May 21, 2024 • 9 mins
I have been a fan of Molly Tuttle for years. I first discovered her music by watching her videos on YouTube. Molly has an unique sound and sounds like no one else. I finally get to see her this weekend at the Haute Spot in Cedar Park. I have been interviewing people for years, but I've never been this nervous before. Can you tell? The Great Molly Tuttle...just listen.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Bob Thickett. We're on the lineright now with with I think I'm just
amazed by this lady's voice and hermusical skills. This is Molly Tuttle.
Join us right now. First ofall, how are you doing today?
I'm good where We have a dayoff here in fort Worth, just hanging
out in Texas. Now, letme tell you if you need bail money
from Fort Worth, I can sendit to you. I've got an intro
with so many Well, today's anoff day. We don't have anything today.
(00:25):
Tomorrow we're playing in I have aplace called Tannehill. Are you going
to visit the stockyards in Fort Worthwhere you're there? Ooh, I might
have to. Yesterday we went toa cool place called the owl Walts.
It's like this weird art installation.Yeah thing you just kind of wander through
these different crazy rooms and that wasreally fun. But we're trying to find
like a new activity today. Headover to stockyards. It's a lot of
(00:48):
fun. Plus you can get yourphoto made with a lot of the stars
right there on the ground. Speakingof stars, Molly Tuttle's with us right
now. You've won Grammy Awards consecredlyfor the best bluegrass album. Let's let's
talk about bluegrass, because blue grassis quite different than it was twenty or
thirty years ago, and you're partof that change, aren't you. Yeah?
I mean thanks, Yeah, i'dlike to think so. I think
(01:11):
that grasses like any genre that's constantlyevolving, and you know, it started
relative to some styles music, it'skind of a newer style. It started
back in the forties and fifties.But I mean some genres have been around
for hundreds and hundreds of years.So, but I think since then,
(01:33):
there's been this constant pull of,like, you know, honoring the roots
of the music where it all started, and then also people kind of pushing
it into new territories. And you'reyou're really going to new territory, but
you are really bringing it to themasses. Right now, more people are
discovering bluegrass and its roots and itsfuture because of you. I discovered your
music, well, thank you onYouTube. Watching your videos on YouTube.
(01:56):
That's how I first discovered you,and of course your last two albums.
I can't wait to see a SaturdayNight at the Oh. Yeah, I'm
so excited. I'm sorry. WhenI first of the first the guy who
really first introduced me to bluegrass.It was Charlie Warsham. Have you ever
worked with Charlie? I have,Yeah. He had me out for one
of his shows. He does thesebenefit shows at a venue in East Nashville,
(02:21):
and I went out and played asong at one, and then we
just kind of became friends. Andthen I our band ended up opening for
Dirk Spentley last summer and he wasin the band, so we got to
hang with there. I'm glad he'sgot a new gig because he's just an
amazing, amazing artist. Now you'vewon two Grammy's back to back for Best
Bluegrass Album Crooked Tree and also Cityof Good, which is your latest album,
(02:43):
which has been out for over year. What's what's the next project that
you're working on. Maybe a livealbum? Ooh, that would be fun.
Yeah, we kind of We've beenrecording some new songs, a couple
of new originals and some covers.We're gonna come out with like a shorter
EP this year, I think,and then I'm kind of always thinking about
my next bow length record, SoI'm just in songwriting mode right now and
(03:05):
trying to plan that out. Youcould get some ideas just by you know,
wandering through the fort with the stockyardstoday. Maybe yes, maybe don't
write a song about the stockyards.And for our listeners who don't know,
molly' is the first woman to winGuitar Player of the Year for Bluegrass,
Quiet and On. Of course,you had the perfect guitar teacher. Your
father's the one who touched and playedthe guitar. Yeah. Yeah, my
dad was a pretty good teacher.And is it true that he made you
(03:27):
practice all the time. You know, he didn't force me to, but
he didn't encourage me to because youcould see, like I talked about,
like I want to do this formy career and he's like, well,
if you really want to do that, you're gonna have to work pretty hard.
