4 artists. 1 interview. It’s about to get interesting.
Eliot Bronson, Jason Myles Goss, Andy Zipf and Dean Fields make up the men of The Parlor Sessions. Each adds their own interesting element to this team of traveling songwriters. While reading about these guys is great, seeing them LIVE is even better! Check them out for yourself on Saturday, June 14th at Eddie’s Attic.
AMG: What’s the first gig you ever attended?
Eliot Bronson: Something punk rock in Baltimore or DC probably.
Jason Myles Goss: When I was 12, my dad took me to see Tom Rush, who was playing a solo show in the armory in Milford, MA. He had this jumbo Guild guitar and, seeing someone of that caliber when you’re 12, I was pretty spell-bound. I remember he sang a song about shooting coyotes.
Andy Zipf: I used to live in the Hershey, PA area. My older brother worked as a life guard for Hershey Park. He got word that U2 was rehearsing for their Achtung Baby tour at Hershey Park Arena. Word spread like wildfire. (Without Twitter, mind you.) We went to check it out. The parking lot was packed. So many people showed up to hear them rehearse that they decided to play a show the next night at the arena. My brother got tickets for us. It blew my mind. That’s the first show I can remember going to that had an impact on me.
Dean Fields: Kenny Rogers at the Virginia State Fair.
AMG: How do you connect with a crowd when playing a live show?
EB: I just try to make art that matters to me. If it connects, great, if not, that’s ok too.
JMG: I try to have fun and be as less encumbered as possible, that is when I can feel that everyone is having the most fun and that they are a part of what is happening.
AZ: This is kind of a tough one to answer because a lot of it is kind of instinctual. When to play. When to pause. When to speak. When to leave some silence hanging. I think it comes down to delivering the songs that will connect.
DF: I just try to make them laugh and cry at the same time.
AMG: If we turned on your iPod or hacked your Spotify account, what would be the last 3 songs you listened to?
EB: My ipod is broken. I’ve been listening to a lot of Sturgill Simpson on vinyl.
JMG: I have been listening to a lot of the fellas I am touring with. I am pretty proud that a good portion of the music I listen to is written and recorded by friends of mine. That’s a very good feeling. Aside from The Parlor Sessions, I have been listening to Dietrich Strause’s new album and Julian Velard’s newest album, which comes out this month.
AZ: Honestly…swear to God…It would be The Parlor Sessions guys. I’ve been playing the 12 song (minus my three) tour compilation on repeat, learning their tunes and getting stoked for this tour.
DF: Andy Zipf, Eliot Bronson, and Jason Myles goss
AMG: Do you have any musical guilty pleasures?
EB: I don’t really understand that concept. I like music that moves me. Why should I feel guilty about anything that does that.
JMG: I love music and for the most part I can listen to anything and find something that i love about it – a turn of the phrase, sound, or rhythm. In terms of being guilty, I do consider myself to be a force-to-be-reckoned with on any wedding reception dance floor.
AZ: 80s ballads.
DF: Oak Ridge Boys.
AMG: If you could describe your music in one word, what would it be?
JMG: Fluvial.
AZ: Stories.
DF: Dagsucka.
AMG: How would you describe your sound to someone you has never heard your music before?
EB: I don’t think I would. Come to a show and tell me.
JMG: This is always a hard question for me because there is SO much music out there and it is rooted in so many things. It’s like asking someone to describe what it’d be like if they were to wear your pants for a day. They certainly have seen pants all their lives, probably wore many different kinds — some tight, some baggy, some with elastic waists, some corduroy. It would seem very obvious to try to describe to someone what your pants were like, so you’re stuck in the purgatory of either being boorishly matter-of-fact or of being vaguely glib. But we all do have our favorite pair of pants, even if we don’t know why. Music is like that too. If someone were to ask about mine, I would say there’s some room in the crotch, but the legs are pretty straight and slim fitting.
AZ: Sounds like a guy who digs Tom Petty as much as he does Paul Simon.
DF: 70s singer-songwriters, 80s ballads, and 90s country.
AMG: So what kind of musical backgrounds do you come from or did you grow up on?
EB: My grandparents were Pentecostal ministers, my dad played piano and sang in church. We all sang. There was always music around.
JMG: My mom was a singer when she was growing up, not professionally, but in choruses. My dad is a big Dylan fan and, ever since I can remember, he was playing me Bob Dylan records while we drive to flea markets on Sunday mornings. He would smoke Garcia Vegas and we’d drive in his big Lincoln Town Car and listen to John Wesley Harding.
AZ: My mom is a music teacher. She taught at a couple schools and some at home. I started playing piano first, but once I found her nylon stringed folk guitar that was it. I played it every day all day. I used to fall asleep playing. I still play every day.
DF: Alan Jackson, Smashing Pumpkins, Willie Nelson.
AMG: What are your plans/goals for this year?
EB: I just finished recording a record with producer Dave Cobb in Nashville (Jason Isbell, Shooter Jennings etc.) I’m thrilled with it. We’re going to release it this fall.
JMG: I am working on a new album, which is planned for a winter release.
AZ: After The Parlor Sessions tour makes Jason, Dean, Eliot and me household names, I’m going to record a new EP with my band The Cowards Choir. Hoping for a fall release. Then some touring in the fall.
DF: Write. Record. Perform. Repeat.
