You could be forgiven for assuming that DADDY’S COUNTRY GOLD, the recent release from Melissa Carper, was a re-release of a recording dating back to the 1940s or 1950s. It’s a blend of old-time country and jazz that pays homage to legendary names who have influenced Melissa’s vocal arrangements throughout her career, such as Kitty Wells, Billie Holiday and Jimmy Rodgers. That career kicked off as a child in her parents’ family band The Carper Family and continues today with her roots duo Buffalo Gals, the four-piece band Sad Daddy and her present day acoustic trio version of The Carper Family, alongside Beth Chrisman and Jenn Miori. We chatted with Melissa recently via Zoom and she spoke proudly about the album, the musicians that feature on it and her other projects.
I understand you started your musical journey at a young age?
Yes, I started playing the clubs when I was about twelve in The Carper Band. It was my mom on guitar and two other brothers and myself. I had a younger brother than me on drums, my older brother was on lead guitar and vocals and we all sang a little bit. My mom and older brother did most of the singing back then. My dad was not a musician but he was the manager.
Having been raised on a diet of traditional country music when did your love of jazz kick in?
I liked jazz before I went to college in Nebraska to study music and got to love jazz vocalists at college. I used the school library to listen to all kinds including Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. I would say that over time they all influenced my own vocals. Any music that I love I listen to over and over again, and often sing along. I probably pick up some vocal phrasing from that. I also love the blues and listen to a lot of Lead Belly. I’ve probably tried to imitate him as well (laughs).
I believe that you’re also lover of Jimmie Rodgers’ music?
Yes, absolutely. My dad bought me the complete collection of his songs. They came in six or seven tapes that had every song he recorded on them. I listened to those tapes over and over, I just could not stop listening to them. And when I first started writing songs, I would have been subconsciously copying his form. I’d sometimes even deliberately start thinking ‘I don’t know how to start this song’ and would make it sound like Mule Skinner Blues or one of his other tunes. I picked up a lot listening to Jimmie Rodgers’ songs and I suppose I tried to copy both his and Hank Williams’ vocals a lot. We can’t help being influenced by what we listen to, consciously or not. I listen to so much old music and I think I developed the style for my vocals from all of those influences.
What was the motivation behind the DADDY’S COUNTRY GOLD album?
I had been planning that album in my mind for several years. I wanted to gather my best tunes for a compilation album. I had a whole lot of tunes written that I had played with other bands over the years. I only have one other solo album and wanted to represent my best songs on an album. When I write a country song, I often add a bit of swing and the song ends up being more of a Western swing tune. For the album I just put together what I thought were my best songs that would fit together. I had been dreaming of putting this album together for a while and that was one of the reasons why I moved to Nashville. I felt that it would be the place to do the album. I spent two years living in Nashua from 2017 and spent most of the time just going out and listening to a lot of the folks I had admired, and becoming part of that musical community. Organically it worked out by being able to invite a lot of those folks to work on the album. It worked out perfectly.
How did you come to work with Time Jumpers bassist and session player with so many big hitters, Dennis Crouch?
Shortly after I moved to Nashville, I got to meet Dennis. My girlfriend Rebecca, who plays fiddle with me, was playing a gig with Dennis. She had been hired to play fiddle in a band that he was playing bass on. They happened to be having a rehearsal in one of the rooms in our house. I came home from somewhere and there was Dennis Crouch in the house. I ran into him around town a few times after that and I asked him if he would give me a bass lesson. He said he didn’t really do lessons but asked me to come over to his sometime and we can talk bass. So, I went over to his house and he gave me some tips and allowed me to play his bass. Dennis is from Arkansas and even though I’m not from there I have spent many years there. I felt that we also had that connection. I asked him out of the blue if he would help me produce an album. He didn’t really know my music that well but came to a couple of our shows. He then told me that he would help me select some musicians for the album and also recommended Andrija Tokic to produce the album at his Bomb Shelter studio in Nashville.
Was there any conflict with those two producers and yourself all working on the songs?
No, we all worked really well together, there was never any conflict. Dennis and Andrija both had different inputs and pretty much everything they suggested worked out fine. It was just so much fun working with them and to be in the same room as the people that Dennis brought in to the studio, it was amazing.
There’s a pretty amazing list of musicians credited on the album?
Yes, there is. Dennis played bass on most of the tracks. Chris Scruggs played guitar and pedal steel, Jeff Taylor was on piano, accordion and organ, Billy Contreras was on fiddle, Rebecca Patek played violin and strings, Matty Meyer was on drums and Lloyd Green also played pedal steel. Rebecca, Sierra Ferrell, Brennen Leigh and Ranger Doug all added backing vocals.
I understand that Andrija Tokic has a reputation of getting things done quickly?
He is fast at what does, he doesn’t waste any time. He is so fast at the tape, even though it’s an old-fashioned way of doing things. But the musicians were so fast also. They had never heard my tunes before and I had written charts for them before they came in to the studio. Basically, we started at 10am in the morning and worked until 1pm. On the first day of recording, in those three hours we had the basic tracks for six songs done. The following day we did the same thing, and had six more tracks down. This was with the musicians never having heard the songs before. We all recorded live in the same room and by the second or third take, that was it. It was all so surreal and magical for me. I had never before experienced anything quite like it. The only over dubs were fiddle, steel and harmonies. Everything else was live, all of us in the same room: bass and drums, rhythm guitar, piano and myself singing.
Did Dennis playing bass take the pressure off you and allow you to concentrate on your vocal styling?
Yes, it really did. I’ve never done that before as I am usually playing bass and singing at the same time. It really freed me up on vocals and I know I phrased things differently because I had that freedom. Also having Dennis on bass was great, because he is such an incredible player. I would not have been able to come close to what Dennis added to the songs. He kept encouraging me to play bass on a few tracks. The only reason I’m playing bass on three tracks was that he was pushing me to play.
Did you have a particular market in mind for the album?
I guess I didn’t give it much thought. With the bands that I’m in, we have always attracted more older audiences. It’s funny because little kids seem to like our music as well, when they hear us play. I’ve never had music that seems to appeal to a younger hip crowd. I probably did not know what my market was (laughs). Yet some of my friends in that younger age bracket have bought the album and really like it, which is great. I think more of that that younger age bracket might find the music refreshing, if they get the opportunity to hear it.
I believe that you finished recording before the pandemic kicked in?
We did. We recorded in January of last year and did the over dubs in February. I feel lucky that we got all that in before things hit. I had thought while recording in January that the album would be out sometime in 2020. I think it was wise to take advice to wait to the spring of this year.
Have you had the opportunity to play a live launch of the album?
Yes, on March 19th we had an outdoor show in Austin, Texas. That was a lot of fun, we played everything off the album and I had a great band with me. Emily Gimble played piano, Jen Miori from my other band The Carper Family was playing guitar and singing, Rebecca Patek was on fiddle and Jason Baczynski on drums. A lot of folks came out for the show that had not been out for a while. It felt really good.
I also have a Nashville album launch show on June 17th at the Station Inn. They stream the shows from there so anybody can watch. I’ll have a bunch of the players that featured on the album – Dennis Crouch, Jeff Taylor, Matty Meter, Rebecca Patek and Brennen Leigh – on stage with me. I’m excited about playing The Station Inn. One of the great things about living in Nashville for a couple of years has been getting to go to shows there.
Are you taking a breather now or still writing?
I have to wait and be inspired by something to write. I have been inspired by living on this farm in Texas for the last while. My creativity has come back after a bad year in 2020. I have written a few new songs this year and me and Brennen Leigh have also co-written some songs.
Interview by Declan Culliton