I’m singer/songwriter/guitarist Robbie Fulks. Ask me anything!

Hi Robbie, why do I always lose my job when you are scheduled to be in central Illinois?

Hi Amy. I think you need to look within yourself for the answer to this. However, I'm glad you ended up on your feet in the thriving rural health care industry, and I hope not all of the questions to come are from people I know personally for then I will go to bed a little depressed.

My next question is when are you going to write a song about me? See ya in Bloomington on the 24th. Behave, I'm bringing my family. Oh and I am unemployed again. Go figure.

Shit!!

I saw you perform in Evanston and you played a great little subversive song called 'Religious Grandma'. I've never seen it mentioned in any album, concert, article, etc. Is there a recording of it available, or can you make one available?

I didn't play it again (much less record it) because it just didn't feel substantial enough to me. I know it went over OK that night though.

Hi Robbie - We know you used to teach here at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, and we loved having you play our Square Roots festival last year. Do you miss teaching? Any tips for any of our new teachers or students you'd like to share?

I'm done with teaching! A young guy asked me for a lesson several weeks ago, and I told him to come over with a bottle of good bourbon. Well, a pint is not what I call a bottle, and Makers Mark isn't that good!

Well any time you want to "teach" with us on the side you let us know. We will have a nice bottle of...what, Four Roses Small Batch? Elijah Craig 12yr?

OK, count me in. But I'm as lousy a teacher as I ever was.

It's always been an "in-joke" that Couples in Trouble was among the least popular of your albums, but it seems to bear a resemblance to your last two albums in style and content. Do you think that the success of Gone Away Backwards and Upland Stories as compared to Couples in Trouble can be attributed to an evolution of the musical landscape over the past 15 years?

I'd be loath to infer anything about the landscape on the basis of my little records. I think the more Southern qualities of the last 2 make them more interesting than CiT. The narrower focus, I believe, makes them realer, and I hope people respond to that quality...

Hi Robbie,

I'm loving the new album. I noticed in Upland Stories there are many references to God in relation to the characters and narrators of the songs. And it seems so sincere and in tune with a believer. You've also written the excellent "God Isn't Real". Is it hard to separate your own beliefs from the beliefs of your characters?

No, it really isn't, because one of the main pleasures for me in creating songs is to inhabit the mind of somebody unlike me. I think it's incumbent on us non-believers to make some effort to understand what impels faith, because that's how most people are wired, and have been for all time.

What inspired you to cover Believe by Cher ?

I just liked it!

What is the name of your favorite Bike Shop Cafe and do you ever plan to play there again? Also, do you think you would ever consider writing a Musical?

I know who you are, and here we go onto the next question...

If you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life what album would it be?

Some top choices would be The Band's brown record, Annette Peacock's I'm The One, Miles Davis's Sketches of Spain...albums like that seem inexhaustible in their inspirations and hidden corners.

Do you consider your most recent two records (both of which I love) radical departures from your previous oeuvre or just the product of your gradual evolution as a songwriter?

Kind of in between? In 2007 I was getting sick of banging around with my pretty-loud 4-piece format of 13 years' standing, in 2008 I decided to put it to rest, in '09 some dates w Jenny Scheinman and others revived my appetite and showed me the way to go forward with a happier attitude, and all that played into the kind of songs I put on the last 2 records. Too much information. I am still writing more variously than my last 2 might suggest. Some of this less-austere or less-acoustic-country shows up in my shows, and a lot of it will show up on a big digital package I'll soon dump on my website.

How soon? #impatient

maybe 6 months

Hi Robbie, your video of Cigarette State live is one of my go-to videos. I've shown a lot of people, and watch it probably every few days. Also, my band Butchers Blind opened for you at Mercury Lounge in NYC a couple years back and you were an absolute pleasure to meet.

What is your take on the Robbie Robertson / Levon Helm debate that tore them apart for so long? Do you think the rest of The Band had as much right to the music as Robbie did? (No bias allowed because you share a name)

EDIT: If you're looking for support on your NYC/Brooklyn dates, we'd love to play with you again! If not, I'll be there either way!

Thanks. It was a fun show with you guys and I hope there's another. Those in-family disputes are hard to comment on from outside, but my impression about that, for what it's worth, which is really nothing, is that they all chipped in with crucial contributions (which put the Band a cut above, and which is why the individuals' post-Band records weren't as amazing) and that RR was shrewder than the others.

First off, I just want to tell you that I listen to "I Like Being Left Alone" and "Fuck This Town" almost every day. I'm not sure if it's possible to have a favorite song, but those are very high up there for me.

My question(s): What have you found yourself listening to recently? As someone who has recorded/performed such a diverse catalogue of work, is there anything you listen to regularly that you think might surprise your fans? Thanks!

Thanks. Those are two pretty unalike songs. Both misanthropic, obviously. If you liked them, check out Coriolanus!

