“There is so much killer music that comes out of here, and always has. It’s amazing to join in on the tradition of West Virginia music.”
From West Virginia Public Broadcasting and A Change of Tune, this is 30 Days of #WVmusic, the interview series celebrating the folks who make the West Virginia music scene wild and wonderful.
And today’s interview is with a modern Southern rock band who do just as their birthplace suggests: holler. This… is Ducain.
<a data-cke-saved-href=”http://ducain.bandcamp.com/album/getaway-ep” href=”http://ducain.bandcamp.com/album/getaway-ep”>Getaway EP by Ducain</a>
How did the band start out?
Jeremy Sargent and Jared Holley had been putting on two-man jam sessions for years after meeting and bonding over music while working at a small gas station in Ona, West Virginia. Brandon McCallister and Rich Mills had been playing together for years in church bands. It just so happened that Jeremy and Brandon met and began talking music, and each one brought their friend into a couple of jam sessions that turned into a steady gig.
Credit Jess Keathley
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Ducain
Where does the band name come from?
Jeremy’s dad was in a band called Outlaw Cain during the early ‘90s through around 2000. They played regionally, covering southern and classic rock as well as playing originals. This band is where Jeremy solidified his love for music watching his dad play.
When our band first formed, we went nameless for the better part of a year, we were even playing open mic shows without a name because nothing hit us quite right. One night, we were sitting in the studio after an ill-fated recording attempt, looking up landmarks in and around West Virginia, when Jared’s girlfriend found Fort Duquesne in Pittsburgh. We loved the sound of the word itself, but we didn’t have any connection to it. When it was mentioned to Jeremy, he immediately made the connection to Outlaw Cain. We changed the spelling and ran with it.
How has Ducain’s music changed over time (if at all)?
We started out as a smooth blues band following Brandon’s influence, but after everyone began adding in their own flavors and Jeremy began writing more, we started to swing towards this modern Southern rock thing. A lot of the songs on our first album (which we’re set to release soon) are in that Southern/arena rock spectrum. After recording and waiting on post-production to finish up, we’ve gotten even more on the Southern rock side in our recent writing.
Credit Jess Keathley
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Ducain
What’s been the highlight of your musical journey thus far?
Really the highlight has been making music with good people. You can’t beat that. If you’re playing to a room of 10 people or a crowd of 150 people, you have to enjoy the people that you’re playing with. We all have really different personalities and watching those differences gel into a creative hive-mind has been amazing.
What’s your best advice to anyone starting to make music?
Just do what you like. Play what you want. Experiment. If you like jamming in the backroom with a couple of buddies and never plan to play a show, that’s fine. If you want to go hit the stage and tour the world, then that’s awesome as well. Just do what you like. Also, don’t let anybody tell you that there isn’t room for you or what you’re doing in a particular scene. West Virginia’s music scene is big enough and diverse enough to facilitate all of us. You’ll find your place. Just keep working.
Credit Jess Keathley
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Ducain is Jeremy Sargent, Jared Holley, Rich Mills and Brandon McCallister.
What’s it like making music in West Virginia?
Making music in West Virginia is a dream. We love being from here. We are proud to be from West Virginia. There is so much killer music that comes out of here, and always has. It’s amazing to join in on the tradition of West Virginia music. The scene that has been built in Huntington fosters creativity so thoroughly that the city is literally oozing it right now. The connections that you’re able to build in this town are super helpful and really heartwarming.
Credit Jess Keathley
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Ducain
Do you feel held back by being in West Virginia? Or does it feel like a musically-supportive place?
It’s really supportive. Especially in Huntington. When you play a show there, the crowd is 40% musicians from other bands that are there supporting the scene.
What, in your opinion, needs to happen in the West Virginia music scene for it to move forward?
I think that things like this program are doing a great job at moving WV music forward. Mountain Stage featuring several West Virginia artists in the last year or so has really helped to spread our profile across the country. So, you guys are kind of the engine to this bus at the moment. Other than that, I think getting more people out to shows, stacking shows with local talent, and maybe starting those shows a little earlier can help us all out.
