#30daysofWVmusic Story Archives - Page 10 of 11 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Corey Shields: 'Change is Going to Happen… No Matter What'

But those interviews have been a bit infrequent, and since West Virginia Day is coming up (not to mention A Change of Tune’s second birthday), we thought we’d do something special: 30 days, 30 brand new #WVmusic interviews that range from Morgantown alt-rockers and Parkersburg singer-songwriters to West Virginia music venues and regional artist management and beyond, all of which contribute to this state’s wild and wonderful music scene.

And today, we are chatting with 27-year-old Parkersburg singer-songwriter Corey Shields. Or should we say Mid-Ohio Valley singer-songwriter, because you might find him playing more often across the border in Marietta, Ohio than in his hometown of Parkersburg, West Virginia. But why is it hard to build a scene in that part of the Mountain State? Let’s find out…

Corey Shields’ newest release is Only Questions. Hear more #WVmusic on A Change of Tune, airing Saturday nights at 10 on West Virginia Public Broadcasting. And for more #WVmusic chats, make sure to go to wvpublic.org/wvmusic and subscribe to our RSS / podcast feeds!

Interview Highlights

On starting music in Parkersburg:

I thought I wanted to be a drummer when I was 9 or 10. I remember they brought the junior high band to our elementary band, and they let us try different instruments. I immediately wanted to play the snare drum. Of course, Mom and Dad weren’t too happy about that because it’s the noisiest of things. My neighbor actually was a drummer, so he gave me a snare drum, and I’d sit around and pretend like I knew what I was doing. But it never really went anywhere.

And then I had some family troubles, became the typical teenager. I was 13, and I found a nylon string classical guitar under my grandma’s bed. I had no idea what I was doing, but thought it might be cool because all the cool kids play guitar [laughing]. I proved myself enough so that my grandma just let me have it. My mom bought me an electric guitar for my 14^th birthday, it was one of those $100 nothing-special-guitars, but I still have the guitar. I kept it. I’m one of those sentimental types. I kind of moved from there and spent every penny that I could through high school buying all kinds of gear.

Then I was in bands in high school and wanted to do the whole rock star thing. And I guess that feeling never really died.

Corey Shields isn’t afraid to belt it out.

On loving rock music as a kid and playing more acoustic material as a young adult:

Nothing changed because that was always the type of music I was listening to, but as a 15- or 16-year-old kid, I’m like, “Heavy metal for days!” I always had this love of pop music, like Justin Timberlake. I don’t care what kind of music it is. I love a really good hook.

I was at the exact right age when metalcore became the big thing with bands like Killswitch Engage and Avenge Sevenfold. I loved that stuff because it had hooks, but it was heavy. So I still got to wear black t-shirts and things like that.

When I was around 14 or 15, John Mayer came on the scene, and I fell in love with his music. And I still love his music, even though I’m not a fan of his personality sometimes. People are like, “Oh, you like the guy who plays ‘Your Body is a Wonderland.’” And I’m like, “No, I like the guy who plays with Steve Jordan and Pino Palladino.” He uses a lot of jazz chords and things, and it’s more intricate than it appears.

On staying in West Virginia after college:

My senior year of college, my wife Heather and I went to Pittsburgh, our concert destination. And we actually went apartment hunting at one point. We were totally committed. I was going to graduate, and we were moving to Pittsburgh. That was the goal. That was exactly what was going to happen. I was supposed to graduate in May, and in February we found out she was pregnant. So we hit pause for a second to reassess everything.

All of our immediate family is in Parkersburg or the very near area. There’s no one in Pittsburgh for us. So it was more of a family decision of how can I tell my mom, “You’re going to be a grandma… Oh and we’re moving three hours away.” I couldn’t do that in the same breath.

So we hit pause, and we started looking, and we found that we could live in Parkersburg and go ahead and buy a house. Heather’s a nurse, and she was able to get a job right away. So it just worked out. It made the most sense to stay here and stay with our family.

On #thestruggletostay in West Virginia:

Speaking of Parkersburg specifically… the local establishment is not the most helpful in terms of the arts and the arts scene in this area. It’s a city that’s heavily populated with the older generation, and they don’t want us kids coming in, tearing up their nice things. I get that vibe a lot. I try to introduce myself to people, and they see me, catch a glimpse of a tattoo, and see my long hair, and they immediately assume the worst. There’s been a few times where that’s been really annoying because people just make assumptions about you. So that part’s been really frustrating with Parkersburg specifically.

That’s where Marietta, Ohio, came into play. Their scene has been super helpful to me. You can see West Virginia from some of the venues I play there. It’s right across the river. And for some reason, that magical bridge across the river is just a different world of this music culture that has really embraced me.

If I just went off the reaction I got in Parkersburg, I would’ve stopped playing music immediately. I never would’ve bothered. There’s not a lot of support right here, and it’s really frustrating, especially in the last year after watching Huntington and Charleston and the awesome bands there from afar. I feel hundreds of miles away. It’s a different world.

That’s my thing in Parkersburg: I’m a hometown guy, and I don’t play offensive music. My music’s not in your face, cursing everywhere. It’s pretty laid back music. You’d think I could get some support around here. Honestly, it feels like other places have really taken off, but I haven’t moved from square one in my own town.

Corey Shields has high hopes for the Mid-Ohio Valley.

