Karen Jonas- Yacht Rock, Whiskey, Lancelot Link (Secret Chimp)
Interview conducted Aug. 13, 2020
By Dan Locke
Karen Jonas’ fifth album The Southwest Sky and Other Dreams is a flashback-fueled fever dream of Americana songcraft and storytelling. Taking the vast desert expanses of the American Southwest as her backdrop, Jonas embroiders small-town snapshots into vivid explorations of our inner struggle between ambition and inaction. The Virginia singer-songwriter’s most accomplished and evocative expression to date, The Southwest Sky and Other Dreams captures that aching space between romantic dream-state and numb reality like few before.
What is your upbringing?
I was a quiet, focused kid. I grew up in Damascus, MD, a DC suburb that was transitioning from agricultural space to housing developments. I read a lot, I painted a lot, I walked through the woods with my brother. I worked at charming Butler’s Orchard through middle and early high school, then I bought a guitar and quit having real jobs forever.
How did you discover music?
I began singing in church and school choruses when I was in middle school. I enjoyed it but I wasn’t particularly good at it. Singing solos made me intensely nervous.
How did you start to write music?
My dad played a Joni Mitchell record, Miles of Aisles, for me when I was 16. I listened for a bit, and then decided I was going to do that, whatever Joni was doing. So, I bought a guitar thinking I’d maybe learn some Joni Mitchell songs but turns out they’re pretty hard to play. So, I started writing my own songs instead.
How did you get your first guitar, and do you still have it?
My grandma pitched in a little money, and I had a little saved up. My dad and I went to our local Guitar Center and bought a pretty little Takamine with koa wood back and sides. I passed it along to another girl who was learning guitar when I didn’t need it anymore.
What is your favorite guitar (year, make and model) now and does it have a name?
I play my dad’s old Cortez. It’s a Japanese made replica of a Gibson J200. My dad bought it new in 1976, and played it for a long time. But he left it in a closet for enough years that I knew he didn’t need it anymore.
What was your first performance at like?
I’m pretty sure that was my 11th grade talent show. As you can imagine, it was spectacular.
What was the title of your first original song? Did you record it?
The earliest I can think of was a melodramatic tune about the civil war called Silhouettes. My best friend Andie and I sang it together. In my memory at least, we were as verbose and adorable as Simon and Garfunkel.
How did you get your band together for the new album?
The album features our fantastic live band, with Tim Bray on guitar, Seth Morrissey on bass, and Seth Brown on drums (yes, we are 50% Seth’s). We also asked Tom Hnatow to send us some pedal steel tracks to round out the Southwest vibe.
Your new album called The Southwest Sky and Other Dreams comes out Aug 28th. Tell me about it?
The new record is a collection of 10 stories, it’s a dusty, reality-questioning adventure with the Southwest as a destination we may never reach. In the stories we go to a strip club, a bowling alley, we sit in bed all day on a Tuesday. Follow us online to keep up with the release details.
You have a kickstart fund to help get the album ready. How is that going?
Our Kickstarter is complete! Big thanks to everyone who supported it. You can still preorder the album and merch at our Bandcamp page: karenjonasmusic.bandcamp.com.
Why did you go with animation for the video Pink Leather Boots video?
I wanted the it to be lighthearted, and I think this animated video by Matt Rasch hits just the right vibe.
What is your favorite track on the album?
I’m a sucker for sad songs, so my favorite is Maybe You’d Hear Me Then. I had conversations with two friends within a week who posed the same question: “Why do I have to get crazy for him to hear me?” So, I wrote this song to quantify that struggle. The song is atmospheric and maybe leans a little more toward an indie-folk sound. I love how it turned out.
How do you stay healthy while touring?
By drinking gallons and gallons of coffee.
What are you’re feeling about streaming music?
This is a tough one for musicians. On one hand, streaming services pay a minuscule amount per play, which we all know is a bad deal. But on the other hand, it’s an amazing tool for reaching a really broad population that may never have heard our music otherwise. I always try to point people to platforms like Bandcamp, where you can stream an album and then buy it directly from the artist.
How did the test pressing go?
The test pressings sounded great, Tim and I got to go listen through them at our local pro audio shop Raven Hifi in downtown Fredericksburg so they sounded extra good. That’s always a stressful moment for me, because if there’s something wrong it’s a week’s long setback. But they sounded great and the finished vinyl just arrived this week!
Last year, you played SXSW. And this year you were scheduled to play and then the virus hit and SXSW was the first major concert like event to canceled. Tell me about that time because you were on tour in Texas ready to head to SXSW.
We didn’t make it to Texas this year. We were supposed to fly out just as the COVID19 situation was becoming apparent. We were still planning to head to Austin even after SXSW was cancelled, it seems like the shows would still go on under the venues’ leadership. But a few days before we were scheduled to leave, it became clear that things were about to get really serious and we needed to stay home.
Are you going to still do a UK tour?
We’ve postponed our UK tour to 2021. Hopefully things will be back up and running, and maybe we’ll be able to expand to some other countries too. I’m really excited to go visit the friends and fans we’ve made there.
What is the mental health situation of the United State? How can the public help doctors and nurses on the front line?
I’d say everyone is a little bit on edge. Maybe more than we even know. I’m not an expert, but I’d say the best way to help the frontline workers is to have respect for the seriousness of the situation at hand and stay up to date on the latest safety recommendations.
Do you think kids should go back to school this fall?
I have four kids, and our current plan is distance learning for the foreseeable future. I wouldn’t feel comfortable sending my kids into a situation where they or their teachers feel unsafe. That said, we also need a safety net for parents, whose lives are hugely impacted here.
How do you feel the Covid-19 virus going to affect the music business in the future?
We’re all trying to tiptoe our way through this. Maybe we’ll have a chance to create a more sustainable industry, but I’m not sure what that looks like.
What have you been doing with your self-quarantine?
Self-quarantine here involves Jackson, me, our four kids, a dog, and two cats. So, it’s been busy. And noisy.
Many artists are doing nightly concerts over either YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. You did live feeds. Did you get any new fans during this time period?
I think so! We got started pretty quick with the live feeds back in March, and I think people were really aching for a sense of normalcy and connection. I know I was. These live stream concerts helped us all feel more connected.
How was it to play at Billiken’s Smokehouse for your birthday?
Billiken’s in downtown Fredericksburg has a great outdoor space, so it was awesome to be able to play for our local friends. We’ll be back there for our album release show on 8.28.
The first few times you played you did a social distance concert at the Estate of White Hall Vineyard and Wilderness Run Vineyards. How was it. How different was it to play during this time?
It felt so good to be back playing in front of people. Things feel pretty normal and safe at outdoor venues, they do a good job of setting their tables up 6 feet apart, and people wear masks while they order drinks.
What about Holographic concerts in our living room?
Very probable. And creepy.
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