INTERVIEW: Rooster Blackspur Insists on Integrity
In our interview, Rooster Blackspur tells us about her approach to touring and how to maintain integrity while out on the road.
Rooster Blackspur demands your attention from the jump with her music – her voice is extraordinary, with an angelic clarity and world-weary rasp that's perfectly suited to Americana. Leaving behind the harsh sun of New Mexico for Nashville's more temperate climes, Blackspur's newest album The Cinderella Sessions. Recorded at the legendary Cinderella Sound Studio, The Cinderella Sessions marks Rooster's first full-length project in Music City - a place she believes offers her the best chance at fully expressing her songs. In our interview, Rooster tells us about her approach to touring and how to maintain integrity while out on the road.
Name a perfect song and tell us why you feel that way.
At one minute and fifty three seconds "Wond'ring Aloud" by Jethro Tull may be the perfect song. The picture it paints in your mind matches the production and you are whisked away into its sonic portrait. I want it to last forever and I've been known to listen to it dozens of times back to back.
How do you manage having a good time at shows, but also trying to stay mentally and physically fit?
Sleep is essential. I bought a roof top tent for the top of our touring vehicle so that if we have to, we can make sure we get our rest. Lack of rest shows up in performance but also in regulating the nervous system. I'm also *that* person making sure we are all drinking enough water and eating protein every day.
What's your biggest pet peeve about venues?
Venues using social media and Spotify numbers to decide the value of artists is contributing to media centered metric systems which are slowly silencing the independent artist. It's my very strong feeling that we must hold strong in our authentic expression and must resist this trend. What is most valuable to our fans, and to the planet, is our integrity.
Do you try to make the most of being in a city, or do you prefer to just rest up?
Enjoying the journey is essential for me. I actually like to take the side roads and stay off the beaten track as much as we can on our way to our destinations. I like to stop in small communities and support small businesses, especially coffee shops. We have our "favorites" marked on the map that we have found by touring this way.
Have you ever been given something remarkable by a fan?
The best thing I get from my fans is the feedback that my music matters to their lives. Hearing that makes me continue to fight to stay creating and touring.
This last album was completely fan-funded by anonymous patrons and I think that is remarkable as well, as the patronage model is becoming absolutely necessary for independent artists.