On things he sees in Marietta that he’d like to see in Parkersburg:

Number one: young people. I don’t want to sound like I’m talking down on my city, because I honestly do love Parkersburg. I think it has a lot to offer if it was just utilized properly. But you could put Marietta verse Parkersburg as the liberal versus conservative towns. That’s exactly what it feels like. Because you go to Marietta where it’s fresh, it’s always clean, young people everywhere. Then you go to Parkersburg, and there’s not a whole lot. Our downtowns are night and day. I wish Parkersburg would catch up, but I don’t know, it feels like there’s some people holding Parkersburg back. It feels like there’s a hold on Parkersburg, like it’s stuck in the past, where it won’t trust the new young adults.

On his new debut record Only Questions:

April of last year, I went out and started playing some open mics, trying to meet some like-minded people. I started building meaningful relationships with other musicians. I immediately found that if you don’t have material, no one will book you, believe it or not [laughing]. So I decided to record an EP, and it was done over two weeks. It certainly wasn’t the best, but it was enough to get the point across and help me get some gigs, meet some more people. Things kept moving at a somewhat scary pace, honestly. It picked up faster than I thought it ever would.

I had these songs I was playing all the time, but they weren’t recorded yet. All of the songs had been written. I really wanted to put them together and record it all properly so I started recording end of December, early January. I think I had 15 songs, and I ended up cutting a few. I recorded it on my own. I just used the equipment I acquired over the last 12 years or so. I threw together the album, and I talked to a friend of mine about helping me with some album art, and she jumped on it. The album art’s probably the coolest thing I’ll ever be involved in.

The album artwork for Corey Shields’ debut release was shot by Mid-Ohio Valley photographer Liv Hefner. You may see her work in the regional publication Clutch MOV.

On #WVmusic outside of Parkersburg:

My wife and I seriously listen to Ona’s American Fiction in the car, just for fun. I would listen to a band like Ona no matter where they’re from. It’s awesome that they’re from Huntington, that’s incredible that you could slip into the V Club and see them. But the location didn’t draw me to them; it was their sound. That’s what I’d like to get out of the Mid-Ohio Valley. It doesn’t matter where we come from, it’s just good music.

A few months ago in Marietta, I got to play before Tyler Childers, and he was so incredibly kind to me. That was my first step into the Huntington scene. He was really nice to me, and he named some people I should talk to like Ian Thornton and JJ Waters. I started messaging these people after the show, and all of these people have been really nice to me.

Corey Shields’ American Minor CD, signed by one of the band members.

Bud Carroll’s American Minor was my first “sneaking into a club” show. They opened for Shooter Jennings in Athens, Ohio, and it was a 21+ show, I was 16, and my mom snuck me in. I got to see American Minor front row. I immediately put them into this rock star category. I learned a few of their songs playing along with the CD. The thought of guys like Bud Carroll ever hearing anything I do, it’s unfathomable to me.

And I really like Todd Burge, who only lives a few blocks from me. I was on a run last year, and I found out he lived right there. I really like what he’s done. He’s really friendly, really helpful, gives me advice anytime I ask for it. I mean, he’s the reason I got to play with Tyler Childers. It’s incredible how all of these things line up.

Music featured in this #WVmusic chat:

Corey Shields- “Stars”

Corey Shields- “Only You”

Corey Shields-“Long Drive Home”

Corey Shields- “Light”

The Hills are Alive… with the Sound of Bookworm Effects' Pedals

And today, we are chatting with Morgantown musician Brian Spragg, but he’s more than just a musician. Rather than focusing on his own accomplishments, Brian has given back to the West Virginia music scene by producing and selling guitar pedals and effects through his company Bookworm Effects. In addition to that, he teaches kids how to use those pedals and the basics of music through a Morgantown-based non-profit called PopShop. Without a doubt, Brian is a nontraditional, but very important part, of our growing music scene. And that’s why we’re talking to him today.

Brian Spragg is the founder of Bookworm Effects, a West Virginia-based company that produces guitar pedals and effects for musicians. You can check out the gear he makes on Facebook. And while you’re at it, go ahead and give A Change of Tune a rating and review on our Facebook so others can discover this chat. Hear more #WVmusic on A Change of Tune, airing Saturday nights at 10 on West Virginia Public Broadcasting. And for more #WVmusic chats, make sure to go to wvpublic.org/wvmusic.

Interview Highlights

On growing up on the border of Ohio and West Virginia:

I’m originally from Martins Ferry, Ohio, which is right next to Wheeling, West Virginia. If you wanted to do anything in my hometown, you had to go to Wheeling because there was absolutely nothing going on in Martins Ferry, especially no music venues. Every once in a while, they would try to get something together, but it wouldn’t really go well. I remember when we had a Park Legion uptown, where people would go bowling. It had a big space, and [my band at the time] talked about possibly doing a show there, but the owner was against it. He said, “Kids will bring drugs.” [And we’re thinking,] “Well, the idea is, if we had a music place, they would come to this instead of turning to drugs. You’re actually ruining it for everyone else.” So yeah, stuff like that is just super dumb. Just people stuck in their ways.

On getting involved with music in Ohio:

It was around 1997 when I started noticing more about music, so I bought more CDs. I had random CD’s or cassettes before that, but I never really cared about music. I started getting into music more, and that Christmas I got a guitar.

When I was 17 or 18, I was in a band that was really bad. It was kind of a hardcore-ish band. It was dumb. It was a bad band. But it helped me.

After that, I graduated high school and went for a semester to Ohio University Eastern. I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do with anything. Right after that, I went to five- or six-week recording workshop program in Chillicothe, Ohio, with my brother. As soon as I got out of that, I got a job in my hometown and started buying recording gear and learning about recording as I was doing it, recording friends’ bands. From there, I met a lot of the people I would be around more in Morgantown. I met more people in Morgantown who were into music, so it was easier for me to come here, play music, and record. So I moved to Morgantown about nine years ago.

