Interview; Country Singer/writer Marcus Hummon

This is Cathy Emilio I am in Studio A with Marcus Holman. Welcome Marcus. Good to be here. You were a musician and you had another reason for being in Maine. You are from Nashville. Yeah. Well we we came up for it for two reasons one was to go to the P.S. group the Congress the National Congress which was in Bedford and we we didn't get to stay all three days my wife and I my wife Becca who's a pisky Pelion priest and my son Levi who's almost three. So we were the the peacenik family coming up. Now we're in Congress. Oh I enjoy it I mean it was it was short we did a lot of kind of small group work and. Heard a few lectures. I got a chance to sing. That was a real. That was that was fun to do and mostly it's it's just enjoyable to find other folks who have some of the same priorities and in a way it's more of a celebration than anything else and I think one of the things that came out of that Congress was it was the sense that people who are involved in peace work they need to be

upbeat about it. You know even if things look dreary you know you need to you need to celebrate more. So that's what that's kind of how we took it. And the music that you performed piece oriented songs are I have some some material which is I guess you might say some kind of political. I don't know if that's the same answer. I don't know if that answers the question exactly like it does. Some is a I don't I don't do that exclusively but I did a couple songs that kind of had that character. And then I also did some things that to that I had recorded and you know just other types of material. So you have you have recorded quite a bit of music in Nashville. Yes. I've been writing for. I've actually been there seven or eight years and a small company I was with got bought out by BMG which is a huge conglomerate publishing company. And I'm actually signed at a Los Angeles although I'm part predominately a country writer and I am a country artist

and so I've been recording you know in studios for years but I'm only now finally doing of my record. I've had what other record deal and 2 development deals that didn't work out. This is the first one that's come through for me so. And when will it come out. Well it will come out the first part of next year and it is most national most country artists come out in the beginning of the year because they have a lot of trade shows that you do you know so you get to meet people in regional markets and this and that. That's the the business side of it. Yeah so that's when I'll come out I mean hopefully hopefully everything will be smooth. So you're recording songs for it right now. Yeah. I mean eight songs into it and. And then when we go back in August to August 20th we go back in the studio cut for five more and we'll probably over cut you know 12 or maybe 14 songs and then work work our way backwards. Well Marcus how about if we let the folks out there hear one of the songs from the

upcoming album and you know you do have your guitar out my guitar you to fal Gibson maybe can tell us about your guitar beef well before you tell us about the song. I will this actually is kind of a neat guitar it's a big sunburst Jay 200 and the first record deal that I did have. Kind of an aborted endeavor with MTM Mary Tyler Moore Show she had her record label she got she got out of country music right when the boom hit. But I got stuck in that deal for a while but I did get one good thing out of it I got a guitar endorsement with Gibson and I got this guitar. So that was worthwhile. So what's the song with here now this is a tune. This is kind of a it's kind of a ballad story song I do a lot of story songs my background is primarily folk and folk rock but this is a kind of a ballad called one of these days you are in the place you make sure I'm into. All right.

We used chase that boy home from school we called him freckle faced a redhead. Oh he was different. He wasn't coo like me. Sticks and stones didn't break any bones but we we never let well enough on home too. One day he ran away from home. I passed him as he walked away. And in his I heard him say one of these days you're going to love me. You'll sit down by Southend. About the time you turn from me. And what good friends we might've been then you going to sigh

maybe even cry. But one of these do's you're gonna love. Me. Added Sue was a small town beauty who took one look at her and had to pull her to me. Lord no she should have seen right through me when I promised her the world. But at 17 you only want one thing. I left her standing with my high school. Innocent two years in the pouring rain. As I walked away. And I still see her in my dreams. And to this day she's with me. One of these days you're gonna love me you'll sit down by yourself. About the time you turn from me.

And what good friends we might have been him then you're going to say. Maybe even cry a little over one of these days you're gonna run me. And hit everybody ends up. The congregation said. It's a song of sweet forgiveness and the chorus rain the wind blows clear my memory it just start to tire and suddenly I'm singing for a moment that. One of these days I'm going to love me. To feel the joy sweet to me. One of these days I.

