By: Karen Steinberg
Photo By Diego Molina
Q) Your music is often described as “indie country,” but how would you describe your music?
A) Indie country is a way to make sense of the strange spot I’m in with country music. Indie spots have always told me I’m too country for them and country folks have always implied I’m too indie for what they’re doing. I have a hillbilly legibility problem. I write from what I know, so it will always be Southern and Appalachian, twangy and a little too excited about niche okra strains. But I also don’t think it’s interesting to repeat the nostalgia and cosplay that’s underneath a lot of country music. So, indie country is a way of saying I make music that sounds like me even if that isn’t ever legible enough for genre conventions.
Q) Who are some of your musical influences?
A) I’m not a super adventurous listener. I love Roger Miller, Doc Watson, Eric Church and Emmylou Harris. Stuff that feels old time, has a lot of craft, knows how to be serious but doesn’t take itself seriously.
Q) How did growing up in Glen Alpine, NC shape you into the artist you are today?
A) I’ve always felt like I make music that sounds like home. One of the lies we’ve been sold is that country life is simple and single-origin so country music should be too. But country life is complex and diverse. So country music ought to be too – it should reflect the ways there’s hip hop next to bluegrass, pop country next to that old school stuff, church songs next to heathen mess. To me, that’s the sonic and poetic palette I ought to be working with. It’s the complexity of life as it is lived, not as a tourist or algorithm might make it.
Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Sevindust.” I love the metaphor behind it.
A) “Sevindust” is an insecticide a lot of the old timers back home used on their tomatoes. It’s a powder that does a really good job of protecting the plant, but it devastates the ecosystems around it. To me, that’s been a helluva metaphor for an awful lot of bad familial love. I’ve had plenty of blood and chosen family who will swear they love you and have your back but can’t love the communities I’m a part of. At some point I run out of patience for folks who will treat me well but won’t treat my world well. Even more, I’ve realized if those folks can’t love the worlds where I grow, their notions of love and family are more about producing myths that keep us together than they are about anything resembling care and commitment.
Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?
A) Breaking up with family is an underrepresented experience. It’s a super common experience for trans and queer folks, children of addicts and folks who have broken from abusive religious communities. I think folks connect to the way grief and anger have to accompany one another when you’re exiting bad relationships. It’s a strange thing having to end a relationship you wanted to love.
Q) Will there be a full video coming out to accompany the track?
A) No plans at the moment. I’m trying to save up the promo budget to sponsor a late model stock car.
Q) What are some themes you will be exploring on your upcoming LP Heirloom?
A) I became a dad and lost my dad in the same year, so Heirloom is the exploration of everything that came up for me in that chapter. It’s me sorting through what is worth keeping, what I need to let go of, what I need to change in myself and what kind of world I want my kid (now kids) to inherit. It’s a lot of sorting through masculinity, responsibility and the ways power sorts itself out in family systems. So, it’s deeply personal and deeply political and doesn’t really try to separate the two.
Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?
A) It all really depends. The process is more about consistently showing up to write. Sometimes that means noodling around and finding a cool musical hook, sometimes that means working in very structured ways to architect a verse or a bridge. But the process is more about keeping momentum – it’s like a forever stew that dies if you don’t keep putting ingredients in the pot.
Q) How much of a hand do you have in the production of your music?
A) I tend to be pretty involved in the production of my music. I enjoy producing and usually write with an ear toward moves I could make on the production side. For most of the songs on Heirloom I sent my producer, Zachary Hamilton, fully demoed versions of the songs and we played with those. It gave us time to fine tune things, dig in on special parts and have a common point of reference. It just keeps things moving well to have something full to start with, even if we end up stripping it down to the studs.
Q) What songs off your LP are you looking forward to performing live when it drops in May?
A) “Racecar” has become a real fave. It’s noisy and loud which I don’t get to do enough. I’ve also really enjoyed Sevindust because we sing it stripped down with three part harmony. Really takes things down.
Q) What are you hoping listeners take away from exploring your new LP as a whole – either as an emotion or message?
A) Recently, I’ve settled on the notion that making music isn’t much more than making BC Powder for the soul. My hope is that folks feel a little energized to do what they need to do and they feel a little less pained in doing it. Living and dying is ridiculously hard, and we’re always doing it together, so I hope my music is a little boost.
Q) You are currently out on tour. What can fans expect from a live Nathan Evans Fox performance?
A) First, they can expect me to say some dumb mess because nothing is funnier than having a microphone. It’s wild work to have invented a thing that makes someone louder than every other person in the room. I also think they can expect me to be pretty sincere in what I do – giggles and grief. Lastly, they can also expect overalls. Lots and lots of overalls.
Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you?
A) With one exception, I’m not too picky so long as I’m making a connection with folks. The last few years I’ve had to be intentional about turning down gigs where I know I’d be a bad fit. I’m not a showy performer or a rockstar entertainer. I just shuffle out on stage in my overalls and sing the songs I know to write. Any place where I can do that and still make a connection is where I want to be making music.
The only exception is North Carolina. I just love North Carolina. And I love making NASCAR references on mic.
Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?
A) I would love to collab with Brothers Osborne. They make stuff that feels like country music comfort food, but it still has lots of fun production and is pretty inventive. I love good songwriting and country music that knows how to be fun and big without becoming hollow.
Q) What artist/musician are you currently listening to and why do you dig them?
A) Right now, I’ve been binging an awful lot of Doc Watson. He’s also a western NC artist, so his voice and style feel very familiar. His songs are just gold standard and when he’s not doing his own material, he’s passing along traditionals through his steely voice. Part of what I’ve also enjoyed is some of the production choices made on those records. I love how saturated it is without feeling lofi, and I’m also intrigued by the ways his records do or don’t take up space with the ways they EQ instruments and apply reverb. It’s subtle stuff, but I think those small choices are half the work of recording acoustic music.
Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?
A) It’s an honor to be everyone’s recession indicator. Times are hard (kind of always have been) and it’s been a relief to realize that the more honestly I can say that in a song, the more genuinely I can connect with folks…and also afford diapers. It’s exciting to be finding my stride on this timeline because it really feels like BC Powder for the soul is in increasing demand and I’m happy to be your local dealer.