I’ve been playing for nineteen years, which sounds so long. I’m old, and I should be a better guitar player, but I’m not.

On being in a “really, really bad” band in his teens:

It was called 77 and October. I don’t know if there’s anything online about us, but you can probably find it. There was this guy, I don’t know where he’s from, but he had a blog called Soft Rock Renegade, and it has a bunch of bands from around the time we were together. So if you’re listening to this interview… don’t listen to that band [laughing]. Please. I mean, I don’t hate it, but it was definitely my first band. I’m friends with all those guys [in the band] still, and they all say the same thing.

&amp;amp;lt;a href=”http://softrockrenegade.bandcamp.com/album/77-in-october-sound-effects-added-to-lessen-tragic-impact”&amp;amp;gt;77 in October – Sound Effects Added To Lessen Tragic Impact by 77 in October&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;

On getting into guitar pedals and effects:

I’ve really always been interested in pedals. My bad band had a ton of pedals whenever we played. But I didn’t have experience in producing them until two-and-a-half years ago, when I was finally sick of most of the overdrives and distortions I would buy. I would become disappointed and say, “Oh, I guess I’m stuck with this pedal now because I spent $100-$200 on it.” So I decided to look into it and first see how they worked. But as you’re learning more about what’s inside them, you think, “Well, it’s not that complicated (depending on the features).” So it started with that and snowballed. And now I’m obsessed with it, and I look at schematics all day.

Deerjerk (aka Morgantown native Bryn Perrott) collaborated with Brian Spragg on this Malta Kano pedal.

On naming his company Bookworm Effects:

It was one of the first names that actually stuck. I remember thinking that I was going to put pedals into candy tins. But then I was like, “You know what, those are super flimsy and I really don’t want to do that.” I probably thought about that for, I don’t know, ten minutes.

But I was thinking of bookworm or bookmark, but bookworm just stuck. It’s kind of catchy, even though it’s kind of corny.

On guitar effects and the reason for using them:

You could play music all your life and never use a single pedal, but pedals (or any effects at all) are like different colors to paint with. So you can change something. It doesn’t have to be a drastic change; it can be something really subtle. But it can give a song or some piece of music a different feeling. It’s good to have different options for sound.

On which #WVmusic bands use Bookworm Effects products:

Bishops‘ Tucker Riggleman uses a couple different pedals of mine.

I don’t think they were really a band when I sold a pedal to Sara Rudy of Hello June. I don’t know if she uses it live now, but I sold it to here right at the beginning of the company.

Just recently, I sold one to Derrick Shanholtzer-Dvorak of The World is a Beautiful Place & I am No Longer Afraid to Die. That just happened. I just ironed that one out.

On collaborating with West Virginia artists on pedals:

I sent messages pretty far in advance saying, “Hey, I want to do this pedal, and I would like you to do the artwork for it.” This was probably eight months before I even launched the Kickstarter, so I didn’t want to rush anyone with the designs. I said, “Here’s the name of the pedal, and you can do whatever you want.”

I met Haypeep (or Sage Perrott) before that. We had a mutual friend before I moved to Morgantown, so we knew each other through them. But pretty much everyone else I met coming into Morgantown.

Brian Spragg’s first pedal was the Billy Pilgrim Overdrive, which gets its name from Kurt Vonnegut’s 1959 novel Slaughterhouse-Five.

On building his first pedal:

The first one was real basic. I kept it really simple with just one knob of volume control. It was the very first Billy Pilgrim Overdrive. It didn’t take too long to do. It’s based off of an old design for a guitar effect called the electra distortion. There were these guitars in the ‘60s called electra guitars, and they had a bunch of effects built into them, and the electra distortion was built into a switch on the guitar itself. It’s based off of that, it’s not exactly that, but it was a good stepping stone learning about that because it’s a pretty basic overdrive circuit that responds to playing. There’s a ton of boutique pedal companies with effects based off of that.

On his favorite pedal:

I think my favorite is the Atticus Finch. I always wanted to build a pedal that was an overdrive that colored my sound in a good way and not a bad way. The term is overused in the pedal industry, but transparent overdrive means your guitar should sound the same going through the pedal and hits the amp. That’s why I like the pedal so much: it doesn’t change your sound too much; it changes just enough for a difference.

On future pedal designs:

I pretty much have a tremolo ready to be made, but I’m terrible at figuring out a name for it. I was thinking about something that would go along with tremolo, and there’s a J.D. Salinger story called “The Laughing Man.” [There could be an audio connection between] laughing and tremolo, which is when the sound cuts out, so that might be cool. But the thing about The Laughing Man is that it’s based on a short story, and I love the story, but it’s a hard to get an idea of what the pedal would look like. There’s not much of a description of the character of The Laughing Man, and if I base it off of what’s in there, it’s not a very good-looking image in my head.

Can you name the seven literary references in this photo? Artwork credit from left to right: Deerjerk (Bryn Perrott), Karri Rose Roberts, Josh Mason, Jordan Hudkins, Haypeep (Sage Perrott), Deerjerk and Brian Pickens.

On working with other West Virginia artists:

I have maybe five to ten West Virginia artists who want to design a pedal, and that’s great! [Laughing] I just have to design more pedals first.

Dylan Balliet, who also plays in The World is a Beautiful Place & I am No Longer Afraid to Die and does a solo thing called Spirit Night, expressed interest, and I want him to design a pedal. I’m just not sure which pedal yet.

