the point.
[laughter]
TC: We certainly didn't play anything perfectly. Oh, my gosh, we pulled into town and knew that we hadn't rehearsed enough to make it sound polished. So before we went on stage, I said to just go for it, you know. Do whatever you want to do, and hopefully the spirit of the whole thing will overpower the lack of rehearsal.
PM: Oh, I thought it was amazing. And if you can't blow their minds with polish, you got to blow it with spirit, like you say.
TC: Yeah. So that's kind of what we were going for.
PM: I saw you one night recently, maybe it was at the Bluebird on a Monday night when Mike Henderson was playing. Have you seen much music or songwriters there that turned you on since you arrived?
TC: No, not really. But I've seen some really great rock bands. But I really haven't seen much. I think Gillian Welch is just un-freaking-believable.
PM: Yeah, they're pretty mindblowing, especially up close. [check out the Gillian Welch profile in our recent issue]
TC: But I have not heard somebody who when they sing they bare their essence in their music--I can't say that I have.
PM: On the other hand, it gives me hope for a country music when people are making records like you and Caitlin have in this duet release.
TC: Hopefully, before it's all said and done, there will be a lot of people who really love this record. Some people have said it could get a Grammy nomination, that would be amazing.
I really don't like to talk about what real country music is, all I can do is make the music I make. And hopefully, through word of mouth, people's appreciation for this music will be borne out in the same way that it has been in similar cases. I think people were so overwhelmed by Gillian Welch that they just made it a point to tell everybody about her.
PM: Yeah. I think that's a good example.
TC: Yeah. If your music is good enough, people will do that, because good music certainly is not as common as some people think.
PM: And I think following that example down a little, there seems to be a definitely growing audience for old-timey music and Appalachian music, and all that. And I tend to feel, and I'm sure you do, that there could likewise be a very capturable audience of varying ages for a real traditional country sound if it was put out there correctly.
TC: Oh, yeah. It's all about marketing, you know what I mean?
PM: Yeah.
TC: I agree. What kind of hit that home for me is when we go do a show there at Chapel Hill and Raleigh, there are complete families that come out to the show. If it's an all-ages club, they'll bring their kids out. And there will be people in college, and then there will be moms and dads, and then older people too. So I think, yeah, it can reach a wide and significant audience, if it's handled correctly.
PM: Yeah, yeah. I'm not sure that there's a huge audience out there for a lot of what's called alt-country. But I think the authenticity and the sincerity of the traditional Country sound has wider possibilities.
TC: Yeah. Well, I mean, in a perfect world none of the labels would matter. I do understand economics and commerce enough to know that you need to help people understand what it is by saying it's Country--but really, to me, what it is is music. When I hear Bob Dylan's music or Johnny Cash, to me, I just hear fantastic music.
PM: It's just music.
TC: Yeah, yeah. There's soul music that comes out in that, there's old-timey, there's bluegrass, there's country, there's blues, and there's the spirit of rock 'n' roll, and gospel, which is a huge part of it, lyrically and musically, at least for me. To me, that's music.
And really, with the alt-country, I mean, I hardly ever hear anything in it that's really impressive--it's pretty shoddy stuff, all too often. Well, this record, to me, in no way sounds like an alt-country record.
PM: I just think it's fantastic. continue