The last thing I was listening to was Anita Carter, before that Lonnie Johnson, Duke Levine, Dexter Gordon, and before that escapes me right now. I don't know that anything I listen to would surprise anyone, because I've always been upfront about having no-boundary tastes or at least interests. These days I'd say most of the stuff that attracts me doesn't have lyrics. I'm down on lyrics right now! Though Bobby Charles and Sonny Throckmorton, just two examples, really knew how to write 'em.

Your blog posts have always been thoughtful and fun to read. Any plans to continue prose writing and publish a book?

Yes, I thought that too.

I'm thinking about a book right now but no firm plans. Thanks for the nice words about my posts. Since I joined twitter -- and now my wife has me sort of nominally on facebook -- and since my website design changed, I haven't been posting as much dense substance, but maybe I can get back to that, it's a nice way to work out my thoughts.

You're known for playing music inspired by decades-old songwriters and artists. Who are your most contemporary influences?

I do listen to stuff just coming out now but it may be too late in the day for me to be influenced by it -- certainly not the way I was influenced by Doc Watson or Martin Mull or someone like that back in the day. My teenaged hipster son turned me on to Wildbirds and Peacedrums last year and I love that group. Also (from him) Can and Don Caballero. In new mainstream country I like Miranda Lambert. Chris Stapleton of course. Michael Daves. In jazz Cecile McLorin Salvant; my dear friend Anat Cohen, though Anat's not "new" anymore I guess. Bad Bad Not Good. enough?

What kind of shoes are you most likely to be wearing when you perform?

Shoes my wife bought me.

What's so bad about Ronnie Milsap?

He's a fantastic singer. It's just too bad his name rhymes with "crap." Also, that song "Lost in The Fifties" -- come on, that was crap.

Some of us are mourning the pending end to your Hideout residency and your Year End Wrap-Up. Where will you be sharing your peripatetic sensibilities in the future? Aren't you afraid of going mad without these outlets?

Yes, I'm not sure how that will sit with me over time, and I may come crawling back...but I'm a proponent of forcing change if it doesn't just happen of its own accord, and 6 years of programming the Mondays and forcing new things into my head is definitely enough for now! Thanks for mourning, though.

He's going to move to Europe. I feel it in my bones.

Well, in my head it's 1955 and I'm black, so maybe!

Robbie, could you talk about the songwriting process, please? Is it a grind for you? Is it a process? Do you think about it at all, or do you just write? How many songs would you say that you start and never finish? How many songs come out fully formed in one shot? I realize that there's more than one question here. Apologies for that. I can repay you with a drink at an old man bar when you come to LA.

Well that's more of a book than a reddit answer, but let me tell you this much: start 100, finish 50, perform 30, record 15, release 12. Something like that happens. Even with that quality control, I end up disliking much of what I've recorded years later, but that may be inevitable. It is kind of a grind, it's probably the hardest thing I do! But HAVING done it is very nice.

Robbbbie!

Long time fan here, and I'm also proud to call one of your former (?) sidemen a friend. I was very psyched for him when I heard he got the gig, but something has nagged at me all these years and I'd be remiss to not ask you while I had the chance, so here goes:

If my buddy had to bow out of a tour under dubious circumstances - say, broken fingers, for example - and I stepped in to save the day, would you hail me as a conquering hero or would something unsavory always linger in the back of your mind, a suspicion that I had caused his injury?

Purely hypothetical, you understand.

I'd never suspect a thing!

Who are you gonna vote for in November?

Hillary Clinton.

Hi Robbie! Can you tell us anything about the inspirations behind any of the songs on Couples In Trouble? It was my introduction to your music, and still my favorite album of yours due to just how different it sounds. "Real Money" and "Anything For Love" still give me goosebumps 15 years after first hearing the album. ("Daddy's got a friend in Macon/Governor calls him 'sir'" is one of my favorite lines in any song.)

Anything for Love I guess (it's a long time ago and I don't remember all the details) comes from a love of noir movies; I was picturing something like Dick Powell or Sterling Hayden walking around San Francisco at night. And Lucinda Williams was surely in the back of my head as well. Real Money is trying to generate interest with not-too-much detail: something bad is going on, but from the kid's perspective it's hard to get a sure grip on it. Thanks.

Hi Robbie - what are your touring plans for "Upland Stories"?

I'll be in almost all major markets in the continental US. If you live in Elko, NV or Key West, FL, you're shit out of luck!

what's a good rock album i should listen to?

Shoes my wife bought me.

Hi Robbie, How is working with Steve Albini, and how is he different from working with other producers? I've read that he considers himself an "engineer," and not a "producer," and I'm curious as to how you believe this helps/hurts a recording session. I like the idea that he is basically trying to create a record of what the band he is recording sounds like, without putting his own fingerprints on their music. Thank you for all your amazing music, and you're incomparable Monday nights at the Hideout! I'll take my answer off the air. edit: werds

I don't really buy that picture Steve paints of himself as the ultimate non-interventionist, because all the records he records sound like nothing else out there! But that said, his mixes being non-automated (i.e., two hands working in real time account for most of the mixing you hear on his records) and his post-tracking instincts leaning strongly to minimal alteration does account for what you're getting at. To get a feeling for how he differs from other producers or producer/engineers, check out "Mix With The Masters." A lot of those guys are full of schtick and funny clothes and pompous personalities. Steve is a real good antidote to all that horseshit.