And in Charleston, Dan Davis from Kin Ship Goods. I need to talk to him again, because I think we were talking about doing a limited run. So I have to get a hold of them soon. When I started the Kickstarter, he printed the first run of shirts for me. Kin Ship Goods doesn’t print other people’s shirts, so that was really sweet of them.

On the #WVmusic scene:

There are a ton of awesome bands and performers from West Virginia, and I’m happy to share the city and state with them. It’s great. It’s such a huge, weird music culture that no one really knows about. I really like how vast it is, with tons of different genres and things. It’s not like West Virginia only does one thing well; everything has something really good.

On teaching music classes at the Morgantown non-profit PopShop:

Brian Spragg donates his time to PopShop, a Morgantown-based non-profit devoted to music education and the local arts.

I teach a music program in Morgantown at a place called PopShop. Starting last summer, we had classes where you could learn what goes into a guitar pedal and then make-and-take your own pedal home. It’s a four-week class, and we have that every session every four months. I actually wouldn’t have gotten into learning about and making pedals were it not for PopShop and Chris Russell (who started PopShop).

Sometimes when we’re teaching kids and playing music, they won’t notice the difference if there’s distortion or no distortion. So I wanted to teach a pedals class to show what effects are and how they work and how to use them in a certain manner.

PopShop is so much fun. Kids, even adults, are getting together and learning to play as a band and learning how to work as a team. It sounds cheesy, but it’s super important as a band because you can’t have four people doing their own thing. That’s super rewarding, and knowing what these bands are capable of is super awesome.

Music featured in this #WVmusic chat:

–Comprehensive demo of Bookworm Effects’ Malta Kano Distorted Reverb

–Comprehensive demo of Bookworm Effects’ new version of the Atticus Finch Overdrive

–Comprehensive demo of Bookworm Effects’ BigWig Bass Driver V2

Tim Lancaster: 'We May Be Starting Our Own Genre Here'

Since the show began almost two years ago A Change of Tune has highlighted some of the best up-and-coming artists out of these West Virginia hills with podcast-y chats ranging from Tyler Childers to Ona, Teammate’s Scott Simons to Jordan Andrew Jefferson and beyond.

And today, we are chatting with West Virginia-by-way-of-Florida folk troubadour Tim Lancaster. If his name sounds familiar, that’s because he was just announced as Harpers Ferry National Park’s Artist-In-Residence for Summer 2016 (which is kind of a big deal). We spoke with Lancaster about that prestigious gig, as well as his experiences making music in both big cities (i.e. Orlando) and up-and-coming towns (i.e. Huntington).

Tim Lancaster’s newest release is My Times with You. Keep up with the young singer-songwriter on his website and through social media. Hear more #WVmusic on A Change of Tune, airing Saturday nights at 10 on West Virginia Public Broadcasting. And for more #WVmusic chats, make sure to go to wvpublic.org/wvmusic.

Interview Highlights

On his musical origins:

My father plays a little bit when he’s off from work. He was always around playing “Dust in the Wind,” and I thought it was the prettiest song I ever heard. I figured if I could learn how to play it, I’d be happy, and of course I finally learned to play it, and then I wanted to learn more.

But then I got into high school and started wrestling, and with wrestling you don’t have time to do anything else, at least how I approached it. So I put all of myself into wrestling and took a break from the guitar. By senior year, I had enough of starving myself and decided to pick up the guitar again.

Tim Lancaster doing what he does best: playing music and telling stories.

On becoming a folk musician:

I wouldn’t say I’m a professional or anything, but I really got into that style of playing a guitar in 2008. I went to Wilkesboro, North Carolina with a buddy to go to Merlefest, which is a festival put on by Doc Watson in honor of his son Merle who passed away in a tractor accident. I went just because my friend was going, and I was into that music, but the first time I heard Doc Watson play he was twenty feet away from me. It struck me like a bolt of lightning, not to be cliché, but it was really something. Just how honest and pure it was. When I started listening and trying to do my own thing with it, that’s when I feel I finally found what I was supposed to do with my instrument.

Up until that point, I was all over the place. In high school, you want to be in a band that sounds exactly like Radiohead or Led Zeppelin, but it wasn’t until I found this style of music that I was able to be happy with the way that I sounded, and I wasn’t trying to sound like anybody else. Granted I was taking from a lot of inspirations, but I was able to morph in into my own voice.

On finding West Virginia:

I first moved from Florida when I was 19 or 20, and I had a friend who had a friend in Huntington who had some recording gear. I wanted to record some songs that I had, which ended up being my first album which I called A Finer Line. I started recording in this room called The Record Room with Shayne Barker, who is good friends with Max Nolte. During that same weekend I was here, Max also recorded me, and those are the recording we ended up using for that collection. The rest is history.

After that, I’ve always felt that Huntington was my second home because whether I was living in New York City or northeastern Vermont, I was always coming back to check in on my Huntington bubbies. It’s always on my mind. Here I am. I was just in California last summer, and now I’m back here. It’s been a weird home base, and some people think I’m crazy for it, but there is something special here. Every place is different; it’s just what kind of different you like.

Tim Lancaster and one of his best “bubbies:” his guitar.

On deciding to permanently move to West Virginia:

I’d been living in Vermont for three years, and I loved it there. I loved it there so much, and it was really hard to leave. But we’re too young to be set in my ways, and I hadn’t lived here permanently. So I decided to check it out, got a place here, lived here, really liked it, and made a lot of new friends. Those are the same friends that brought me back here. I lived here for ten months, got the itch, went out west through the fall and early winter.

But when I was out there, every time something crazy would happen, I kept finding myself calling my bubbies in Huntington, wanting to tell them what wild thing happened or to check up on how they were doing. Then one day I thought, “What the hell. There are a lot of good things going on in Huntington. Let’s give it another shot.” And I’ve been very happy since I made the decision. The people here are great. What I like about it is there’s a great balance between having a good time, and the amount of productivity that happens here, which is an important thing. It’s important to have a good time and get down with your friends, but then also to get something done that’s meaningful is even more important than that. Both of those things are happening here, which I enjoy.

On recording his first record in West Virginia:

I recorded it a couple days before I moved from West Virginia last year with Max. Max Nolte will probably be the one to record everything I will ever do, at least if I have anything to say about it [laughing]. He’s my bubbie. He’s a comfortable person to be around. He’s improving, and I’m improving. With each time we do something, it’s interesting watching each other grow, and it’s nice to not have any real pressure. With My Times with You, I knew I was moving, and I wanted to record something because I had been living here for 10 months and I hadn’t recorded anything, so I was just able to get up in The Loft with Max and record a few songs. In a couple hours, they were all done with a first take. They were all done in the first take, and here we are putting it out.

A couple things have changed [since My Times with You’s Bandcamp release in July of 2015]. It has a new cover, which is a photograph of me in a birch tree in Maine, a silhouette image, which was taken by my friend Shane Tulp when I was living in the Northeast. Picture was taken in the last couple of weeks of me living in Vermont. I think the image really captured what the album was about: half of the songs were written in my last year living in Vermont, and the other half are a reflection of that time in my life.

On rereleasing My Times with You on physical format:

Tim Lancaster’s latest release will have a new and improved look later this month when it becomes available in physical formats.

I guess I’m tired of having the same albums on the merch table [laughing]. But when you release something on a physical format, it gives a certain level of legitimacy to that collection of songs. And these are songs that I think are great songs, I don’t want them to be written off as something I can just throw on the internet. I want them to be something that somebody can be hold in their hands and hopefully in their hearts.

Bandcamp makes it really quick and easy for people to access your music. I just found that it’s harder for me to sell my songs because not a lot of people know who I am. But maybe if they see me perform and like what they hear, they’ll be more attuned to buy the album from me right there as opposed to, “Oh, well I have this thing on Bandcamp that you can log onto later when you are hungover if you remember talking to me at all.” [Laughing] So it’s much easier to get the album to them at that moment than have them think about it later. But maybe I should be performing better to make it stay in their [potentially hungover] minds.

On the story behind My Times with You:

I’m trying to think of how I can phrase it without embarrassing myself [laughing]. It was kind of about my first experience with love, which I found in Vermont. And then we decided to do different things with our lives, and I moved to West Virginia. So the other half of the record is me reflecting on that time that I spent up there. And I’m fortunate to be able to incorporate her. The liner notes of the record are a poem of hers, which I think is very, very cool to have that on there.

You always have to be positive with everything. Things change; that’s just how it is. You have to be fine from it and take from it in a positive way. You can’t let it get you down, because you can learn something from any situation. And that’s just going to make you grow. You’re always going to be constantly changing.

You know, I’m not sure [if the ex-girlfriend gives the record five stars]. [Laughing] I remember after she listened to it, she said that I played the songs a little differently than I would when we were in the cabin. But I think she’s cool with [the record].

&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a data-cke-saved-href=”http://timlancaster.bandcamp.com/album/my-times-with-you” href=”http://timlancaster.bandcamp.com/album/my-times-with-you”&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;My Times with You by Tim Lancaster&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

On the highlight of his musical journey:

Playing music has given me this cool vagabond troubadour persona, which has given me the confidence to go places. That’s probably my favorite part of it. It’s almost an excuse for being young and making music decisions to be able to be like, “Hey, let’s catch a ride to New York City and live there. Hey, let’s go work for rent in Vermont for three years. Hey, let’s go to California.” [Laughing] It’s nice to have that in my back pocket to use like, “Oh yeah, sure, I’m doing this because I’m trying to be a responsible musician.”

What’s next for Tim Lancaster? Wait and find out…

On that one time Tim Lancaster wasn’t Tim Lancaster:

When I was playing music in Florida, I went by Tim Holden. You’re in your teens, and you want to be anyone but yourself. No name can be possibly good enough for you [laughing], so I called myself Tim Holden because the name of the band I had at the time was called The Holden Boys. I would get mail which would be addressed to Tim Holden, so my mom would be like, “Who is this? What are you doing?” Looking back, it was pretty silly of me. I mean the most important thing I can be is myself. And Lancaster doesn’t sound that band when I think about it. I think it works.

Music Featured in this #WVmusic chat:

Tim Lancaster- “Let Me, Let You”

Tim Lancaster- “Riders on the Plain”

Tim Lancaster- “Sweet Pea”

Tim Lancaster- “Singing in the Wind”

The Spanglers: Not Your Typical 'Family Band from West Virginia'

And today, we are chatting with The Spanglers, a rock’n, folk’n family band out of Lewisburg, West Virginia. Between the six of them, The Spanglers have over 80 years of combined experience as musicians, not to mention hours and hours of original material. Which begs the question…

The Spangler family have been playing music for over 30 years.

How did The Spanglers start playing music?

