A Dirty Dozen with RO MYRA – August 2021
According to a recent press release: “Nashville-based Americana singer-songwriter Ro Myra is set to release her extraordinary debut album, Nowhere, Nebraska, on August 6, 2021. Recorded in Denver, Austin, and Nashville, the album was produced by Myra, who fleshed out her vision of a record as raw and windswept as the fields of Nebraska, with a diverse cast of players including multi-instrumentalist Joshua Grange (Lucinda Williams, Sheryl Crow), Elephant Revival drummer Darren Garvey, bassist Vanessa McGowan (Brandy Clark), and fellow singer-songwriter Phoebe Hunt, among others. Nowhere, Nebraska is a complex reckoning with the past, a nuanced, literate reexamination of small-town life in the shadow of heartbreak, self-destruction, and second chances.” We get Ro to discuss new music, influences, and more…
1. Tell us a little about your latest release. What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through? Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?
Ha. Depends on the listener. I guess people will have to listen to find out.
2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?
There was never one moment when I decided I was going to be a songwriter. I feel like something or someone else decided for me. I’ve been writing songs since I was little. My mom would routinely press record on her cassette player, and I would sing her my latest song. I remember enjoying the moments when she would walk around with one of my songs stuck in her head. That’s when I knew it was a keeper.
3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?
I was obsessed with any female songwriter and performer who could make me feel something. But if I had to narrow it down to one album that I wore out the most, it would be Sarah McLachlan’s “Surfacing.”
4. Who would be your main five musical influences?
At the moment, I can’t get enough of writers like Carole King, Harry Nilsson, John Moreland, Patty Griffin, and Bruce Springsteen.
5. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?
Blake Mills. I’m obsessed with his songwriting and production.
6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?
Quite a few people have said this album reminds them of Lucinda Williams, and I’m certainly more than okay with that.
7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?
Good question! I’m looking to hire a band right now, so I’ll have to make sure I ask about their cooking skills during the interview process.
8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?
I’ve never really felt starstruck.
9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?
For me, the best part of being a musician is that by being a musician, I’m becoming my most authentic self. I can’t imagine not creating music every day.
10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?
Not sure.
11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?
I wouldn’t do anything over, because that would imply regret. I don’t regret any decision I’ve made.
12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?
If I could go back in time, I would be hanging out in Muscle Shoals Sound Studio from ‘69 to ‘79. Being a part of a session with Bob Seger, Bob Dylan, or The Rolling Stones would be pretty dreamy.
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Category: Interviews