Ducain’s latest release is the Getaway EP. Keep an eye (and ear) on the band’s social media for their upcoming full-length (which was recorded with Ona’s Max Nolte). Hear more #WVmusic on A Change of Tune, airing Saturday nights at 10 on West Virginia Public Broadcasting. Connect with A Change of Tune on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. And for more #WVmusic chats, make sure to go to wvpublic.org/wvmusic and subscribe to our RSS / podcast feeds.
Support for 30 Days of #WVmusic is provided by Kin Ship Goods, proud supporter of DIY music and the arts. Locally shipped worldwide at kinshipgoods.com.
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 Bud Carroll to Goodwolf, Rozwell Kid to Coyotes in Boxes and beyond.
But those interviews have been a bit infrequent, and since West Virginia Day was this month (and with A Change of Tune’s second birthday on the horizon), 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 Morgantown singer-songwriter-rocker William Matheny, who joined a band and began touring when he was but a wee lad. Flash-forward to today, and he has a great new release to his name, and he’s primed to make his NPR Music debut on Mountain Stage. We chatted with William about his experience playing music up in Mountaineer Country, the friends he’s made over the years in West Virginia, and what we can expect at his June 26 Mountain Stage…
William Matheny’s newest release is the Blood Moon Singer EP, which is a preview of his upcoming full-length Strange Constellations. You can hear his music on his website. Catch him on Mountain Stage on June 26 with his band friends Bud Carroll, Ian Thornton, Rod Elkins, and Adam Meisterhans. 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!
Credit Josh Saul
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William Matheny, performing at The Empty Glass in 2016.
Interview Highlights
On his family’s roots in music:
My great-grandfather was a regionally known gospel singer, and then his son (my grandfather) was a regionally known country singer named Mansfield Matheny. He had a band with some of his friends called The Rhythm Rascals, this would’ve been in the late ‘40s/early ‘50s. My grandfather was the lead singer of the group and played rhythm guitar.
My dad also plays music. He was in a really good bluegrass band in the late ‘70s/early ‘80s. They traveled around, did some stuff, and recorded an album, and then they all got married and had kids. Basically, I broke up the band. He still plays guitar in the church choir. He taught me how to play music, and we actually played in bands together when I was a kid. We played in cover bands when I was an adolescent and in early high school.
It was a long series of different bands, and I really have to give my father a ton of credit on this. I always stress this with people: my parents weren’t stage parents at all. This all was my idea. Basically I’d been playing guitar, and I told my parents I wanted to play in a band. And when you’re a small kid in a really small town, maybe you know people who play music, maybe you don’t. My dad got on the phone and said, “Hey, my son plays music. He wants to start doing stuff. Would you be interested in joining a band?” I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but I’m incredibly grateful for it now just because I’m imagining being an adult and getting that call from one of your acquaintances like, “Hey, would you want to join a band with my 9-year-old son?” [Laughing] I would be obviously be incredibly skeptical of that.
On beginning his music career in Morgantown:
I grew up about an hour south of Morgantown. By that time I’d become acquainted with the scene up here and all the bands, [not to mention] making music and doing albums and touring and stuff, I really wanted to get involved with [the scene]. At that point, I started playing with this guy named Brian Porterfield who had this band in the ’90s called Cheap Truckers’ Speed. Brian doesn’t really play anymore, but I say this to anyone who listens: he’s probably the best songwriter I know personally. In terms of people I can call on the phone and say “hello,” he’s just really, really great. Like one of those unknown treasure people.
I wanted to join his band. I looked him up in the phonebook, we knew some mutual people so it wasn’t totally like a cold-call, and I tried to pitch myself. It took a few phone calls, but eventually I joined as his drummer. That was my first proper band that was doing original material. I did that for like two years, like the second half of high school.
That band stopped playing like three or four months after I graduated from high school and turned 18. That was sort of when I [began playing front-and-center]. I was writing songs the whole time and played them a little bit, but it wasn’t my main focus. By that point, I was itching to get back to playing guitar, and I wanted to have a band that was playing my own material. I didn’t go to college; instead, I just moved to a college town and joined like five bands. I didn’t say no to any gig for a really long time. I was playing with a bunch of different groups, and it was a wonderful learning experience. I’m super happy about doing it. It meant I could learn how to play a lot of different genres and have a really good time doing it. There’s no shortcut into doing that. I wouldn’t recommend the same thing if you want to be a brain surgeon, but for music? Do it.
