{"id":19593,"date":"2020-05-01T19:50:07","date_gmt":"2020-05-02T02:50:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/?p=19593"},"modified":"2020-07-22T11:22:30","modified_gmt":"2020-07-22T18:22:30","slug":"video-feature-web-exclusive-interview-billy-crockett","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/2020\/05\/video-feature-web-exclusive-interview-billy-crockett\/","title":{"rendered":"Video Feature &#038; Web Interview BILLY CROCKETT"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Video Feature &amp; Web-Exclusive Interview<\/h3>\n<h1>Musician: BILLY CROCKETT<\/h1>\n<h2>Video: \u201cThe Question Pool\u201d from the new album In Session<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rb6J2_swFVc\" width=\"660\" height=\"400\" 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<h3>BILLY CROCKETT, NEW ALBUM IN SESSION, DONATES 100% OF SALES BETWEEN NOW AND MAY 15, 2020 TO COVID-19 RELIEF<\/h3>\n<p>Billy Crockett is a performing songwriter, producer and multi-instrumental session man with a dozen albums, decades of memorable songs and tours. He is creative director of Blue Rock Artist Ranch and Studio in the scenic Texas Hill Country, engaging a wide community of artists, producing songs, concerts, live broadcasts and a journal on creative process. Crockett is a guitar clinician for Yamaha who has been featured on BMI\u2019s songwriter panel at SXSW, the TV series Troubadour Texas and the Academy of Gospel Music Arts.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19602\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Billy-Crockett-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"371\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Billy-Crockett-3.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Billy-Crockett-3-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>If you haven\u2019t been lucky enough to see this amazing musician perform live, you are in for a treat. In Session reveals one rare day in the studio with Billy Crockett and bassist Roscoe Beck (best known for his work with Leonard Cohen, along with Jennifer Warnes and Eric Johnson). This is Crockett at his most essential, energized by a musical friendship, exploring the heart of handpicked songs from his catalog, and covers of classics. Crockett says, \u201cThe songs are some of my favs. My respect for bassist Roscoe Beck is immense. His fearlessness inspires me. It was half-remembered, half invention\u2014in other words, the famed sweet spot of collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Crockett\u2019s life has been one of gratitude\u2014giving to his community, especially offering rare opportunities to artists, songwriters and fans with his incredibly creative oasis, the Blue Rock Artist Ranch and Studio (BlueRockTexas.com). This album is a continuation of that giving spirit.<\/p>\n<p>Download the album now through May 15, 2020: https:\/\/billycrockett.com\/music and 100% album revenue goes to Thanks-Giving Foundation\u2019s COVID-19 relief initiative. \u201cWhen you donate through the In Session window\u2014you get to help them and get the record,\u201d says Crockett.<\/p>\n<p>We talked with Billy Crockett about his passion for songwriting, how the interpretation of his own songs has grown through the years, the fascination of capturing a live performance at its finest and what continues to inspire his creative process.<\/p>\n<h2><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19600\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Billy-Crockett-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"419\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Billy-Crockett-1.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Billy-Crockett-1-300x190.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/h2>\n<h2>BILLY CROCKETT Interview\u00a0with M Music &amp; Musicians magazine publisher, Merlin David<\/h2>\n<p><strong>How did you get the idea for In Session\u2014one rare day in the studio, no tricks, with you and Roscoe Beck\u2014just guitar, voice and bass?<\/strong><br \/>\nRoscoe has the touch, and the 200 year old Italian bass, that energizes me and my songs. I brought him to Blue Rock Studio when I was producing a Darryl Purpose record and for a couple of live broadcasts during SXSW. He was between tours with Leonard Cohen, or he was just in from New York City playing with Lyle Lovett on Letterman. He was always kind and prepared\u2014and had great stories. So the vibe was great. I began to ask him to play on my records. We were having fun, did some shows around Texas. One day after coming off a good tour, I asked him if he\u2019d come to the studio for \u201cwhatever.\u201d Maybe I didn\u2019t want it to slip away. He was up for it. We set-up some mics and a couple of cameras, and we just played until we were tired.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell us about the studio set-up.<\/strong><br \/>\nThe production ethic is one of my favorite styles of sessions. It\u2019s a super-quiet room, and the room itself is part of the character. Everything in the signal chain is pristine. Great mics, unprocessed audio (no EQ, no compression)\u2014it comes in nice and transparent. We tighten it up in the mix so it\u2019s ready for the big world. It\u2019s exciting for me\u2014to have a record that\u2019s dynamic and pristine. It kinda reminds me of the good old days.