A Dirty Dozen with BEAU NAIR – October 2023

Regarding his latest single, Beau Nair had this to say: “Freakin’ Sweet” reflects on my appreciation for both women and classic cars as well as the similarities between them. When it comes right down to it, I look fantastic inside them and can comfortably fit, a win-win for all involved! As to bucket seats, they are notoriously difficult to get it on when sitting in them. That being said, women look fabulous riding in them! What can I say, I’m a lover with style.” We get Beau 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?

My nuggets are legendary! The song “Freakin’ Sweet” comes from my latest album LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, a double whizzbanger of a record chock full of the tasteful and funky smut my fans have come to love. Nobody could possibly take it all in on a first listen, as my lyrics need to unfold and work their magic on your brain. I drop so many references in my songs that you’d have to be a multi-generational consumer of cool culture to snag ‘em all. “Freakin’ Sweet” is a little more straightforward, though if you’ve ever tried to get it on in a 70’s Camaro you’ll have a more visceral reaction to my little story here. I speak from experience.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

Music got me into music, man! How could it not? As a kid I traveled with my Pappy, who was always up to some nefarious business as he traversed the highways of this great country. Whether it was Waffle House jukeboxes, record players in bordellos or live musicians jamming in the ancient joints of New Orleans, I was a magnet and a sponge, soaking it all up. I learned to play boogie woogie piano by watching the greats, like Roosevelt Sykes and James Booker. I was always listening and just started playing along. Once I found my voice, it was on like Donkey Kong!

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

There wasn’t a single moment where I got hit by the lightning bolt of destiny but looking back, I think it might have been when I saw a screening of that BeeGees movie Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band they did with Frampton. I mean, you got Beatles songs, sick harmonies from the Brothers Gibb, plus a band on the record including dudes like Bernard Purdie, Wilbur Bascomb and the Tower of Power horns, all produced by George Martin. I’d say that hit me like a ton of bricks, delivering Earth Wind & Fire and Aerosmith too! My musical taste always gravitated to great songwriting and deep funk so all these funky Beatles tunes were right up my alley. Plus, the movie is ridiculous! Billy Preston in the gold suit, an all-timer right there. Still gets a watching over at Nair Palace on the regular. Highly recommended, five stars!

4. Who would be your main five musical influences?

Wow that’s a question even harder to ask than who was my most vigorous lover. Well, if I’m gonna pick five, they gotta have a deep reason. First, I’d have to put Rush up there with that potent combination of Geddy Lee singing Neil Pearts lyrics, the black and white Rickenbacker bass that I finally acquired and recorded all my nine albums with. I spent many a night rocking out to the holy trinity, taught me a lot about carving your own path and destiny with polyrhythmic style. Second, there’s Phish, a truly killer band who blew open my mind with mad organic improvisation, plus all the quirk and smirk in the lyrics and super killer lights for the live show. Phorever a phan! Third, you got the one-two punch of The Crusaders and Stuff, two bands that balance the East/West coasts as far as tasty mid-70’s funk. They also happened to all be session cats for tons of amazing artists so you can follow them on a wide path of righteous discovery. A well-spring of deep rhythms, slick pockets and tasty solos galore. And you got Richard Tee and Joe Sample right there, two huge influences on my playing on the keys for sure. Then that Sgt Peppers Soundtrack would be number four for sure. That soundtrack and movie indoctrinated me into the Beatles like a musical enema and opened my mind to psychedelic 70’s cheese on a silver platter. So that’s kind of a Beatles/BeeGees dynamite double dunker to spelunk on. So what’s fifth on that list? Is it Fats Waller, masterful phraser and larger than life persona? David Bowie, reinventing himself multiple times over? James Booker with an eye patch switching genres up on the fly in New Orleans? Iron Maiden delivering “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” in my face? It’s hard to say but I’ll just go with The Partridge Family to be extra real. I think I love you!

5. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

I have only written solo in all my nine albums but I would gladly sit down and write with anyone who thought it was a great idea to write songs with me. Sure, I lay out the funny stuff in the lyrics and all that but underneath the hood hums the hot rod engine of a serious songwriter (who happens to be the musician and producer as well).  I can easily write the serious stuff, the love songs and power ballads that the masses slurp down like crazy. That all being said, I think it would be really cool to write a song with Barry Gibb. Hey, I Gibb a shit! That dude is legend.