Mark Spangler has been playing music since the 1980s and has had a couple songs chart on the West Coast scene as a solo artist. His children–Hannah, Josiah, and Evan–grew up surrounded by different instruments and genres of music, and at young ages, started playing music and writing songs together and with their dad. Now, Mark, Evan, Josiah, and Hannah collaborate as The Spanglers who consist of: Mark Spangler on lead vocals and guitar, Josiah Spangler on drums and percussion, Evan Olds on bass and percussion, Hannah Logan on background vocals, Bill Clapham on keyboards, Abigail Reynolds on background vocals, and Jeremiah Hatfield on lead guitar.

Why did you choose your last name for the band name?

We are known around our hometown as a musical family and are often referred to as The Spanglers. Accordingly, we’ve adopted The Spanglers as our band name. We think it has a ring to it.

Where do The Spanglers play around West Virginia?

We frequent Southern West Virginia, playing festivals, clubs, coffeehouses, theaters, and private events. We recently played The Walker Theater with Ron Sowell and friends at Tamarack, and we’re slated to play the Wanderlust Festival at Snowshoe Resort and the West Virginia State Fair, to name a few.

What’s been the highlight of The Spanglers’ musical journey?

We have enjoyed writing, arranging, recording, and now releasing our latest album, Restless. The album is completely original, recorded by our friend, Kenneth Clutter, and featuring artwork by our friend and West Virginia artist, Jacob Logan.

The Spanglers, pictured here recording at Turkey Knob Studios in Fayette County.

What advice would you give to anyone starting to make music?

Have fun. Practice hard and frequently. Don’t try to sound like your musical heroes; find your own voice. Don’t let your preconceived notions of what others may think squelch your creative process. Be creative, do your best, and trust the listener.

What’s it like making music in West Virginia?

Our music has been well-received, and we’ve been fortunate to have a pretty full schedule. We encounter a wide variety of venues, and fortunately we have the capability of playing both as a full-scale rock band and as a stripped down acoustic ensemble, depending on the size of the venue.

The Appalachian culture is musically and artistically diverse, so we’ve noticed a wide age-range represented in our fanbase.

Do you feel held back by being in West Virginia? Or does it feel like a musically-supportive place?

We’ve long enjoyed a very strong network of musical friends. From attending the songwriters group that meets at Tamarack the first Friday of every month, to swapping shows with other bands from other places, we feel creatively validated by the musical camaraderie here in West Virginia–where musicians are each others’ biggest fans.

Catch The Spanglers around the state, including at Charleston’s Taylor Books.

What, in your opinion, needs to happen in the West Virginia music scene for it to move forward?

Externally, West Virginia tends to draw stereotypes that are inaccurate, including in the musical community. When folks hear “a family band from West Virginia,” they are not likely expecting to hear what The Spanglers play. Nonetheless, we’ve been pretty well-received, and we do like to surprise people with our sound. Mediums like radio programming, social media, and festivals can promote the eclectic sounds of West Virginia and strengthen West Virginia’s musical image and offerings to the world.

Internally, West Virginia artists and businesses/venues need to be mindful of how they benefit one another. Many artists operate at a loss financially, and some artists hurt good business by lack of professionalism. We think an open dialogue among venues and artists could help West Virginia’s music scene and promote business and tourism.

The Spanglers’ latest release is Restless. Keep an eye on their social media for their summer tour dates, including June 11 at Melody’s in Beckley and July 30 at The RailYard in Bluefield. To hear more #WVmusic, tune in to A Change of Tune, airing Saturday nights at 10 on West Virginia Public Broadcasting. And for more #WVMusic chats, make sure to go to wvpublic.org/wvmusic.

What's Missing from West Virginia? We Ask the Band Themselves

And today, we are chatting with What’s Missing, an alternative rock outfit out of Morgantown, West Virginia, who aren’t afraid to put a little pop in their punk step. If there were ever a band name to capture the current political climate and self-questioning concern in the Mountain State, What’s Missing would be the name to bear. But what is the actual meaning behind the band’s name? And, in their opinion, what’s missing from the #WVmusic scene? Let’s find out…

How did the band begin?

We formed in the fall of 2013, once Zane Miller, Molly Ranhart, and Aaron New got to West Virginia University. We had all been friends before that (Zane and Molly were dating at the time), and had been planning on doing music once we were all in the same place. We decided, “Well, we’re more independent now, so let’s take a shot at this music thing and see what happens!”

So we got Matt Herrald in on the deal to play drums. Zane and Aaron were on guitar and vocals, and Molly grooved on the bass. We got our first gig at the Main Street Cafe in Clarksburg, did a little recording with a friend in Fairmont, and then the summer of 2014 rolled around.

Aaron got busy working, so he left the band, and we became a five-piece with a few line-up changes until March 2016 (though in that time, we managed to release an EP and play a few shows).

Now we’re back to our original line-up. We’re working on a new single to release in the coming weeks, and we’re writing a new album and picking up some shows in and around West Virginia.

Where does the band’s name come from?

The idea came from Zane. He had a void in his life that was left after his old band, Playground Mentality (of which Matt was also in), broke up. The name evolved out of the nature of the project, which was to fill that gap of musical creativity that was missing in his life.

How has the band’s sound changed over time (if at all)?

There’s definitely a lot of pop punk influences in the earlier stuff we wrote and recorded. As time’s progressed, we’ve tried to adopt and craft our own sound, drawing from influences from a variety of bands, like Brand New, Basement, Rozwell Kid, and so on.

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What’s it like making music in West Virginia?

It’s such a unique place to be an artist. One thing we love is that it gives us a wonderful place to be creative, and it’s so simple to travel out to bigger places because everything is so close. We face the struggles everyone faces in trying to grow and support a scene, but the people are here just as they are everywhere else. The music scene here is super tight. We have friends across the entire state. I don’t know if that can be said about artists in other states, but I think it’s amazing that those connections can be made here so easily.

