A Conversation With Nanci Griffith
Mike Ragogna: Nanci, your newest album, Intersection, seems to be an extremely personal one, and you recorded it in your home. Can you go into that a little?
Nanci Griffith: Well, Pete Kennedy was the one who came to me and said that he knew that I was writing a lot and he was also aware of the fact that I didn't want to be in a studio. Being in the studio involves transporting yourself to LA or New York, then actually getting to the studio daily. I don't want to do that. So, he suggested that he bring his studio down from New York and set up shop in my loft space. We just recorded at the house, kept it all inclusive. The album came out very personal and very live. It's very live.
MR: Can you tell us about some of the musicians on the album?
NG: Pete and Maura Kennedy are the core of what I do these days. I have really bad arthritis in my hands, and they really help me with the things that I struggle with on the guitar these days. Then there's Pat McInerny who's been my drummer for 25 years. It was just us and a couple of visitors. Peter Cooper and Eric Brace came in and sang vocals, and all of the neighborhood children came in and sang on the song, "Come On Up, Mississippi." We only had one other person come in, and that was Richard Steele to play the banjo. It was just a really fun, all in the family kind of experience.
MR: Let's talk about a few of your songs, beginning with the anthem, "Hell No." That song is not only your first single, but it also has a message behind it.
NG: That song came to me so quickly, it was one of those songs that just stood up and said, "Hello." I was not satisfied with some of the things that had happened in my life in the past couple of years, and I just got to the point when I wasn't going to take it anymore. Don't ask me how I'm doing if you don't really wanna know, you know? The song is so universal, and has even become tied to the "Occupy" movement. Every time we play the song live, people are up on their feet, pumping their fists, clapping and celebrating. Most of the time, they're doing this never having heard the song before either. It's great, I really love it.
MR: Do you believe that we're moving into an age where people are beginning to stand up in protest again?
NG: I sure hope so. In my opinion, seeing our republican nominees for the Presidency should be getting everyone fired up. For instance, I didn't even know why Newt Gingrich was in the running. I honestly thought that he didn't have a prayer, but I've been proven wrong. It's scary. We've talked so much about getting the money out of politics in Washington, D.C, and Newt Gingrich is one of the Washington insiders that we are trying to get rid of. He's one of the people spending millions of dollars while attacking the others that are doing the same thing. They seem to care more about money than they do about anything else.
MR: Right on. Let's talk about another of your strong message songs, "Bethlehem Steel."
NG: We were playing at The Bethlehem Arts Center, which was built directly in front of the abandoned steel mill. They've used the Steel Mill as the backdrop of that stage...it's massive. The Mill also has a stained glass window that is lit up during shows. It's almost like there's a movie going on behind you, or something. The movie Deer Hunter is what came to mind when I wrote that. Just a side note to all the ladies...Robert De Niro runs naked through the streets of Bethlehem exactly 47 minutes into the film. (laughs) Performing there was one of the only times that I was on stage that I was tempted to break the connection and the eye contact with the audience so that I could turn around and look at the Steel Mill behind me.
MR: Beautiful. And you also have an ode to 9/11 on this album.
NG: Yes, I do. The song is called, "Davey's Last Picture" and it's a true story written by my assistant Robbin Bach. She was actually in New York with her son, Beau, tooling around the village when they came across this group of firemen washing off their truck. Beau wanted to stop and meet the fireman, so they did and they were very sweet to him. He got his picture taken with a few of them, including a man named Davey. Then, Davey passed on 9/11.
MR: That's very powerful. Another of your songs is "Just Another Morning Here," one you recorded a while back.
NG: Yes, and we kind of laugh about it, only because it took Peter Cooper and Eric Brace to fill Phil Everly's shoes on the recording. (laughs) I make fun of them for that.
MR: Nanci, I've noticed that you create from a very deep place. What is your creative process? How do you go about writing?