What do you look for in a guitar? What's your favorite guitar you ever played?

I love my Collings DH2, which I bought for a big show w Liz Carroll in 2012. It took me a lot of years to give in and get a Collings. I had a sort of snobbery about it, a lot of lawyers seem to play them, and I love old guitars. But it's my go-to now, and I also love my McAlister 00-style mahogany guitar which Roy made for me in 2009. I guess I look for a neck that doesn't feel too thin or delicate, because I have big hands...intonation...if it can take a little banging, great....beyond that it's pretty non-generalizable, each great one tends to be great in its own manner.

Do any recordings exist of the collaboration with Redd Volkaert? If so, might they be released?

If you own a label that likes losing money, let me know! For now the 2 records I worked on w Redd (Touch My Heart and Georgia Hard) will have to do. I LOVED travelling with him, that's no lie, and I'm constantly thinking of new projects to try and keep him near my person.

Hello, Robbie. You have toured with some remarkable players in the past. Who is going on the road with you this time?

Thanks a lot for asking that one. Next couple months I'll be doing a combination of trio dates with Todd Phillips and Shad Cobb, and quintet with Shad & Todd plus Pete Finney and Gerald Dowd. In the summer and fall I've got a couple bluegrass dates that will probably bring people like Don Stiernberg, Missy Raines, and Aaron Till back into the fold.

Would you ever do another deep catalog covers record like "Hillbilly" ?

Naah, done it.

Hey Robbie, when are you coming back to Massachusetts? Laura (purple door at rear) and I haven't seen you since she was preggers with the 2nd one over ten years ago!

I still think Georgia Hard was your best album.

Mike

Yeah, you were good 11 years ago too. I'll be back there May 5, at Passim.

Has enough time passed for you to reveal the name of the performer from your great "My Day" story of your gig in Portland, Maine?

I don't remember, the guy who fucked around? I better not! Good memory there, Mr. Man Who Knew Too Much.

What happened to the guitar with the obscenely large pickguard? What brand is that new one?

Ha, that's my dad's 000 1965 Martin, and it was 2 pickguards. It's right here near me, I just about beat it to death over the years (same way Dad did me back in 1965!).

If you could require every American to read one book in the next year, what book would it be?

Is this a political question? I don't know. I hate required reading.

Hello Robbie. We are looking forward to seeing you next week in Mifflinburg, PA. How do you plan to perform all your new music---particularly your last two albums, and still have time to mix in some of our old favorites? Your catalog is getting so big. Is it a challenge to plan what you're going to play each night? Or do you just wing it?

Hi Ecklund family, how's Suzanne doing? This time out we're following a set list, and there's tunes from across most of the records, though I'm trying for the first time to avoid a couple that I've done every show since 1997 (Let's Kill SN and She Took Pills). Coming up with new set lists is a pleasure....

What's your favorite city to perform in?

Seattle, Houston, Missoula, Madison, Chicago, NYC, Charlottesville, Lexington, Tulsa, Boston, and D.C. are all up there, and I really could go on!

Hey Robbie! How about a Ryan Adams themed site at the Hideout?

I really don't like his music!

How did you get so tall?

Root vegetables and corn liquor!

I love the laugh on "Katy Kay" - did you immediately know you were going to keep it on the album? Was there a specific reason for the laugh? I WANT TO KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT THE LAUGH.

Ha. Steve Albini was strongly in favor of keeping the laugh, and I didn't argue.

Robbie- Who is playing with with you on the current tour? See you 05/12!

see above

do you like Wrestling, if so who's your favorite Wrestler?

I used to, haven't kept up. Professional, right? Andre the Giant, Roddy Piper, Valiant Bros., etc.

have you ever got a voice crack when on stage?

Oh sure, but you know what they say about cracks, fuck 'em!

Hi Robbie, long time no see.

I've always wondered if you like rap music and what do you like to do that isn't music?

Maude Findlay? I loved when you threw plates at Bill Macy's head, and yes it has been a long time since I saw you. You know I bought rap music when it was a new trending thing in the 1980s, and liked it, but I just haven't kept up with it. I went into this country wormhole in the late 1980s and by the time I came out of it I was way too old to be seen with a boombox on my shoulder or an ipod full of Katy Perry.

In the not-music realm I like to cook, read, jog, and make love. What a wuss.

I have a strong desire to play music myself, but have not yet found a way to stay engaged with actually doing it. I would like to learn how to be an intuitive musician, how to jam, improvise, etc. Do you have any advice for me?

It's a lifetime endeavor, and somehow you just have to find players who are as good as or better than you and try to play with them. It seems that for every 8 hours you play you get 8 hours better -- then you sleep and get 7 hours worse. So you have to keep at the ratio. (I'm not really being flip.)

"Needed" is amazing. It seems to be you offering advice to your son as he heads off to college. What did Preston think of the song?

Thanks! I'm not sure whether he's heard that one. Country music isn't exactly his thing.