‘The trip feels like we’re on a long honeymoon...’
Gypsy jazz, southern soul, classic country, American singer-songwriter – Amy Lavere’s music has been called it all. SUE ATKINSON asked her how she’d describe it before she plays Nottingham’s Running Horse
Tell us where you’re from, where you are now and a bit about the journey in between. I was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. My mom was most often tending to the large family vegetable garden or writing songs on her old Alvarez acoustic – she was classically trained and played at church. I believe I grew up thinking that the woman’s place was to grow and cook the food and create the music in the home. Fortunately following this path was a perfect fit for me. We travelled a lot growing up with my dad’s work but music always brought a steadiness to the family. I spent most of my teenage years living outside of Detroit. I fronted a band called Last Minute. When the group dissolved, I decided to relocate to Nashville but it wasn’t long before I realized that Memphis suited my clothes better, so to speak. I have found my heart’s home here. My now husband and guitar player, Will Sexton, is from Austin, Texas, so we divide our time there a good bit when we’re not actually touring, which is most of the time. Our furniture and pots and pans live in Memphis full-time, however.
Who’s in the band?
The band is ever changing depending on my ideas for the sonic soundscape of any given tour or batch of material I feel like playing. Will is always by my side, however. Touring as a duo is by far the most intense and intimate for us and the audience. Travelling just the two of us makes the trip feel like we’re on a long honeymoon and it makes things easy on us personally and financially. That said, sometimes we both crave hearing other sonic input and having other personalities along for the fun that brings. My first call is always my longtime friend and drummer Shawn Zorn. If I’m lucky enough to have the budget and they’re available, I call guitarist David Cousar and violinist Krista Wroten, all of whom have toured in the UK with me in years past.
How do you describe your music?
I joke that I’m soft rocking my audience to death. I like to write about things that are important, or funny, or sad or clever and I like them performed over sonically intriguing, beautiful pieces of music performed skillfully. Call it whatever you like.
How’s life on the road?
I enjoy it. I do all the driving. Much like my old pal Seasick Steve, I get very car sick unless I’m the one driving. We listen to a lot of podcasts and audiobooks. We travel with a tiny little five-pound black poodle so we stop often to take her for little walks. I love stopping at junk shops. I call them free museums. When travelling in the States, I bring a cooler and cook food for us in our hotel rooms on a hot plate as “road food” is usually horrible or at least will make you feel horrible after a few days of it.
What would you like the audience to take away from your shows (as well as merch!)?
I’d like the audience to take away all my fears and pain and also all my records, Truly, I’d hope the audience would appreciate that they are witnessing one of the most unique and lovely guitar players in the whole universe, performing before their very eyes. Will Sexton is an A-list touring and session musician at the top of the class. Alone, he’s worth coming to the show for. And mostly, I’d hope they’d lose themselves in the stories I wrote for them to enjoy the adventure.
Amy Lavere, featuring Will Sexton and Izaak Opatz will play The Running Horse, Alfreton Road, Nottingham, on Wednesday, February 5.
■Tickets: wegottickets.com, £12 + £1.20 fee.