So that was a good, goodlesson. But yeah, he never
like locked me in a room.It's like you have to practice locked in
the dark, you can't come out. Do you write a song? Okay?
(03:49):
There's there's different styles of a pickand a guitar, right, flat
picking, claw hammer? What isclall hammer compared to the flat picking claudem
is like you play without a pickand it's actually people pretty much mostly just
play claw hammer style on the banjo, and it's basically like you are hitting
(04:10):
the strings with like your middle andindex fingernails and then kind of like plucking
the lower strings with your thumb ina way. And I learned how to
do that on banjo, and thensomeone showed me like a guitar tuning where
you could transfer that style onto theguitar and like tune the guitar sort of
like a banjo and and just dothe same right hand style on the guitar.
(04:33):
So I don't I don't see toomany people doing that style on guitar,
but I think it's really fun.It's kind of like it looks like
I've a lot of people see medo it and they're like that looks like
you're playing slat bass or something,but you make it look effortless things.
I mean, it's it's it's yourYour voice is amazing, it's beautiful.
Uh, You're you're picking style isjust And if people haven't discovered you yet,
(04:56):
you've got to come join us againat the Hotspots Saturday night. Mall
tell in Golden Highway, Molly,is there any instrument that you do not
play at all? Yeah, there'stons of instruments. I don't play at
all. Really, I don't reallyplay well anything that's like like not a
stringed instagment. I don't really playat all. Fiddle I find really hard.
(05:16):
I mean, I can maybe likescratch out a simple fiddle tune,
but horm but fiddle. Nobody wantsto hear me play fiddle. How does
a girl from California end up atthe different Berkeley I'm talking about Boston.
Then now you live in Nashville,right, totally different music styles in all
through cities. Yeah, it's weirdbecause I think, I mean, the
(05:40):
reason I played bluegrass is just mydad and he grew up in Illinois on
a farm and my grandfather played thebancho my grandpa as a farmer, but
also bluegrass music, and they wouldkind of god go down to Nashville or
go to bluegrass festivals around Illinois.But then when my dad decided to move
(06:00):
out to California, it was partiallybecause there was such an awesome bluegrass like
David Chrisman, Tony Rice, PeterRowan, all these great people are there
in the Bay Area playing bluegrass.So he moved out there because he thought
it would be fun and then woundup teaching music for a living. But
yeah, I feel like, likea lot of people, I'm kind of
a mishmash of different places in America, different styles, And it is kind
(06:26):
of a question I get asked alot because it's kind of like people don't
really associate California with bluegrass, butit's so Usique. You have some great
bluegrass out there. Oh it isbeautiful and you're carrying the style and like
I say, with your own interpretationof it again Saturday, Molly Tuttle and
Golden Highway will be at the Hotspotin City Park. You've been playing guitar
since you're eight years old roughly right? Yep, Okay, yeah I started.
(06:46):
Yeah. Is there any guitar brandsthat you endorsed that you would recommend
if somebody was going to pick upthe guitar today. Yeah. Well I
can tell you. What I startedplaying on was like this Baby Taylor guitar
and it was tiny, so itwas good for an eight year old.
So if anyone out there has kidswho want to play guitar, I recommend
those. And that's what I'm Thereason I'm asking you is because I've got
(07:08):
a fifteen year old who promised methis summer he was going to learn to
play the guitar, and I justdidn't know what type to get them.
Oh nice, So yeah, Istarted on that that's like a really small
guitar. So if you're fifteen,that might be a little small. It's
nice for like if you want togo camping or something, throw a little
tiny guitar in the car. Andthen after that I kind of I need
(07:28):
to go up aside. So thenI got this kind called a Blue Ridge
guitar. Those are a lot moreinexpensive than like a Martin or something,
but they're made in China. Theykind of replicate Martin's and and other guitars
and they sound really good. Andthen I saved up money when I was
twelve or thirteen, I saved upmoney for years just from busking playing gigs,
(07:50):
any like Christmas money I got frommy grandparents. I saved up money
to buy Martin guitar. So thatwas like my first guitar that I loved.
