Exploring musical history
Grammy winner Dom Flemons, playing for Zoellner Arts Center, talks about his American roots music, James Brown and Motown influences
The American Songster, Dom Flemons, has one Grammy award, two Emmy nominations, three solo albums, and a musical repertoire that spans 100 years of American roots music under his belt. And that’s just a start.
On April 9, Flemons — a multi-instrumentalist, actor, and educator — is hosting a virtual workshop exploring a century of popular music for the Zoellner Arts Center.
The workshop breaks down the history and techniques used in ragtime, blues, country-western, folk, and bluegrass music. The program also teaches participants about songs exploring the African roots of the banjo, rhythm bones, quills, harmonica, and jug.
We got to speak with Flemons about his musical upbringing, the blues, music history, and how he got his start playing roots music.
Jay Honstetter for The Morning Call: How’d you get into American roots music and how’d you learn to play guitar? Was it your first instrument?
Dom Flemons: My parents loved soul music and I began to learn about the sounds of James Brown and Motown just hearing it around the house. In grade school, I began to play percussion in the school band and I played all the way through high school. The study of polyphonic rhythm would eventually lead me to begin playing guitar.
When I was around 16 I saw a documentary called
‘The History of Rock ‘n’ Roll’ which introduced me to a lot of great music. One episode explored the 60s folk revival and I became enamored by the music of the era. The poetry of Bob Dylan and Phil Ochs lead me on a road to discovering the poetry of the Beats and a deeper understanding of American consciousness.
This period was also defined by the amazing roots music artists that performed and recorded and it was an extensive education listening and taking in the sounds of bluesmen like Lightnin’ Hopkins and bluegrass pioneers like Bill Monroe.
In 2001, when I was 18, I saw the legendary folk singer Dave Van Ronk in concert and it changed my life. His laid-back style of storytelling and singing gave me a lot of inspiration. Shortly afterward, I bought my first banjo. I liked the way the banjo had a syncopated punch like a snare drum yet could be melodic like a guitar.
In the Fall of 2004, I met Sule Greg Wilson, a fellow banjo player, who was invited to an event in North Carolina the following Spring, ‘The Black Banjo Gathering.’ The scholarship and documentation of the African-derived banjo were in its infancy at that point and the Black Banjo Gathering was one of the first events to bring all of the complexities of the banjo’s multi-cultural history into the forefront.
Once I attended this event, I became fully committed to playing roots music.
After the Gathering, I sold everything I owned and made my way to live in North Carolina where I began to study with elders of the traditional music community including fiddler Joe Thompson and guitarists John Dee Holeman and Boo Hanks. While in North Carolina I began to learn about the music from the people themselves instead of just by records. I found many hours of joy playing on someone’s porch and learning the blues over coffee and mason jars. By the time I had spent a few years in North Carolina, I had formed my own group, The Carolina Chocolate Drops.
Tell me a little about your process when it comes to putting an album together.
My process for creating albums comes about in two ways. One method is to use a structured concept like my album “Black Cowboys” and another is to use a less structured concept that holds together as an album like “Prospect Hill: The American Songster Omnibus.”
One of the most important things to do when making a record is to make sure that each song can hold its own without the other tracks. Especially in an age of playlists, an individual track standing on its own can be a listener’s first impression of the music. When you are working within a structured concept this can be much easier to place because the theme of the concept is in front of you and that will not change.
With a less structured concept, the key is to spend time making sure the sequence of the album holds together. One other thing I like to do on a record is to use the instruments themselves to take the listener on a journey. Some of my songs are uptempo with several instruments and others are sparse and low-key. The sequencing on the record defines the journey.
When covering songs, what is your process like? How do you pick the songs, and what kinds of decisions do you make?
Some songs I actively choose from recordings I’ve heard others just sort of land in my lap. Some songs are developed for the purpose of paying tribute to a well-loved musician while others are songs I have picked up in my own travels from the elders who were willing to teach me.
When it comes to my personal repertoire, I try to keep a variety of stories to frame each song. I have about 10 or 12 stories for each song. When traveling to perform these songs hundreds of times in the course of the year these stories are ways for me to keep the song fresh in my mind so that it never feels stale.
Each song truly has its own story. I try my best to do a lot of research on my material so that when it is heard by the audience it is authentic to the history as well as my own musicianship.
Music history and preservation are clearly very important to you. Why do you think it’s important to keep these traditions alive and well?
Music is one of the strongest pieces of culture that we have in the United States. It’s a cultural export that is known the world over and it has developed over the course of the past hundred years. In the early 1900s, music began to be sold commercially, cementing cultural identity on record for the first time.
With all of the stories that have been told — up to this point — there are many others that have yet to be told. At the end of the day, culture is all we’ve got.
If we forget the traditions, then we are bound to repeat our mistakes.
What’s this last year been like since COVID hit and live performances are now predominantly virtual?
I am still finding it all to be an adjustment. Thankfully, I began playing music for small audiences so I am not necessarily phased by a non-existent audience. I ultimately miss the live performance for the camaraderie that comes with a show.
Many times, a community gets together for that concert they want to see. I miss being a person who can help bring some joy to different communities with music. While I love traveling life, it has been a pleasant experience doing virtual events from home, especially education programming. I think there is room for both.
For your upcoming performance at the Zoellner Arts Center, what can audiences expect?
Like all of the performances, folks can expect to see a variety of songs, styles and instruments which I hope will delight them.
DOM FLEMONS AT ZOELLNER ARTS CENTER
When: noon, Friday, April 9 How to watch: Stream online (also available on demand through May 9)
Tickets and info: zoellner.cas. lehigh.edu or 610-758-2787