WELCOME TO ACNMWA
ADVOCATING FOR WOMEN IN THE ARTS
34
years of supporting women in the arts in Arkansas
ACNMWA is devoted exclusively to the accomplishments of Arkansas women artists and sharing the groundbreaking work of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, located in Washington, D.C. Heroes Katherine Strause
acnmwa.org
Featuring the work of
JEFF WADDLE Little Rock, Arkansas
1501 South Main Street, Suite H 501.454.6969 Representing fine local, national and international artists for the established and emerging collector.
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“The Grind” - cut metal
editor’s note Dear Reader,
THE MUSIC ISSUE
I couldn’t have picked a better time to move to Little Rock with my musician boyfriend. I’ve been able to dive head first into the Arkansas music scene and take on the role of editor for The Idle Class just in time for the music issue.
Publisher Kody Ford Editor-in-Chief Cassidy Kendall
The stories in this issue reflect my own newfound appreciation for the incredible independent artists thriving in dimly lit venues around the state. Whether you’re lucky enough to have been living in the scene for decades or are just now getting a taste like me, this issue is for you. The Arkansas music community is like no other, and I’m honored to share at least a glimpse of the magical experiences produced by its hardworking, passionate artists with you all. I graduated from the University of Central Arkansas’s journalism program and have been writing out of Hot Springs, Arkansas, since 2019. I have been a full-time freelance journalist since 2021, writing for incredible pubs like the one in your hands, creating an online publication of my own called The Hot Springs Post, and writing books on things to do in Hot Springs. Working so closely with The Idle Class on this issue has been an incredible experience, and I am thrilled about this new venture as editor. Like the artists we feature, our freelance writers and creators are passionate, bright, curious, and driven. It takes a village to produce an arts magazine, and we have rounded up ours to share another artistic facet of our beautiful state with you all. Enjoy! With appreciation,
Cassidy Kendall Editor-in-Chief
Assistant Editor Jenny Vos Contributors Nazanin Ashorzadeh Lauren Ganim Tom Hoehn David Lewis Meredith Mashburn Mickey Mercier Edward Robins Mikayla Warford Brian Young Cover Isaac Alexander Design Kody Ford Contact Us editorial@idleclassmag.com advertising@idleclassmag.com Instagram.com/theidleclass IdleClassMag.com Back Issues Issuu.com/theidleclass
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
FILM - 8 Inception to Projection. ART - 10 Artists We Love: VirMarie DePoyster. MUSIC - 13 Isaac Alexander on music + design. MUSIC - 17-19 Songwriters talk songwriting. MUSIC - 22-23 Arkansas rappers on 50 years of hip-hop. Maddy Kirgo performs at the Gar Hole-iday Showcase at George’s Majestic Lounge in December. Photo by Mikayla Warford
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PINE BLUFF
FORT SMITH
Erica Daborn: Dialogues With Mother Earth: Drawing to Save the Planet February 23–August 16, 2024 Kennedy & International Paper Galleries The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas Artx3.org
Virmarie DePoyster: Beyond Labels Through February 11, 2024 Fort Smith Regional Art Museum Fsram.org
Erica Daborn uses her art as a tool of social transformation, generating positive change by capturing the attention of the public with 13 large-scale charcoal-on-canvas murals. Each mural opens a discussion about a series of critical issues facing the planet and our respective roles as participants in creating change. Issues like consumer culture, waste, the food crisis, endangered species, and climate change are presented via scenes of ambiguous characters that blur race, culture, and borders.
Gary Cawood: Field Notes January 19–April 24, 2024 Loft Gallery The ARTSpace on Main Artx3.org
Virmarie DePoyster is a bilingual Puerto Rican artist interested in utilizing art to bring communities together. In her portrait exhibition Beyond Labels, she explores how, in today’s melting pot world, the labels we assign each other have the power to either divide or connect us. DePoyster’s goal with these works is to inspire a sense of community by illustrating each subject’s intrinsic beauty. She hopes to inspire an appreciation for what makes each of us unique so we can learn to look beyond labels and truly see one another.
Timid by VirMarie DePoyster
around the
EVENTS STATE Oprah and Noah Save the Animals, charcoal on canvas, 70” x 159”, 2012, by Erica Daborn
BENTONVILLE Enduring Amazon: Life and Afterlife in the Rainforest Through Sunday, April 14, 2024 The Momentary themomentary.org Enduring Amazon: Life and Afterlife in the Rainforest is a nuanced and visually powerful examination of the Amazon Rainforest. A rich, emotionally charged immersion in light, sound, and imagery, this new exhibition will activate each of the Momentary’s galleries. This groundbreaking group exhibition will feature an ultra-high-definition film by artist-documentarian Richard Mosse shown on a custom-built 70 foot wide screen; a specially commissioned, exhibition-wide score by composer and electronic music impresario Ben Frost; new video works by Edward Morris and Susannah Sayler; and a captivating living-sculpture installation by David Brooks.
Geometric #4, triptych, 1971, oil on canvas, by Harvey Herman. On loan from the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts.
LITTLE ROCK Action/Abstraction Redefined: Modern Native Art, 1940s to 1970s February 16, 2024 – May 26, 2024 Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts amfa.org
Parasa indetermina with Aretaon asperrimus, Digital C-print mounted to dibond, 48” x 64”, 2019, by Richard Mosse
Action/Abstraction Redefined: Modern Native Art, 1940s to 1970s is the first major traveling exhibition to analyze modern Native American art in relation to midcentury American abstract art movements. Though Abstract Expressionism originally sprang up in New York City, the movement spread throughout the United States and included Native modern artists that redefined the concept of abstraction by fusing their own traditional aesthetics and cultural heritages with modern art influences.
Watch Fayettetunes on FPTV at 7pm Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
Frame Fayetteville
800 North College Avenue Fayetteville, AR 72701 479.422.7170 Framing fine art, photography, momentos & more.
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film
INCEPTION to PROJECTION I
nception to Projection is a six-week filmmaking course based in Hot Springs where students write, direct, produce, edit, and ultimately screen their own short film. And as any great filmmaker must, the students of Inception to Projection inevitably learn how to merge technology and art in a way that translates the human heartbeat. “Everything about film is about translating the human experience through a form of technology,” Inception to Projection director Jen Gerber says. “It has to go through a form of technology. Whether it’s a lens, it’s a camera, it’s a microphone, it’s editing, it’s output — every aspect of it, it’s about the human heartbeat being translated through a machine. Learning how to translate that is what we aim to do, which is very hard to do, but it’s been amazing to watch our students accomplish it.” Technical skills will always be required in film to get “the shot.” Gerber says there has to be some level of technical proficiency for the story to be told in a way that connects with other humans through this medium. With this need for technological understanding among many artists who may consider themselves predominantly right-brained, it’s not un-
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Low Key Arts program blends art + technology to bring stories to life. WORDS / CASSIDY KENDALL
common for amateur filmmakers to feel overwhelmed. Gerber’s best advice is to remain patient. “I find that a lot of people are like, ‘Why can’t I do this right away?’ If you were learning a new instrument, you wouldn’t be able to play Rachmaninoff on the piano overnight,” she says. “It just takes time, and it’s about knowing it’s going to take time and being patient with yourself and doing it enough that you get to that level of proficiency.” Gerber works to combat amateur filmmakers’ fear of technology throughout the program. “Just try,” she says. “See what that button does. See what that filter adds. Just explore and be curious and try to replace your fear with curiosity and see where that will take you. … It’s ok to do it wrong. Just try it.” Want to see some of the Inception to Projection works on the big screen? Check out Low Key Arts’s 17th annual Arkansas Shorts Short Film Festival, which will take place January 5–7, 2024, at the historic Malco Theatre in Hot Springs. The weekend-long event will feature projects from the Inception to Projection program.