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What did learn about yourself while recording this album?<\/strong><br \/>\nI can over-think these things. Finally, I didn\u2019t. The chemistry of this project was a kind of communion of songs (some ancient, some new) and the energy of the musical friendship. I just let that flow\u2014for a change.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How did the idea of \u201cThe Question Pool\u201d come to you?<\/strong><br \/>\nI come from a faith culture that, in many ways, wanted to \u201csolve\u201d the big dilemmas rather than savor them. I guess I\u2019m wired up backwards. Hey, but so was Socrates. A writer\u2019s gotta bring his emotional dissonance and say it out loud. My co-writer on this song, Milton Brasher-Cunningham, was game, too. Thank God.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19597\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Billy-Crockett-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"371\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Billy-Crockett-2.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Billy-Crockett-2-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>When did this song take on new meaning for you?<\/strong><br \/>\nI don\u2019t know what happened to this song on that session, but it was probably the moment that made it all come into focus from me. That\u2019s a song from quite a few years (and records) back. To be able to look at it from 25 years of life later\u2014to come back and sing about what was heartfelt and vitally important to me then, I discovered that it had become a completely different vitality now. Sarah [Randolph] showed it to me and said, \u201cDo you guys realize what you just did?\u201d I showed it to others, and people thought it was timely. I realized, somehow it\u2019s on time for now. It made me realize that this session was trying to pull the energy from wherever it was. When this song is stripped down like this\u2014people feel like they\u2019re really hearing your story, and they\u2019re seeing the images. It\u2019s somehow far more personal.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Which song surprised you\u2014especially doing it in this unique way?<\/strong><br \/>\n\u201cYou\u2019re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.\u201d It was just fun to do. It was something we had played around with. I think it\u2019s a brilliant song from Theodor Geisel\u2014Dr. Seuss. It\u2019s just the language, and the way that the melody and chords float by. We came at it with a very rough frame of the memory of the song. It\u2019s the comic element of the record. We did it last, and only did one take. We let it happen. It\u2019s kind of a dream state of trying to remember a song and having fun with it. I\u2019m really proud of it because it\u2019s one of those rare times where I opened it up just to see what happens.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Is there one song you are especially glad made it onto this recording?<\/strong><br \/>\nThe classic \u201cNature Boy\u201d was huge in 1948 for Nat King Cole. I have come to love the song, and have played it at the end of many shows. But never had I recorded it\u2014till now. And with Roscoe, it\u2019s an event. The more I learn about it, the more reverence I have for that song. I think there is also some echo of a connection with the story The Little Prince.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Who originally inspired you to write songs?<\/strong><br \/>\nSongs and songwriters were my liberators. I had never been free to feel much. It wasn\u2019t done at my house. Jackson Browne entered with \u201cThe Pretender\u201d and \u201cFountain of Sorrow.\u201d Then, Cat Stevens with \u201cFather and Son\u201d and CS&amp;N\u2019s \u201cOur House.\u201d Mavis Staples. Roberta Flack. You can imagine what might have dawned on a 15 year-old kid. It was an entire language to know things, inside and out.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19596\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Billy-Crockett-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"371\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Billy-Crockett-4.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Billy-Crockett-4-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>When did something unique inspire you to write one of these songs?<\/strong><br \/>\nWe tracked my song \u201cGhosts.\u201d I was thinking of empty chairs at a Thanksgiving reunion\u2014a missing uncle, then a grandparent. The holiday is forever marked by who is not here. Of course, I was at the kids table then. Now I realize that in my memory, they are exactly as old as I am now. So many \u201cghosts I wish I\u2019d known.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you remember the first time you heard one of your songs on the radio?<\/strong><br \/>\nOh, yes\u2014the song was \u201cLove Waiting\u201d and I heard it on a Nashville station when I was 25. It was a laugh out loud, pull the car over, thrill. I was on one of those little circle roads outside of Nashville. That song had been with me for several years. I had demoed it several times. I played it for publishers\u2014sung it a whole bunch. I recorded it with a band in my house\u2014as good as we could. Then, I had actually gotten the attention of a major label in my genre. After they got excited about it\u2014then, the waiting began\u2014and more waiting. It was only a couple of years of wondering \u201cIs this ever going to happen?