It’s About Being The Change: The Kyle Fosburgh Interview
Originally published at North Country Primitive in March 2015
Minneapolis-based guitarist Kyle Fosburgh is a man with many fingers in many different pies – solo performer, record label owner, reviver of great lost guitar albums and tireless promoter of alternatives to music industry norms and conventions. Given the scope of his activities, we decided to step outside the North Country Primer format for our interview with him, in an attempt to do justice to all of this: we weren’t going to pass up the opportunity to find out more about the motivations behind his label, Grass-Top Recording, his Robbie Basho and Dennis Taylor reissues – as well as his own music and influences. Our thanks go out to Kyle for giving up his time to talk to us.
Tell us a bit about yourself and the musical journey that took you to a place where you concluded that playing an acoustic guitar on your own was a good idea...
I believe that God intended for us to play acoustic music. Rock and roll is fine, but there is no substitute for real unamplified acoustic music, if you want to go really deep. Having said that, it’s important to understand that electrified music and acoustic music both have their respective place and purpose in the world. I need both in my life to balance my emotions… so perhaps the most important point in all of this is to play what you feel, and listen to the music that speaks to you personally – to be honest. The real reason why commercial music has gotten so absurdly bad these days is not because people don’t have good taste anymore or are less talented than previous generations, but because few people even get to a place of realising the full potential of music and its original purpose in our lives. It’s just not a concern in anyone’s mind. There’s so much coming at us these days that the only way for young people to discern anything is to sit back, take a breather and begin to think about what it is we’re being sold. And most people don’t have time for that, nor do they see reason enough to question these things. It’s a fast paced world and nobody’s eager to slow it down. Musical composition and performance is a sacred thing to me, not a career. This is why it’s hard to push and promote myself. And this is why I’ve had a bit of a hard time getting press. But it’s not a curse. I am thankful for the fans and support I do have, and will never take that for granted. And while acoustic music will always be front and centre in my life, I need to have fun and play electric music too. It’s important to lighten up now and then and not take yourself too seriously. It keeps you grounded. Will my electrified music end up being more popular than my acoustic music? Who knows! That's not why I do it. But my hope is that there's something in my music for everyone. I enjoy doing all of it. What has influenced your music and why? Robbie Basho has influenced my music. Here’s why. Aside from his own music being the highest form of musical expression - and quality - I’ve ever known, his fundamental approach to composition and his overall musical philosophy aligns with my own. I didn’t even realise what my own musical philosophy was until I heard his music. It was a wake up call from every angle - a complete transformation. When I heard Green River Suite for the first time, I thought “somebody did it… somebody really did it”. But I didn’t know what it was until that moment when I was actually hearing him play! It was an epiphany. I didn’t know the truth until I heard its power. Basho’s music represented, in the most honest and pure way, the possibilities of one person with one guitar and one voice. Music is limitless. You can re-work, blend or extend anything you want. Robbie played exactly what he felt: he extracted influence from music and cultures around the globe and throughout history. That’s what’s so important to take away. I also love the music of Hank Williams, The Blue Sky Boys, Blind Willie McTell and a lot of the old time country, bluegrass, and rural blues musicians. I love Americana. It’s personal and home grown. It’s completely different to Basho, but both can exist in the same world without conflict. To this day, I still play Hank Williams songs at my shows, along with my extended 6 and 12-string guitar ragas and explorations. It works, because both forms of expression are true to me. It just took some strategic set list placements to make the song-to-song transitions work!