LOWKEYARTS.ORG
Experience More Fayetteville Culture at:
“Fresh Air” mural by Jason Jones, greets visitors to The Ramble, a growing new park with art experiences around every corner.
ART IN ITS NATURAL HABITAT
For an Authentic Experience in Northwest Arkansas, You Gotta
visual art
ARTISTS WE LOVE: Virmarie DePoyster North Little Rock Pastel, Acrylic, Mixed Media 19 years years active Representation: The Art Group Gallery, Little Rock
What first drove you to create art? VD: From an early age, I have always been curious and loved tinkering. I have a degree in Fashion Design and Merchandising. When the kids were young, I needed social interaction and a creative outlet, so I signed up for drawing classes at the Arkansas Arts Center Museum School to meet people and stay sane! I am a self-taught artist, and today, I see myself as a visual storyteller. I am methodical and plan a lot before any serious drawing or painting happens, which differs from when I first started. At what point did you know you were an artist? VD: I have always known I am a maker. Whether in the backyard with flowers, in the kitchen trying to add as much color as possible to a dish, or at the easel. After much blood, sweat, and tears, I woke up one day not caring if I ruined a painting, and I knew then I was an artist. If you work in multiple mediums, what do you love about each one? VD: I love the immediacy of pastels and how I can select a palette and walk away for a week, and it’s all there. I also love marks, lines, and making interesting shapes with a pencil and pastel because it creates movement. During the COVID lockdown, I fell in love with acrylics and crunchy texture, which opened up a world of new shapes and possibilities. How have you managed to support yourself as an artist? VD: I am privileged that my husband has supported my art career for many years and covers my studio rent when sales don’t happen and I cannot. He is my biggest fan, supports my wild ideas, and encourages me to keep going and try new things. I have also been fortunate to receive AIE grants through the Arkansas Arts Council, to teach, and to sell paintings to help pay the studio rent, but it is a constant struggle to make a living as a creative. What new trends in art do you find intriguing? VD: Before COVID, I was really fascinated with bold
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“Immigrant”
colors and how they interacted with each other. When the stress and pressure of the lockdown happened, I couldn’t look at bright colors anymore. It was almost as if they made my eyes hurt. So, without the models, I started trying to play with more grey, soft palettes, and I found joy in more quiet abstract paintings. How do you feel about the demands of social media and self-promotion to thrive as an artist today? VD: I am an introverted person who thrives in solitude and nature. Social media makes me feel very exposed and vulnerable. Still, it is a beneficial part of my art practice because people are so curious about the life of an artist. I see the benefit in sharing my work with others, but often, making content, setting up the camera, remembering if I hit the button to record, etc, just gets in the way of my rhythm. So, I often consciously ignore making content and let it be what it is. Where do you think your artistic journey is leading you? VD: I am excited to kick off Healing Arts—a therapeutic art program for CARTI [Central Arkansas Radiation Therapy Institute] patients, caregivers, and staff—in the coming months. I love sharing how artistic exploration and the challenge of creating stretch individuals, quiet the thinking brain, and encourage risk-taking while engaging physically and cognitively.
VIRMARIE.COM IG / @VIRMARIE FB.com/Virmarie.DePoyster Don’t miss her show Beyond Labels at the Fort Smith Regional Art Museum, open through Feb. 11, 2024.
THE MANY FACES OF
ARKANSAS MUSIC Kevin Kresse immortalizes musical legends with his sculptures. WORDS / BRIAN YOUNG
A
s a painter, sculptor, and draftsman, Kevin Kresse has established himself as a fixture on the Central Arkansas art scene. A graduate of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Kresse was awarded painting fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Mid-America Arts Alliance, and the Arkansas Arts Council. He has also won several awards in the Delta Exhibition held by the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts. Kresse’s work can be found in Little Rock’s Hillcrest neighborhood at Gallery 26, and on the web at kevinkresse.com. Kresse’s work has been featured in articles in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the Arkansas Times, the North Little Rock Times, the Little Rock Free Press, and Active Years magazine. He has also been featured in pieces produced by local affiliates of ABC, CBS, and PBS television, as well as in a short film by Garret Larkin. Kresse has sculpted luminaries such as President Clinton, Jerry Jones, and former Arkansas Governor David Pryor in the past. But his amazing eight-foot sculpture of country music legend Johnny Cash for the US Capitol Building ignited even more interest in his work. Kresse describes himself as a “frustrated musician.” He once lived with a band called the Gun Bunnies and is a self-taught guitar player. Long before the Cash commission, Kresse had executed a sculpture of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Al Green, Glen Campbell, and Levon Helm—all musical Arkansas luminaries. Kresse plans to add to this musical series with works depicting Natural State musicians Charlie Rich, Conway Twitty, and
(ABOVE): Kresse working on his Johnny Cash bust in his studio.
Louis Jordan. With his build-it-and-they-will-come mentality, Kresse plans to make at least two casts of each piece and give one to the musician’s hometown. I asked Kresse about his process, specifically for the Johnny Cash commission. He told me you have to start by telling a story through body language as seen from a distance. Then as the viewer gets closer to the statue, they should be able to sense its emotion. To tap into this emotion, Kresse reads his subjects’ biographies, listens to their music, and generally “lives” with them. Kresse said that for his monumental Johnny Cash statue, he imagined the artist visiting his hometown and the house where he grew up. He imagined Cash with his family bible, remembering his brother, who died young, and his father, who could never give him the praise he had earned.
KEVINKRESSE.COM
www.writerscolony.org 479-253-7444 515 Spring Street Eureka Springs, AR 72632
music
The Art of Natural
Intelligence
Amos Cochran explores the intersection of music and art in recent Momentary exhibit WORDS / MICKEY MERCIER PHOTO / EDWARD ROBINS
ith his recent installation at the Momentary, com- traditional software tools like Metaphysical Functions by W poser and video artist Amos Cochran rebels Reaktor, a sound-generation software dating back to 1996. against the onslaught of artificial intelligence, or AI. The piece, titled N.I. (Natural Intelligence), is projected onto a windowless six-story building and uses a rave-like light show and Cochran’s portentous musical score to reflect AI’s unsettling effects on the world.
