Grace Potter and the Nocturnals: Bring It On Home (Grace Potter Interview)

Week in and week out for the past two years at local music stores in their home state of Vermont, Grace Potter and the Nocturnal’s Nothing But the Water has appeared on those outlet’s weekly top ten sales list. But like Carole King’s Tapestry or Neil Young’s After The Gold Rush, some things are worth discovering again and again. Last May, the bands’ new imprint “Ragged Company Records” celebrated the official national release of Nothing But the Water and now it’s the rest of the country’s turn to discover Grace Potter.

Having toured with Mavis Staples, Robert Cray, Dave Matthews, Derek Trucks and Taj Mahal, things have been riding all uphill for Potter and her band the Nocturnals. At 22, Potter sounds years beyond her age, as her bluesy and soulful range echoes Janis Joplin and Bonnie Raitt. While lending some mighty chops on the Hammond B3 alongside a band that can mix and match styles with ease, Grace Potter and The Nocturnals have recreated the classic soul/blues sounds of the late 60’s/early 70’s, that resonate and define an era. Glide recently spoke with the young lady with the mighty pipes during her recent national summer tour, following the band’s highly anticipated Bonnnaroo gig.

First of all, how did the Nocturnals’ journey begin?

I was at college studying film and music, when I started performing at coffee houses, just doing my own thing. I was performing by myself with my piano, and it was pretty cheesy. I was cruising around playing Patty Griffin, Joni Mitchell, and Paul Simon, and was just going in this really folky direction. I was really into Neil Young and Bob Dylan, and I was trying to write stuff on the more mellow side. Then our drummer (Matt Burr) approached me at one of these things, and said, “you should really consider having a drummer, you’ve got this really big voice, but you’re singing these really little songs. So why don’t you try something else.” At first I was somewhat resistant, but then a good friend and bass player who I’d gone to high school with came along, and we all linked up and started a trio. Later, that bassist left, and we got a new one. At that time our guitarist, Scott, was teaching lessons up there, and we wound up as a quartet. We all fell together, but things fell together very gradually. Sort of like a patchwork quilt.

Separate from your experience with the Nocturnals, where did the musical journey start for you?

I was always into music, because its something that always came very natural to me. I was a very musical kid, even though I never really took lessons in the traditional sense. I never really learned to read music, write a song, or compose. But I could learn what I heard and what I loved, and it all translated very literally into the music that I was writing. I remember I would go to movies, and bring in a tape recorder so I could go home and figure out the sound track. I would play it over and over again on the piano until I got it. So I was a by-ear learner. What got me into music was that I learned that if I got into something, I could get it down note for note. It was all a very natural progression for me.

You’ve mentioned before that you’ve been on the road with a lot of younger acts. What are some other bands on the scene right now that you feel are currently at the level Grace Potter and the Nocturnals are at?

We’ve been touring with Steel Train. It’s not exactly considered “nostalgic” music like ours. But they’re heavily influenced by Wilco and they’ve got this whole country thing going on. Prior to our performance at Bonnaroo, we toured with them across the entire country. They had the same story. They all knew each other from high school. They had no money, and started things from the ground up. Steel Train worked at it and worked at it, and here they are. They’ve been at it a little longer than us, but I think we’re both on parallel plains. Its cool to have a band that’s in that position with us, because we’re both going through the same things, like record deals, and not having enough money on the tour budget, but we love those guys. I don’t really know another band “on our level” because we’re not that high up on the list of big acts as it is. We loved touring with the North Mississippi All-star’s, although they’ve definitely been at it a lot longer than we have. The idea of young people trying to get out there and make music is something that’s going to resonate for a long time.

On the subject of music that resonates for a long time, you’ve mentioned in past interviews, albums like Neil Young’s Harvest, and the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street, as albums that have really stood the test of time. You’ve said that’s something you want for your music. How do you go across accomplishing something like that?

I think the key is not trying to hard. What comes from the soul is usually what feels good for a long time. Its important for music to make a connection with people so they don’t just think, “oh, this sounds just like that Black Eyed Peas” song. There’s a lot of music being created today where a single formula works, and hundreds of bands cling to it because they’re just looking for that instant snap-of-the-finger success. They’re not thinking about how long their songs will last, because they’re looking at their music as a radio hit or a quick music video that gets played for a couple of weeks. I think that’s why it’s important not to try too hard, and to play from the heart. Because making music isn’t just about finding that one sugar pop beat. It’s important to distinguish between a formulaic, poppy, push-of-the-button hit, and something that someone’s actually trying to make sound real.

