33 f 12 shots from the fRoots Rocket Launcher a dozen leading questions to fire at Rowan Rheingans
If you were given the funds to organise a concert bill, who would the artists be?
That's easy. I'd have the Esbjörn Svens-
son Trio, then a mid-1990s’ Chris Wood & Jean-Francois Vrod, followed by Swedish Hammond organ legend Merit Hemmingson and then The Band (feat. Joni Mitchell). They'll probably all do something together at the end.
Which totally obscure record do you most treasure and would like more people to know about?
The Sweet Sunny North, which is Henry Kaiser and David Lindley travelling around Norway, recording and collaborating with artists from fiddlers and cow-callers to brass bands and jazz guitarists. It's amazing and beautifully genre-resistant.
What was the best live gig you ever saw?
That's an impossible question to answer because there are so many variables as to what makes a gig good, including one's own state of mind. But I did see Fire In The North Sky recently, a project with storyteller Nick Hennessy and Finnish folk musicians Kristiina Ilmonen, Anna-Kaisa Liedes and Timo Väänänen. This was very memorable – I was completely engrossed and very inspired.
And what was the worst?
The first time I saw Bob Dylan he was terrible! I was about 16 and a huge fan – it was so disappointing. In his defence, I think he was really ill but it was just a mess. I saw him again a couple of years afterwards though and he was fantastic – so I thought, that'll do Bob.
What was your own best ever gig?
So hard to choose! The most moving gigs for me are usually the small and unex- pected ones with my sister. Last year, we were invited to Letterkenny Trad Music week – our first trip to Ireland – and shared a gig with the legendary Na Mooney family. We were invited to join them on stage for the last tune and the sheer force of their welcome knocked me sideways. I remember looking over at Anna (while trying desper- ately to keep up with the tunes!) and the smile that passed between us was pure hap- piness.
And what was your worst?
Lady Maisery played at a gorgeous fes- tival up in the mountains above Nice a cou- ple of years ago and I was so ill that I had absolutely no voice. It wasn't very pleasant croaking through a whole set of songs, but somehow we made it work – there was a lot of clog dancing I think.
What’s the professional achievement you’re most proud of?
It's a bit predictable I suppose but I would say winning the BBC Radio 2 Folk Award for 'Best Original Track' with my sis- ter in 2016. This was a turning point for me taking myself seriously as a songwriter, and it mattered so much to us that it was com- pletely unexpected.
What’s the most embarrassing thing you ever did in public?
I once ran over my own hand in a multi- story car park. Now, you'd think that would be impossible to do, but I managed it. Ask any member of Lady Maisery next time you see them – it's their favourite story.
Which song or piece of music would you most like to have written yourself?
Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells. I would love to have the stamina to write something that long for a start!
Who was the first musician or singer you were inspired to emulate?
I think when I was old enough to realise you could try to emulate other musicians, rather than just plonking away on the
piano, I was inspired by Scottish fiddle play- ers like Blazin' Fiddles, so I tried to play like them. When I first started writing songs, in my mid-teens, my points of reference were somewhere between my parents’ records of Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan and the like, and then my own discoveries of American artists like Ani DiFranco. So the kind of songs I wrote when I was 16 were probably suitably angry and righteous.
Who was the last-but-one musician or singer you lusted after?
I collided with David Rawlings very ungracefully in a bar once. I was so flustered I didn't realise it was him until he came on stage half an hour later. And I didn't even get his number in the scuffle. Gutted.
If you had a rocket launcher, who or what would be the target, and why?
When and where is the next Tory party conference?
The third Rheingans Sisters album Bright Field is out any minute now, and they’re touring in April and May. See the reviews and news pages.
rheinganssisters.co.uk F
root salad
Photo: © Judith Burrows
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