Cochran has been well known in Arkansas for years through his concerts and collaborations, and he has recently achieved a run of notable successes. Natural Intelligence played during the summer and fall at the Assembly festival in Springdale, at the Format festival in Bentonville, and then in a residency at the Momentary from September 8 to November 12. He wrote music for an installation called Sound & Color currently on display at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. He has also scored a children’s TV series, The Mystery League, that recently debuted on PBS. According to Cochran, AI has caused us to live in a constant state of technological interruption, our natural rhythms punctuated by pop-up ads and doomscrolling. The title Natural Intelligence refers to something like human intuition, the opposite of AI.. Nowadays, AI can automatically generate multimedia extravaganzas like Cochran’s with little human input. However, the artist’s point is that he deliberately produced this show using natural intelligence — handcrafting it with more
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The installation also explores the intersection of art and music. “I prefer to think of them as one thing,” Cochran says. “The intersection is perhaps more with art and technology. The visuals are art, the music and sound are art. It’s all being formed together in some way with technology. “The interesting thing is how you can make something feel as organic as possible while also outlining it somehow with a digital touch,” Cochran adds. “Then the intersection is a blurred thing that you can’t quite put your finger on instead of being able to point to a part of the work and say that’s music or that’s art.” Natural Intelligence was well received by an audience of about 75 at the Momentary on a chilly November evening near the end of its run. It’s an exciting visual experience with intense music. Maybe the show doesn’t address the perilous, fast-growing chasm between AI and NI in a specific way. But Cochran succeeds at reflecting society’s uneasiness about AI. The show is timely, skillfully produced — and stupendous at 100 feet tall. That adds up to another win for Amos Cochran. This article was published in conjunction with the Independent Review Crew. REVIEWS.NEWHAVENINDEPENDENT.ORG
COVER / SONGS Isaac Alexander discusses his love for music and design. WORDS + PHOTO / KODY FORD
S
ound versus sight — what’s more powerful? It’s certainly a subjective question. How did you discover the last new album you were excited by? Perhaps you heard a song you liked and dove right in or saw a visually appealing album cover and bought it based on that. Isaac Alexander, a godfather of the Central Arkansas music scene, has an eye and an ear for both. Alexander began drawing at age three and began playing music at age 15. He found inspiration for his visual art at home. “My mom is an amazing artist and was always around encouraging and facilitating creativity,” he said. “I got a head start of making my own stuff and seeing it connect with people.” When Alexander was a teenager, his band The Screaming Mimes performed around his hometown of Searcy. He says the band was known more for their irreverent posters and t-shirts than their music. “I had a blast making flyers and album art in my teens without a computer. A very DIY screen printer, who I worked for in Searcy, allowed me to print shirts at cost. I have great memories of frantically sweating in the print shop before a show instead of rehearsing.” He added, “Sadly, the most money I’ve ever made in the music biz was from merch sales when I was 16.” Alexander would go on to play in Little Rock–based bands like Big Silver and The Easys and record his own solo albums. He often continued to work as a designer and brand manager of sorts for these groups. “I do think it’s still important and exciting to give the music a visual representation,” he said. “It’s more about the square you see popping up in the playlist than the whole classic album art unwrapping experience. It seems like folks don’t wanna be fussy about it anymore... which is kinda nice. A
lot of my final ideas happen at the last minute and there’s something about just going with it. I’m a fan of branding for musicians but I don’t like when it feels overworked.” Given the finality of album artwork, Alexander typically waits until a record is nearly finished to begin his work on it (his record Future Sanctuary being a notable exception to this process). He prefers designs that are simple, stark, and memorable. He believed that each album should visually stand alone, and he tries not to lean too heavily into design trends. He cites The Beatles’ White Album as his favorite cover art of all time. “I love that it was such a statement among all the wild art at the time but actually works so well with the music. It’s a blank canvas for a tracklist that’s all over the place.” Alexander also designs show posters for the White Water Tavern. “The style isn’t groundbreaking but I just love the classic show-poster feel and putting my stamp on it.” Most recently he designed a poster for Dan Penn, who made a tour stop in Little Rock. Penn loved the image so much he used it for shirts. Alexander has worked on album art for The Big Cats and Adam Faucett’s More Like a Temple. “[Faucett] had some strong opinions but was open to collaboration,” Alexander said. “In the process we had the idea of doing an old timey portrait of him for the cover... I shot it and we put it all together on the spot at my office. I don’t usually work like that with the artist over my shoulder but it worked well.” Is there a secret sauce for his creativity, any muse found in the artistic landscape? He said, “I’m not really a fine artist. My work is usually in support of something else. That said, I am inspired by all kinds of art… I guess if something moves me then I want to create something that moves people too.” IG / @WHYSAAC
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Arkansas’s Musical Tapestry Spotlight on six unique artists around the state WORDS / NAZANIN ASHORZADEH + CASSIDY KENDALL
Immerse yourself in the diverse sounds of Arkansas with a glimpse into the recent works of six exceptional musicians. From chordandjocks’ instrumental hip-hop to HouseTreeHouse’s emotional narratives, each artist contributes a distinctive thread to the state’s vibrant music scene. Annie Ford’s folk-Americana, Gardensnakes’ garage rock/power pop, Sawyer Hill’s alt-rock hits, and Jude Brothers’ soulful live recording EP showcase the richness and variety of Arkansas’s musical tapestry. Join us in celebrating these talented artists who add unique flavors to the local scene. Jordan Cox, professionally known as chordandjocks, is a musician based in Little Rock. He is releasing the second part of his album The Complete Collection on December 9. This will be the fourth full-length instrumental hip-hop record of Cox’s five-year career in music. He composes by shopping at record stores for jazz, soul, and R&B albums to re-sample, chop, pitch, and restructure into completely new creations. All of his work is done in his studio space in his apartment. Cox’s musical process is exemplified in his track “Jordan.” Playing with the connections between his own first name and his love for basketball, in this track Cox explores audio from the peak of Michael Jordan’s athletic career in the early ’90s. He does this by taking samples and clips from Jordan’s games and mixing them with samples from popular music of that time period. Throughout the track, Cox mixes these past sounds with others he has found across the web.
chordandjocks Photo by Edward Crockett
Given Cox’s technological skills and creativity, part two of The Complete Collection is sure to be another evocative and smooth hit. It was released on all platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube, on December 9. “Look out for a physical release that's cassette or vinyl down the line,” Cox says.
sawyer hill Fayetteville native Sawyer Hill released his fourth single, “Never Once,” on November 15 after playing his first sold-out show. Hill blew up on TikTok with his second hit single “Look at the Time.” His new single, which you can find on Spotify, was written as a song for an ex, who would call him late at night when they needed something from him. Anyone going through romantic trials and tribulation might relate to Hill’s new single. To him, Never Once is about “loving someone who doesn’t take you seriously. Someone that thinks they can pick you up and put you down without you noticing.” Hill has been in the NWA music scene since the age of 15 and plays for those who are “alt-rock lovers” and “people with trust issues.”
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HouseTreeHouse is a Little Rock–based band made up of four childhood friends from Searcy. Frontman Jake Davis is the band’s chief music writer and draws inspiration from British alternative, indie rock, and pop punk genres. The band’s first album, Talk of the Town, was released in May 2020, and the band has been working on the production of their newest collection,This Way We Love, to be released in early 2024. This Way We Love will feature 10 songs that tell stories inspired by Davis’s early 20’s. It’s all about love, but not in the expected sense. “It’s more personal in nature,” Davis said. “This one is more of a time capsule of that part of my life. I wrote a majority of it when I was very down low and depressed. It’s a sad album to listen to, but there is some hope to it. Whatever sadness is introduced, it’s wrapped up at the end in some kind of bow. ... There’s light at the end of the tunnel. And maybe not at the end of the tunnel; there was light all along, you just have to see it.” Davis self-produced the band’s first album and had planned to do the same for This Way We Love. But between COVID, going back to school, dealing with a major life event, and the band’s drummer, Jack Tate, temporarily leaving for law school, it didn’t happen. Now the stars have aligned and Davis is ready to produce This Way We Love with Marco Samour, who plays alongside him for fellow Little Rock artist Emily Fenton.
HOUSETREEHOUSE Photo by Abigail Rains
Arkansas-forged singer-songwriter Jude Brothers released a live recording of their EP on November 28. The new single, performed live for Fayettetunes, is a time capsule for Brothers that bridges the worlds of old and new. We get to hear “looking for water/finding home,” “last song/upper gallinas,” and “practicing silence/looking for water,” alongside their new song “yearnestness,” a short and sweet love song dedicated to an imaginary romantic love. Brothers says that their new EP “feels old fashioned in its slow spaciousness, while also remaining ultimately untameable.” The EP also includes the new song “I'm gonna build a life I don't wanna escape from,” written about Brothers’s journey of freeing themselves from “habits of self destruction rooted in escapism—a rallying cry from me to myself, and inspiration to do my best to create circumstances to exist that make me want to stay present in my own life.”
