![]() ![]() So you still use those same family instruments? That way, I don’t have to make a choice… like buy a Martin for $2,000.00 (laughs). They all sound great, but they also have limits, which is what I like about them too. It can only do so many things but, what it does is amazing. In the 60s, there was this trend of Hawaiian music I think? (laughs) Maybe there’s something there? I don’t know (laughs). He said “If you want it, take it, my arthritis is so bad.” He called it his Hawaiian guitar because he set it up to play slide on it and sing Hawaiian songs (laughs). The electric was given to me by my uncle. Did they give them to you or did you inherit them somehow? I have dead people’s instruments (laughs). My mom’s dad and all her brothers did, so all my instruments I got from them. Growing up though, my folks listened to a lot of music, but no one really played that much piano. By September, I learned how to play guitar. I wasn’t practicing, I was like the monkey at the beginning of Space Odyssey, ya know. So one summer, when I was 15 or 16, there were days when I just got up, picked up the guitar and then it would be 6 PM. I started playing the guitar and everything was in tune because of the frets. I just didn’t get anywhere with the violin. My first instrument was the violin and then I picked up the guitar. Was music a large part of your childhood? What was your first instrument? They were from when I was 16, 17, 18…just thinking about it makes me so grossed out. My mom said, “What is this?” It was the old four-track and then I listened to them. ![]() Oh, I found a bunch of them in my parents’ basement. If you listened to those very early songs now, do you think you would still feel the same way? I was really thankful that I didn’t put out the first things that I did, like the home recordings. I’m embarrassed of that. I remember thinking, just keep on writing. I told myself that if I don’t hate it after a year, maybe I’d be onto something. I remember writing a lot of songs then and six months later thinking, uhh, that’s the worst song ever. It’s hard to go back into that head space. I don’t know what I was thinking, but it made sense. I chose philosophy because I liked it and I knew I’d end up doing music somehow and I didn’t want to do it right away. I would have rather gone to McGill University but they said it would be $1,000, (laughs) like nothing (laughs), but I was like “Fuck you McGill! You don’t want me bad enough to pay for all of it!” (laughs) It turns out that I should have gone to McGill (laughs) because I moved to Montreal eventually and that’s where all the musicians I fell in love with are. I was studying philosophy in Ottawa because they said it would be free if I went there. What were you doing right before you committed to pursuing a career in music above most other things? Leif Vollebekk: That’s probably right (laughs). Lauren Jahoda: You released your first album, Inland, four years ago, right? “F… yeah! This is Leif Vollbekk’s interview!” Leif and I discussed a variety of things including his degree in philosophy, Newport Folk Festival, the Montreal music scene, his collection of musical instruments, how to cook, and… a stolen journal. It was the day after Lief had just heard the news, that he (as well as Nathaniel Rateliff), will be touring with Gregory Alan Isakov, come January 2015. As we talked, one of the Barr Brothers was showering in the next room. Leif Vollebekk and I met in New York on Friday afternoon, just prior to his opening performance for The Barr Brothers show at The Bowery Ballroom. Posted on NovemUpdated on NovemLeif Vollebekk at Newport Folk Festival 2014, PC: Feathertree Photography “F’ Yeah!”: This is Leif Vollebekk’s Interview ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |