{"id":17796,"date":"2017-11-22T13:29:54","date_gmt":"2017-11-22T20:29:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/?p=17796"},"modified":"2017-11-22T13:37:43","modified_gmt":"2017-11-22T20:37:43","slug":"videoexclusive-interview-tim-obrien","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/2017\/11\/videoexclusive-interview-tim-obrien\/","title":{"rendered":"Video+Exclusive Interview TIM O\u2019BRIEN"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Video Feature &amp; Web-Exclusive Interview<br \/>\nMusician:\u00a0 <strong>TIM O\u2019BRIEN<\/strong><br \/>\nPerformers:\u00a0 <strong>Tim O\u2019Brien &amp; Jan Fabricius<\/strong><br \/>\nSongwriter:\u00a0 <strong>Bill Withers<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_Z9ateSZCI0\" width=\"660\" height=\"355\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Tim O\u2019Brien is a well-respected Grammy Award-winning musician and songwriter who can weave a tale with his intricate style of playing a wide variety of instruments, including guitars, fiddles and mandolins.<\/p>\n<p><em>Where the River Meets the Road<\/em>, released in the spring of 2017, celebrates the music of O\u2019Brien\u2019s native state\u2014West Virginia. After 15 solo records and a myriad of collaborations, he looks back at some early influences.<\/p>\n<p>This collection mixes bluegrass, country, old-time and Americana with songs from O\u2019Brien and other West Virginia natives\u2014Bill Withers, Hazel Dickens and Billy Edd Wheeler, among others. Guests on the recording include country artists Chris Stapleton and Kathy Mattea, as well as bluegrass instrumentalists Stuart Duncan and Noam Pikelny.<\/p>\n<p>The title track tells the story of Tim\u2019s great grandfather, who in 1851 emigrated from Ireland to Wheeling, West Virginia. Back then, the new National Road had just connected Baltimore and the east coast to the Ohio River\u2014and Wheeling was <em>Where the River Meets the Road<\/em>. The cover image is an engraving from that time, showing what young Thomas O\u2019Brien would have seen as he completed his journey.<\/p>\n<p>Mmusicmag.com is proud to premiere O\u2019Brien\u2019s take on Bill Withers\u2019 \u201cGrandma\u2019s Hands.\u201d We talked with Tim O\u2019Brien about his creative inspiration and songwriting, his passion for music, and what keeps him writing songs and playing music.<\/p>\n<h1><strong>TIM O\u2019BRIEN <\/strong>Web-Exclusive Interview<br \/>\nwith\u00a0<strong><em>M Music &amp; Musicians<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>magazine publisher,<strong> Merlin David<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p><strong>Who inspired you to write songs?<\/strong><br \/>\nI was under the spell of the Beatles and Roger Miller\u2014that\u2019s five good songwriters right there. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) I like to write little stories and make stuff up. I like poetry, and rhyming it for fun. When I started playing guitar, it was a natural thing to attempt to write songs. Within a year or two, when I was 13 or 14, I started writing songs. I didn\u2019t really apply myself until I was going to make some recordings with Hot Rize. We decided we needed songs\u2014something that no one else has.<\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-17808\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-06-casualband-Credit-Jan-Fabricius.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"495\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-06-casualband-Credit-Jan-Fabricius.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-06-casualband-Credit-Jan-Fabricius-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell us about the early years.<\/strong><br \/>\nMy sister and I would sing. We played little school shows. When I was 15 or 16, I was in a band. The other guys wrote, so I\u2019m not sure they did any of my songs. I had a reel-to-reel, but I don\u2019t remember recording my songs on it. But when cassettes came, I started recording songs on them. It didn\u2019t seem like it was anything serious, yet it was very natural.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell us about those first songs you wrote.<\/strong><br \/>\nAround 13 or 14 years of age, I was involved with Folk Mass. All Christian religions had them, and so did the Catholic Church. We\u2019d play guitars and sing new songs. We had writers that were servicing this new thing\u2014when the Pope and Vatican said you can have Mass in your own language. A lot of lyrical content in Latin got thrown away. They just wanted new music. The kids who were playing guitars got drafted into playing an A-minor chord and having everybody sing. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) I was one of them. Actually, as we started, there were about half-a-dozen guitars in the front row of the church. Then, over a couple of years, it dwindled down to just\u2014me.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Did you write these songs?<\/strong><br \/>\nThe young priest is the one that brought this change in our church. A woman who was in the Lay Society (the Nun religious order that supports the church)\u2014wanted to write music for church services. She and the priest would look at Scripture and she\u2019d say, \u201cYou know, if we just changed this word into more modern language, we\u2019ll get the same meaning.\u201d I was there to be the musical writer. I was into Joni Mitchell and I had my guitar in different tunings. I\u2019d play around until it fit the words. It\u2019s funny because a couple of them ended up being regular songs in church. \u201cLook at the birds of the air\u2026\u201d\u2014a famous passage in the New Testament. That was one that got a lot of play. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) But that was just in my parish in Wheeling, West Virginia\u2014in the northern panhandle of the state.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What initially made you <em>want <\/em>to write songs?<\/strong><br \/>\nFrom the beginning, I seemed to have an aptitude for music. As an adolescent, I wasn\u2019t great at sports. I liked some sports, but I wasn\u2019t a great team sports player. Music was something of value that I could do on my own. It fed the fire of self-esteem. I did a tiny bit of acting, but writing in school dovetailed with music. I didn\u2019t know if music would be my livelihood, but I wanted to try the various parts of it. I did teach myself to read music. I wanted to diversify to see what else was out there.<\/p>\n<p><strong>When did you take songwriter more seriously?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt looked like Hot Rize could get a recording contract in the late 70s with a relatively new Rounder Records. Pete [Wernick] had already recorded with Country Cooking. It seemed like we could make a record if we just got some material together. We felt it would help to write in the genre. We wanted to play traditional bluegrass. We didn\u2019t know how. We did our best and it ended up being a little different version of it\u2014and it was well received.<\/p>\n<p><strong>When did others start covering your song?<\/strong><br \/>\nAbout 10 years in, Kathy Mattea had recorded three of my songs. Then I realized I was not only making money and adding value to my band\u2019s resume, but there was money coming in the mailbox. I figured I should pay more attention to that if I wanted to make a living and raise some kids. I guess it was an economic thing. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) Expediency and economics drove it. But I do like the process. I feel it\u2019s like a puzzle that you get to solve, and I get excited when I feel like I\u2019m solving the puzzle\u2014to put something down with words and music that works.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Which was your biggest hit with Kathy Mattea?<\/strong><br \/>\n\u201cUntold Stories\u201d went up to #4 on Billboard. But \u201cWalk the Way the Wind Blows\u201d was the first one\u2014and the title of that album\u2014and it was her second radio hit. It was crucial to her. Then all of a sudden I\u2019ve got a little bit of a track record with her, and she follows up with another one about a year later with \u201cUntold Stories.\u201d That put me on the map as a writer. People started asking for songs, and I kept thinking\u2014geez, I don\u2019t even write that many songs. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) Maybe I should write more.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How did the idea of \u201cUntold Stories\u201d come to you?<\/strong><br \/>\nMy cousin, Sony Ames, was a career classical musician\u2014a percussionist with the National Symphony. My father was his uncle and also his godfather. They had a disagreement over whether the Vietnam War was legit. My cousin was totally against it, and my father found it troubling. There\u2019s more\u2014it\u2019s a long story, but that\u2019s all I\u2019ll say. Meanwhile my brother, who was his contemporary, enlisted in the Marines\u2014and died in Vietnam. My cousin and my father were estranged for years. He\u2019s the only other professional musician other than my sister and me. I always looked up to him because he left and became a musician. He left home when I was only 10 years old. I got to know him as an adult and he told me this story of their estrangement\u2014and how they made up years later. Basically it was\u2014let\u2019s let bygones be bygones. These were the untold stores. The song wrote itself real fast. It sounds like a love song, and it is. It\u2019s just a love song between an uncle and his nephew. I had never known any of that until I was around 25 years old. Then, I got to sing it for my cousin and my dad. (<em>Laughs<\/em>)<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-17810\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-01.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-01.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-01-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Did you ever think it would be covered\u2014and be a hit?<\/strong><br \/>\nNo. I didn\u2019t think so. I just liked the song. It was a networking thing. I got to know Kathy Mattea because her manager shared offices with Hot Rize\u2019s agent. One day, I saw her promo CDs on a shelf, and the guy said, \u201cHey, take one. She\u2019s from West Virginia too.\u201d Then we met. And she did the same thing\u2014one day she got my record at the office. Then we sang together on Mountain Stage. Later, when she got a song that she liked, and saw that I wrote it\u2014it kinda helped. It might have made the difference\u2014the straw that pushed it into happening. It was pretty well played in the summer of \u201989\u2014and went to #4.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What did you learn about yourself back then?<\/strong><br \/>\nAs a musician, you\u2019re not only trying to connect with your audience, but also with other musicians. I was always told to get together with people who are just a little bit better than you, and you\u2019ll learn more when you collaborate with them. Kathy had a lot more muscle behind her. When they need what you do\u2014as a musician, singer and songwriter, then you cultivate those relationships, and both of you can go further. It worked well.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Have you worked with her lately?<\/strong><br \/>\nI\u2019m actually producing a record of hers right now. It\u2019s interesting because it\u2019s full circle. She still plays a lot of shows with just a guitar player and her\u2014and we started the album that way, but we\u2019ve added to it. She\u2019s not pandering to country radio. She\u2019s on her own and has a strong following. She\u2019s able to just express herself, and it\u2019s pretty cool.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Are there any challenges?<\/strong><br \/>\nAs you go on, it gets harder to make a new record. If you\u2019ve had a lot of success, you have a tendency to be intimidated by that. I found it hard to make a Hot Rize record several years ago\u2014after 25 years of sitting dormant. Expectations are inflated unnaturally. When we made those records, we kept thinking\u2014wish we could have done better. Now people are saying\u2014we love those records, can you make more of those? (<em>Laughs<\/em>) The main thing is that you have to listen to yourself. That\u2019s where you start, that\u2019s what you come back to\u2014and that\u2019s what\u2019s important.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell us about the West Virginia Hall of Fame.<\/strong><br \/>\nI\u2019ve been involved with the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame for the past dozen years. Michael Lipton, who started it, is the band leader on the Mountain Stage radio show. He and Andy Ridenour, who produces the shows, decided to start this Hall of Fame in West Virginia. They asked me to be on the Board. I agreed, and right off the bat we made a record\u2014<em>Always Lift Him Up: A Tribute to Blind Alfred Reed<\/em>. I didn\u2019t know much about his songs other than \u201cHow Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?\u201d Then we wanted to get Little Jimmy Dickens to sing a song, and Connie Smith, and Kathy Mattea.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_17807\" style=\"width: 490px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17807\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-17807\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-08-Photo-credit-Scott-Simontacchi.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-08-Photo-credit-Scott-Simontacchi.jpg 480w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-08-Photo-credit-Scott-Simontacchi-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-08-Photo-credit-Scott-Simontacchi-300x450.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-17807\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit Scott Simontacchi<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Honoring these musicians must be satisfying.<\/strong><br \/>\nYou get to meet the people, and they get inducted. It brought me back home to where I started, and it forced me to learn things that I hadn\u2019t learned\u2014about where I\u2019m from, and where the music\u2019s from\u2014and who these musicians are. You learn about all the different genres. Johnnie Johnson from Fairmont, West Virginia, who played with Chuck Berry\u2014they wrote Johnny B. Goode about him. He\u2019s a cowriter with Chuck Berry. And George Crumb is an incredible modern classical composer\u2014opera singer. And the guy who wrote \u201cSweet Georgia Brown\u201d comes out of the coal fields\u2014a Black man named Maceo Pinkard. It just gets real interesting. So, I guess I\u2019m focusing on where I came from.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How did this new album <em>Where the River Meets the Road<\/em> evolve?<\/strong><br \/>\nI knew I was going to make this project, and I wanted something original, so I wrote two songs. I guess it could have written more. I wrote one about my great grandfather and how he came from Ireland and ended up in West Virginia\u2014that\u2019s the title track. Then I wrote one about my own childhood, \u201cGuardian Angel.\u201d I knew some of the songs already, like \u201cHigh Flying Bird.\u201d But I knew them more in the back of my mind. I hadn\u2019t really sung them before. For West Virginia, this song is sort of the linchpin\u2014the crystal around which it forms. The song talks about a guy like me, when I was 15 or 16 wanting to get the heck away from West Virginia, get away from your parents and go on your own. I wanted to get far away. I ended up going out to Colorado. This song from West Virginia by Billy Edd Wheeler seemed perfect for me. I got to meet one of the Bailes Brothers when they got inducted into the Hall of Fame, and played mandolin behind him. Same with Hazel Dickens. I think I sang a Jimmy Dickens song at the induction ceremony. It all came to the forefront.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Especially in these times, do you think it\u2019s important to write songs with social significance\u2014songs that have greater meaning?<\/strong><br \/>\nIf you want to make a statement with music\u2014you want to be yourself. You know John Hartford said: don\u2019t get famous for something you don\u2019t like doing\u2014that\u2019s really good advice. If you believe in something, and you are an artist\u2014that\u2019s more than half of our lives. Who we are and what we\u2019re doing\u2014it defines us. It\u2019s only natural that a social viewpoint will surface in your music. I like it best when it\u2019s indirect, but every once in a while you have to call a spade a spade. (<em>Laughs<\/em>)<\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-17809\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-05-band-on-stage.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-05-band-on-stage.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-05-band-on-stage-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell us about one of those songs you\u2019ve written.<\/strong><br \/>\nSomeone came to a show at Wolf Trap Barns and handed me this <em>New Yorker<\/em> article about a chemical spill in Charleston, West Virginia that shot out the water supply for about three or four months. I already get that magazine, but I knew I had to read it and study it. She said, \u201cSomebody needs to write music about this.\u201d So I wrote a song, and made it humorous\u2014it\u2019s called \u201cBrush My Teeth with Coca Cola.\u201d I don\u2019t sing it too much, but I think I need to bring it back because clean water is still on people\u2019s minds. I\u2019m not really the best at writing that stuff. I\u2019ve got some songs that I\u2019ve only sung maybe once\u2014\u201cPussy Hat.\u201d (<em>Laughs<\/em>) I mostly want to bring people together rather than tear them apart. I really admire Steve Earle. He mostly preaches to the choir, yet he has enough of a voice. Like his song about John Walker Lindh\u2014people were really interested, and it caused dialogue. That was good. I\u2019ve been singing \u201cPastures of Plenty\u201d more often\u2014because of DACA.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How do you deal with fans who might view things differently?<\/strong><br \/>\nRight after the Las Vegas massacre, I did a recent Facebook post about the NRA. Rosanne Cash, in her editorial today said people will boo you, they will do this or do that. We had death threats. But nobody is going to bother me. My audience knows who I am. It was funny when people burned records. All these new fans came along who said\u2014I didn\u2019t know about the Dixie Chicks but I like them now. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) It can happen the other way around\u2014and you can get more fans. In my case, I just don\u2019t think I have anything to fear\u2014so I speak my mind. If I don\u2019t write social commentary, it\u2019s not because I\u2019m afraid of it\u2014it\u2019s just that I haven\u2019t figured out the right way of saying it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How do you view your music?<\/strong><br \/>\nMy pursuit with music is to get people to take time out of their day to get their minds to wander and think about important things in life. They put the mundane and the deadlines aside for an hour-and-a-half concert\u2014very similar to going to church. They still have their hassles but at least they can sit down for a while and say, \u201cOK. Let\u2019s just love each other and let\u2019s see what we can do to get through this.\u201d It gives them a license to slow down and contemplate. That\u2019s the value. As a musician, the best thing I can do is to give people a chance to just allow them to let their minds focus on their situation in life\u2014beyond the next thing they have to do.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What songwriting tip would you like to offer?<\/strong><br \/>\nWhat I do is random. I write notes in books, and I save all the notebooks, but I hardly ever look at them. Usually the things that are going to drive me to write and finish a song\u2014they don\u2019t leave me alone\u2014they\u2019re in my head. I\u2019m always looking for a way into a song. Sometimes it\u2019ll take years before the topic I had in my mind unlocks. It\u2019s usually a little phrase. So I look for these little phrases and it clicks. If I think a phrase might unlock, I\u2019ll write that. Sometimes I\u2019ll save news clippings and articles or books. I tried to do <em>The Artist\u2019s Way<\/em> workshop thing. I didn\u2019t quite succeed. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) But I know journaling is good. Making a regular place to do it is good. It\u2019s mysterious. What\u2019s great is everybody has their own way. I think everybody can be an artist, if they wanted to be. Creating something is therapeutic. Everybody has a different thing to offer. As a result, there really are no rules. It\u2019s however you can get at it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What instrument<\/strong><strong>\/equipment can you not live without?