Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with Queens County Roots
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
I remember standing in my crib, maybe three years old, and my mother was cleaning the house to Paul Simon’s “Graceland”. I’ve associated that album ever since with warmth and security and dust specks floating calmly in the rays of the southern sun. However, my parents tell me that they played George Thorogood’s first album all the time when my mother was pregnant with me and that as a baby I would calm down when they put the record on, so the Destroyers were clearly in there somewhere too.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
I came late to the game! My father is a musician. He got me started playing guitar in my teens but I decided I’d rather be a writer. I managed to get some poetry published and a couple of plays produced here in New York City. And I’m still proud of that work! But it wasn’t until later that I realized I could combine my writing and my music. It felt like two wheels clicking into place. I discovered that I really enjoyed laying poetic ideas onto chord progressions and—just as importantly—that other people seemed to enjoy it too. After that moment of revelation, songs just came tumbling out. I’ve written close to 80 songs since then and have recorded 20-something of those.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
Queens County Roots is really just an extension of the blues. Blues music is my foundation, my vernacular, and the first songs I wrote (for a different band) were solidly in that world. But then I noticed that a lot of the music I was hearing in my head was more in the vein of modern indie rock—think All Them Witches and Houndmouth and Alabama Shakes. Indie rock is so welcoming and all-inclusive when it comes to new sounds. So I decided to form Queens County Roots as a vehicle for anything and everything, blues-plus (blues+) you might say.
At the moment, though, I’m working closely with an awesome artist named Michael “BULL” LoBue. He played on Little Feat’s Grammy-nominated album “Sam’s Place” and toured with them. The work we’re doing together now showcases his very broad musical skillset as well as highlighting my particular songwriting voice. The EP will be released in early 2026!
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
I’d describe it as fun! That’s my overarching goal as a songwriter, anyway. Music should be joyful, even when it’s sad.
I half-jokingly call my tunes “blues pop”—meaning, an Americana sound mixed with folk poetry and pop hooks. I work very hard to reward multiple listens by crafting dense but accessible lyrics within layered sonic landscapes. But rhythm and melody remain the big things. I want folks tapping their feet and humming along, even when the guitars are crunchy and the drums are crashing.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
I’m going to get super nerdy here. I learned about psychologist C.G. Jung’s concept of ‘active imagination’, the goal of which is to allow the subconscious mind to communicate with the waking mind. Essentially, it’s dreaming while awake. Art is the waking dream, so Jung’s technique is very appropriate.
Applied to songwriting, I realized that I have the ability to “turn on a radio” in my head and let the song I’m writing just play. And as it plays, I stop and rewind parts, or I tweak things that don’t feel quite right, and then I play the song in my head again—and again and again—until the whole thing ‘sounds’ right to me.
Active imagination—that internal radio I carry around with me everywhere that lets my conscious mind tune into my subconscious—that really changed my approach to songwriting.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
I usually start with a guitar. But after I have the seed of an idea, most of my process is internal—no tools, no instruments, no software. In fact, my best writing is done while I’m in transit, momentarily trapped in a car or on a train. That’s when I flip on that internal radio and just have a listen. Instruments and software re-enter the picture once the song is ‘done’ in my head. I’ll use GarageBand to put together a little demo for my bandmates. I’ll do the guitar parts, sing, use drum loops, midi piano, etc. Just basic stuff.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
Fantastic Negrito. I don’t know if he still qualifies as indie but his musical growth has been thrilling. A favorite of mine right now is “Highest Bidder”. So simple but so effective. Other artists I’m digging are J. Roddy Walston, The Texas Gentlemen, Pokey LaFarge—more than I can name.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
I have certain philosophies about art and its purpose. Bad art is either narrowly autobiographical or so general that it could be about anything. Good art, on the other hand, can also be autobiographical but only to the extent that the listener feels like, “hey, I’ve been there too”. So the song ideas that I’ve pushed to completion—the ones that were rich enough to merit my full commitment—are the ones that are both specific and general. For example, “I love you” doesn’t cut it. Too general, bad art. “I love you but I can’t bring myself to say what I want to say so I’ll suffer here in silence”—that’s specific, but I would wager that literally everyone who’s been a teenager has lived through a situation like that. Hell, *I* had that experience. It’s specific and autobiographical but also universal. That’s the sweet spot for me. And that spot can be hard to find, which is why bad songs are easy and good songs are hard. But when I find it, that’s how I know that I have a song I need to finish.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
I hope listeners find joy. Art is meant to be a curative, a collective exorcism. When I listen to good songs, I feel a communion—that the artist and I have had the same experience, whatever that may be. So where I was alone before, the song shows that someone else has been there too. Now there are two of us and the world is a less isolated place.
I’ll add that when this kind of communion happens at a live show it’s even more powerful—now there aren’t just two of us, there are two hundred of us! Inducing that communion is a joyful task.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
I’ve learned how profound the simple things can be. You take a chord—three little notes—and connect it to a second chord—three other little notes—and if it’s done with sensitivity and sincerity then those little spell components can conjure an entire world of feelings in a listener. The classical composer, Erik Satie, is a phenomenal example of this. It’s impossible not to be haunted by his “Gymnopedie No. 1”. But blues is truly unparalleled here: give a real bluesperson a single guitar string and an old bottle for a slide and they’ll make the music weep, one note at a time. Just listen to “Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground”. I learned how effective it can be to use a little to imply a lot. I aspire to it.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
Here in New York City, that would be Brooklyn Bowl or Town Hall. Both are medium-sized venues with great sound, and both are still intimate enough that there doesn’t feel like a wall sits between the artist and the audience. But you can only get on those stages after you’ve proven yourself somehow. So that would be a dream.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
Undoubtedly, Taj Mahal. I mentioned the importance of joy. To this day, Taj Mahal reliably fills me with joy. The man’s humanity is infectious. Oh, to have been Jesse Ed Davis!
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links)
Have a listen on Spotify at Queens County Roots! I also recently began releasing music as a solo artist under my name, Marlon Hurt.
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
My dream is the same as it’s ever been—releasing more original music, playing more live shows, and constantly working to deepen my craft as a songwriter!
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
Fantastic question! I hope they discover someone whose experiences are like their own, whoever they might be and wherever they might be. That we’re more alike than different.
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