And then nowadays I play these guitarscalled pre War Guitar Company, and
they're made in North Carolina. Andthen I also have some Thompson guitars that
are made in Sisters, Oregon,And there's a lot of great like smaller
(08:13):
guitar builders these days. But everyguitar has got its unique sound though,
wouldn't you say? Yeah, totally. So you just kind of have to
go play a lot of guitars,and you know, you might find that
there's a guitar brand that you thoughtyou didn't want to play, and then
you play a certain guitar and itsounds awesome, and yeah that just camp
out a music star, pick upany guitar and they'll let you play.
(08:33):
It's great. Okay, So I'mgonna remember that from my son. I
know, my older son plays guitarand he's got his eyes set up on
a hummingbird and I don't know aboutthat. That's so cool, good sound,
But he's gonna to mow quite abit of lines just to get that
right there. We're looking forward toseeing you. Have you've been to Austin
before, haven't you? I have? Yeah? Any fun things you'd like
to do when you're in town inAustin, Yeah, I last time.
(08:58):
Oh I always want to go seeor go get some tex Mex Yeah,
go to like a cool honky tonkprobably have a lone star beer wonder around
I love. Last summer we werein Austin for filming our Austin City Limits
and that was a really fun areato be in. You ever been to
(09:18):
Broken Spoke? No, I don'tthink so. That is the world's best
honkey talk Okay, white Horse Saloonis that one? Yeah? White Horse
is another one. Yeah, yeah, but that was really fun. Broken
Spoke. That is that is theathenic honky tonk and Austin spinner since the
fifties. It's where Willie Nelson proposedto his his wife Danny right there,
(09:39):
and yeah, yeah, Broken Spokeagain. Molly, Tuttle and Golden Highway
at the Hotspot Saturday night. Hopeyou'll join us.
Bob Thickett. We're on the lineright now with with I think I'm just
amazed by this lady's voice and hermusical skills. This is Molly Tuttle.
Join us right now. First ofall, how are you doing today?
I'm good where We have a dayoff here in fort Worth, just hanging
out in Texas. Now, letme tell you if you need bail money
from Fort Worth, I can sendit to you. I've got an intro
with so many Well, today's anoff day. We don't have anything today.
(00:25):
Tomorrow we're playing in I have aplace called Tannehill. Are you going
to visit the stockyards in Fort Worthwhere you're there? Ooh, I might
have to. Yesterday we went toa cool place called the owl Walts.
It's like this weird art installation.Yeah thing you just kind of wander through
these different crazy rooms and that wasreally fun. But we're trying to find
like a new activity today. Headover to stockyards. It's a lot of
(00:48):
fun. Plus you can get yourphoto made with a lot of the stars
right there on the ground. Speakingof stars, Molly Tuttle's with us right
now. You've won Grammy Awards consecredlyfor the best bluegrass album. Let's let's
talk about bluegrass, because blue grassis quite different than it was twenty or
thirty years ago, and you're partof that change, aren't you. Yeah?
I mean thanks, Yeah, i'dlike to think so. I think
(01:11):
that grasses like any genre that's constantlyevolving, and you know, it started
relative to some styles music, it'skind of a newer style. It started
back in the forties and fifties.But I mean some genres have been around
for hundreds and hundreds of years.So, but I think since then,
(01:33):
there's been this constant pull of,like, you know, honoring the roots
of the music where it all started, and then also people kind of pushing
it into new territories. And you'reyou're really going to new territory, but
you are really bringing it to themasses. Right now, more people are
discovering bluegrass and its roots and itsfuture because of you. I discovered your
music, well, thank you onYouTube. Watching your videos on YouTube.
