Recently I sat down for a Skype conversation with Barry at The Twelve-Minute Muse. We talked about several things including, but not limited to, my latest EP, Counting My Rings: B-sides, The Book Mole (my new bibliomaniac book-finder and reseller service), the importance of metaphor in songwriting, painting, and the mal-importance of inspiration. We probably talked about LSU football, too, but nobody here cares about sports, so it was stricken from the record.
Taking a cue from the One-Minute Movie reviewer, please enjoy this 12- (or-so) minute interview.
Eric Peters, affectionately called "Pappy" by those who love him, is the grand old curmudgeon of the Rabbit Room. But his small stature and often quiet presence belie a giant talent. He's a songwriter of the first order, and a catalogue of great records bears witness to it. His last album, Birds of Relocation, blew minds and found its way onto “year’s best” lists all over the country. When he's not painting, trolling bookstores, or dabbling in photography, he's touring the country in support of his latest record, Far Side of the Sea.
2 Comments
Barry
It was a privilege to interview Eric! I was very impressed with his humility and honesty. Eric’s music is the same way– honest and hopeful. Very excited about his next studio project! Keep up the good work, Eric Peters!
Jessica B.
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Barry: How much of your creative process is raw inspiration and how much of it is revision?
Eric: As a young writer, I depended on inspiration. And, and that worked for a time…to, you know, to sort of wait to be inspired. And I’m not saying that it doesn’t still happen, but it, it certainly now involves, and I realize and understand that it involves far more work than sitting around and hoping that something is gonna be made. What I do is my job and to sit around and wait, hoping for lightning to strike, is, I think, irresponsible to what I have, what I’ve been given and…so for me, you know, we’re talking about the muse and I have to treat my job like a job and show up and sit down in front of what may be a blank computer screen or a blank piece of paper and a guitar and have no idea what is next and being terrified of that, but being faithful to it at the same time by showing up.
And I should also say that, I think the older I get, the more I believe that we can’t operate and work in a vacuum. You know, there’s the time that we work alone and we make and create, but I think it also is extremely healthy to have a community of people around you that will give you good, honest, critical feedback – because that’s how you get better. And that’s why I love being in Nashville.
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^Thanks for this. It’s incentive to try to do something more than occasionally sit on my keister and pretend that I’m a lightning rod.
I am curious as to how you went about finding and building community after you moved. We moved recently and it’s been challenging to make creative connections in our new locale.
Thanks for sharing both your time and your wisdom, gentlemen.
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