Thanks to my most reliable musical gumshoe, 87 year old Demetra Angelides from Manchester, the Greek-born outlaw country aficionado, for tipping me off that Austin Lucas would be swinging through Nashua this Sunday night for a show at the Thirsty Turtle Tavern.
That’s a real good show to catch if you’re into grit country, songs sung with a longing for a peaceful state of mind. Anxiety plays a theme, as does isolation and redemption in many of Lucas’s songs, but the tattooed road warrior from Indiana is doing the only thing, he says, that’s worth doing: playing music.
You hear George Jones and echos of all the folkies from Macdougal Street in Lucas’s sweet poetry. “Rolling Stone” magazine recently voted him one of the “Top 10 New Country Artists.” Not bad.
And although the nights are long and morning much too short for Lucas, who is out supporting his latest effort, “Between the Moon and the Midwest,” the man worries less about the miles he’s traveled, and really just wants to get a handle on this state called New Hampshire.
Sound Check caught up with Lucas after his show in Atlanta and we learned about the dangers of nutrition-free pop country music, and how easy it is to have principles when “nobody is asking you to sell out.”
1. Have you ever played NH before and what do you hear about the Nashua music scene?
I’ve only once ever played in NH. It was a house show in Portsmouth in 2006. It was a fun little show for sure. Honestly though, I know very little about the scene in NH. I’ve driven through it on my way to Maine a bunch though and it’s a beautiful place. I’m very much looking forward to getting to know it better.
2. Are you a better writer when life has you on the ropes?
Life always has me on the ropes probably so that’s a hard one to qualify with any precision. Generally speaking, this is just real talk. I have a lot of anxiety and so even when things are looking up. I have something eating at me to write about.
3. What was the first song you wrote where you went, “Hey, I think I can do this.”
No idea, I’ve been writing songs for so long that I really can’t remember the moment. I guess that’s the privilege of someone who was raised by a songwriter. It’s just sort of always been something I did. That being said, I’m generally still trying to decide if it’s really something I can do well or not. Certainly, I’m in a constant state of trying to improve myself as a writer. My hope is that one day I’ll be able to look back and be proud that I did nothing but get better throughout the years.
4. What’s one compromise you won’t make in the music business in order to drink from that golden cup? The one that brings you massive record sales and legions of new fans.
I don’t know, there are probably too many to list. Then again, it’s easy to have principles when nobody is asking you to sell out.
5. What’s your stance on pop country? Are the outlaw country fans really just snobs, or are we all missing out on something that millions of others stand behind?
My stance on this, is that it’s corporate pop music. Which overall has increasingly been becoming ever more bland and robotic with each passing day since the early 90’s. What do we honestly expect from soulless and faceless machines that covet money over all else? Honestly, I don’t look at it as a problem that’s merely contained to establishment country music or even mainstream music overall. It’s a problem with consumers demanding less rather than more. I guarantee you that corporations as a whole would stop shoving worthless, nutrition-less products of all varieties. If everyday folks from all walks would recognize the inferior products and refuse to buy them in the first place. Music is no exception.
6. How do you get up for a show after traveling so many miles between venues? Is it all just part of the process or are you a real road warrior?
Haha, I guess I’m a road warrior. I don’t know though. I work hard and I love my job. To me, music is the only thing worth doing everyday and the early mornings, late nights and long drives are just another beautiful part of the thing I love. Truthfully, sometimes I wanna be asleep still but knowing that I’m headed someplace new is enough reason to get out of bed and head on down the road again.
– Rob Azevedo
Rob Azevedo, from Manchester, has been hosting a weekly radio show called “Granite State of Mind” for the past three and a half years which showcases musicians from around New Hampshire and beyond. “Granite State of Mind” is an hour long program that features artists performing live in-studio each week, now exclusively on WKXL. Azevedo also writes a weekly music column called “Sound Check” for the Concord Monitor and hosts a monthly “Artist in the Round” style series at New England College in Concord.