NG: Well, it's very spontaneous for me these days. I'm not disciplined as I used to be about it. In fact there's a song on the record called, "Stranded On The High Ground," that I wrote while a group of workers were working on the stairs in my home. I went to take a nap, and had a dream that I was in the middle of a field with Dobie Gray and we were singing that song and doing the Ricki Lake dance. He should get ghostwriter privileges on that song because it was written a couple of months before he passed away. I knew he'd been ill, and he was on my mind, that's probably why I dreamed of him.
MR: Wow. Now that's an intersection with us--Dobie Gray. We were friends, and I did a duet with him in 2008 called "Home" about bringing the troops home and fixing New Orleans. He was awesome and a bit of an activist, something most people don't know about him. By the way, one of my favorite lines in "Stranded..." is, "If you're standing on the high ground, there's no where to go but down."
NG: Well, it's very true. That's why you have to hold your ground!
MR: You also did a Loretta Lynn song on Intersection called, "High On A Mountaintop."
NG: I have always been a very big fan of Loretta's, but never recorded anything by her because I was too intimidated. I thought it was time on this album - especially since I know Loretta and I've even written about her. She's very aware of that. She's also always been very kind and giving to me, so I knew that I really wanted to do something of hers on this album. Of course, I probably picked the most complicated song she ever wrote in her life. (laughs)
MR: (laughs) But, of course, you handled it with grace.
NG: Well, thank you. She can fit more words into one line than anyone else, ever. (laughs)
MR: (laughs) Now, one of my favorite songs from your catalog is "Trouble In The Fields." It's such a heartbreaker.
NG: That song meant so much to me then. Maura O'Connell was the first one to cover that song, and she had a hit with it in Ireland. That kind of paved the way for me. I still think that she did the best job with that song of anyone, including me, so much so that my great uncle, who was 92 at the time, had her version of "Trouble In The Fields" on his answering machine if he was out in the field and couldn't answer the phone, not mine. I thought it was really sweet. It wasn't cool, but it was sweet. (laughs)
MR: And speaking of Ireland, "It's A Hard Life Wherever You Go" is another of your great anthems. I especially love the line, "If we poison our children with hatred, then a hard life is all that they'll know."
NG: And I believe that's true. I don't think we're socializing our children properly. School used to be as much about education as it was about socializing. There are so many school districts now that no longer have a physical education program so that these kids can get their aggression out on a basketball or play some kickball. They need time to throw things at each other. (laughs) It used to happen a lot more, and that just doesn't exist anymore.
MR: Do you feel like there's an answer to that problem?
NG: Well, the answer has always become that we can't afford it. We don't even have the arts in schools anymore. I think every child has a creative notion in them. But at the same time, having been a schoolteacher, I believe that if a child has a knack for the arts, they'll find it. Any arts class was always a breath of fresh air to the children that had a passion for it.
MR: So true. Getting back to Intersection, I wanted to talk with you about the song, "Never Going Back." Never?
NG: Well, I don't intend to go back. (laughs) I love that song. To me, it means that I've done this, I know this, I've walked away from this, and I don't want to do it.
MR: Nanci, having the wealth of experience that you do, do you have any advice that you'd like to give to new artists?
NG: Work...you know? I mean, I respect people who are able to work well on their computers and such, but don't rely only on that thing. Work. Get out your real instrument with strings or keys and play music. Sometimes, I feel like we're heading in the wrong direction in that regard because I believe that being completely electronically based can stifle the creativity. You're not creating a sound, it's already created for you.
MR: I often worry about that myself, since technology has made it so easy to slack off. So, what does the immediate future hold for you?
NG: Well, I am going to be touring all over Europe. We're in Europe for a little over a month
. MR: Wonderful. Any chance you'd like to make a quick prediction on the upcoming Presidential election?
NG: Oh, gosh. I don't know. I mean, I have a bumper sticker on my truck that says "Blue Girl in a Red State." I have no predictions. It's been so odd lately that anything can happen.
MR: (laughs) I agree. Nanci, this has been such a huge pleasure for me. Thank you for coming to spend time with us.
NG: Thank you so much for having me, Mike.
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