JUDE BROTHERS Photo by Adeliza Backus-Pace
“Sometimes a performance just feels so honest that you wanna let it exist in multiple formats,” said Brothers, “so here we are! While I go back into the woodshed to carve up another full length, I hope y’all will enjoy ‘looking for water/finding home’!”
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annie ford BAND
Photo courtesy of the Annie Ford Band
Annie Ford will release her third full-length folk-Americana album in early Spring 2024. Currently unnamed, the record will feature about 15 songs. Most of these songs will be written by Ford and a handful will be co-written with her husband and drummer, Matt Manges. Ford recently moved to Arkansas from Washington state and is excited for the sound her two newly-added Arkansas-based musicians will add to her upcoming album. With Manges, guitarist Richard Michael Hall, and bassist Brent LaBeau playing behind Ford and her violin, this record will be unlike any other. The album will explore moving, traveling, and fig-
uring out what home means. It will also touch on loss and tragedy through current events from both Washington and New York state. With a good mix of ballads, dance songs, and some mid-tempos, this new album will be a little more upbeat relative to Ford’s last album, At Night. This self-produced album will be available for streaming, and Ford is hopeful to have it pressed onto vinyl. Ford frequently plays around the Little Rock area, and her vivacious violin paired with her strong voice and the massive amount of talent coming from the rest of the band makes for essential local listening.
gardensnakes
Photo by Shae O’Keefe
NWA four-piece garage rock/power pop band Gardensnakes released their new album White Roses on October 31. Formed in 2018 from the home recordings of Joey Vanderslice, Gardensnakes delivers a “sonic kick in the face that is akin to the raw sounds of garage rock and late ’70s pop.” Their rowdy live performances feature James Williams on guitar, Joey Vanderslice on guitar and vocals, Mason Rios on bass, and Greg Boswell on drums. White Roses takes a more refined approach to the previously chaotic noisiness featured on their previous albums. The record features in-your-face rock and roll tracks such as “It’s Not Me” and “Oh Jenny,” while also exploring a softer side with songs such as “Green Fields.”
What’s in a SONG? W
Arkansas Songwriters Reflect on their Creative Process INTERVIEWS / KODY FORD
e all love a good song, but no timeless tune just rises out of the ether. Each one was meticulously crafted by a person who not only harnessed the muse but also did the leg work required to bring that song to life. Many books have been written about how to write a song, and it’s certainly not something that can be fully covered in just a few pages. But we reached out to songwriters across Arkansas to get their thoughts on different aspects of songwriting and peer behind the curtain of their creative processes.
GENRE R&B isn’t merely a genre in my life; it’s the soundtrack to my journey. Its soulful rhythms have echoed the highs and lows, mirroring the cadence of my experiences. From heartbreak to triumph, R&B has been a companion, slapping my emotions into melodies. It’s not just what I write; it’s the narrative of my existence, the musical diary that has shaped and raised me. Everyone wants the Rhythm but no one wants the Blues!
SeanFresh
Little Rock 15 years as a songwriter
IG @theseanfresh
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theseanfresh.com
COLLABORATION One of the reasons I love co-writing is that many songwriters have different approaches and it can be refreshing to try a new variation with an open mind. There are writing techniques I take with me, and others I leave behind. Something I continue to enjoy is having a lot of content from brainstorming and also considering the performing artist of the song while writing it, so it remains authentic to them. My favorite co-writers are humble enough to let someone else revise or add to their ideas... I have found that having shared backgrounds and experiences helps, but also their musical influences can impact melodic ideas, so working with a writer who has some stylistic overlap can be beneficial too.
IG @missashtyn
/ FB.com/ashtynbarbaree
Ashtyn Barbaree Fayetteville 7 years as a songwriter
SONG STRUCTURE
Marty B.
Fayetteville 20 years as a songwriter
This is the one I could write a novel about. There’s a syntax to the old tropes and aesthetic surprises that constitute a kind of deep structure. I call it the rhetoric of sequence. The song is just an essay, where the chorus is the thesis, the verse is the supporting detail, and the bridge is that paragraph towards the beginning of the end of the piece that starts with however, where maybe you offer concessions, consider that maybe you’re wrong after all, play the devil’s advocate — any number of things that challenge the listener to consume something that isn’t just coherent but also dynamic. Wallace Stevens has a poem about the synthesis of familiarity and surprise in-song called “To the One of Fictive Music,” which I recommend to anyone interested in this topic.
TW/X @marrrtyb
/
marrrtyb.bandcamp.com
BEAT
Andrew McClain
For Princeaus, I combine and layer sounds from classic drum machines like the Roland 808, Korg Minipops, and Fairlight CMI, along with self-recorded samples like the clicks from a socket wrench or gas stovetop. I produce these drum tracks in small batches, exported at various BPM, and turn them over to Nora, who uses them in composition. This is our typical workflow, although we’ve been known to work backwards — like right now, actually, Nora has sent me a drum-less instrumental that I need to put drums over, which is simultaneously more fun and more challenging.
Little Rock 9 years as a producer
MELODY Music is very much a language, and so I compare the playing of an instrument to talking. In playing a solo or melody, I usually try to invoke a bit of humanness to the cadence/rhythm of notes I’m playing, by emulating the cadence of someone talking... Remove the words and context of our linguistics, and you’re left with rhythmic patterns that likely have some kind of melody to them, and reflect some kind of emotion! If someone is telling me a compelling story, it might have different high-energy or slow-paced moments, moments of sadness and failure or of epic victory, have a rich vocabulary of different verbs and adjectives to build from... The compelling storyteller is likely to keep my attention longer and make their story more memorable. Music is inherent in how we communicate, and a great melody is usually one that reflects a great story being told.
IG @ea_creativ3
Evan Diego Alvarado
Elkins 15 years as a songwriter
HARMONY Bonnie Montgomery Arkansas/Texas 30 years as a songwriter
I like to write harmonies, especially in my classical music, that have a conversation with each other and cross from above and beneath the melodic line — I like for the harmony to be in a dialogue with the main melody.
IG @bonniemontgomery / bonniemontgomerymusic.com
MUSICIANSHIP It helps that I’m a very diverse multi-instrumentalist. My first instrument being a clarinet and many woodwinds but also being able to play guitar, mandolin, bass, and even percussion instruments like washboard, spoons, tambourine, drums, and more allow me to sit in with many different musicians and styles. Having this much diversity can be useful when songwriting. It can also be a curse because there is a challenge in knowing what instruments to play for a given song or a specific part of a song.
IG @patti_steel / pattisteel.com
Patti Steel
Fayetteville 10 years as a songwriter
LYRICS
Benjamin Del Shreve
Northwest Arkansas 30 years as a songwriter
First, decide how long you want your verses to be...Next, pick out the rhyming pattern you want next... As far as content goes, always keep some form of journal on you and try to collect any good thoughts you may ever have. Anything that inspires you or that you think is worth notice, write it down. Read Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke! One of our main jobs as songwriters is to realize that to focus on one thing is to ignore everything else. So, in a world with wars, school shootings, racism, misogyny and death, we can say, “but stop and look at this beautiful (fill in the blank),” and for just a moment your listener can dote on the same beauty that brought the song to life in the first place while ignoring all the terrible things that might otherwise seek their attention. Remember that a song isn’t good or bad, right or wrong. It’s just a celebration of the fact that you occurred and this, your song, is how your occurring sounds.
