This is an interview with Lee Pinkerson, a genuine folk musician from Floyd, Virginia who performs the impossible task of perpetuating and evolving the traditional Blue Ridge Mountains music. Impossible because in folk songwriting you cannot avoid the uneasy feeling that what you play has been played before, but Lee does it with sensitivity and dignity managing to produce quality new-traditional music.
I met Lee during the 2nd Poetry Festival of Thessaloniki where we collaborated in the making of the song O?Live where she wrote the lyrics and I the music.
Tell us something about your career in music.
L.P: “My career is very important to me. It sustains me musically, spiritually and intellectually. It inspires me to grow with integrity. I give myself unconditionally to my audience when I perform“.
What are your basic influences? How do you categorize your music?
L.P: “Acoustic string music. Over the years, I have been influenced by the seventies folk rock scene, bluegrass, gypsy jazz, and greek bouzouki”.
Where and how do you record your songs?
L.P “The new technology is a relief. I plan to set up a simple clean quality recording unit with my laptop. I am not technologically inclined, but with the right guidance, I can pick up a process quickly. My friend Eddie Kavetsky at Top of the Stairs Studio in Lake Helen Florida did my last two cd?s , and I am happier than ever with them. I recorded ?ARTEMIS? starting with a rhythm guitar track, then a vocal track, then a lead guitar track, then another lead guitar track on the bass strings. He was so positive about how I was sounding that my usual insecurities melted away and I could put in some real good emotional vibrations”.
What is music like in the Blue Ridge Mountains?
L.P “Local people like to get together and jam. The two main styles are bluegrass and old-time. Old time music is mostly the fiddle, with a rhythm guitar and an open-backed banjo without a fifth string. They have fiddlers? conventions where musicians camp out and play music around the campground. It is a lot of fun to wander around and meet other musicians”.
Have you tried to get signed? Your opinion about the music industry?
L.P: “I would like to get signed, but have never focused on it. I ignore the music industry. I probably shouldn?t. I do my own thing. I love to travel and play in nice music venues where the sound is good and the audience cares”.
How do you review contemporary music? What do you think about new releases and the future of music?
L.P: “When I have internet access, I love to surf around youtube and myspace. I have grown so much with the wider availability of music. I have hope that we can improve our sound in the future from the ease of communication we have now compared with 10 years ago”.
Click here to get her albums
A few songs:
Lee Pinkerson Smokie from the album “Deep in the hollow”
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Lee Pinkerson Tecumseh from the album “Deep in the hollow”
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O’lives from the “Olive” cd. Lyrics: Lee Pinkerson, Music:Michael (Michael Willow version) Willow
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O’lives (Lee Pinkerson version)
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2 Comments
Be informed about New Michael Willow updates
25/08/2009 @ 3:17 pm Link
We made songs together and the song Olive has been published
25/08/2009 @ 3:11 pm Link
where did you get the info ?