Credit Courtesy of William Matheny
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William Matheny performed at U92 FM’s inaugural Moose Fest at 123 Pleasant Street.
On playing in Morgantown:
123 Pleasant Street is obviously the biggest venue here in terms of ones that do things consistently. I’ve played at 123 for 16 or 17 years at this point. It’s been a really long time, and I’ve always really enjoyed it. It’s still my favorite club. Whatever place you latch onto when you’re young and impressionable, it will always be that gold standard for you. Every time I go out of town, I’m always comparing it to 123.
Gene’s [in Morgantown] is great. It’s this really nice neighborhood bar that’s a block away from my house. The owner Al [Bonner] is one of the best people in the world, just a great human being. It’s a very small place with a little PA, and it almost feels like you’re playing a house party more than anything. But it’s really great. He’s been very cool about getting in touring people. Sharon Van Etten played their once, and so did Lydia Loveless, John Paul Keith, and Webb Wilder. Gene’s is wonderful.
On recording his new record and forming a band of friends for it:
When we started recording, there wasn’t a concrete band line-up. Southeast Engine had stopped, and I knew I wanted to make a record. I wanted to get back to doing what I do. At the time, Rozwell Kid’s Adam Meisterhans was hanging out with Bud Carroll trying to make a record of his own (titled Best Vibrations, which I have to point that out because the title’s great), and I guess Adam sent me a text while he was down there saying it’d be fun for the three of us to work on a record. That seemed as good as an idea of any, so we went down, and we didn’t know what any of us would be playing on it. While we made it, Adam plays most of the bass, Bud plays most of the drums. I used to joke and tell people that if you’re going to make an album, you need to find the best two guitar players you know and have them play something else.
William Matheny’s upcoming full-length is ‘Strange Constellations.’ In the meantime, check out his 3-song EP ‘Blood Moon Singer’ at this week’s Mountain Stage.
On the new album and the band sharing the name of Strange Constellations:
Initially, I decided it was going to be the name of the record, and I wanted some continuity sort-of between the album and then name of the band. It comes from this thing in Moby Dick where Ishmael is talking about being in the Southern Hemisphere under different stars. What I took that to mean was if you’re astrologically inclined at all, you’re not really sure about the star signs that are guiding you, which is one of the main themes of the record. We wanted to tie the name of the band into that.
This is my fourth time. I did it twice with Todd Burge and once with Southeast Engine. It’s the first time under the guise of doing my own material. We’re obviously really excited. We’re doing the rarest of things in our band where we’re practicing. We’ve decided what we’re going to play, sharpening our knives and getting ready for the street fight.
Credit Josh Saul
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A FestivALL favorite, William Matheny has been performing in Charleston for years.
On advice to anyone getting into music:
The big thing is to don’t quit; that will get you further than anything you can do. After that, you just have to get out of town and play as many places as you can. That can be really discouraging at first, especially when you don’t know what that’s supposed to be like. If you’re playing popular shows in your hometown, you kind of immediately think everything should be like this. You’re going to do this, and it won’t be fun as playing in your hometown is initially, but if you keep coming back, it will. While it may not seem like you’re having an impression, you really are. So the best thing you can do is stay with it.
I’d hardly call myself qualified to give advice, but keep working and don’t get discouraged. That’s the important thing. Keep working, everything will improve. Don’t let it get you down.
Music featured in this #WVmusic chat:
William Matheny- “29 Candles”
William Matheny- “My Grandfather Knew Stoney Cooper”
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 Bud Carroll to New God, Rozwell Kid to Coyotes in Boxes 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 Brad Goodall aka B. Goods aka keyboard player for up-and-coming Huntington band Ona. You can also add solo performer to that list of titles, as he’s been releasing EP’s and singles over the last few years. We chatted with Brad about his solo releases, his Ona relationship and what it means… to have a mullet.