ARRANGEMENT When writing, I treat the overall arrangement like interior design. I get an overall idea of what I would like the song to feel like and what elements I want to incorporate to create that feel. Elements like repeated rhyme patterns, contrast from verse to hook, change in dynamics like a busy verse and then a big open chorus (these are your big furniture items in your room). Once I have my pieces I arrange the song so that the story unfolds in a tasteful way that keeps the listener interested throughout while adding in the right elements at the right time (where is the couch, how to place the rug, measure the space for the cabinets). Once I have my big pieces I fill the room with accents or tie-in pieces (pillows, throws, lamps, photos, etc.). The accents or tie-in pieces in a song are ad libs, guitar solos, things that add more personality to a song while making all of the different pieces cohesive.
IG @thekinghoneyofficial / yellowvelvetstudios.co
King Honey
Little Rock 10+ years as a songwriter
PERFORMANCE
Nora B. aka Princeaus
Little Rock 7 years as a songwriter
Princeaus is an alter ego. Whenever I’m on stage, Princeaus is like a mask I put on to make myself feel bolder. At its core, it’s an emotionally raw and often harsh way of presenting my music to you. I truly dive straight into the darkest depths of my emotions for the audience, submerging myself in the music as I swirl and twirl like a mermaid. In a theatrical sense, one might call it performance art. At this point, I have no idea what category Princeaus falls under. I sing, dance, whisper, and scream at people while wearing wild makeup, sequins, and occasionally doing the splits. Take that information as you will. I could be put on punk, electronic, hardcore, ambient, or experimental shows — but it all feels the same to me when I’m performing. It all feels like Princeaus. Holding a microphone under the glow of spotlights feels like home after a while. You can tell by how intense I am on stage that I’m having a great time and loving what I do! Being Princeaus is a bizarre job. I’m not quite sure what I’m doing. But I sure do enjoy doing it.
IG @princeaus.nora / FB.com/princeausmusic / TikTok: @princeaus YT: Princeaus Official idleclassmag.coM
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GAR HOLE RECORDS IS ON A TEAR
The NWA based record label is making a name for itself nationwide and they aren’t slacking off anytime soon. WORDS / NAZANIN ASHORZADEH PHOTOS /MIKAYLA WARFORD
ar Hole Records was founded in NWA in the fall selves and artists than a transferral of rights or ownof 2020 by Nick Shoulders and Kurt DeLash- ership. “Obviously, pretty much nothing the laG ment, the current label manager and compa- bel does can be accomplished without labor and ny president. It is a modern, independent record company that splits profits 50:50 with their artists.
Shoulders and DeLashment have known each other loosely since the early 2010s when they were both in “sloppy punk bands,” but they became more closely acquainted in 2018 through DeLashment’s project Tape Dad, which released tapes of, promoted, and put together shows for local bands. During the COVID lockdown of March 2020, Shoulders moved in with DeLashment, and a few months later his music went viral. The two then decided to start a label to support Shoulders’s career and uplift their friends who were also making great art. They announced the label in October of that year, and then put out what DeLashment considered to be their first release of Shoulders’s new record, Home and the Rage. The primary function of Gar Hole, says DeLashment, is to manufacture, distribute, and promote the music of the artists they work with. This includes details that one might not consider when thinking about the functions of a record label, such as financing projects, creating album art, packaging, project management, merch design, and booking shows and tours. DeLashment runs the day-to-day operations at Gar Hole while Shoulders is promoting his new record. Another artist managed by Gar Hole, Jude Brothers, occasionally helps out when not working on their own stuff. When Shoulders and DeLashment started Gar Hole, they already knew the genres they wanted to represent: independent country, folk and “un-Americana.” Gar Hole now represents The Lostines, Chris Acker, Dylan Earl, Austin Cash, Jude Brothers, Jess Harp, and more, and has developed a reputation as “y’alternative,” which DeLashment is proud of. DeLashment says that limiting their focus helps to brand the label, which in turn brings more value back for the artists. “It’s a lot easier to get folks to pay attention to your releases when they’ve actually heard of the label beforehand and know what to generally expect from it.” An important aspect of Gar Hole is that they are an artist-friendly label, meaning that their terms of agreement are more a partnership between them-
trust from the artist,” says DeLashment, “so we try to create partnerships and contracts that respect that and give the artists at least as much potential to earn from their release as the label receives.” For those interested in getting into the music industry themselves, DeLashment offers some advice and encouragement. He admits that at first he had no idea what he was doing or the extent of what he was signing up for, so make sure you understand what comes along with starting your own label. “I still don’t really know what I'm doing, but I at least see more of the landscape now,” he says. “One thing I always wish I did when I was getting started is go intern somewhere, for an indie label or another music biz entity like a booking agency, radio station, PR firm, distributor, etc. There are just some things the Internet can’t clue you in on and learning from the source is always rewarding.” He also acknowledges that the promotion aspect of a label’s work has changed a lot over the last few years. It's hard, he says, as “everything has shifted to mostly online, of course, but there aren’t a ton of influential blogs and online publications that can create meaningful exposure.” DeLashment also shared that he believes in only working with art that he wholeheartedly believes in. “You just have to be super stoked on everything cus it’s honestly really hard to promote music these days and you’re gonna end up doing infinite hours of work that may go unnoticed or unrewarded. Also, in the end, the whole thing is a gamble.” For Gar Hole Records, the gamble has paid off. Gar Hole currently has around seven releases slated to come out over the next year, as well as three new signings that will diversify the genres they represent. And, most importantly, over the last three years Gar Hole Records has established itself as a reliable platform for up-and-coming musicians and has helped artists achieve national and global recognition. GARHOLERECORDS.COM IG / @GAR_HOLE_RECORDS
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HIP HOP SAYS HELLO
IN ARKANSAS Arkansas hip-hop artists and DJs reflect on 50 years of the music that changed the world. INTERVIEWS / CLINT SCHAFF
s the world celebrates the 50th anniversary of hip artists from across the country to Arkansans eager to emA hop in 2023, it's impossible to ignore the profound brace the evolving beats and heady messages of the genre. impact this cultural phenomenon has had on every corner of the globe, including Arkansas. I’m Clint Schaff, host of the Arkansas-based weekly community radio show Hip Hop Hello, and I moved to Bentonville two and a half years ago after spending a quarter-century exploring the musical landscapes of the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, New York City, DC, and Minneapolis.
When I first landed in Arkansas, I was skeptical. I had not yet heard the Natural State’s own unique rhythm. Then my first week in Arkansas I ran into hip hop icon Murs, a renowned MC I knew from my days in LA who is now mentoring and influencing artists right here in Arkansas. Since then, just in Northwest Arkansas, I’ve seen local acts both find their voices and grow their audiences. I even was able to see Arkansan Kari Faux blow up elsewhere and return to her home state to perform at FORMAT Festival. This revelation of Arkansas hip hop marked the beginning of a series of surprises that challenged my preconceived notions about hip hop’s reach. It became evident that hip hop’s musical roots run deep in the Arkansas soil, and its branches reach further than I had initially imagined. Through Hip Hop Hello, I've had the privilege of not only spotlighting local talent but also introducing emerging
As we reflect on 50 years of hip hop, it's crucial to acknowledge that the culture is not only thriving but also continually evolving. Arkansas has become a testament to hip hop's enduring influence, showcasing that its resonance is not limited by geographical boundaries. Join me on a journey through the untold stories of Arkansas's contribution to hip hop, where for me the past two and a half years have proven that the beats and rhymes are not just surviving but thriving in the heartland of America. Tune in to Hip Hop Hello on KOBV every Tuesday from 6 to 8 pm — broadcasting on 103.3 FM locally in Bentonville and streaming at bentonvilleradio.com — as well as on Fayetteville's KUAF via its HD3 channel every Saturday from 4 to 6 pm and streaming on KUAF.com. You can also find Hip Hop Hello each week on the Arkansas Times’ Rock Candy blog at arktimes.com/rock-candy and listen on-demand at mixcloud.com/hiphophello. Exclusive for The Idle Class, I reached out to some of my favorite Hip Hop Hello guests — Avian Alia, Big Piph, 607, Kevin Contra, BAANG, DJ Afrosia, and Poppin Sunshine — to ask their thoughts on hip hop turning 50 and on hip hop in Arkansas.
