# Inside Music Stories: Grace Potter Music Interview with Buzz Knight About Family, Legacy, and the Joy of Live Performance

An episode of [Music Saved Me Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1703080557), 11 Dec 2025, 28 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/038eec94-1ba4-451d-8945-b08f00e9f877/abbe2503-6398-4c39-917b-b3b000fb3ed9/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=dfceda02-3624-42c7-b522-b25700f0584c

What if you could take a walk with a legendary musician and explore their journey through music history? Join host Buzz Knight on this replay interview episode of takin' a walk as he engages with the dynamic singer-songwriter Grace Potter, a true force in the music world. Known for her powerful voice and captivating storytelling, Grace Potter opens up about her remarkable path from her Vermont roots to the global stage, revealing the stories behind her new album "Medicine," produced by the legendary T-Bone Burnett and finally seeing the light of day after 18 years. As they stroll through Grace's musical landscape, she shares her heartfelt desire to connect with her great-grandmother, Charlotte, during a hypothetical walk, sparking a rich conversation about family history and the musical legacy that shapes her art. This music interview episode of takin' a walk delves deep into the joy of live performance and the cathartic nature of music, illustrating how her early experiences in Vermont have profoundly influenced her artistic worldview. Grace Potter reflects on her recording journey with T-Bone Burnett, emphasizing the trust and creative freedom he provided, which empowered her to embrace her artistic agency. As the conversation unfolds, listeners will be captivated by Grace's aspirations to explore various genres and musical styles, reinforcing her belief in the timelessness of music and the importance of personal connection in her art. This episode serves as a vibrant reminder of the music journeythat connects us all. Join us for inspiring music stories and intimate musician interviews that reveal the inside stories of musicians and the stories behind albums and songs. Buzz Knight's takin' a walk is your weekly music history podcast that brings you closer to the legends of the industry, including rock legends and emerging artists alike. Discover the creative process behind viral music success, and enjoy authentic artist interviews that highlight the true essence of music and its power to heal and inspire. Whether you’re a fan of classic rock history, indie music journeys, or the latest in new music, this episode promises to deliver unforgettable insights and stories that resonate. Tune in to hear Grace Potter share her journey, her music, and the legacy she hopes to leave behind. Don’t miss this chance to walk alongside one of today’s most inspiring artists on takin' a walk-music history with Buzz Knight. Takin’ A Walk: In-depth music interviews exploring the stories and music history behind the songs. Check out our other shows Music Saved Me hosted by Lynn Hoffman Comedy Saved Me hosted by Lynn Hoffman Takin A Walk Nashville hosted by Sarah Harralson Part of IHeartpodcast Support the show: https://musicsavedme.net/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:00] Speaker 1: Taking a Walk.
[0:01] Speaker 2: So I'm just really scratching the surface, you know, of
[0:04] Speaker 2: what is possible, and I'm never going to stop, you know,
[0:08] Speaker 2: looking for that new and wondrous realm that I can
[0:12] Speaker 2: step into. But it's not a genre. I don't believe
[0:15] Speaker 2: in time, and I don't believe in genres. Honestly, it's
[0:17] Speaker 2: just kind of like, I don't care when it came out.
[0:21] Speaker 2: I don't care what country it came from. If it
[0:23] Speaker 2: speaks to me, I'm going to chase it down and
[0:27] Speaker 2: find a way to interpret it and find my own
[0:30] Speaker 2: voice in it.
[0:31] Speaker 1: Welcome to another episode of the Taking a Walk podcast
[0:34] Speaker 1: hosted by Buzz Night, where we stroll through stories, music,
[0:38] Speaker 1: and the moments that shape our favorite artists today. Buzz
[0:42] Speaker 1: is joined by a true force of nature, singer, songwriter,
[0:46] Speaker 1: and multi instrumentalist Grace Potter. From her Vermont roots to
[0:50] Speaker 1: the world's biggest stages, Grace's journey is as dynamic as
[0:54] Speaker 1: your voice. She's the powerhouse behind Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.
[0:58] Speaker 1: A solo artist with fearless spirit and a storyteller who
[1:02] Speaker 1: finds inspiration on the open road and in the quiet
[1:06] Speaker 1: corners of home. She's here to talk also about her
[1:09] Speaker 1: new album Medicine and was produced by t Bone Burnett
[1:12] Speaker 1: and recorded eighteen years ago and it's just now being released.
[1:17] Speaker 1: Welcome Grace Potter to the Taking a Walk Podcast with
[1:20] Speaker 1: your host Buzznight.
[1:23] Speaker 3: Grace Potter, Welcome to the Taking a Walk Podcast.
[1:26] Speaker 2: Thank you for having me. It's lovely to be here.
[1:30] Speaker 3: So since we call the podcast taking a Walk, I
[1:32] Speaker 3: do have to ask you if you could take a
[1:35] Speaker 3: walk with somebody living or dead, who would you take
[1:40] Speaker 3: a walk with and where do you think you would
[1:43] Speaker 3: take the walk with them?
