Carrie Neumayer interview

Where did you grow up? Is your family musical or artistic?
I grew up in Louisville. My mother is a painter and my father is a writer and a songwriter/musician.

What is your musical background / training?
I started playing violin in the third grade and played through high school. I also sang in a church choir for a few years during elementary school, but didn't write songs until I began playing guitar. I taught myself guitar. Three years ago I decided to try playing bass, as well.

Who are your musical favorites/inspirations?
I was deeply inspired by all the local bands and touring indie rock bands I saw as a young teenager in the early '90s, in particular - Rodan, Ruby Falls, Drinking Woman, Crain, Evergreen, Unwound, Sleater-Kinney, Come, Versus, etc. Some of my current favorites are Neko Case, TV on the Radio, Shannon Wright and Mirah. I also love a lot of music made by women from the past like Loretta Lynn, Patsy Cline, Kitty Wells, Janis Joplin, Billie Holiday, etc.

What bands/projects are you currently involved with? How did you get involved with them?
I play guitar and sing with Second Story Man. I've been playing music with bandmate Evan Bailey since I was sixteen years old and we were in a band together called Itch House. A couple years later, Evan introduced me to Jeremy Irvin and the three of us started Second Story Man. We've been together ever since. I also play bass and sing in Minnow. I had never played bass before and when Rob Pennington asked me to play with his wife Becca and their friend Doug Maxson, I jumped at the opportunity to work in a totally different musical context.

What do you hope to achieve with music?
I want to continue to be a part of the creation of thoughtful and exciting music - and to have my bands' music be available to others to hear. I love collaborating with others and seeing song ideas transform into something beyond where I ever expected them to go because of the input of others. Of course I love performing live, too. I guess I just want to be able to continue doing this as long as I can.

Jason Noble interview

Where did you grow up? Is your family musical or artistic?
Hi. I grew up in Louisville... both my folks are involved in the arts. My mom is a school teacher and performed with bands & motet singing groups for years. She currently paints quite a lot, and has a really open mind about all kinds of music.
My step dad is a professional photographer (and teaches a digital photo class
at U of L). They both have helped me out on artistic projects over the years,
including shooting photos for several of our record covers.

What is your musical background / training?
I went to Manual in the Visual Art program and spent two years of college at The Maryland Institute (art school). I'd played music with a few close friends in high school, and then started playing with folks from a Baltimore conservatory (they took pity on me). It all kinda snow-balled (may I use that term? Can I say "snow-balled"?)... Thankfully I still play music with most of these kind-hearted humans. They are responsible for teaching me... and most importantly, being encouraging and rawkus.

Who are your musical favorites/inspirations?
My wife Kristin... our friend Miles who howls every morning.
Favorites... Film composer Howard Shore. Uzeda. Screamin' Jay Hawkins. Crain. Slint. Run DMC. Liberation Prophecy. The Adventure. The Bug "London Zoo." Portishead "3rd." Extra Golden "Thank You Very Quickly."

What bands/projects are you currently involved with? How did you get
involved with them?
I'm a manager at ear X-tacy records and do sound production for the free concerts there... that actually does good things for the musical brain... keeps it fairly open.

Also...
SHIPPING NEWS (since 1996) with one of those same high school guys (beloved Mueller).
We have a show coming up in June at Skull Alley. Shipping News' music seems to be leaning on the "severed head" side of things lately, as opposed to our "softly goth" meanderings.

Uhm... Workin' on mixes for a record called THE YOUNG SCAMELS with Christian Frederickson, Greg King and local musician Amber Estes. It's the score from a production of "The Tempest" at ATL last year. Been working with Kevin Ratterman on a recording by the GOLD JACKET CLUB... I'm a huge fan of that band, and local heroes Auxiliary Records is releasing it this fall.

What do you hope to achieve with music?
I hope to make music that will haunt George Bush Jr. for the rest of his evil life. Payback. Thanks for enraging half the world. You don't just get to have your retirement with a big swanky Presidential library. You don't get free unlimited health care. You don't get to keep your mansions or multiple helicopters. Well, we all have to have a dream.

Rebecca Dennison interview

Where did you grow up? Is your family musical or artistic?
Louisville. My mom & dad sang in a small choral group at church when I was little and my dad sang the occasional solo.



What is your musical background / training?
I took piano lessons as a kid, played the flute in band, etc. I've taken voice lessons off and on. I sang in the church children's choir and youth choir. I've been singing regularly at Sojourn Community Church as part of the worship team for the last few years.