In the spirit of collaboration and mentorship, can you share any experiences or insights into the supportive community that exists among hip hop artists in the state? My music tends to be wordy and eccentric and that attracts a lot of casual and professional artists. When an artist likes my work they describe it in a way that gives me a sense of purpose and accomplishment. Also, we hand off shows and recommend each other when we can't accept. The gigging performers from here are always looking out for each other.
Avian Alia 607 Lake Village + Bentonville Little Rock IG: @avianalia IG: @iam607
Hip Hop In Unexpected Places
Baang
Fayetteville IG: @LRBaang
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Hip Hop has a presence so strong that it just cannot be denied. When I first moved to Northwest Arkansas it was very difficult for a hip hop artist to integrate into the music scene. Lack of notoriety and fear of the unknown caused a lot of venue owners to pass on the opportunity to support local musicians. Now you look up and there’s a rap show everywhere you turn in Northwest Arkansas. The grit, grind, determination, and dedication to persevere is in and of itself, hip hop.
How do you believe the unique cultural landscape of Arkansas has influenced your approach to hip hop, and what about being rooted here impacts your music?
Avian Alia
Lake Village + Bentonville IG: @avianalia
Well, Arkansas isn't a very hip-hop oriented place to be from pursuing a career like this. There are no reputable figures in hip-hop who can be referenced when mentioning Arkansas, so I feel that leaves ample opportunity to mold the hip-hop scene into what we want it to be. Being born and raised in AR and pursuing a spot in the music industry just makes me feel I have to work hard and be strategic. Ya know, this isn't somewhere where celebrities and A&Rs frequent - so it's largely up to artists to get their art in the proper places if they want it to be profitable.
Challenges and Opportunities Having spaces like open mics and opportunities to do shows is what has helped us and what all of us continue to look for. At the end of the day it is up to the artist to make it happen. How bad does the artist want to grow? There is some level of accountability that falls on them to get the word out and connect with the area the best they can.
Kevin Contra Fayetteville IG: @KevinContra94
What challenges have you faced as an Arkansas hip hop artist, and conversely, what opportunities have opened up for you within the state's evolving hip hop landscape?
Poppin Sunshine Fayetteville IG: @poppinsunshine1 // @_classic_flow
The challenges as a dancer in the hip-hop world has been very difficult, from people not knowing the true culture and the 4 elements of hip-hop, to people not appreciating the art form of b-boying/ popping which drastically helped shape hip-hop since 1973. Breaking is one of the four elements of hip hop alongside graffiti, DJing, MCing, and plays a major part in this culture. I didn’t realize that so many didn’t know about the true essence of hip-hop here, which has opened up plenty of doors to show Northwest Arkansas what the original elements of hip-hop are. So me and my Soulmate Ambrosia (DJ Afrosia) saw what was needed and created the only dj/dancer duo in Northwest Arkansas, we saw this as an opportunity to show Northwest Arkansas what true hip hop is about, to show our love and passion for this culture. We created “Classic Flow”!!! We saw there wasn’t an actual celebration of the 50th anniversary and so we created one ourselves to pay homage to the 4 elements which created hip hop today and to help spread KNOWLEDGE of what true, raw, hip-hop is about.
How do you believe the unique cultural landscape of Arkansas has influenced your approach to hip hop, and what about being rooted here impacts your music? Believe it or not, when I first entered the music scene in Arkansas it was truly only a bluegrass/ EDM hub in my opinion. Hip-Hop wasn’t a staple nor was even on the menu. Local artists were shunned from major venues due to the negative stereotypes surrounding the genre. Seeing that lack of Hip-Hop culture in the area influenced my partner and I to create what we didn’t see. If no one was going to throw a 50th Anniversary — We were. Being met with resistance is truly the pressure that busts pipes. And weirdly enough sounds like the origin story of Hip-Hop.
DJ Afrosia Fayetteville IG: @djafrosia // @_classic_flow
In the spirit of collaboration and mentorship, can you share any experiences or insights into the supportive community that exists among hip hop artists in the state?
Big Piph
Pine Bluff + Little Rock IG: @BigPiph
Hip Hop tends to be competitive, but it's usually out of love. So folks attend each other shows and collaborate all the time. For those that love the music and culture, it's an immediate connection to whoever else does too.
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YOU CAN’T KILL THE BLUES
Music’s most influential genre isn’t going quietly into the night. WORDS / KODY FORD PHOTOS / MEREDITH MASHBURN + KODY FORD f one were to trace the origins of most popular muIleads sic in the 20th century in the United States, the path you back to Arkansas, to the small communities
in the Delta. While Mississippi still gets much of the credit, Helena has done a good job of preserving and celebrating Arkansas’s rich blues history, and Jimmy Cunningham, director of the Delta Rhythm & Bayous Alliance, believes that Arkansas deserves its due. “Preserving our blues legacy is important because without the contributions of people from Arkansas, we wouldn’t know the blues today,” he said. “Not only would we not know the blues, but we wouldn’t know popular music.” Cunningham points out that it was Arkansan George W. Thomas Jr. who wrote the first “boogie woogie” song, a genre that became highly influential to not only the blues but also jazz, country, and rock ’n’ roll as they developed. Thomas’s sister Sippie Wallace was one of the first commercially successful blues artists in the country, and the legendary style of Arkansan Sister Rosetta Tharpe directly influenced the development of rock music. Cunningham said, “They were trailblazers that — poof — opened up this big door.” Big Bill Broonzy, who grew up near Pine Bluff, was one of the titans of blues and played a crucial role in popularizing the blues in Europe. He inspired acts like The Beatles and the Rolling Stones and mentored fellow blues musician Muddy Waters, who inspired another wave of English musicians in the lead-up to the British Invasion. “So when you talk about [Arkansas’s] contributions made, we’re not scratching the surface,” he said. “We were raising the roof when it comes to our historical significance. Why would we want to ignore that? Now, what has happened is that the state, see, the lack of focus on the blues is a bigger reflection of Arkansas’s identity issues.” So, what serve and
exactly is being done to precelebrate Arkansas’s blues legacy?
