SXSWorld
Issue link: https://sxsw.uberflip.com/i/250660
Nashville's Underground Artists Give New Meaning to "Music City" by Scott Schinder N ashville has been the capital of the country music industry since the 1920s, and has hosted shortlived bursts of rock activity at various times over the years. But it is only recently that Music City has emerged as a reliable hotbed of left-of-center, nonmainstream music. Indeed, Nashville currently hosts a thriving community of independent singer-songwriters, iconoclastic alt-rock bands, and a wide array of forward-thinking acts with no connection to the country-music biz. Such buzzed-about indie combos as Those Darlins, Diarrhea Planet, Promised Land Sound Leagues, Cherub and Promised Land Sound currently call Nashville home, as do distinctive singer-songwriters like Caitlin Rose, Tristen, William Tyler, Neulore and Amy Speace. One manifestation of the city's new artist-friendly reputation is Jack White's move of his Third Man Records label/studio/record store/live venue operation to town. Meanwhile, Nashville's non-mainstream music community continues to be served by a variety of venues of various sizes, a handful of adventurous new indie labels, and such beloved record stores as the venerable Grimey's and the newer retail/multimedia art Cherub space Fond Object. "I would assess the current state of our music scene as 'teeming,' " says acclaimed singer-songwriter Paul Burch, who since moving to Nashville in the early '90s has released nine albums and collaborated with innovative Nashville-based art-pop combo Lambchop, as well as Chicago's raucous Waco Brothers. "Musicians moving to Nashville to follow their dreams has been going on for a long, long time, but it's apeshit-crazy how many people are arriving every week now," points out Bobby Bare Jr., who grew up in Nashville as the scion of the seminal country star with whom he shares his name and carved his own musical path as a roots-rocking troubadour. "They all seem to be coming for the right reasons." "I would say, with absolute certainty, that there is no better scene on the planet when it comes to diversity and talent," asserts singersongwriter and Ohio native Tim Easton, who moved to Nashville on Christmas Day 2011 after a lengthy career recording both as a solo artist and with the Haynes Boys. "I constantly see bands from all different genres in small clubs that have worked very hard on their music and performance. Even in two years, I've seen lots of changes. The new food and fashion businesses are abundant, plus creative collectives keep popping up all around." One of the many young indie bands to have found success after adopting Nashville as its home is Natural Child, which has established a 42 SXSWORLD / FEBRUARY 2014 solid touring base since arriving in town in 2005. The trio's frontman Adam Agin cites many of the city's advantages for a young grass-roots outfit. "Nashville is a city that feels like a small town," Agin notes. "You really can't go anywhere without running into a friend or colleague. It's a very normal thing to show up randomly at a friend's studio and collaborate on the spot. It's still growing, and I can honestly say some of my favorite music is coming out of this town. It's cool to be part of such a talented community of artists." According to Agin, another major benefit of being based in Nashville is the city's geographical proximity to other key touring markets. "The biggest advantage," he says, "is that we've got five to 10 main markets within a few hundred miles. We call it gas-tank touring; we'll go anywhere you can get to with a tank of gas. That's made it easier for us to play in so many places without going broke." "We also have one of the best Craigslist listings in the country to buy gear from," adds Bare. "I can't imagine a city that has more vintage gear to choose from, as well as people who can fix that vintage gear after you buy it." "There are so many great musicians and writers here, and I've never failed to find someone to help me see through an idea," Burch notes. "I came to Nashville because I vibed that it would be a nice place to live, because I had friends here and because I wanted to make records. I thought that a place that was home to such a variety of people couldn't be bad, and in every way it turned out great for me." While the gulf between the current generation of independent-minded Nashville artists and the hidebound country-music establishment might seem impossibly wide, Easton insists that "there's not as big a divide between scenes as people might think. In Nashville, either you can play or you just talk about it. The true divide is between those that make the time to create and those that don't." "This town is full of prospects, and new ones are always passing through," Easton concludes. "It's a small town, and you are always one cup of coffee away from meeting Vince Gill in Gruhn's parking lot and then going to George Jones' funeral and watching the same guy from the parking lot have a huge emotional outpouring. You can work or write with as many or as few people as you want. It's all up to your ambition and social skills." n