 |
| BAY STATION BAND |
1.Please introduce yourself
We're Bay Station Band: co-founders Kwame Copeland and Deborah Crooks plus Steve Waters and Chris Veenstra.
2. How did you get into music?
Kwame grew up in a musical household. His dad plays guitar and writes songs and he was in a band from an early age. Deborah grew up listening to a lot of music but didn't start writing songs until after college.
3. What instruments do you play?
Kwame plays guitar/harmonica/dobro in the band (as well as a bit of sax and bass); Steve is our lead guitarist. Deborah plays rhythm guitar and Chris Veenstra plays bass in the band (and mandolin).
4. Who are your influences?
We're all longtime songwriters. Collectively, our influences are Bob Dylan, The Band, Bruce Springsteen, The Dead, Hank Williams, Lucinda Williams, Tom Petty, REM, Bonnie Raitt,
5. Tell us about your latest release
For their third studio recording Other Desert Cities(April 27, 2018),Bay Stationsought inspiration amid the stark, natural beauty of the Mojave Desert. While their first two releases, Your Own Reaction(2014 under their former name, KCDC) and Go Out and Make Some(2016) reflected the coastal landscape of their home in Alameda, California, the 10 songs on Other Desert Cities were written by Bay Station co-founders Deborah Crooks and Kwame Copeland during several week-long writing retreats in Joshua Tree. Their experiences and impressions of the desert town adjacent to its namesake National Park inform the recording, which details the strange, poetic, and distinctly American stories of desert denizens, both animal and human.
As they did on their previous two releases, Deborah Crooks (vocals, principal lyricist) and Kwame Copeland (guitar, dobro, vocals, harmonica) co-produced Other Desert Cities with Mike Stevens. Stevens (Sun Kil Moon, The Uptones) also played drums, mixed the record, and recorded three of the tracks at his Lost Monkey studio in Hayward, CA. Along with Ben Bernstein (bass)and Steve Waters (guitar, backing vocals), theyrecorded most of the album at Gatos Trail studio in the Mojave, among the Joshua trees and creosote, with engineer Dan Joeright. Ben Bernstein also recorded and engineered “Fire Song” and “Trickster Moon” at Petting Zoo Studio in Oakland, CA. Upon joining the band in late 2017, bass player Chris Veenstracontributed to several songs on the record, as did guest musicians Michael McNevin (electric and slide guitar), and Joan Reuter(fiddle). The album was mastered by Ken Lee (JJ Grey & Mofro, Bill Frisell) in Oakland.
Many of the album’s tracks depict the imagined lives of desert dwellers; from wild coyotes and survivors of a building fire to road-tripping visitors. “Sleeping Hard Waking Slow”explores aspects of unconditional and timeless love, sung from an unconventional point of view. “Look but Don’t Touch” is a straight-ahead rock song depicting the life of a stripper working at an adult entertainment store, while “Sands of Time” doubles down on a recurring theme of timelessness over a dance-worthy, samba-inspired beat. Crooks assumes the narrative voice, in turns affectionate ("Sands of Time”) inclusive and communal (“Everybody’s Business”) and mournful (“Trickster Moon”). “Bay Station Wiggle”displays the band’s penchant for cutting loose, skirting the edges of surf music in a guitar-driven romp evocative of Chuck Berry.
6. Whats your songwriting process?
For Bay Station, Kwame and Deborah usually block out a couple songwriting getaways- Kwame composes most of the music and Deborah most of the lyrics. They keep throwing out ideas until they land on one that capture their interest. Steve usually develops his riffs and solos after the songs are complete.
7. Which musician/ artist would you most like to collaborate with & why?
Bonnie Raitt- longtime hero, she knows how to interpret a song like no other and we’d love to hear her signature slide work on our tracks. And take notes!
8. If you were on a desert island what 3 musical gear would you take?
Guitar
Dobro
Picks and slides
9. Where can fans find your music (links etc)?
I would like to say a huge thank you to BAY STATION BAND for taking part in FEATURED ARTIST OF THE WEEK 😃😃
Until next time
Law