As executive director of the Delta Rhythm & Bayous Alliance, Cunningham works with local governments and private foundations on both sides of the Missis-
sippi River. In 2016 the group convinced the Arkansas legislature to name Highway 65 the Delta Rhythm and Blues Highway. The next year, the group worked with its Mississippi counterparts to convince the Mississippi legislature to apply the same name to Highway 82, which runs directly on from Highway 65 once you cross the river bridge. “The idea was that we were going to build out a travel corridor because of the music and arts tradition and the important waterways,” said Cunningham. The Pine Bluff Cultural District also celebrates the blues. One of the streets there has been renamed Bobby Rush Way after the Grammy-winning Arkansas blues musician. The city also hosts the Delta Rhythm & Bayous: Freedom & Blues Exhibition in the UAPB Business Incubator Building. The upcoming Blues Memorial & Wellness Plaza is set to be a game changer for Pine Bluff and, according to Cunningham, the largest outdoor gallery dedicated to Delta music in the country. The King Biscuit Blues Fest in Helena, a legendary annual event that has showcased the who’s who of the blues, has served as a hub for blues music lovers and performers alike since 1986. The festival has worked with the Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History to chronicle the stories of the musicians who have made major contributions to the genre. The recordings, along with interviews with local townsfolk, can be viewed online at the Pryor Center’s Helena, Arkansas, project page.
in flux until Hackersmith had a fateful conversation with Orson Weems, co-founder of the Music Education Initiative, a nonprofit that works to educate people on career opportunities in music and celebrate Arkansas’s musical heritage through in-person and virtual events, seminars, and exhibits. Although Weems didn’t have an immediate use for BC’s Blues Shack, he saw the value in such a piece and arranged to have it disassembled and moved into storage in Northwest Arkansas. Eventually, BC’s Blues Shack found a home with the Pryor Center, and the building was painstakingly reconstructed in its atrium. BC’s Blues Shack now serves as a venue for community events, many of which revolve around blues, folk, and other types of music and is booked into 2024. “It’s sort of a conversation piece to reignite discussion of the blues,” said Weems. ”It is a cultural exhibit because of the nature of what [a] juke joint meant to the African American community…. Even before the style of the Blues, … people were out in the field, so we have to reminisce and go way back to some of the chants in the field… which led up into an enclosure for Black people to have a place to actually get entertained. And so that was the blues shack.” University of Arkansas PhD candidate Ch’yna Nellon is embracing technology to further the story of blues music. Her virtual reality project Juke Joint Experience has grown out of her doctoral research and will ultimately allow the viewer to visit a juke joint and learn about their cultural and historical influence, particularly in Arkansas — all through VR.
BC’s Blues Shack at the Pryor Center in Fayetteville. A more modern tribute to the blues Above: (Photo by Kody Ford) can be found in BC’s Blues Shack in downtown Fayetteville. Named Left: Nikki Hill performs at the King Biscuit Blues Festival in Nellon believes embracing new techafter former president Bill Clin- Helena. (Photo by Meredith Mashburn) nologies is very important to interpret ton and developed as part of The and showcase music. “You have a penMighty Mississippi: HeART & Soul cil, you have photography, you have of the Southern Delta exhibit, BC’s Blues Shack is a film — all of these things were shocking when they came replica of the blues shacks found throughout the Del- out. Everybody thought that it was awful and it was gota. It was built using carefully sourced vintage materi- ing to change everybody’s life. And it did. But we have als, and its design was based on extensive research. to understand that technology is something that evolves and it’s very important that we are a part of the process.” Kaki Hockersmith, program director for that year’s event, said, “The typical Christmas lights and walls cov- But why choose the blues for such an endeavor? ered with vintage signs and blues memorabilia were incorporated into the decor. We used old barn wood “Black history is American history,” Nellon said. “Any time and pieces of weathered tin and old windows along you talk about the Blues, you have to talk about Black peowith vintage metal signs for the construction and dec- ple. You have to talk about the Black experience.… A lot oration of our juke joint.... TVs installed inside and out of the things as far as American culture is concerned, we looped educational material, including film footage of try to overlook or sweep under the rug. But there is beauty actual Delta juke joints. Visitors could sit on the porch in that experience. There’s reality in that experience, and or enjoy the ambiance and film footage inside the juke there is a way to address and have realistic conversations.” joint getting a sense of these historic Delta hangouts.” “The root [of blues] is from the soul. It’s something that is Few visitors ever saw the exhibit when it opened in 2020, authentic,” Weems added. “It needs to be performed.… however, as shortly afterward the COVID-19 pandemic We want to have that history and that legacy in that appreshut everything down. The future of BC’s Blues Shack was ciation for those that created it and for us not to forget it.”
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ountain View has often been called the folk music capital of the world. It is home to The Ozark Folk Center, a hub for both performers and lovers of Ozark folk music. For 60 years, the town has also hosted the Arkansas Folk Festival and the Mountain View Bluegrass Festival. The public school also has a Music Roots program in which students in the fourth grade or older can learn guitar, fiddle, banjo, dulcimer, or mandolin. Folk singer Carolina Mendoza grew up in Mountain View, but didn’t start connecting with the town’s folk scene until young adulthood. Her parents — Mexican immigrants who moved to Arkansas when she was a child — brought their love of traditional music with them. She grew up listening to her father’s mariachi records and singing along to mainstream American music on the radio, teaching herself to sing by emulating Evanescence’s Amy Lee. Then Mendoza went on a date to Mountain View’s Pickin’ Park, a place where local musicians gather and jam in the round, playing traditional folk and gospel music. One of the musicians heard her humming along and encouraged her to come join them. Her first performance did not go well. “I was trying to sing ‘Whiskey Lullaby’ and I was nervous and they tried so hard to help me figure it out,” she said. “A week later, they saw me again, and they told me, ‘Come back — sing a song that you know, that you’re comfortable singing.’” After that first performance, Mendoza was hooked. She continued visiting Pickin’ Park, encouraged by the regular musicians. One gave her a guitar and she began taking lessons, incorporating licks and rhythms from the Mexican music her family loved with the local music played by her friends and mentors.
NEW LIFE FOR OLD SONGS
Since this, Mendoza has flourished as an artist. She was a featured performer at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington DC last summer, where she was billed as “the Voice of the Mountain” and wowed crowds with renditions of traditional gospel songs like “Wayfaring Stranger” and Mexican folk songs like “La Lorna.” Her blending of different cultures and styles is part of a long tradition of folk music and breathes new life into old songs. Bryan Hembree, co-founder of the Fayetteville Roots Festival, is quick to point out that folk music — and Arkansas’s folk music in particular — is far more dynamic and diverse than people realize.
“I think of Arkansas sometimes through this lens that our diversity is our heritage. And I mean cultural diversity, ethnic diversity, all WORDS / KODY FORD these different things,” he said. “[Folk muPHOTOS / DAVID LEWIS + MEREDITH MASHBURN sic] is about the influence of all cultures.”
The many faces of the folk scene in Arkansas.