<\/strong><br \/>\nI have Piezo pickups and mini-mics on all my instruments. I\u2019ve used various blenders over the years\u2014they seem to always go out of production. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) What I\u2019m using now is the latest thing that went out of production\u2014the Seymour Duncan D-TAR. It\u2019s a stereo preamp where you can adjust one side or the other\u2014and balance them. I like the flexibility of it, and it makes a big difference\u2014it\u2019s very handy. You can go only to the pickup or only to the mic, or a combo. But pickup technology seems to improve so much, and maybe there\u2019s something else out there.<\/p>\n<p>It just helps my confidence to know I\u2019m giving the sound guy a decent sounding signal.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_17806\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17806\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-17806\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-09-Photo-credit-Scott-Simontacchi.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"727\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-09-Photo-credit-Scott-Simontacchi.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-09-Photo-credit-Scott-Simontacchi-272x300.jpg 272w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-09-Photo-credit-Scott-Simontacchi-300x330.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-17806\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit Scott Simontacchi<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>How do you maintain your instruments?<\/strong><br \/>\nI just keep the instruments in good shape. You need to take time to do that because they can wear out. I play 100+ shows a year, so the frets wear out. You have to clean them up\u2014clean up the fingerboard\u2014set-up the action. And with the fiddle it\u2019s always about adjusting the sound post\u2014 and the bridge can warp. You gotta keep it in great shape. Most people have a guitar and only play it a little each evening. They\u2019re not relying on it. As a professional, it\u2019s like having a car that you rely on\u2014that you need to get to work in. You need to keep it maintained.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You have so many instruments, but which instruments do you take on the road?<\/strong><br \/>\nI mostly play a guitar, and feature a mandolin and a fiddle during the show. I used to take a banjo and a bouzouki. Most gigs these days I\u2019m playing solo or duo with my partner Jan [Fabricius] who sings. I have a couple of Martin 00-18\u2019s. I have a 1937 that I use whenever possible, and then I have a new one, which is actually a Tim O\u2019Brien model. I can take that one out of the country without anyone taking it away from me.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What kind of mandolin and fiddle do you have?<\/strong><br \/>\nI have a Nugget Mandolin made by a guy from Michigan, Michael Kemnitzer\u2014his nickname is Nugget. They always sound good. He\u2019s quite well known in that world. I met him through a bluegrass songwriter friend. It\u2019s funny how things happen with friends you meet. J.D. Hutchinson wrote songs that Hot Rize recorded. Since I was moving out to Colorado, he said I needed to talk with Michael about his Nugget mandolins. It turns out that J.D. is the one who told Nugget that he should make mandolins. He was a glass blower who made a banjo. J.D. said you could make mandolins\u2014and you should. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) And now he makes these amazing mandolins. And I have a 1922 Carlo Micelli factory fiddle from Germany\u2014made with a fake Italian name. (<em>Laughs<\/em>)<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_17805\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17805\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-17805\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-10-Photo-credit-Scott-Simontacchi.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"865\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-10-Photo-credit-Scott-Simontacchi.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-10-Photo-credit-Scott-Simontacchi-229x300.jpg 229w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-10-Photo-credit-Scott-Simontacchi-300x393.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-17805\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit Scott Simontacchi<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>What are your Top 5 favorite albums of all time?<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Smash Hits<\/em> \u2013 Roger Miller, on Dot Records.<br \/>\n<em>Rubber Soul<\/em> (1965 ) \u2013 The Beatles<br \/>\n<em>Sweet Baby James<\/em> (1970) \u2013 James Taylor<br \/>\n<em>Strictly Instrumental<\/em> (1967) \u2013 Flatt &amp; Scruggs with Doc Watson , that was a big one.<br \/>\n<em>Doc Watson on Stage<\/em> (1971) \u2013 Doc Watson featuring Merle Watson<br \/>\n<em>Help! <\/em>(1965) \u2013 The Beatles. I remember the summer when it came out [August 6, 1965].<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell us a \u201cpinch me\u201d moment when you thought \u201c<em>Wow, this is really happening to me<\/em>!