(01:56):
That's how I first discovered you,and of course your last two albums.
I can't wait to see a SaturdayNight at the Oh. Yeah, I'm
so excited. I'm sorry. WhenI first of the first the guy who
really first introduced me to bluegrass.It was Charlie Warsham. Have you ever
worked with Charlie? I have,Yeah. He had me out for one
of his shows. He does thesebenefit shows at a venue in East Nashville,
(02:21):
and I went out and played asong at one, and then we
just kind of became friends. Andthen I our band ended up opening for
Dirk Spentley last summer and he wasin the band, so we got to
hang with there. I'm glad he'sgot a new gig because he's just an
amazing, amazing artist. Now you'vewon two Grammy's back to back for Best
Bluegrass Album Crooked Tree and also Cityof Good, which is your latest album,
(02:43):
which has been out for over year. What's what's the next project that
you're working on. Maybe a livealbum? Ooh, that would be fun.
Yeah, we kind of We've beenrecording some new songs, a couple
of new originals and some covers.We're gonna come out with like a shorter
EP this year, I think,and then I'm kind of always thinking about
my next bow length record, SoI'm just in songwriting mode right now and
(03:05):
trying to plan that out. Youcould get some ideas just by you know,
wandering through the fort with the stockyardstoday. Maybe yes, maybe don't
write a song about the stockyards.And for our listeners who don't know,
molly' is the first woman to winGuitar Player of the Year for Bluegrass,
Quiet and On. Of course,you had the perfect guitar teacher. Your
father's the one who touched and playedthe guitar. Yeah. Yeah, my
dad was a pretty good teacher.And is it true that he made you
(03:27):
practice all the time. You know, he didn't force me to, but
he didn't encourage me to because youcould see, like I talked about,
like I want to do this formy career and he's like, well,
if you really want to do that, you're gonna have to work pretty hard.
So that was a good, goodlesson. But yeah, he never
like locked me in a room.It's like you have to practice locked in
the dark, you can't come out. Do you write a song? Okay?
(03:49):
There's there's different styles of a pickand a guitar, right, flat
picking, claw hammer? What isclall hammer compared to the flat picking claudem
is like you play without a pickand it's actually people pretty much mostly just
play claw hammer style on the banjo, and it's basically like you are hitting
(04:10):
the strings with like your middle andindex fingernails and then kind of like plucking
the lower strings with your thumb ina way. And I learned how to
do that on banjo, and thensomeone showed me like a guitar tuning where
you could transfer that style onto theguitar and like tune the guitar sort of
like a banjo and and just dothe same right hand style on the guitar.
(04:33):
So I don't I don't see toomany people doing that style on guitar,
but I think it's really fun.It's kind of like it looks like
I've a lot of people see medo it and they're like that looks like
you're playing slat bass or something,but you make it look effortless things.
I mean, it's it's it's yourYour voice is amazing, it's beautiful.
Uh, You're you're picking style isjust And if people haven't discovered you yet,
(04:56):
you've got to come join us againat the Hotspots Saturday night. Mall
tell in Golden Highway, Molly,is there any instrument that you do not
play at all? Yeah, there'stons of instruments. I don't play at
all. Really, I don't reallyplay well anything that's like like not a
stringed instagment. I don't really playat all. Fiddle I find really hard.
(05:16):
I mean, I can maybe likescratch out a simple fiddle tune,
but horm but fiddle. Nobody wantsto hear me play fiddle. How does
a girl from California end up atthe different Berkeley I'm talking about Boston.