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?

Well, many people have commented that ol’ Wheeler Walker Jr and myself are similar in that we both play country music and have a fairly demented sense of humor. Beyond that we are pretty different but it wouldn’t be a bad reference to go with. Now, if they don’t know who Wheeler Walker Jr is- and I find that hard to believe, seeing as the guy is wearing some big pants these days- you could just say that my music is a marriage of funk and country called Funktry and it is gonna rock your booty down while you laugh your boobs off! As far as comparisons that I disagreed with, I think any reviewer solely comparing me to Wheeler Walker Jr. is just being lazy and disingenuous. I mean, sure our fans probably overlap to a certain degree and we would do really well on tour together. And yes, we are both totally NSFW artists on the outlaw side simply because we do not abide by the narrow, rigid confines of the modern country genre, choosing to forge our own paths amidst the wasteland of humorless pap that smears American radio these days. Ok, and we both like to kick ass, party all night, smoke the best weed, see some great boobies and watch our fans attain maximum satisfaction and personal moistness at our shows. So, yea I guess it would be an OK comparison after all. How about 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?

My drummer JB is an effervescent presence, always has a smile, a wink and a nod to convey a wide range of emotions, mostly on the beautiful side of life. We can all cook and appreciate good grinds, especially after a show. I don’t drink alcohol, I’m more on the herbal side of life and happier for it! I’m always down for a jam but it’s usually when I come across a piano in the wild. I always have the need to get my fingers on it and explore, much like a passionate lover, which I most certainly am.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

That’s a good one. I didn’t realize stardom in the people I met when I was young because they were so down to earth. You could talk to them and they were just hanging out, no pretense or ego. I’d meet jazz cats cause they were down to earth but rockstars weren’t always so approachable. The one time I made eye contact with Lenny Kravitz, I almost lost my trousers in a fit of admiration. That guy is still the biggest rockstar on the planet. Have you seen his new video for “TK421”? Holy smokes, dude is the king and we all bow down. Also someone I highly and deeply admire, always have.

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?

There’s something about expressing yourself through a musical instrument without words that is unique. That’s one of many great things about being a musician. The adventures, camaraderie and parties constitute a lot of high times in my life. But there is also a rough side to the journey of music, one which a lot of people don’t have the constitution for. As the decades roll on, all that’s left are the lifers. In hindsight, I’ve always been a lifer, it’s just a calling and a compulsion to make music and do what I do. If I couldn’t be a musician, that’s a strange question. I am a musical being. If I lost my arms and my legs and my tongue, I would still tap out rhythms with my head and wiggle around to the beat of my own drum. The music is inside of me and sits in the seat of my destiny. But if I had to get a dream job, I’ll be the panty washer on the Spice Girls reunion tour. Hey, you asked!

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?

Interviewers always get caught up in my funny lyrics, so I get how that becomes a focal point for the conversation. I would love for an interviewer to dig into the chord changes I’m laying down as well as the ridiculous basslines woven throughout my nine albums. Those are details I’m proud of but rarely get asked about. I don’t get tired of answering any questions but to be clear, I am not related to Matthew McConaughey and there is no such thing as Penis Monthly Magazine in which I most definitely did not have a scratch and sniff centerfold and spill the devilish details of my saucy skills in the boudoir.

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 have no regrets. Everything is a learning experience if you do it right. Smart people learn while fools burn, that’s what Pappy Nair used to say to me, even as he burned many a bridge and a few random houses too. Point being, I ain’t gonna rehash the past. I’m too busy manifesting an even greater future right here and now! Actually, if I had known she was gonna be certified crazy, I never would have diddled Patsy Arbuckle in that ’57 DeSoto after band practice. But again, water under the bridge. The past is gone, it’s the now we’re on. Onward!

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?

You know I could always say the Sgt Pepper movie soundtrack sessions- and you’d be right! But I would love to have seen Jeff Beck and his band lay down Blow by Blow. That record found me early and never let me go. It wasn’t any certain genre, still isn’t, which is a lesson in itself. Be yourself to the extent that your style can only be labeled with your name. That’s what my Funktry is all about! Really, I would love to have sat in on any of the amazing records that have touched my life. How about Jimi Hendrix recording Axis Bold as Love! Whew, that would be wild.

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Category: Interviews