Brad Goodall’s newest release is “Jewel City.” Catch him on tour with Ona throughout the year. 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
Credit Sam Adkins
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Brad Goodall regularly performs at Black Sheep Burrito & Brews in Huntington, West Virginia.
On learning the piano:
I didn’t start playing piano until I was sixteen. There was always one in my house. I remember being real into making movies and making skate videos when I was twelve or thirteen years old, and then I was trying to make short films, but nothing ever got made because I needed my friends help and they never felt like doing it. So I kind of turned to music because it was something you could do by yourself, like piano. Thinking back on it, that’s kind of how I got into it. I was like, “Oh, I can just sit and play this in my room, and it fulfills the need that making movies or skateboarding fulfills.”
I learned to play piano from these two books, which I still have, which are still sitting on my piano. They were The Billy Joel Anthology and The Elton John Anthology. That’s literally how I learned to piano, from five or six songbooks that I bought around high school age.
On moving to New York City to play music:
When I was in college, I got kind of obsessed with the history of New York, especially because the jazz stuff introduced me to it. Then I developed my own curiosity towards it and took a couple of trips by myself, where I walked around with a backpack for a week. I came home to Huntington, I was just middling around town playing in restaurants, and I guess I needed some new experiences. So I sold my car and moved up there.
I didn’t know anybody either, which is kind of crazy. Most people don’t do that. No family members or friends, and I had one connection I made from a Craigslist ad. He was actually a nice guy, and he helped me a lot. That was all I had, really.
On playing covers:
When I go on YouTube and watch my favorite artists, they’re not usually playing covers. When you go to a concert, you want to hear them play their songs that they were lucky enough to write. You’re better off putting your energy towards writing than learning covers, definitely. If you’re just starting out and trying to learn to perform, sure, play some covers. That’s how I started. I use to play a Wilco cover, I use to play a Dawes cover, but I never play them anymore because you should be focused on writing. It’s more important than learning covers.
I feel like cover bands, it’s kind of cheap. Not in an insulting way at all, but it’s kind of cheap because there’s not really any risk there. The songs are road-tested. If you’re playing a song that sold 3 million copies, even if you butcher it, you’ll still get a response from the crowd after they hear the first lyric or chord change. In the end, people want to hear what your thoughts are, what your musical ideas are, and that’s always what will survive longer than a cover act.
Ona is (from left to right) Bradley Jenkins, Zack Owens, Zach “Jeeter” Johnson, Max Nolte and Brad Goodall.
I was in North Carolina when they called me, when they were kind of hinting of offering the gig to me. I had booked a two-week tour with my friends, and I had one month to go up there to get my stuff in New York and come back to Huntington. We were rehearsing and hanging out as soon as I got back, but I didn’t play with them until Marshall’s FEST. It was my first real experience performing with them, and we had a good time. I was probably rehearsing with them for a month before I performed.
I grew up with all of Ona’s members except Max Nolte. I grew up with Zack Owens because we went to the same public schools and skateboarded together. I knew Zach “Jeeter” Johnston from skateboarding as well, just rolling around together with the local skate scene. I knew Bradley Jenkins from high school, and I know people were already kind of talking about him then. When I got to college, I had this really terrible party house, and Bradley would sometimes come over and play guitar on the porch, and we would talk about music. We were like eighteen, and he was just starting to make home recording and stuff. I wasn’t writing music at the time, but he was definitely more serious than I was at the time. I didn’t know Max until I got home and joined Ona.
I wouldn’t have come home and joined if I hadn’t known these guys as well as I did. I thought it was a cool offer from a cool band, but had it not been old friends, I don’t think I would have joined.
Credit Brian Blauser/Mountain Stage
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Brian and his trusty electronic steed, rehearsing for Ona’s 2016 performance on Mountain Stage.