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals have been making a lot of progress in the time the group has been together. What’s a specific landmark you feel you’ve hit along the trail where you might have thought to yourself “wow, we’ve really made it.”

To be honest, it’s all been so gradual that I don’t think there’s been any one specific moment. I think it was exiting for us to hear our music on the radio without us really pushing for airplay, like we had done in Vermont. It’s all gradual. I don’t think there’s ever been a moment where we said, “we’ve arrived.” But having Nicole Richie show up at our show in LA was weird.

Nicole Richie was at one of you’re shows?

Drea de Matteo from the Soprano’s (and wife of guitar slinger Shooter Jennings) came and introduced herself to us at Bonnaroo. Later on, she brought two dozen people to a show of ours in LA at the Knitting Factory, and one of them happened to be Nicole Richie. I remember thinking to myself “wait a minute, are we some LA buzz band?” So I immediately changed into my ugliest outfit to try and counter that.

You mentioned earlier that you performed at Bonnaroo, and I understand you were on the bill for High Sierra. A while back I caught you perform at Landmark College in southern Vermont. How do you feel a set at a big festival like Bonnaroo would differentiate from a Nocturnals gig in Putney, Vermont?

Things change really quickly. That was almost a year ago. At Bonnaroo, everyone is either hung over, or sleepy, or wide-awake because they’ve put something else in their body. You’ve got all these people with different ideas of what good music is because of all the awesome acts on the lineup. So at Bonnaroo, there’s almost less to prove, because being at Bonnaroo implies that you’ve sort of already arrived. For us, (at Bonnaroo) the best thing was to keep things natural and just let it all hang out. We performed a messy, messy set, and it was great. And don’t get me wrong, when I say messy, I mean that in the best way possible. Wwhereas at Landmark, we were performing at a college. I almost felt like I needed to behave myself and set an example for these kids. A lot of families were coming and I didn’t want to offend anyone. It’s amazing when you realize that the audience you have makes you either try harder, or let it all hang out. It’s all pending, and I always take into account what kind of crowd it is. If we’re playing a blues club in Florida, we’re definitely going to play our blues numbers. If we’re playing a huge messy set at Lollapalooza, we’re probably going to smash our guitars. And if we’re playing at Landmark College in Putney, Vermont, I’m probably going to watch my mouth, and play our hits.

What was it like being nominated for a Jammy award? Did you take it as a big nod from the community, or was it something the group didn’t pay much attention to?

Prior to the nomination, I didn’t even know about the Jammys. I didn’t know what the deal was, or what the scene was like, but it was really exciting to get nominated for anything. I’ve never gotten an award for music, even in high school. So to be nominated for anything was pretty spectacular. All I knew about the Jammys was that Ryan Adams was there last year. But it was great. Being in New York City was great, especially for a country bumpkin like myself.

I’d imagine that Phish was a big influence on you having grown up in Vermont during the 90’s. What was it like being on tour with Mike Gordon and Ramble Dove?

It was weird because I was totally not star-struck. I’ve known Mike for a year and a half now, ever since he started coming to our shows at Higher Ground. It was so exciting and kind of bizarre, but I got over all of that pretty quickly. When I started meeting all these new musicians, I realized any musician you meet and respect, you’ll talk with them and learn to understand that they just people. They’re people with stories, just like someone’s grandma has stories. So that sort of idolatry goes away quickly. There’s still respect and admiration of course. But to be honest, when we were on the road (with Mike Gordon), I didn’t think of Phish once… until Trey showed up. Then I thought about Phish.

For the people reading this interview, who might not be familiar with Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, what’s the one thing they should know about you’re music before seeing you live?

They should know that it’s nothing like what’s out there right now. You’re not going to get what you would expect from any chick you see with an electric guitar, or a Hammond organ. Our live experience is the true experience, even more so than our album. You can buy the record, and it’s fine, and you’ll think you know who we are. But until you come to a live show, you’ll have no idea.

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Photos by Drew Burdick and Andrew Zrike

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