Left off I found some peace that I'm going to cry maybe even let a little one of these days. I'm going to love. Me. Marcus Rahman live here at the hen house live on tape. And that's a beautiful song one of these days the hen house right. This building was an old hen house there was actually was at one time impulse owns it. You know it's our landlord and I'm a big Peter Paul Murphy and he may be upstairs right now we'll go and see to this. That is a beautiful song and that will be on your upcoming album does the album have a title yet. No not yet.

Doesn't yet still thinking about that and about still thinking about I'm not sure whether to title it after one of the songs or or two. Think up something else. You know I've had about 10 years to think about this record. Now do you perform live much. Yeah I do fairly fairly often I try to play about once every month and a half with I have a backup band called The Red Wing which I've been kind of working with for years really about five years and actually one of the things I asked with Sony the label I'm working with is that I wanted to do the record with my band because they're outstanding musicians they're just in Nashville there's kind of a group of 18 guys about four persons per instrument who basically do all the records and many of them are my friends and I work with a lot but I we have a very particular sound to this band and and also couple of them are world class the electric guitar player who's doing all the lead work on the record is George Marinelli who played with

Hornsby and the range and tours with Bonnie right now and and there's They just don't come any better than George. And we've you develop that camaraderie that when you're cutting. Almost like a band and almost like in the in the way that people recorder records in the 70s kind of folk rock bands cut. That's the way we're working. So will this band be on the album. Oh yeah. Oh yeah every every cut every cut they're tracking that's been. Now you your sister Sara Stevens is a local woman who lives in Brooklyn and she has quite a wonderful singer herself she is. And you have done some of the instrumentation on her recordings. Yeah. Well Sarah and I actually professionally speaking we started out together. We were at Williams College which was near a course nearby relatively nearby here and and we just actually after her freshman year and I was a senior and we just decided to go to California and saying and and that is a whole wacky story in and

of itself but that she's gotten involved in musical drama in a variety of things and she's kind of stepped out of the musical world. But now she's stepping back in the last year so we have recorded a record of primarily my songs but a couple of her she's also been working on her writing. And we've used the Red Wing band. I recognized the guitarist's name from. Yeah we had in the you know there is music. Yeah. And that's been great and I just you know her serious crime. I feel that she's a real talent and I'm going she's going to come and live in Nashville for a little while and then we'll focus in a little a little closer and see what she wants to do. Any any thoughts of having her singing on this album at all. Well I've told her that in this next session we want to we want to fire down to have her do some of the background work the background vocals is the only area in which the label is pressing me to used to use your

basic country guys who are all very very talented and it just has to do with the kind of material that I do is not your basic country product. And so we're trying to walk that line between you know the organic sound that I have and then what really what what radio will be receptive to radio in country. It just rules you know and you have to be responsive. But but we're going to find we'll put or definitely will get Sara on some some projects. I'm sure it was. It would sound wonderful with her in in the background there listening to that song. Marcus I couldn't help thinking about how you mentioned folk and it had a folk sound and there are a lot of connections between the country music world and the folk world. I remember interviewing John Gorka not too long ago where he was talking about how he was touring with Mary Chabon carpenter as an opening person for her. And so I would think that your if your music is much like that last song that yeah the folk stations and folk

programmers would be playing it as well. Well I hope so I Mary cheeping is one of the reasons that I'm working with Sony that's her label too she's with Columbia which is Sony is epic and Columbia the old CBS label. And I'm actually talking to her manager right now about the possibility of touring with her because there is we're actually from the same She's from Washington D.C. I'm from Washington grew up overseas. So did so did we in our family went to schools in New England there's a lot of connections and in fact we have to kind of you know one has to be careful to not draw too many connections. Although Mary is very. In fact I think surprisingly accepted in Nashville considering where her music does come from because I consider it solidly of you know of a folk rock nature. And yet she it's one thing to win Grammys but she's won Camas and that in Nashville that's a big deal that someone like her would want to see a man and two of them actually three I think. You know she's done a great job.