How did Grass-Tops Recording come about? Can you tell us something about the label ethos? Grass-Tops was founded a few years ago when I needed a place to put out my music and the Robbie Basho reissues. My first couple of albums came out before the label structure was really solidified. Visions of the Country was the first official physical release on the label. Grass-Tops became a way for me to not only issue my own work, but share the music I was discovering in my own journeys and highlight the artists who’ve inspired me the most. It’s a natural thing in that way… I would say that Grass-Tops represents everything that is pure and great about music, with absolutely zero of the set-backs and BS of the music industry. See, the independent music industry wants to discreetly keep everything to a certain standard in order to keep peoples’ attention and wants to keep things easy to produce and consistently and predictably sell. But they don’t want to set the bar too high or wake people up to something they might be missing. The label guys want to keep things palatable. That’s the main point. They want to keep the culture in place. Nobody wants to shake things up and create a demand for quality. Nobody wants to tell the truth. The incentive is not there for them. Yet these same people want to shoot down the mainstream music industry. In a way, the mainstream music industry is actually better than the independent industry, because at least the material they’re pumping out is not usually trying to disguise itself as ‘art’. In my view, the independent scene is just a better version of a fundamentally corrupt system. And they’re trying to act as though they are the answer to the corruption. Grass-Tops is my small and personal answer to this problem. Instead of putting things down, it’s infinitely more gratifying to build something that’s better, thus creating an alternative for artists. For me it’s about being the change. There are a lot of talented performers and composers out there who never see the light of day. And there are a lot of artists who show strong potential, but get hung up by the industry and don’t evolve. You’ve got to play what you want and be true to yourself, always. Have you ever seen an artist on stage who absolutely dreads what they’re doing? Those who do are not artists - they’re just putting in the time and doing a job. Like I said before, music will never be my career. Running a label and doing all the little busy work is already enough to drive me mad. But that’s ok. Life is work. And playing music will remain my therapy... You have a fine roster of guitarists named on the website who are involved with the label – do they play an active role? How did they become involved? I founded Grass-Tops several years ago, but really didn't make it a full time thing until last year. My friend Hayden Pedigo is involved in the label on the periphery. He's not directly involved in anything, but he and I are really good friends and work together often. We bounce ideas off each other and give each other advice. His spirit is in this thing and that's what really counts to me. He's his own man, and has his own musical thing going on too. He pushes the label when he can. I'm grateful to have his belief in this pursuit of mine - he's been of great support to me. Christoph Bruhn lives in town here. We first me through Facebook before he'd moved to Minneapolis - he was originally from the Duluth area. He's one of the best young guitarists today, in my opinion, along with Hayden. These guys really get it - and they can compose. Being able to compose is a real rarity these days, as is being able to play with feeling and make things your own. Christoph handles artist relations for the label. He plans the tours and books local shows to help us push our music and showcase what we're doing. I think he feels the same way I do about Grass-Tops, that it's a natural thing for guys like us. We like to dive into all things musical and extract what we find to share with those around us. The label is a way for us to publish and market our own music, reissue music that has influenced us as artists, as well as try to build a local community around honest artist-listener relationships. Mariano Rodriguez is another guitarist I met through Facebook - like all of these guys! Aside from being a fantastic and original musician, he also came to me and asked to be our long term graphic designer. Of course, I said yes! The guy is an all around talent and an inspiration to me. Matt Sowell is another guy on the Grass-Tops crew. He's a guitarist originally from Philadelphia and moved to Minneapolis just last year. His wife is from this area and he's travelled here many times. One of his big reasons for re-locating was because the Philadelphia school system was failing his children and he wanted to start a better life for his family. Once again, I knew him through Facebook long before his move here, but we became really good friends once we were able to sit down and have real face-to-face conversations. I'm grateful to have a local friend like him. He's an honest and humble person, and his music reflects that - it comes from an honest place within him. It's actually pretty rare to find guys who play like him these days, who come up out of the 'American Primitive' pool and have a style that's completely their own. This kind of music can be totally freeing, or it can be a trap. With Matt, it's the former. He found a sound that's true to him. At some point, when I get my act together and finish up with my prior commitments for the label, we'll be putting out one of his records. As for right now, he's been booking local shows and just spreading the word about Grass-Tops. Most of the artists on our roster have outwardly expressed a belief in Grass-Tops' mission. To have a roster of players who not only contribute their musical offerings, but also believe in the greater purpose... well, that's what it's about. We're a team. Everything that is released on the label is a team effort.
Can you tell us about the Robbie Basho reissues and how you came to release them?
Simply put - to this day it’s the greatest music I’ve ever heard. Reissuing Visions of the Country was a dream of mine ever since I first heard it … and lo and behold, a couple years after first hearing it, I reissued it! So from there it was just a matter of finding all of the other albums and tapes. I’m still working on it! There are probably tapes scattered all over the country. I love finding little treasures here and there, little stones unturned. It’s really fun! Each door opens another door and I’ve discovered other artists with whom Robbie’s played, other East Indian recordings and so on… it just keeps going and going. I feel like the Energizer Bunny. It’s like a never-ending treasure hunt.
And can you tell us about Dennis Taylor and the Dayspring album? Dennis Taylor is awesome. He’s an extremely nice guy. He’s one of these guys that just played what he wanted to play. The dream is for every guitarist to be a rock star, right? Well Dennis felt more drawn to the honesty of acoustic music. And for a period of several years up to 1983, he worked up what eventually became his debut solo record. He released it in a limited edition of 300 LPs and they sold out quickly. Now we’re reissuing it over 30 years later. It just goes to show that sometimes when you think something is just going to fade into the black hole of history, it can be revived just like that. Patience is a virtue. And now, people around the country and around the world are beginning to recognise his music.A lot of your own music seems to be available as download only.
