Noam Pikelny must really love Northampton. After all, the Grammy-nominated banjo player was just here at the Calvin Theatre with Bela Fleck's Banjo Summit last month and now he's returning to the venue with Punch Brothers on Friday at 8 p.m. "It's one of my favorite places to play," he said. Pikelny took a few minutes off from the...
The Punch Brothers
Noam Pikelny must really love Northampton.
After all, the Grammy-nominated banjo player was just here at the Calvin Theatre with Bela Fleck's Banjo Summit last month and now he's returning to the venue with Punch Brothers on Friday at 8 p.m.
"It's one of my favorite places to play," he said.
Pikelny took a few minutes off from the band's current tour to answer a few questions.
How has being in the Punch Brothers influenced your playing?
Punch Brothers have had a profound effect on my playing. It's just an incredibly inspiring group of musicians to be associated with. We've basically been living together on tour for the most of the time and it's been both incredibly challenging and rewarding. We first got together just for what was supposed to be a one-off record. But we saw that the group could be very special and have a lot of potential. And we envisioned that if we could have some time with each other, we could create some really great music. It's kind of hard to believe that six or seven years have gone by, but we're still together for the same reasons that we formed and we're all still looking forward to the next project. But it's been an incredible experience for me and I can't imagine what my playing would be like, or what my voice on the banjo would be, without the experience of playing with Punch Brothers. It's just had a huge role in forcing myself to become a better musician, both conceptually and technically on the instrument.
Speaking of being together with those guys all the time, how do you guys work together as far as writing and arranging?
When we first started, we were spread out all over the country, so we would meet up in one of our hometowns, whether it was New York Or Nashville. Most of our early sessions together happened in Chris Thile's huge third-floor apartment in New York. After a while we all realized we had to be in the same city, so we ended up moving to New York. Chris had been there for a few years and then I was next to move. And in the early days, before we started touring like crazy, we would just treat the band like a day job. We would meet at Chris's apartment in the afternoons and just work on music and then play shows in the local New York clubs. And during that period is when the band really became a band. Nowadays, we travel together so much that when we come home it is sometimes not easy to find the time to get together. It's important to have time away from each other when we get home. So we had to be careful to make sure we still had time to get together for the sessions. For the next record, we want to instill the original sense of creativity and fun by having writing retreats that are away from our firmament and by being in a habitat where we won't be distracted by whatever chores or responsibilities we have when we are home. So we are going to be doing these retreats later this year, going to have one in Charleston, South Carolina, and another one in Colorado. It'll be fun to get back into that sort of laboratory to work on the music with each other.
Continuing on the subject of writing: I know you also play guitar, which instrument do you write songs on? How is writing on banjo different from writing on other instruments?
I mostly write on the banjo. I do play guitar, so I have done some writing on guitar. But I typically will have a banjo in hand when I'm summoning a new song. So I try to develop it on that instrument. But if I hit a wall or feel like I'm doing something that's too banjo-istic. I'll pick up the guitar and try to develop it on that instrument. But for me the banjo has always been my most natural outlet, whether it's for composing or performing. I wish I could play piano. I learned some piano in college and as far as a compositional tool, it would be great to be able to sit down the piano to write. But it's just not something I have the chops to do
What was your reaction to getting the Grammy nomination for your latest solo album, "Beat the Devil and Carry a Rail"?
I was absolutely surprised and it wasn't something I was thinking it was a possibility. The competition for Grammys and Grammy nominations is so steep I didn't think it could ever happen. It's really an honor. I do wish Punch Brothers had been nominated, because that's really been our focus over the past few years. But it was a real surprise to have my solo effort nominated and I am very happy for the recognition.