\u201d<\/strong><em><br \/>\n<\/em>Just this last Thursday on the IBMA stage, at the rehearsal the night before, when Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerard got inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame at the IBMA. I\u2019ve been fans of theirs for a long time, and recorded some Hazel songs and some songs Alice sang. They asked me to participate in their performance. I got to sing. When I was rehearsing, I thought\u2014man, this is so cool\u2014I get to do this. And it\u2019s sort of logical. It\u2019s like sitting in with Doc Watson\u2014at a jam at the end of a festival. There was one time when I got invited to play pretty much the whole set with him at RockyGrass Festival. It was like, wow! I always wanted to play like him and with him\u2014and here I am doing it\u2014and nothing really went wrong. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) It\u2019s like you\u2019re holding your breath thinking\u2014this is happening to me?<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_17804\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17804\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-17804\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-11-Photo-credit-Jay-Blakesberg.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-11-Photo-credit-Jay-Blakesberg.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-11-Photo-credit-Jay-Blakesberg-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-17804\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tim O\u2019Brien photographed at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco, CA October 7, 2017\u00a9Jay Blakesberg<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>I\u2019m sure there are other moments.<\/strong><br \/>\nI was playing with Mark Knopfler\u2014I was subbing for my friend whose wife had their first child and he was sitting out the tour in the U.S. for five weeks. One of the last gigs was in New York\u2014at Reverend Ike\u2019s church in Harlem. It\u2019s a big theater. There I was playing in Manhattan for a sold out crowd. When I was warming up, I thought\u2014this is really, really cool. Here I am in Mark Knopfler\u2019s band\u2014playing clawhammer banjo. I never thought I\u2019d be here. It was cool to look out there, and it\u2019s also weird because that\u2019s what you\u2019ve wanted to do. Then you do it, and think\u2014it worked. I did it. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) And maybe I\u2019ll never do it again, and I can accept that too.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you remember the first time you heard yourself on the radio?<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen Hot Rize\u2019s first record came out, I was on my way to a gig with another guy\u2014not a Hot Rize gig. That record was on the radio, and I think it was my song. It was a pretty wonderful. Even more satisfying was hearing someone else sing my song. When Kathy Mattea did it, or when other people do it. After the Awards show this past Thursday\u2014we went up to Frank Sullivan\u2019s band\u2019s suite for drinks and pizza. When we got off the elevator, there was a jam session in the hallway, and they were singing my song. I turned around and waved at them. I didn\u2019t want to walk over and ruin it. But I thought\u2014wow, this is awesome. People say they sing my songs all the time, but I rarely hear it. Here I was\u2014hearing my song in the hallway. I surprised them, and they didn\u2019t stop\u2014so that was good.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best advice someone has given you?<\/strong><br \/>\nI really like that John Hartford advice: don\u2019t get famous doing something you don\u2019t like doing. There is an intersection between what you like to do and what people like to hear\u2014and that\u2019s your lifeline as an artist. If you can find that intersection, and once you grab them, sometimes you can take people to other places you\u2019d like to go with your art. It is about following your heart. Joseph Campbell\u2019s \u201cfollow your bliss\u201d dovetails with that Hartford advice.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_17803\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17803\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-17803\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-13-Photo-credit-Marty-Fitzpatrick.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"660\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-13-Photo-credit-Marty-Fitzpatrick.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-13-Photo-credit-Marty-Fitzpatrick-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-13-Photo-credit-Marty-Fitzpatrick-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-17803\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit Marty Fitzpatrick<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>How did you figure out where music fit into your life?<\/strong><br \/>\nI was lucky early on to find something that really satisfied me\u2014and that\u2019s playing the guitar, playing music, singing, and putting that all together. I\u2019m really lucky that I was able to do that. My parents weren\u2019t encouraging me to do that for my living. They hoped that I would try it. The truth is\u2014that\u2019s what I needed to do. I\u2019m glad that I followed it. I didn\u2019t really know what else to do. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) Some people didn\u2019t make the right choice because they never got in touch with that thing that drives them\u2014or haven\u2019t yet. I suppose it\u2019s just not available to everybody. I tend to think it\u2019s mostly because we haven\u2019t investigated it enough.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Did someone help you?<\/strong><br \/>\nPete Wernick got me to be in Hot Rize because they wanted a good singer. And I\u2019d never been the singer in a band. I\u2019d been in bands, but maybe sang one song or sang harmony. That\u2019s a powerful thing, if you can make that work\u2014to write a song and sing it. Music on its own is a healing thing, and a great unifier. The spoken word is also. But when you combine the two\u2014it\u2019s a powerful cocktail. You can use it as a weapon or use it as a healing device. It becomes a responsibility\u2014to do the right thing with it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Best advice you\u2019d like to give upcoming musicians.<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen I started producing records, I was just trying to help people get the job done. Later on, when people asked me about producing I asked myself\u2014I wonder what their goal is? Sometimes you can hear it right away. I think it\u2019s important to ask yourself\u2014what you can do with the music, and what you think is the best thing to do with it\u2014and find that intersection. I am no better than anyone else. I screw up. But there\u2019s a certain moral stance that helps you go on with the drudgery of the music business. If you have meaning yourself, within the music, then you can withstand the flames and arrows of the critics and fans\u2014and you can steer around the pointless stuff. The creature comforts are nice, but you don\u2019t want them to get in the way of the music or the substance abuse. Early on, I wasn\u2019t that great at sports. I was shy. But with music I could be in society. I could do something. I could put my best foot forward. And I\u2019m still trying to do that\u2014that\u2019s all.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-17802\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-14-cover.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"583\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-14-cover.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-14-cover-300x265.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s next?<\/strong><br \/>\nHot Rize tried to break up, but we were unsuccessful. (<em>Laughs<\/em>)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Isn\u2019t that the year IBMA gave Hot Rize the first Entertainer of the Year Award?<\/strong><br \/>\nYes, that\u2019s right. This coming year will be 40 years we\u2019ve been together\u2014or playing shows together. We\u2019re going to regroup and concentrate a little more on Hot Rize next year. Everybody\u2019s got their own thing that they do, but we\u2019re going to try to honor it with reunion concerts in January, and do some video and audio recording\u2014then a fall tour. These days you have to give a one-two-three punch.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Where can your new fans stay updated?<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/timobrien.net\">TimOBrien.net<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-17800\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-15-Photo-credit-Bill-Blankenship.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"427\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-15-Photo-credit-Bill-Blankenship.jpeg 427w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-15-Photo-credit-Bill-Blankenship-200x300.jpeg 200w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/Tim-OBrien-15-Photo-credit-Bill-Blankenship-300x450.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 427px) 100vw, 427px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Video Feature &amp; Web-Exclusive Interview Musician:\u00a0 TIM O\u2019BRIEN Performers:\u00a0 Tim O\u2019Brien &amp; Jan Fabricius Songwriter:\u00a0 Bill Withers \ufeff Tim O\u2019Brien is a well-respected Grammy Award-winning musician and songwriter who can weave a tale with his intricate style of playing a wide variety of instruments, including guitars, fiddles and mandolins. Where the River Meets the Road, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17798,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7725],"tags":[10226,10227,10228,10229,8414,7517,8500,10230,10232,10231,3602,10233,10234,10235,8623,5731,10236,10237,10238,4254,10239,6603,8425,10240,10241,10242,10243,10244,10245,10246,5320,10247,10248,8432,10249,10250,10252,1624,10251,10253,8436,10254,10255,991,10256,8437,10257,10258,10161,7566,10259,9158,10260,3277,7856,10261,3010,10262,10263,7978,7954,10264,10265,10266,10267,10268,10269,10270,10271,10272,10273,10274,10275,9864,675,10276,10277,1790,10278,10279,10280,2417,8451,10281,10282,10283,10284,3818,10285,2290,10286,10287,10288,10289,10291,10292,10290,10293,10294,10295,7982],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17796"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17796"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17796\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17812,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17796\/revisions\/17812"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}