News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
When Tom Russell rolls into Sisters on February 4 for the second in the Sisters Folk Festival's Winter Concert Series, it will be another stop on a long troubadour's road. For nearly four decades, the folk singer has crisscrossed the U.S. and Europe, playing everything from waterfront dives to the David Letterman Show to premier music festivals.
Over those many years and miles, Russell has built a catalogue of classic songs, recorded by luminaries from Ian Tyson and Jerry Jeff Walker to Nanci Griffith and Joe Ely. Russell shared some thoughts about the artist's journey with The Nugget.
The Nugget: You've been doing this troubadour thing for decades and seen tectonic shifts in how the music business operates and how artists reach their audience. How have these changes affected artists like yourself - benefits and debits?
TR: The Internet has been the most radical shift in the last 10 years. It's a giant gossip wheel, running 24 hours a day...so if an artist has live shows, or a great song, or a new CD, the word spreads, and all background information can be found on the Internet. All my stuff is available on http://www.tomrussell.com (from paintings to songs) and Amazon is a good source for my records.
The Nugget: One of the jewels in the Sisters Folk Festival crown is the Americana Project, a music education outreach program for youth. What advice would you give a young person who wants to make music their way of life and/or livelihood (pragmatically and artistically)?
TR: I would encourage any young writer/performer to do their homework, just like Bob Dylan did before he reached New York. Learn 20 songs from the folk repertoire, or a few from Hank Williams or Dylan, or find someone on the current scene whose songs really move you, and sing a few of them. Use this as a base for forming your own writer's voice.
Then try to figure out where you come from, and what your really want to say - with your own peculiar passion and identity. And honesty. Forget writing TO an audience. Write for yourself. Get Harold Bloom's "Best Poems of the English Language," and study that. Homework. Foundation.
I would say avoid songwriter magazines, conferences and "how to" books and try and do your own personal research. Sing before an audience any time you can. The stage is a sacred thing. Your words are your paintbrush, and the song is your canvas.
The Nugget: What does it take for an artist to stay strong and vital over the long haul?
TR: An insane belief in your journey and your creative work. A companion who also believes in you. I think that a great song, within our current, stale, environment, is a revolutionary act. You've got to feel that songwriting is what you were put on this earth for... and try to get at the core of who you are. Sometimes it takes 40 years to develop a true writing and singing voice. I would encourage anyone to check out one of Leonard Cohen's current concerts, or at least the film of his concerts...at age 75 he's at the top of his game. He's endured beautifully.
The Nugget: The music community and the visual arts community in Sisters have become increasingly interdependent. As a songwriter and a painter, what has been the value for you of pursuing both?
TR: We live out here on the frontier, without a television (Canutillo, Texas). I can't write songs all day, so at night I might drift into my painting studio, listen to flamenco music and paint for a few hours. Suddenly I'm selling paintings. I think the art of song and the art of painting are linked in a very mystical way. It doesn't surprise me that many songwriters are painters. You're dealing with images and colors and tones and shapes...it's all music.
Tom Russell will perform in the Sisters Folk Festival's Winter Concert Series on Friday, February 4. Doors open at 6:30 p.m .; concert starts at 7 p.m.
Tickets are $15/adult and $10/student in advance; $20/adult and $12/student at the door. Advance tickets are available at Paulina Springs Books in Sisters and Redmond, FootZone in Bend, online at http://sistersfolkfestival.org or by calling 541-549-4979.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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