Perfect 10

He’s a multi-instrumentalist with Old Crow Medicine Show – but how will he handle the 10 questions we ask everyone?

1 What was your first guitar and when did you get it? “It was my mother’s guitar and I got it when I was 12. It was in the attic because my mother no longer played it – she bought it in the era of The Kingston Trio so that she could sing Michael Row The Boat Ashore and other such songs of the times. It was a Hawaiian guitar that had been converted – she had a new nut put on it so she could play it with nylon strings. I’ve still got it! It sounded pretty good. I played that until I was 14, then I got an electric guitar.”

2 If the building was burning down, which guitar from your collection would you save? “Probably the one that wouldn’t fit on the insurance package because it’s a piece of junk, but it means the most to me. It doesn’t have a name on it because it’s had all this inlay put on it, but it’s probably a Silvertone archtop, maybe a Montgomery Ward Silvertone from the 1930s. It had been kept in a prison in Carter County, Tennessee for a few decades and, during that time, a prisoner – or possibly multiple prisoners – had put this inlay into it with Bakelite and mica and it says ‘Son of God’. It’s also handpainted on how you’re meant to tune the guitar. I’ve had it for about 15 years.”

3 What’s the oldest guitar that you have in your collection? “I think it’s the Silvertone I mentioned. You know, I had a Kel Kroydon for a while but it got stolen. The Kel Kroydon was part of the Kalamazoo family – and I also had a Kalamazoo for a while, but I traded it up for a 60s Martin.”

4 When was the last time you practised and what did you play? “Probably about six or eight days ago. I like the equatorial African guitar styles, so I was learning a George Mukabi song recently. I think if I was trying to play it notefor-note it would cause me a lot of problems because I’m just not that good, but when I borrow from folk music traditions and add my own musical style to them, then I find nothing’s really that hard. I’m not going to sound like Django Reinhardt, I’m going to sound like me attempting sounds that are associated with Django.”

5 When was the last time you changed your own strings? “Um, it’s been a few years! I don’t really change them at home because I don’t need to. I don’t change them on the road anymore, I’ve got a fella who does that, so when I’m home they always have fresh strings on them from the tour.”

6 If you could change one thing about a recording you’ve been on, what would it be and why? “That’s tough because I would change so much about almost every recording I’ve been on. I never felt I got the perfect take. I’m a live musician who stands up there and, in the moment of performance, gives his all. I’ve given my all at every turn but, listening back to the recordings I’ve made, I’ve screwed up a lot [laughs].”

7 What’s the worst thing that’s happened to you on stage? “I don’t know, I think it’s more living in fear of what could happen rather than what did happen. Probably the worst thing that’s happened has been being around personalities that might make you feel like shit during the performance. Getting spoken to aggressively is probably the worst thing. Losing my cool, getting harangued.”

8 What’s the closest you’ve come to quitting music? “Not very close. In fact I’ve come closer and closer to embracing music. In the beginning I was close to quitting and doing something else. When I was a kid I didn’t think that music was going to be my calling, but then I heard Tom Paxton and Bob Dylan and The Freedom Singers – I heard music that had a social justice message and I wanted to spread that message.”

9 What aspect of playing guitar would you like to be better at? “I guess fingerpicking! I learned what I learned when I was 14 and I really haven’t got any better. I’ve refined what I learned but I reached a plateau with my instruments and I’m kind of hanging out in that space. Maybe I’ll get incrementally better or a little bit better, but there’s a particular level of coordination that I have that doesn’t lend itself to virtuosity!”

10 If you had the chance, what advice would you give your younger self about playing? “I wouldn’t have fooled around with things like Wish You Were Here or The Boys Are Back In Town that, for a minute, seemed to be what I was supposed to do. I mean, to sit there learning White Rabbit – I don’t need White Rabbit. I guess what I’m saying is that I would have nipped classic rock in the bud…”

“I’m not going to sound like Django Reinhardt, I’m going to sound like me attempting sounds associated with Django…”