Get Lost in Indie Band Deckers Emotional Psychedelic Folk

Get Lost in Indie Band Deckers Emotional Psychedelic Folk Megan L. Indie-folk group Decker is a band on the move. When I called guitarist and singer Brandon Decker for an interview, he was signing the paperwork for a brand new van for the band. I think its the nicest vehicle Ive ever owned. Its gonna be very nice to not have to worry about being stranded roadside. Decker  admitted. And with their busy touring schedule, Decker needs reliable transportation now more than ever. I chatted with Decker  about his musical roots, his prolific songwriting, and the Wu Tang references  on his new album Patsy. TL: How did you get started in music? BD: My mom had great music taste and I grew up listening to vinyl records of Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Neil Young, Rolling Stones, Beach Boys and stuff like that. I liked rock and roll at a young age and I enjoyed singing. So how it all came together for me is that Ive always enjoyed emotively singing music and I also enjoyed writing, more so just words, like prose and poetry and short stories. I started playing guitar in my late teens, just covers. I went through a really profoundly dark time in my mid-twenties, and when I came out of that I just wanted to write songs and Ive been trying to write songs ever since. You have written a lot of songs since then, in fact you have a few albums under your belt. Whats your process like when youre creating an album and has it changed since you started out? Ive done five albums in the last six years, and I dont know if I have a process. I dont mean to sound mysterious or something. I feel like my songs really come out of the ether. I never know when its gonna happen. I found that all my records tend to happen in these flurries. The pattern that Ive gotten into is you make an album and its exhausting and all encompassing. You go and you tour it for some length of time. Then the touring ends and you just start writing another one. All of a sudden Ill have this set of songs and go, this is it, and start recording. I dont know whatll happen. Ive been going so hard for so long I havent been able to write lately. Its really left-brain, right-brain. Being an artist of our stature which is so working-class and do it ourself, it requires a lot of right-brain functioning just to keep the wheels in motion. But Im looking forward to when this phase settles down for our most recent album that I feel really proud of and we worked really hard on, Im looking forward to not worrying about that stuff and being musical and artistic again instead of working. Yeah, you have to be a songwriter, a bandleader, a marketer, a business-person Oh I wear many hats! Of all those hats, its clear to me that youre a great songwriter, plus  you have some wonderful musicians in your band with you as well. How do you choose the people you work with? The number one requirement is that they have a pulse [laughs]. Kidding! They have to be able to put up with me. I tend to be in my own world sometimes. Really sensitive artists dont do well with me. But I feel like Ive got a very talented group of musicians playing with me and theyve all been playing with me a few years, with the exception of one singer who just joined us. My bass player is classically trained. The keyboard player and pianist is classically trained. She also teaches a ton of lessons and has her own studio. Same with my drummer, he is a percussionist and its his life, he teaches a lot (Ed. note: Deckers drummer Henri B. teaches drums, guitar, and songwriting with TakeLessons in Phoenix). I think its so many things, fate, destiny, and you wind up meeting these people. Its just like how you dont choose your family. When youre playing in a band with people they end up kind of becoming your family. So you have a new album, Patsy, out now, and a new video coming out soon. Im hearing a lot of gospel, folk, and soul, but also some Wu Tang references? Can you talk about that a little bit? I have this longtime friend and we always enjoyed our inside jokes, and definitely had a shared enthusiasm for ODB. One of the first songs written on the record, one of the more gospel sounding songs, was inspired by all these people where I live talking about me that I didnt even know, and I kinda started writing this song, and I dont even know how the ODB thing happened. It just happened. Obviously ODB is not a role model for life. But I feel like theres one thing about him, if you watch him, he didnt give a shit about much of anything. He was just in his own world. I felt like paying tribute to how necessary that is for all of us aspiring to put ourselves out there whether its artistically or anything. Its the way you have to learn to live. Ive seen your music described as psychedelic desert folk, and you live in Sedona which is a really special place. Are you really inspired by locations, nature, and where you live? I think so. I love Sedona. Im standing out in front of my house right now and I live under two mountains that I like to climb a lot, I live right by the trailheads. When I moved here in 2008, I dont think I would have considered myself so easily inspired by nature or anything, but I definitely believe that the lifestyle that is kind of fostered by living in this desert-mountain extremely unique place is. I dont know if I would say that it inspires me, but its fuel for my existence on a cellular level. I wouldnt live anywhere else. Youre about to head out on the road again. What are you going to be listening to on this tour? I dont know the answer to that. I put out a post on Facebook asking for recommendations and I got a lot of suggestions to check out. I just heard of this singer Angel Olsen, she has a record out called Burn Your Fire For No Witness and I guarantee that that will be happening on tour frequently. On our last tour the album of choice was Kendrick Lamar. We like to keep a good mix. Dont miss Decker when they come to your town! Follow them on Facebook, Twitter, or their website, and support independent artists. Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo by Matty Steinkamp