by L. Clator Butler, Jr.
Time Out editor
David Wilcox, folk artist from Asheville, N.C. has found recent success in his
fourth release, Big Horizon, released in February on A&M Records. Sounding like a mesh
between James Taylor and Leo Kottke, he has expanded his fan base to grand proportions in
the Appalachians and Rockies with his pure approach to music. He continues to charm
audiences with his humorous ad-libbing on stage and his soulful voice, rarely backed by
more than his acoustic guitar.
He has entertained on live television coast-to-coast as a guest on both The Tonight Show
and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. In addition, he has become good friends with Kevin
Nealon of Saturday Night Live.
Wilcox recently gave Time Out and exclusive interview to discuss the direction in his new
music and what fans might expect at his show tonight in Tillman Auditorium.
T-O: Your earlier albums were very much about pain and transition. Why is Big Horizon so much more light and positive?
DW: It's fun in retrospect to go back and look at the way the albums have progressed and the different phases I was in. Big Horizon is a payback of all the work I did emotionally between How Did You Find Me Here and Home Again. Thend Me Here and Home Again. The issues I was thinking about during Home Again were ones I didn't really want to have to deal with, but when I finally did, it made everything a lot better for Big Horizon. So it turns out that Big Horizon is a testimony for where I've found my joy and what I feel makes life worth living.
T-O: Who influenced your style?
DW: There is a little acoustic community where I grew up, in Mentor, Ohio. For some reason I fell in love with that sound. Something just grabbed me. Then, when I went to Boston for the first time, I heard people playing acoustic music who could keep it alive when acoustic music wasn't in style. I heard some great singer-songwriters and just started doing it myself.
T-O: You tune your guitar differently for different songs. How do you choose the right tuning for a song?
DW: When I started out, I did it trial-and-error. As I get to know the tunings, I tend to be able to make an educated guess. If I hear a song that has a particular sound, in terms of the voicing and the chords, I can find it.
T-O: When you write songs, do the lyrics come first or the music?
DW: It is different for different songs, and it is equally proportioned. Some of my favorite songs are derived from a guitar riff, where the guitar knows the song and gradually teaches it to me. I feel this and this and this, and then I put words to it. Then there are os to it. Then there are others where there is a particular idea or emotion that I am trying to get across. I start with the lyric and find the music that suits it. Still others come pretty much at the same time.
T-O: "Hold It Up to the Light" (Big Horizon ) is one of many that deal with wrestling with maintaining faith. Do you derive your inspiration from some higher power?
DW: (Laughter) I hope so. The music has always been my teacher, and proof that there is just big, big stuff. I feel so strong in this music sometimes. In terms of the theology I put into my songs, I try to make the songs ask the right questions. What I appreciate about the songs that have been inspiring to me is they have pushed me to keep asking the right questions. The songs that did me the most good were the ones that started me searching.
T-O: In addition to thirteen originals, you put two cover tunes on Big Horizon. How did you choose them?
DW: The record company wanted a cover tune, and I said "as long as I don't have to take anything off the album, sure." For each of those songs I wanted to add another emotional element that wasn't there before. In "It's the Same Old Song" (The Four Tops) the original was a sweet little love song, but I wanted to emphasize the foreshadowing. In the story that that song tells there is this ominous message that is included that couple's sncluded that couple's song that they used to dance to that they never hearduntil they broke up. In "Missing You" (John Waite), it is about denial to himself, building himself up against feeling the pain. What I did was take the same words, but change the emotional tone behind them, so that it fits later on in the story, when he has tried to keep his resistance up and finally he realizes he can't fight the emotion.
T-O: Has Big Horizon been your most successful album?
DW: Yeah. It's been interesting how the albums have grown steadily, but more interesting is how when one album comes out, the sales of the other ones go up as well.
T-O: You had several studio musicians, notably Will Lee of David Letterman's Late Show on bass. How have you let this add to your live sound?
DW: I love playing with a band. It's really fun and I've played with bands at festivals. But most of the time I don't because I don't like traveling with a band. I think it's great to play solo. It is nice for a live show once and a while, but playing with a band is hard to keep under control.
T-O: Do you work off a set list?
DW: It is rare that I have a set list. I tend to play what is right for that crowd. I play the first couple of songs and listen for the reaction. I'll try some of this and some of that and by the crowd's reaction I'll know where they are ready to go. I hey are ready to go. I try to make each show custom to each crowd.
T-O: You play lots of songs that are on none of your albums. Are they experimental material for the next David Wilcox album?
DW: There are about 25 new ones I am playing off and on to see which ones really stir up the medicine. I like playing new ones to sort them out early and find out which ones are going to last.
T-O: To what do you attribute your growing success?
DW: I know that there is a lot that is out of my control. It is a real blessing to work at what I love. I appreciate the chance to feel useful and to give something I feel is of value. In terms of having people like it, that was never part of my goal. What has been important is what feels right to me. I wanted to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. You have to dig down and build a foundation.
T-O: What keeps you driving to keep the integrity in your music?
DW: Imagine the music is a compass. The music is the one place where my heart feels so right. Because it is in the one area my heart has felt at home, I have taken care to make the music feel as good as possible. By doing that, it requires me to get the rest of my life in order. When I say the music is the compass, the music is not the destination, just as the compass is not the destination. The compass lines itself up with something bigger that you can't feel directhat you can't feel directly. I feel like my guidance and my teacher comes from making the music feel as good and as true as it can. That's why I take it so seriously. If I had the choice between selling a bunch of records but feeling like it wasn't really true or keeping my compass in tune, I'd have to trust my compass.
T-O: How do you balance your new family life with touring?
DW: It's wonderful. Before I was married, touring was fun but that was it, and when it was over it was a let down. Now I have as much joy in my home life to come back to. When I come off of the road it too is a wonderful thing. Before, home life didn't have the same thrill, but now it does. It's very satisfying. It's hard to leave my wife and son for the road, but when I get to the airport, I realize the other thing I love is waiting. It's a strong balance and a great thing.
T-O: Six years ago, before your first album, did you see yourself where you are today?
DW: I did have a dream list of what I wanted my life to be like. I surpassed that about five years ago and asked "What next?" I realized I had been given everything I wanted. I think what I needed to do then was start working at giving back. When I first started playing, I was sending out a plea for someone to fall in love with. Now, with a great relationship and having the material stuff like the house I feared that the old hunger wasn't there. I reger wasn't there. I realized I had to change the goal and find another reason to keep giving.
T-O: Along those same lines, where do you see yourself six years from now?
DW: If I find something more satisfying to do than music, I'd probably do it, but I haven't. Except for hang gliding and snowboarding. But I can't do that everyday. (laughter)
David Wilcox will begin playing at 8 o'clock tonight in Tillman Auditorium. Tickets may be purchased at the info desk in the loggia.
Copyright 1994, The Tiger. All rights reserved.