Do you feel held back by being in West Virginia? Or does it feel like a musically-supportive place?

Saying this place is holding us back isn’t necessarily true. In our perspective, West Virginia may not have the opportunities that people may have in, say, Philly for example, but the opportunities are definitely here (just look at Rozwell Kid). This place has been a gateway to connect with many other scenes and musicians, allowing us to get to know people everywhere. West Virginia is a hub of musical growth, and while the insane amount of activity isn’t always evident on the surface, it’s always there.

U92 FM has a long history of being Morgantown’s source for indie/alternative music discovery.

How has U92 FM [West Virginia University’s college radio station] played a role in the band’s development?

Aaron is currently the program director for the station. In his time out of the band, U92 gave Aaron the foundation to learn more about the music industry, to make a lot of connections to other artists, and to apply his new knowledge to help other Morgantown bands. Once he rejoined the band this past March, Aaron was able to take those skills and apply them to band functions. Out of that, we’ve gotten opportunities to go all over the Northeast to play shows, record with established musicians and producers, and meet amazing new people.

What’s been the highlight of What’s Missing’s musical journey?

The biggest thing has to be writing, recording, and releasing an album. That alone is something none of us have done before (sans Aaron, but he wasn’t in the band at the time we did all of this).

What, in your opinion, needs to happen in the West Virginia music scene for it to move forward?

We just need to open it up to the people here and make them more aware of it. Convince more kids to pick up an instrument and play with friends. Make really terrible music even! Throw house shows, even if five people show up! It’s encouraging people to get more involved in the arts. I’ve seen people turn their living rooms into art exhibits! Let people know that expressing yourself through art is an amazing thing we can do.

What projects/announcements can we expect from What’s Missing in the coming months?

Working on a new single to release this summer. Some shows in and around the state coming up. And we’re currently writing for a new album to come out (hopefully this fall).

Tracking drums for a new-ish tune. #recording #drums #music #studio A video posted by What's Missing (@whatsmissingwv) on Mar 13, 2016 at 1:09pm PDT

Any advice you’d like to pass along to West Virginians wanting to get into music?

It’s something that’s been said time and time again, and no matter how often it’s said, it rings true: just get out and do it. You only have one life, so make the most of it. We’re lucky to be still be young. We’ve heard it from people even just ten years older than us, how they wish they’ve gotten into it sooner and stuck with it. That’s something we’re extremely appreciative of, and this opportunity is something we don’t want to take for granted. No time like the present, eh?

What’s Missing’s latest release is Under. Keep an eye on their social media for tour dates and new releases in the coming weeks, including a new full-length album by the end of fall 2016. To hear more #WVmusic, tune in to A Change of Tune, airing Saturday nights at 10 on West Virginia Public Broadcasting. And for more #WVMusic chats, make sure to go to wvpublic.org/wvmusic.

Kaia Kater: A Portrait of a Young Quebecalachian

Since the show began almost two years ago, A Change of Tune has highlighted some of the best up-and-coming artists out of these West Virginia hills with podcast-y chats ranging from Tyler Childers to The World is a Beautiful Place…, The Sea The Sea to Qiet and beyond. But those interviews have been a bit infrequent, and since West Virginia Day is coming up (not to mention A Change of Tune’s second birthday), we thought we’d do something special: 30 days, 30 brand new #WVmusic interviews that range from Morgantown alt-rockers and Parkersburg singer-songwriters to West Virginia music venues and regional artist management and beyond, all of which contribute to this state’s wild and wonderful music scene.

And today, we are chatting with recent Davis & Elkins College graduate Kaia Kater, a singer-songwriter who traveled from Quebec to West Virginia nearly four years ago to learn more about Appalachia‘s old-time music and culture. We sat down with Kaia in our Charleston studios to talk about her musical journey, her love of bluegrass and R&B, and her recent feature from Rolling Stone magazine.

Kaia Kater’s newest release is Nine Pin, now available for purchase, download, and streaming. You can hear more of her music on A Change of Tune, airing Saturday nights at 10 on West Virginia Public Broadcasting. And for more #WVMusic chats, make sure to go to wvpublic.org/wvmusic.

Interview Highlights

On being from Canada:

I’m from Montreal, Quebec. I grew up there for most of my life. Then I spent a little bit of time in Winnipeg, Manitoba. And I’m currently based in Toronto, Ontario.

It’s funny because I had very little appreciation for Canada until I left Canada. And then I was like, “Wow… things are pretty ok in Canada!” And so I think, living home was probably the best thing because now I have more of an appreciation for my country.

On falling in love with old-time music at a young age:

Actually my grandpa is a luthier. He used to build harpsichords and guitars, but he cut some of his thumb off in 2013… he’s ok! [Laughing] But I think that sort of cut his career short, but he was retiring anyway. At family gatherings and Christmases and birthdays, we would always gather around and have a kitchen party where we would play tunes. And it was always really exciting for me because it was the time I could stay up past my bedtime to listen to people sing and play. And sometimes I would just fall asleep listening to people singing. It was just really special for me.

I got into old-time music in a really odd way. My mom fell in love with bluegrass music when I was eight. And she was like, “Ok. We’re going to go to a bluegrass festival now!” So I just got carried along, and registration was free if you were under 11. It was actually Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival in Oak Hill [in New York], and they ran this Bluegrass Academy for Kids. It’s a really successful program, but at the beginning, it was basically [where] parents could drop off their kids at 9am and pick them up at 3pm and during that time, you would pick either banjo, bass, fiddle or violin. You would bring your own instrument, and all of these kids from 8- to 11-years-of-age would just hang around and learn how to play bluegrass music.