Then now you live in Nashville,right, totally different music styles in all
through cities. Yeah, it's weirdbecause I think, I mean, the
(05:40):
reason I played bluegrass is just mydad and he grew up in Illinois on
a farm and my grandfather played thebancho my grandpa as a farmer, but
also bluegrass music, and they wouldkind of god go down to Nashville or
go to bluegrass festivals around Illinois.But then when my dad decided to move
(06:00):
out to California, it was partiallybecause there was such an awesome bluegrass like
David Chrisman, Tony Rice, PeterRowan, all these great people are there
in the Bay Area playing bluegrass.So he moved out there because he thought
it would be fun and then woundup teaching music for a living. But
yeah, I feel like, likea lot of people, I'm kind of
a mishmash of different places in America, different styles, And it is kind
(06:26):
of a question I get asked alot because it's kind of like people don't
really associate California with bluegrass, butit's so Usique. You have some great
bluegrass out there. Oh it isbeautiful and you're carrying the style and like
I say, with your own interpretationof it again Saturday, Molly Tuttle and
Golden Highway will be at the Hotspotin City Park. You've been playing guitar
since you're eight years old roughly right? Yep, Okay, yeah I started.
(06:46):
Yeah. Is there any guitar brandsthat you endorsed that you would recommend
if somebody was going to pick upthe guitar today. Yeah. Well I
can tell you. What I startedplaying on was like this Baby Taylor guitar
and it was tiny, so itwas good for an eight year old.
So if anyone out there has kidswho want to play guitar, I recommend
those. And that's what I'm Thereason I'm asking you is because I've got
(07:08):
a fifteen year old who promised methis summer he was going to learn to
play the guitar, and I justdidn't know what type to get them.
Oh nice, So yeah, Istarted on that that's like a really small
guitar. So if you're fifteen,that might be a little small. It's
nice for like if you want togo camping or something, throw a little
tiny guitar in the car. Andthen after that I kind of I need
(07:28):
to go up aside. So thenI got this kind called a Blue Ridge
guitar. Those are a lot moreinexpensive than like a Martin or something,
but they're made in China. Theykind of replicate Martin's and and other guitars
and they sound really good. Andthen I saved up money when I was
twelve or thirteen, I saved upmoney for years just from busking playing gigs,
(07:50):
any like Christmas money I got frommy grandparents. I saved up money
to buy Martin guitar. So thatwas like my first guitar that I loved.
And then nowadays I play these guitarscalled pre War Guitar Company, and
they're made in North Carolina. Andthen I also have some Thompson guitars that
are made in Sisters, Oregon,And there's a lot of great like smaller
(08:13):
guitar builders these days. But everyguitar has got its unique sound though,
wouldn't you say? Yeah, totally. So you just kind of have to
go play a lot of guitars,and you know, you might find that
there's a guitar brand that you thoughtyou didn't want to play, and then
you play a certain guitar and itsounds awesome, and yeah that just camp
out a music star, pick upany guitar and they'll let you play.
(08:33):
It's great. Okay, So I'mgonna remember that from my son. I
know, my older son plays guitarand he's got his eyes set up on
a hummingbird and I don't know aboutthat. That's so cool, good sound,
But he's gonna to mow quite abit of lines just to get that
right there. We're looking forward toseeing you. Have you've been to Austin
before, haven't you? I have? Yeah? Any fun things you'd like
to do when you're in town inAustin, Yeah, I last time.
(08:58):
Oh I always want to go seeor go get some tex Mex Yeah,
go to like a cool honky tonkprobably have a lone star beer wonder around
I love. Last summer we werein Austin for filming our Austin City Limits
and that was a really fun areato be in. You ever been to
(09:18):
Broken Spoke? No, I don'tthink so. That is the world's best
honkey talk Okay, white Horse Saloonis that one? Yeah? White Horse
is another one. Yeah, yeah, but that was really fun. Broken
Spoke. That is that is theathenic honky tonk and Austin spinner since the
fifties. It's where Willie Nelson proposedto his his wife Danny right there,
(09:39):
and yeah, yeah, Broken Spokeagain. Molly, Tuttle and Golden Highway
at the Hotspot Saturday night. Hopeyou'll join us.
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