Are there any Kyle Fosburgh physical releases in the pipeline?
Yes. I plan on issuing a CD edition of my recent release entitled Collection. It’s available now as a download through iTunes. My next album is already finished and will be released on CD, vinyl, download and reel-to-reel. It’s a live recording I made in the spring of last year near Chicago. We recorded it in this ballroom at the top of an old building. It’s honestly my proudest achievement yet. It’s going to be titled One Night, as we recorded the entire thing in one night, within the span of less than three hours.
Anything else of note you’ve been busy with?
I’m trying to get a friend of mine to start work on his idea to do a Robbie Basho musical, but he’s been busy saving for college. Saving for school can be an uninspiring process, so I wouldn’t blame him if it took many years before he finally could summon the energy and enthusiasm to put the whole film together. But we’re going to be doing it together when the time comes. It’s going to be the story of Robbie’s life, from his orphan childhood until death, seen through his eyes. So you will never actually see Robbie in the film, you will only see what he sees.
What are you listening to right now, old or new? Any recommendations you’d like to share with us?
I’ve been listening to a lot of Fleetwood Mac. My favourite era of the band was between Peter Green’s departure and before Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham showed up - otherwise known as the Kirwan era. I’ve also been listening to some old country like Hank Williams Senior and Marty Robbins. Marty had a voice of silk. It’s so classic. As for other solo guitar music, George Cromarty has been on my turntable a lot lately. My favourite album of his is called Wind in the Heather. As far as beauty, it’s on par with Visions of the Country in my book. It’s all original classical guitar compositions and is hands down the most beautiful solo guitar record I’ve ever heard.
The guitar nerd bit: what guitars do you play and what do you like about them? Is there anything out there you’re coveting?
I play a Martin M-36. This is my main 6-string guitar. It’s my favourite guitar of all time. It’s a rare Martin model. The way it’s built is interesting and contributes to its unique tone. The top is Sitka spruce, with a beautiful dark finish, and the sides are rosewood. The body is really wide but relatively shallow for its width, so you can get deeper tones and really bright tones depending on where and how you strum or pick. It’s built to offer that wide range of tones. The back is also arched and gets shallower the closer it gets to the neck. I can do anything and everything on this guitar. It’s perfect for country and western stuff, flat picking, fingerstyle, you name it. And because the body is shallow, it rests close to your chest. The necks are also thin and easy to navigate. It’s just a great, great guitar. And here’s the little secret about Martins - they age like fine wine. The more they’re played and the older they are, the more the wood fibres begin to open up and the glue that holds the wood together begins to naturally loosen. When I tune it down a full step and play Hank Williams, it just kills. The tone of the guitar matches right up with my voice.
The way the guitars came about was, I believe, when Steve Earle or someone broke the top on an archtop guitar and brought it in to get fixed. They - I assume Martin - replaced it with a flat top. So, if you look at the M-36, the body is structured like an archtop, but the top itself is flat.
For a 12-string I use some cheaper Martin. I honestly can’t even remember the name of the model. All I know is it sounds good and it’s a work horse. It’s nice to find guitars that are inexpensive and sound good, because you don’t need to worry as much about taking them on the road. The thing about the 12-string I use is that it’s huge! It really projects.
I use K&K mini pickups in both acoustics. I’m very happy with the way they sound plugged directly into the PA, if it’s a good sound system. This is especially the case with the 12-string. Man, it sounds utterly glorious plugged in! The thing with the K&K pickups is that they pick up the sound off the top of the guitar, and with the 12-string, the sound really drives the top of the guitar.
Banjos: yes or no?
To listen to, yes; to play, no.
What are you planning to do next – both in terms of your own music and the label?
We’ve got a lot of Basho reissues in the pipeline. Next up is a reissue of his last actual LP, Rainbow Thunder from 1981. It’s one of my favourites of his, as I’ve always loved, loved, loved his singing. The songs are beautiful!
As for my own music, besides my upcoming album, I’d like to get a DVD concert filmed. I’m talking with my producer about going to Chicago in the spring to shoot it. We’re still looking for a location. An acquaintance of his owns an incredible camera and we may be able to hire his services to film the concert. There’s not a lot of footage of me out there right now, so this would be nice to have.
What should we have asked you and didn’t?
The only thing I would add to all this is the following quote: “It’s a mean old world. You got to fight to stay in it though. You got to scuffle. You gotta be strong. You gotta do your thing.” - John Lee Hooker
