Formula Indie Sessions : Interview with Tar & Flowers
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
Probably seeing Andrew Lloyd Weber’s The Phantom of The Opera with my grandmother. It was an incredible show and I loved the visuals as well as the music.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
Really it was a response to depression. I had had a thing going with a gal that fell apart and I had no way to express myself or get myself out of my rut – and I started writing songs. It has sense come to define a good bit of my life.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
I started playing out at open mics under the name “One Foot In The Grave” and when I was informed that there was a last.fm artist with my identical name, I had to come up with something else. I had a song about a drifter going from state to state trying to score and one of the lines went “Thank you for your tar and your flowers,” and something about it rang true for me. Flowers are beautiful, tar is ugly; flowers last for all of a few weeks and tar builds things which can last decades. They’re contradictory objects and sentiments that are juxtaposed to create something new. The sound similarly combines different types of American roots music to become something people haven’t really heard before.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
That is difficult to say as my sound has changed as I’ve pursued this project. As it stands now, I would ask folks to imagine if The Desert Rose Band and Fleetfoxes had a side project with Townes Van Zandt steering the ship as far as lyrics and tone go.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
I would say an attention to detail and excellence. In albums past, me and my producer would let many more things slide – like if my vocal wasn’t hitting, or a part wasn’t perfect. Now we really try to hammer good pitch in my delivery – and I think it will be showing on my new album. It’s improved my singing and my playing live.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
I pay producers and engineers to handle most of that stuff because my proficiency with DAWs isn’t that great. I will usually record the meat (which is drums and guitar) on my Zoom H4n and then fill in the rest on Logic to give the band an idea, then hammer it out live then record it.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
As far as country and Americana artists go, always been a huge fan of Horse Feathers. More local indie artists I really enjoy are my friends here at home: Human Barbie, West Of Texas, Emily Rose & The Rounders to name a few.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
I’ve experienced a lot of death and heartbreak in my life. I lost my mother when I was 17, one of my best friends at 18, another in my early 20s. I don’t believe in letting tragedy define you, but such things can also represent a release – and there is beauty in that. The music of Tar & Flowers, as the juxtaposition suggests, is supposed to represent the contradictions of life: beauty leading to ugliness and ugliness in beauty, meaning where there is none.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
I have had people tell me after hearing my set that my music has made them fell better and I hope that a similar thing will be felt with all my tracks. I think people will hear a depth but also something pleasing that makes them want to dance, to celebrate all aspects of life – the good and the bad – and realize they are all part of one whole that is meant to not only be experienced but lived to the fullest.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
That a spiritually rich life is perhaps the most important. My music has never really been financially rewarding for me, but has given me so much. I have a community, friends, romantic relationships and a higher purpose all from doing music and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
Newport Folk Festival without a doubt. Just their history and cultural currency is pretty monolithic.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
Gillian Welch – her sound goes into so many different genres of American music and she manages to do it so seamlessly. Her voice is also one that seems it was given from God to shine a light.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links)
IG: https://www.instagram.com/tarandflowers/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2pir8429Gyf2odZs9bgWyv?si=loIxXUHsQsmrxCGXZpIGTw
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/tar-flowers/1202758156
Bandcamp: https://tarandflowers.bandcamp.com/album/western-symphony
Substack: https://substack.com/@tarandflowers?utm_source=global-search
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
I honestly think it’s to collaborate with someone in the Americana space and tour. I’m just gonna put it out there: if Gillian Welch is reading this, I’d love to make a song with you!
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
That like my music and my name, I too represent the many aspects of life. I can make a meme (I have a meme page) and in the same breath write an essay, or a song that represents loss. It is possible to be concerned with the mundane and tangible as well as the sublime and absurd all at once.