On the experience of joining a pre-existing band:
There were tons of inside jokes, and I didn’t know what they were talking about. That was a big thing I noticed like, “Yeah, this is a brotherhood, and I’m this new guy standing on the wall.” I did notice that right as I got back. Bands that hang out together all the time, and we do hang out together all the time, there’s definitely a language (like a pig-Latin) that develops in a band. You either know it or you don’t. It took me a long time to catch on to a lot of the stuff they were talking about and how they interacted. But musically, they let me do my thing. Nobody was telling me how to play, and they still don’t tell me how to play. I have learned how to scale it back because when you’re playing jazz, you’re filling every single gap all the time. But for indie rock, it’s all about honoring the song, giving it enough so that you are giving the ear enough to grab a hold of.
That was definitely one of the most show business-serious things I’ve done. That was definitely a home game, for sure. I was super nervous, we were taking our deep breaths side stage and saying, “Ok, let’s go and have fun and play. Focus. Get in the zone.” And then when we sat down, someone from the audience yelled something funny at us, and the nervousness went away immediately because I knew: this was our crowd. And I thought, “This is our crowd. We’ll have a good time. This won’t be as scary as we think it’ll be.”
On recording material with Ona:
I contributed to American Fiction in very, very small ways. All of the organs and just about all of the keyboard parts on that record are played by P.J. Woodard, and he did a great job playing on it. I only play on three tracks, including “World at War” and “American Fiction.” But most of that record is all P.J. I just jumped in at the end and did what I could. All of the songs were just about done by the time I got back to Huntington. They were putting the finishing touches on the record by the time I got back home.
Credit Courtesy of Ona
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Ona’s most recent release was American Fiction.
The first album, from what I’ve gathered, was a lot of Zack and Brad sharing the writing experience pretty equally. I know that for some songs, Zack would write them entirely himself, and then Brad would come up with another piece or a bridge or an outro.
From the practice sessions we’re having now, it definitely feels like it’s more of a team effort. Someone usually comes up with an idea, then Brad is usually quick to write up lyrics. Max will throw a verse or lyrical idea out there, and then it’ll catch. So it’s definitely a team effort, which I like.
On the meaning behind his new solo single ”Jewel City:”
The career is great, and being able to write, record and perform is priority No. 1. But I’m not a huge fan of Huntington, or I wasn’t when I left, for sure. That’s why I left to gain new experiences. But Huntington has improved a lot since I’ve been gone, and the scene is really strong for a small city. So this is a transitional song about weighing the pros and cons. The lyrics show that I’m not super happy to be back, but I’m comfortable. The longer I’m here, I’m happy about it.
On his hopes for #WVmusic:
There are definitely genres that work better around here than others. I love synthesizers and keyboards, but I don’t see very many keyboard bands, so I’m trying to fill that gap. I would love to be the flagship keyboard artist [laughing].
On the future of Ona:
I think we’re going to make a really good second record, and it’ll be different enough where people will see that there’s growth happening here. But the common denominator is definitely going to be Zack’s guitar playing and Brad’s voice. It will still feel like the first album, but there’s definitely new things happening in there that I’m really excited about.
The next record will be a little while from now, but not too long. I would say next year sometime. We don’t want to wait too long, that’s for sure.
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 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.
Credit Melissa Stilwell Photography
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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.
Credit Melissa Stilwell Photography
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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:
Credit Courtesy of Tim Lancaster
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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].
<a data-cke-saved-href=”http://timlancaster.bandcamp.com/album/my-times-with-you” href=”http://timlancaster.bandcamp.com/album/my-times-with-you”>My Times with You by Tim Lancaster</a>
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.”
Credit Melissa Stilwell Photography
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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.
They’re earnest, they’re indie, they’re Ona, the five-piece rock outfit that found its start in a sliver of unincorporated Appalachia called Ona, West Virginia. If you’re a fan of deliciously mellow alt-rock bands that live by the motto “WWNYD” (that’s “What Would Neil Young Do”), this interview and music are recommended for you.
Ona just released “The Other Side of June” as a cassingle (cassette+single) through Twin Cousins Records, and you can expect their debut LP sometime this spring. Catch up with the band on social media and follow A Change of Tune for more West Virginia music news and interviews. Hear new music from Ona on A Change of Tune this Saturday at 10pm EST on West Virginia Public Radio.