\u201d (Laughs) Then, we got the green light.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How did the song change in a real studio?<\/strong><br \/>\nWe went into the studio, and once we added Dennis Holt on drums and Jon Goin on electric guitar, and a few others, that song was transformed into the most beautiful thing. I had never had that experience. It was still my guitar, my voice and my song co-written with my pal Kenny Wood. What was in the can was equal to any other feeling I\u2019d ever had. Then, hearing it on the radio! No one was with me when I first heard that song in my car. I want to weep right now thinking about that moment. The road up to that moment was filled with so much longing. It was incredibly deep and validating to hear your song on the radio. And then, you drive on. In a way, it\u2019s a before and after moment\u2014you\u2019re different, but you can never get enough love\u2014so you\u2019re still looking. (Laughs)<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19595\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Billy-Crockett-6.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"371\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Billy-Crockett-6.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Billy-Crockett-6-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>How do you remain hopeful during tough socio-political times, including this pandemic?<\/strong><br \/>\nI suppose it\u2019s a cocktail of the following: Reading something honest, a bit of exercise and working on something grand with my wife, Dodee. And having a small group of writers to belong to\u2014it seems hope requires expression. (Laughs) Also, empathy and connection\u2014and Greta [Thunberg].<\/p>\n<p><strong>All In Session album revenue from orders now through May 15 will go to relief for frontline healthcare workers and first responders in the fight against COVID-19 (\u201cServing Up Gratitude\u201d).<\/strong><br \/>\nI\u2019m from Dallas, and the Thanks-Giving Foundation (Serving Up Gratitude) is all about dialogue\u2014finding common ground\u2014welcome. I have come to appreciate these qualities and aspirations. In the pandemic, they are spearheading a win-win collaborative effort that brings kindness and good meals to first responders and helps keep restaurants in business. It\u2019s a brilliant model to cross-pollinate different elements of the city\u2014first responders, healthcare workers, fire, police\u2014all aspects of community. They are buying meals from 50 local Dallas-area restaurants\u2014to help and give them sustainable revenue. It\u2019s gratitude in action. When you donate through the In Session window\u2014you get to help them and get the record.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Where can new fans get more info and stay updated?<\/strong><br \/>\nTo new fans, I say \u201cThanks.\u201d The best way to stay updated is to get in the newsletter circle\u2014for new music and shows, exclusives and first announcements.<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.BillyCrockett.com\">www.BillyCrockett.com<\/a><br \/>\nFB: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/billycrockettmusic\/\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/billycrockettmusic\/<\/a><br \/>\nYT: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCsFLQ2EAehB-bgKMznjfaYQ\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCsFLQ2EAehB-bgKMznjfaYQ<\/a><br \/>\nBlue Rock Studio: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bluerocktexas.com\">www.bluerocktexas.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-19594\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Billy-Crockett-7.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"371\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Billy-Crockett-7.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Billy-Crockett-7-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Video Feature &amp; Web-Exclusive Interview Musician: BILLY CROCKETT Video: \u201cThe Question Pool\u201d from the new album In Session \ufeff BILLY CROCKETT, NEW ALBUM IN SESSION, DONATES 100% OF SALES BETWEEN NOW AND MAY 15, 2020 TO COVID-19 RELIEF Billy Crockett is a performing songwriter, producer and multi-instrumental session man with a dozen albums, decades of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19599,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7725],"tags":[11613,11614,8271,8368,11615,11616,9481,11385,5879,9189,10592,11617,8930,11618,11619,11620,9490,11621,1383,11622,11623,11624,1625,11625,11626,11627,11148,3117,3121,2311,11628,10490,11629,11162,8275,11630,11631,11632,3269,11633,11634,11635,11636,11638,11637,11639,11640,11642,9990,11641],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19593"}],"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=19593"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19593\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19666,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19593\/revisions\/19666"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}