So how do you like living in Nashville. I love it. I love it. You know what. Growing up I don't not sure I ever lived anyplace more than two years and really sunk roots there. It is a great town kind of in the sense that it's a big town in a small town and within 15 minutes you can get out in the country and world class music every night. If anything there's just so many people moving to Nashville right now because the the the industry is so healthy and not just from the top down but from the bottom up. That's what interested me about Nashville. It was that you know when I got to town I realize that it's a excess accessible in terms of the industry you can walk indoors you can't do that L.A. or New York. And secondly there's a fraternity ory almost a fellowship of writers. You know whenever there's a great town thing happening like in Minneapolis a few years ago that the kind of funk thing with Prince or it's Austin during certain periods or San Francisco or California during that kind of the Joni Mitchell in the C S and y period.

What I think the thing that's most similar is that is that undergirding of writers it's writers that create great you know they create the great music ultimately and that's what Nashville we get that in spades. You know can you think back and remember what first prompted you to write a song. Oh a song yeah. You first songwriting experiences. Well I do remember living overseas or living in Africa. In Nigeria I believe and I got interested I got with a friend who was a guitar player and he listened he had George Harrison tapes and I was playing drums a lot was enjoying African drums and we we started playing together we actually ended up on Nigerian TV. And I think out of that experience I had that was my first recollection of really loving music but I didn't play the guitar he said. And he was the star I was the drummer you know. But I that's my earliest recollection of you know really thinking wow he's like.

And when did you start picking up the guitar playing it. Well I picked it up. It's probably 14 13 or 14 in and I was very I really didn't get seriously into music until college. I dabbled. I would dabble for periods of time and write I used to write a lot of poetry. But you know then you'd be playing football or basketball or something and then it wasn't until college and I got into college. I really for some reason just got the bug and I've never really never looked back once I really got hooked. I think it's some part of my brain I just knew this is what I wanted to do. Well Marcus have any other musicians ever recorded any of your songs. Yeah actually several have. My first really serious cut was with Michael Martin Murphey a song called pilgrims on the way several years ago. And that was a single that kind of did marginally well and I've had a few in the last I've had a good last couple of years. I did have a pretty big single Wynonna Judd did did the song Only Love

which was a pretty big hit on country radio. Yeah I wrote that I wrote it with a guy named Roger Moore who's a wonderful primarily lyric lyricist in Nashville. And had a song I just recently on the radio. Cheap Seats the cheap seats which is a kind of a picture story of a minor league baseball that Alabama has done and has done pretty well with on the radio. And there's a few other things there's a Dirt Band A Nitty Gritty Dirt Band song that's out now in the title of how Ketchum's record right now is something that he and I wrote the song new records and acoustic tickets last song on the record called bless the broken road. So could we get this record. You bet. Which kind of tune in there. OK you make sure I don't bang away on your microphone here.

This town ain't this town. They sing me we say above that mean mom. You must be a man to make. Me love him once a week any. Week. When men toast boys.

Man you know I'm just playing in this week. Me. Much. Or nothing. Will the major What's his name. And one then rises and suddenly grown up in the town's not quite so small on my

way. With me. Pictures of the man's own. Life. My dad asked me rather concerned what's it with me any week much slack. Like. Marcus how many cheap seats. That's that's great and it's great playing for 10:30 in the morning as well. Oh thanks I'm going to be out here. Yeah. So you'll be heading back to Nashville when.

Well actually today today we're going to go via Washington D.C. and see mom and dad so yeah it's been great being up here it's really been beautiful and seeing Sarah and Brian's boat. We got a chance to see a boat launching and I've never seen that before. So that's was that was fun. I really want to thank you for coming over today Marcus and Sarah Stevens your sister has been sitting here just listening but I'd like to ask if maybe we could get you two to to close with a song together. Great. Super Well what's we like to do let's do this. We got to know Peter Paul Mary song we like her. Times are good. I.

Love that. Go. Away. Oh. We can't do that. Let me.

Just. We can't. Well it was Marcus and Sarah saving together again I think. I guess that that's one of the songs he sang in your California years yes it is. And we sang you know growing up that's my mother's one of our mother's favorite songs. Well thanks for coming over. Thanks for having me. We'll look for your album. OK.