Who are your musical favorites/inspirations?
This changes so often. I grew up pretty sheltered so I'm constantly "discovering" new favorites and inspirations that everyone else has known of for years. My current favorites are: Ella Fitzgerald (I love 20's/30's jazz), Odetta, and Bessie Smith (and other female roots/early blues singers). And when I get stuck in a rut melodically I like to listen to traditional Eastern Asian music.



What bands/projects are you currently involved with? How did you get involved with them?
I'm currently singing with the Sandpaper Dolls and I'll be singing with Jamie Barnes again soon. I know Jamie from Sojourn and I got connected with the Dolls through singing with him. Suki and Amber were talking about starting a band and Suki knew me from shows I had done with Jamie at the Jazz Factory.



What do you hope to achieve with music?
A lot of times I get caught up in hoping I impress people or hoping they'll think I'm cool, but ultimately, I hope to honor God with what I'm doing musically and just enjoy the ride.

Ask a Bartender

Even the most devoted fans of this blog may not realize that my work for Velocity also includes a series of interviews with bartenders around town. I've interviewed 19 to date; you can see the collection by clicking here.

One question I've asked everyone is: "Is there a song on the radio or jukebox that you hate every time it comes on?"

Here are a few of my favorite answers:

"I'm getting a little tired of Led Zeppelin. A little bit. Just slightly." - Afton Cain, Zeppelin Cafe

"I get tired of hearing our Irish songs on the iPod over and over again." - Jennifer McKnelly, O'Shea's

"We listen to Irish music all day, so pretty much most of the basic Irish tunes, but right now least favorite - which is everyone's most favorite - what's the song that's at the end of The Sopranos? The Journey song, 'Don't Stop Believin''. That makes me absolutely crazy right now." - Lara Hammond, Molly Malone's

"Journey... what is that f-----g song? ('Don't Stop Believin''?) Yep!" - Liz Burnett, Granville Inn

"I hate hearing any Journey songs. I like Journey, but I hear them all the time." - Amanda Lutes, Saints

"We listen to WFPK here, so they play a lot of Sheryl Crow. I wish we had a jukebox, so it could be a little bit different, 'cause what they play's kinda the same, kind of montone, y'know?" - Jenny Miller, Cumberland Brews

"We listen to a lot of WFPK - there, for awhile, it seemed like... what was that song? Just over and over again. There was some random song they would play - it was an older song, I remember, they would just play it over and over and over. (Do you remember any lyrics?) Half the time I tune it out, so, no." - Rob Haynes, BBC Taproom

Joe Manning interview

Where did you grow up? Is your family musical or artistic?
I grew up in the Deer Park neighborhood of Louisville, KY. The members of my immediate family were neither artistic nor musical, though I listened to a lot of music as a child. My grandmother was a fantastic draftsperson and taught me how to draw at a young age.



What is your musical background / training?
I started playing bass when I was about 12; I took lessons and learned to play some songs by the Beatles, Zeppelin, Foghat, etc. Then I started playing in "hardcore" bands, and hanging around in the scene, trying to fit in without getting my face smashed in by older boys, or my feeble heart stomped on by punk rock women. By the time I was about 20 I'd started writing my own songs that took their cues more from the American Songbook.



Who are your musical favorites/inspirations?
yes please.
I'll choose two or three from each of these categories.
1. local: S.A. Garrison, The For Carnation, Evergreen,
2. regional: Spirits of the Red City, Elephant Micah
3. national: Gillian Welch, Lightnin' Hopkins, Hall and Oates
4. international: Nina Simone, Roxy Music, Bowie
5. extra planetary: P-Funk, Eno
6. classical compostion: Erik Satie, Beethoven
7. Country: Don Williams, Buck Owens, Townes Van Zandt



What bands/projects are you currently involved with? How did you get involved with them?
The Joe Manning Story Time Mime band, whose history spans eons and several dimensions, is too graphic to recount here, the sordid occult nature of which could stunt the emotional and psychic growth of impressionable children, and affected adults.

King's Daughters & Sons is a democratic gathering of Michael Heineman, Rachel Grimes, Todd Cook, and Kyle Crabtree and myself. Sometimes we're quiet, and sometimes we're loud, alternately very pretty and very creepy. We got together because we are all fans of one another's music, and we found that we get along very well, have a good time, and make music that WE would like to go home and listen to.

I also sing with the More the Merrier Shape Note Singers.



What do you hope to achieve with music?
Ringo Starr voice: "I suppose I'd just like to achieve global domination so that I can feed on the psychic energies of your human race... I'd like to meet girls, too, I guess."

photos above by Gary Quick



c. 2009 Velocity Weekly