Phoebe is now ready lead her own band, write her own songs and take the next step in what promises to be another Austin music darling...
1. We hear you are going to India in November - what's that about?
Yes! I am going to India with a group from Austin called The Amala Foundation. I will be among a group of 10-12 volunteers from the United States that journeys to the Bhatti Mines School in New Delhi to offer service to the school in any form that is needed. My greatest service comes in the form of music, so I will be bringing my fiddle along with me on the trip.
2. We really want to hear more music from you, have you been working on any recording we can get our hands on?
I have been. This year I have been traveling a whole bunch. I have been touring with Ben Sollee, and played some with Cowboy and Indian. In between tours I have been heading out west to California and working with Matt Rollings, a really beautiful musician and producer. In August, we tracked 5 songs with a full band, and I am really excited about the sound we are creating together. I may get a chance to go and work more in October, and then of course India in November, so I think we will be continuing work at the beginning of the year and I hope to have the album to share by late this coming spring.
3. Tell us about World Music Days and your connection to Daniel Pearl...
For all those who don't know, Daniel Pearl was a journalist for the Wall Street Journal who was executed in Pakistan in 2002. His life was unique because due to his Israeli heritage, and many trips back and forth between Israel and California where he was raised, he really got to know the world from two perspectives. But what a lot of people don't know is that he played the fiddle too. My relationship with him is posthumous -- a torch fiddle was donated to the Mark O'Connor Fiddle camp in remembrance of Daniel and the truth he stood for. It is passed to a different player each year. I held the fiddle in 2006, and it has also been in the hands of Austin players Ruby Jane Smith and Ian Stewart.
World Music Days, put on by Pearl's family, bridges the gap by creating a global stage of musicians that all speak about Daniel or dedicate shows to Daniel some time in October- his birthday month. Anyone can do it, and Its a really easy way to put out the message of peace and truth just by speaking at a show. I think its pretty incredible.
4. We know you are a yoga girl. What is your Austin yoga home and how do you pracitice on the road?
Well, I grew up with Yoga in the living room... cobra all day long! My parents are both Yogi's. I guess my personal practice became part of my identity the most when I started practicing Bikram Yoga about 7 years ago. I love Pure Bikram Yoga here in Austin. Jeff and Mardy Chen have created an incredibly accepting and welcoming environment for us here in Austin, and its my favorite place in the country to practice. I also really love Black Swan, and Yoga Yoga. On the road, my practice waxes and wanes. But I either do it in my hotel room, or find a studio on the road and squeeze it in between drives. It really helps me stay sane. Mostly.
5. You are so close to your sister. How do you stay connected considering both of your busy schedules?
We are really close even though sometimes we are far away from each other. But whenever someone who knows us both sees one of us, they are usually reminded of the other and we tell stories. That alone keeps us connected. Really, we've just made it a priority to be a part of one another's lives-- its a choice. We just keep up with eachother's schedules and make it a point to have them collide and overlap as often as possible. We are also playing more and more music together. We are both Gemini's, and have made some videos with our friend Jazz Mills who is also a Gemini calling ourselves Gemini Dreams.
6. Although you have spent most of they year on the road, you were born and raised in Austin, graduated from UT, do you still call Austin home?
Austin is the greatest city in the universe as far as I'm concerned. Home? YES. There is no greater place to call home- even though it's really hot in the summer!!!
7. You are quite the collaborator...Who are some of the artists/bands you have worked with?
The Hudsons, The Belleville Outfit, Ben Sollee, Cowboy and Indian, T-Bird and the breaks, Luis Banuelos, Del Castillo, Warren Hood, Erik Hokkanan, Emily Gimble (we had a band called the Phoebejeebies for a while), I got to be a part of the Willie Nelson Orchestra for his latest ACL taping (does that count??), and I've gotten to sit in with some greats. Really collaboration just happens as you become part of the soup. Lots of my opportunities have come to me through being a member of The Belleville Outfit. I am just really lucky to get to play music at all, let alone to get to keep on running into people who I connect with.
8. What is something your mother always told you?
"Follow your bliss"
9. What Austin artist (s) are you most inspired/influenced by?
Sarah Jarosz, Erik Hokkanen, Warren Hood, Seth Walker, Dennis Ludiker, Emily Gimble, Johnny Gimble, Kat Edmonson, Cindy Cashdollar, Connor Forsyth, Red Volkaert and Toni Price..
10. So, you own an "art car". Did you create it yourself?
Well, my sister and I had a car with a little rust. So my dad spray painted the bumper to cover the rust -- but the color was just a little off. So, my sister and I were at a friends birthday party one night, and took our dads cue. I mean it was already a little funky, and we had always envisioned a full on art car, so we grabbed the bull by the horns. Sam, Johnny and Cody from T-Bird and The Breaks were hangin' out and they were pretty excited to have a car to spray paint. Cody said his brother had a crate of paints in the garage-- so we went and grabbed it (thanks, Kenny), got all our friends at the party to start making stencils out of the cake box, and one thing led to another...I call it "The Rooster." Talk about collaboration!
11. You seem to always have a book close by.... what work of literature has made a major impression on you?
Most recently, I re-read Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha (the one that was required in freshman year in High School). But this time, it hit me in so many different ways. Its incredible how my own understanding of things change over time. In our fast paced, goal oriented structure, it is good for me to remember the good old adage about the journey and the destination. Its easy for me to get caught up in the future and forget the beauty of everything that is already here now. Also really love The Life of Pi by Yann Martel.
12. We need some firsts...first concert ever? first record you bought with your own money?
Shania Twain- Erwin Center. Ace of Bass tape-- I Saw The Sign. Used to sneak into the coat closet a the Austin Montessori School to listen to this one over and over.
13. You have had a few jobs in Austin other than performer..... tell us about them.
I worked at Johnny Rockets in the mall, during High School, but then while I went to UT, I was a snow cone girl over at Sno Beach. Still the greatest sno cones I've ever had in my life. I also taught Suzuki violin at the Austin Montessori School for about 5 years. Thats the best job I've ever had.
14. What is your favorite Austin coffee shop?
IRIE BEAN!!!
15. Tell us something about your fiddle.
It's made by Jon Cooper out of Maine and I'm lucky to play it.
16. What is something on your ipod that would surprise us?
John Mayer-- I have been known to listen to the song "Comfortable" on repeat for hours on end...
17. What is your most treasured possession?
These Lucchese Cowboy Boots. I basically live in them.
18. What do you do when you have the blues?
Sulk for a while... I wish I didn't. It's crazy, but just playing my violin pulls me out of it, although sometimes I forget that and just sit in the sadness. Yoga also snaps me out.
19. What would your high school classmates say about you?
I don't really know, and I'm not sure I want to.
20. Were you in band in High School?
Nope- but I was an Orch dork.
Want to know more about Phoebe, her latest collabo and journey across the world? Check out www.phoebehuntproject.com - and tell her the gals at 20Q sent ya!