So I tried all of the different instruments. I tried fiddle and bass, and then I settled on the banjo. And I was determined to be a bluegrass banjo player, and somehow old-time swooped in like a hawk and picked me up, so I switched to clawhammer. And I think it’s because a lot of the teachers around me at home were clawhammer players and influenced me that way.

On becoming a professional musician:

You know when you discover your passion is when you trudge through your daily activities and chores and classes, and then at the end of the night, you’re like, “Ok. What do I really want to be doing?” And that was playing music for me.

And I think I was scared because I had seen a lot of musicians around me deal with touring. My mom was the executive director of the Ottowa Folk Festival and the Winnipeg Folk Festival. So a lot of musicians crashed at our house and hung out, and I think it was a really interesting education for me because I did see the darker side of touring, which is not being able to see your family. And some folks had drinking problems (not anything that was overwhelming, but it was a different way of life). And I think I was apprehensive about that, but there is a way to tour in a healthy way, I think.

On deciding on West Virginia for old-time music education:

I had been going to a lot of old-time camps. I went to the Swannanoa Gathering outside of Asheville [in North Carolina], which is a little slice of heaven to spend a week to play clawhammer banjo and living in this community who are nerding out as much as you are. [Laughing] Like “I never want to go back to the outside world!” So I went there twice, and it was really my first introduction to the Southern United States because the furthest I had been was New York State.

I had actually wanted to go to Warren Wilson [College in Asheville, North Carolina] for the longest time, which is the location of the Swannanoa Gathering. It’s funny. I remember the exact moment I clicked on their website, wondering what their tuition was. And it was $42,000 a year or something. And I thought, “What?! Is that even possible?” I took a year off of school, and I didn’t expect to be going to school because I didn’t feel like anything interested me enough and the programs that did interest me, I couldn’t really afford. And I was ok with that. I just played a lot of music out in Montreal.

I casually applied to the Augusta Heritage Center, which is where Davis & Elkins College is. And I got this Facebook message from this guy named Jerry Milnes, who’s quite well-known. At first I thought it was spam. “Who is this person contacting me, offering me free college tuition to go to a school in Appalachia. Are they messing with me? Do they know my deepest dream somehow? [Laughing] Luckily I read through the whole thing, and I called him. My family and I went down exactly four years ago, we checked it out, and I loved it, and they offered me a financial package that made it so that I wouldn’t have to pay $42,000 a year. And the rest is history.

On the meaning behind Nine Pin, her latest release:

It’s named after a particular square dance formation where you have eight people (four couples) and in the middle you have one person, which what makes it a nine pin, and you dance around it. To me, it’s one of the most fun because everybody swings, and then everyone holds hands and dances around the nine pin, and then the caller says something like, “Break,” and basically the nine pin has to try and find a partner. And whoever doesn’t find a partner becomes the new nine pin. So it’s almost like musical chairs.

I started doing a lot more songwriting in my junior year of college, and I was thinking a lot about those formations and the deeper symbolism of being one person surrounded by a lot of people swirling around you (in both good and bad ways).

On her last four years at Davis & Elkins’ Augusta Heritage Center:

In many ways, it was a really beautiful experience. I was not even from this country, and I had so many people offer to have me over to their house for dinner. I don’t have a car, so I had a lot of people say, “Do you need me to take you to Kroger or Wal-Mart?” So I was met with a lot of warmth, and I think that made all the difference for me because there’s a certain amount of challenge moving to a new place and a new school.

There was a certain amount of what I call “ugly face crying,” which is when you cry so hard, your entire face turns red from sobbing and your snotting over yourself. So there was a fair amount of that from the experience of doing that for the first time. But at the end of the day, I settled into a routine, as you do. At the end of the four years, I wouldn’t be the same artist, I wouldn’t release the same music if I hadn’t spent these last four years here because I knew old-time music, and I was good at playing tunes, but I don’t think I understood the communities behind the music or the stories behind the music. And that takes time. That just takes time.

On her recent inclusion in Rolling Stone’s recent 10 New Country Artists You Need to Know:

My publicist Devon Leger told me, “Listen I pitched your album [Nine Pin] to Rolling Stone, but I don’t know if they’re going to pick it up because they must have people flinging albums at them left and right.” [Laughing] And then all of a sudden, I get this frantic message from him and he’s like, “I need you to answer these four questions… it’s for a certain journalist.” I was like, “Ok…” So I answer them, sent them back. And he said, “That was for Rolling Stone!”

Last May, Kaia Kater was listed as one of the best new artists to watch by Rolling Stone magazine.

So we knew they were going to say something about it, but we didn’t know that they would have such kind words about it. I felt totally honored and excited that more people would be hearing the album.

I almost peed my pants when they said I sounded like Gillian Welch. [Laughing] I was like, “Really? She’s my idol!” If I could have a shrine to Gillian Welch in my house, I probably would.

On advice to folks looking to pursue old-time music in West Virginia:

Go for it. Literally nothing bad can come of it. Classical music, you just have to sit in a room and practice and do scales and scales and scales. But with old-time music, you just find someone, play banjo and fiddle tunes for an hour, and you’ve gotten better at your instrument and having fun at the same time.

Music featured in this #WVmusic chat:

Kaia Kater- “Saint Elizabeth”

Kaia Kater- “Nine Pin”

Kaia Kater- “Paradise Fell”

Kais Kater- “To Come”