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The most publicized influences on American folk music are the musical traditions of the Irish and Scottish immigrants who settled in Appalachia and, later, the Ozarks. But the musical traditions of African people enslaved in America also played a key role in shaping early American folk, and Hembree highlights the more recent influences of Mexican, South American, and Marshallese communities on Arkansas folk music. To honor this rich history and continue these traditions, Hembree and his wife Bernice recently launched the Folk School of Fayetteville. The Folk School offers regular instrumental workshops, music lessons, and space for teaching. They plan to open a recording studio upstairs in early 2024, although musicians will need to bring their own sound engineers to run the equipment. The school hosts Jack Williams’s weekly open mic for songwriters and a wide variety of jam sessions — Irish jams, old time jams, and bluegrass jams, as well as a Dad Jam for fathers, an under 21 jam for young people, and the Soldiers Songs & Voices Jam & Gathering for veterans. Not all of the folk-music action is in the northern part of the state. In 2018, the band Arkansas Highlands Folk Project was born out of a collaboration between the Garland County Library and musician
Charlie Moore. Their mission: to delve into the rich history, culture, and music of the Ouachita Mountains. They do this through their performances, which employ not only traditional instruments such as the fiddle, banjo, guitar, and bass, but also homemade ones, such as the washboard, spoons, bones, and the jawbone. The band also encourages audience interaction, inviting people to dance, sing along, and become a part of the music. Conserving musical traditions is an important and statewide effort. But while artists like Mendoza are moving the genre forward and organizations like the Folk School of Fayetteville honor its past, in Bernice Hembree’s view, folk music still has a perception problem. “Folk is a four letter word if you say it, and people immediately either get offended or they think one thing and are close-minded about it,” she said. “There are so many more layers to folk. And what we’re trying to do is get people to peel back that first layer of what you think folk is and consider what is it really and how deep it goes. Because folk music is as deep as human civilization.” VISIT: FOLKSCHOOLOFFAYETTEVILLE.ORG IG: @CAROLINA_MUSICA TikTok: CAROLINA MENDOZA MUSIC
(LEFT) Folk musician Carolina Mendoza of Mountain Home, Arkansas. (Photo by David Lewis) (BELOW) Bernice + Bryan Hembree, founders of the Folk School of Fayetteville. (Photo by Meredith Mashburn)
“There are so many more layers to folk. And what we’re trying to do is get people to peel back that first layer of what you think folk is and consider what is it really and how deep it goes. Because folk music is as deep as human civilization.” - Bernice Hembree
Arkansas’ D ALTERNATIVE SOUNDSCAPES Unveiling Unique Music Venues Redefining the Experience WORDS / LAUREN GANIM + CASSIDY KENDALL
iscover the alternative music scene in Arkansas through unique venues that redefine the live music experience. Full Moon Records in Conway seamlessly shifts from a record store by day to an alternative music venue by night, hosting diverse genres. Sonic Guild curates exclusive shows in collaboration with local artists, fostering community support for musicians across Northwest Arkansas. Chamber Music on the Mountain brings classical performances to the Ozarks in an inclusive and friendly environment. The House of Songs in Bentonville offers a collaborative songwriting retreat. And the Trillium Salon Series creates intimate connections between performers and audiences. Join us on a journey through these unconventional spaces where creativity knows no bounds.
Photo by Lauren Rae
HOUSE OF SONGS
Bentonville
The House of Songs offers a collaborative and immersive space for songwriters to come together and create new sounds. Based in a Victorian house in Bentonville, they offer a creative retreat for musical artists. They also provide both virtual and in-person co-writing sessions that encourage artists to explore different genres and collaborate with others from a variety of musical backgrounds. At the end of these week-long songwriting sessions, the House of Songs hosts a showcase for the artists to share and celebrate their creations. These performances and popup shows also provide artists with the opportunity to
become more involved in the local music community. Singer-songwriter Troy Campbell opened the House of Songs with the help of the Walton Family Foundation. He was inspired by his own time spent secluded on an island in Denmark, and afterwards he found like-minded people who would help him to provide local artists with a similar experience. The House of Songs helps to connect singer-songwriters nationwide to create harmony — and Grammy-nominated songs — right here in Bentonville.
thehouseofsongs.org / IG: @thehouseofsongs / FB.com/thehouseofsongs
FULL MOON RECORDS
Conway
Full Moon Records opened on October 8, 2021, as a small record store at 1104 Front Street in Conway. Owner Justin Dunn wanted to bring a unique aspect of music to the Conway community, but soon found that his space could meet another of r the community’s needs. Over the past year, Full Moon Records has conducted business as a record store by day and an alternative music venue by night. It all started last Halloween. In October 2022, Full Moon Records held a Halloween party and cleared out its store to make room for live music. This was the night that showed them they could.
was something Conway really needs,” Dunn said. The first official show in this record-store-turnedvenue featured Brother Tongue, Salon Blonde, and Jupiter’s Fly Trap. Now Full Moon Records holds shows nearly every weekend and advertises upcoming events on their social media pages.
Fast-forward to February of this year when Arkansas-based band Brother Tongue repeatedly asked Dunn if they could perform in his space.
“We’re not trying to hit a certain age range, we’re just wanting to give a space for the community,” he said. “I try to get a variety of music. One night might be indie, the next might be jazz, the next might be metal.”
“It was just giving a space for them to have a show, but the turnout was insane and showed us it
TRILLIUM SALON SERIES
Northwest Arkansas
Over the past year, Dunn has worked to develop his venue space by building a stage, purchasing a PA system, and making system upgrades along the way. Today, Full Moon Records is a space for music lovers of any variety.
IG: @full_moon_records3 The Trillium Salon Series offers intimate ways for performers and audience to connect through music. While they can’t yet announce their 2024 event schedule, they plan to continue their partnerships with the Fayetteville Public Library, Likewise Community, and Crystal Bridges, and to embark on a new collaboration with The Momentary. Katy Henriksen, who works for Trillium, is looking forward to the new year. She says, “This is a thrilling time to elevate contemporary and experimental sounds from local, regional, national, and international artists.” trilliumsalonseries.com IG: @TrilliumSalonSeries TW/X: @TrilliumSounds #trilliumsalonseries
CHAMBER MUSIC ON THE MOUNTAIN
Fayetteville
chambermusiconthemountain.org FB.com/ChamberMusicontheMountain Chamber Music on the Mountain is a classical music concert series that allows performers to collaborate with local musicians, artists, and organizations in the Northwest Arkansas area. It is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization that is a part of the Creative Spaces NWA Program at the Mount Sequoyah Center. There were three successful Chamber Music on the Mountain summer festivals in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Chamber Music on the Mountain’s new sibling organization, Chamber Music of the Ozarks, will launch a new suite of programs in January 2024. Tomoko Kashiwagi, artistic director of both Chamber Music on the Mountain and Chamber Music of the Ozarks, said that she felt the urge to
create opportunities for both professional and amateur musicians to connect through music and to share their music with people in the community. Chamber Music on the Mountain’s concert programs include well beloved classical pieces as well as hidden gems that represent diverse cultures within the genre. Since this music is performed by smaller ensembles, Kashiwagi says that it makes the environment “especially versatile and friendly.” More importantly, she says that this organization has reminded her of the importance of being present. “We have gotten so used to listening to music online and experiencing many things virtually, but there are things you just cannot experience unless you are there.”
Sonic Guild, formerly known as Black Fret, is an Austin-based nonprofit that has curated hundreds of intimate musical experiences in some of the nation’s largest music communities. With support from the Walton Family Foundation and CACHE, their Ozarks chapter has been able to bring artists from Austin, Denver, and Seattle to Northwest Arkansas to perform with our local musicians. With the generous support of these charities and the communities they serve, Sonic Guild has been able to raise over $5 million for local musicians and music businesses. This fall, Sonic Guild has hosted a series of shows for its newest Ozarks chapter. These exclusive shows have included private listening parties at Blake Street House and invite-only performances at Haxton Road Studios and the Meteor Guitar Gallery in Bentonville. “Local music, just like the symphony or the opera, deserves the support of the public,” says Sonic Guild founder Colin Kendrick.
SONIC GUILD
Bentonville Photo by Tom Hoehn
Headquartered in Austin with chapters in Seattle, Denver and now Bentonville, Sonic Guild members are the driving force behind its unique model. Since 2013, Sonic Guild’s membership dues have supported hundreds of shows by more than 250 bands and distributed over $3.6 million in grants to help working musicians record albums and tour across the country. Guild members not only get exclusive access to intimate local shows year-round but also get invited to attend an annual end-of-year gala where they can nominate and vote for the bands they’d like to see receive grants in the coming year. sonicguild.org
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