[1:45] Speaker 2: At My great grandmother, Charlotte, I would love to take
[1:52] Speaker 2: a walk with her. She was alive when I was
[1:55] Speaker 2: a very small baby, but I only have pictures of
[1:57] Speaker 2: me being held like this tiny little thing, and she
[2:01] Speaker 2: passed away before I was even a year old. And
[2:04] Speaker 2: I just I'm so curious about the wisdom and experiences
[2:08] Speaker 2: that she could share that I don't think anybody else
[2:11] Speaker 2: in my family would have thought to ask. And yeah,
[2:15] Speaker 2: she was also really musical, so I would love to
[2:18] Speaker 2: get her take on what she thought of her little
[2:21] Speaker 2: her brother Spiegel Wilcox, who was a trombone player. You
[2:26] Speaker 2: know what was the take from the family on that
[2:29] Speaker 2: charismatic guy. You know, it's just all all these things
[2:32] Speaker 2: about my family and my ancestry that I'm really curious about.
[2:36] Speaker 2: I think there's a lot of interesting skeletons in the
[2:39] Speaker 2: closet that she probably wouldn't want to tell me right away.
[2:42] Speaker 2: But that's what a walk is for, right It's to
[2:44] Speaker 2: sort of get those juices flowing, and suddenly you know,
[2:48] Speaker 2: the dopamine is hidden, and the serotonin and the vitamin
[2:51] Speaker 2: D is hitting your skin, and suddenly you're telling your
[2:53] Speaker 2: life story. And I think Charlotte and I would have
[2:56] Speaker 2: a lot to talk about.
[2:57] Speaker 3: Oh, I love it. I love it. That's so great.
[3:00] Speaker 3: You know, you exude such joy and performance. How does
[3:07] Speaker 3: it make you feel? You know, seeing that joy come
[3:10] Speaker 3: radiating back to you when you're performing, it.
[3:14] Speaker 2: Feels like love. I don't know if everybody listening has
[3:20] Speaker 2: had the experience of falling in love with someone where
[3:23] Speaker 2: you truly feel seen, But what you're really seeing is
[3:28] Speaker 2: your reflection coming out of their eyes and shining the
[3:31] Speaker 2: experience of experiencing you. And I think there's a feeling
[3:36] Speaker 2: of like, gosh, I must not be that bad. If
[3:39] Speaker 2: everybody's hanging out and they're not leaving, you know, And
[3:44] Speaker 2: I just I really understand that connection that's available to
[3:49] Speaker 2: all of us that comes especially from live music, but
[3:53] Speaker 2: I think it also happens in my daily life and
[3:55] Speaker 2: in conversations where you're finding your own truth through other
[4:02] Speaker 2: people's eyes and you're sharing joy. There's such a reciprocal
[4:07] Speaker 2: experience going on there. I live for that, honestly. I
[4:10] Speaker 2: think it's like my purpose on this planet.
[4:12] Speaker 3: So it's sider an interesting when you sort of people
[4:16] Speaker 3: watch and you see, you know, so many frowns out
[4:20] Speaker 3: there and so many scowls, and you just sort of think,
[4:24] Speaker 3: why a little bit of a different approach that some
[4:28] Speaker 3: people could take would really change a lot of worlds Totally.
[4:32] Speaker 2: It's hard for me to when I see people not
[4:37] Speaker 2: being in receptive mode, like when you're in the elevator
[4:40] Speaker 2: on the subway and people are shutting down. There's a
[4:44] Speaker 2: reason for that. I think it's actually biological. I was
[4:46] Speaker 2: just listening to an interesting book on why we shut
[4:50] Speaker 2: down and why we close off and the signals that
[4:52] Speaker 2: our bodies send out when we're not open. But I'm
[4:56] Speaker 2: just one of those people who moves through the world
[4:58] Speaker 2: with a lot of humility and wonder. I'm constantly in
[5:04] Speaker 2: search of my next experience of awe, and I find
[5:08] Speaker 2: it in people all the time, especially the ones you
[5:12] Speaker 2: don't expect, like even a TSA agent who's screaming at
[5:17] Speaker 2: the top of their lungs, and suddenly you just say,
[5:18] Speaker 2: how's your day gone? And they just break open like
[5:22] Speaker 2: the sunshine, and I just I love it.
[5:25] Speaker 3: It's a difference maker for sure, you know it really is.
[5:30] Speaker 3: We're going to talk about medicine, the fascinating story behind medicine,
[5:35] Speaker 3: that t Bone Burnette project that luckily has now reappeared.
[5:42] Speaker 3: Let's just say, but I do want to ask you
[5:45] Speaker 3: a question, and it's from a listener to the podcast
[5:48] Speaker 3: and also a musician. Her name is Emily Cavanaugh. Emily says,
[5:54] Speaker 3: your song release has always felt like the perfect example
[5:59] Speaker 3: of music as a means of catharsis. Did you find
[6:06] Speaker 3: that release helped you out of something in particular you
[6:11] Speaker 3: were going through?
[6:13] Speaker 2: I think the thing I hold on too with that
[6:15] Speaker 2: song when I was writing it, but also what remains
[6:17] Speaker 2: now is the hope for healing. It's not this like
[6:21] Speaker 2: definitive nicotine patch of you're going to be okay. It's
[6:27] Speaker 2: a question as opposed to a statement or declaration in
[6:32] Speaker 2: which and I really was ready to let go of
[6:38] Speaker 2: and bury the skeletons that were holding me back. But
[6:42] Speaker 2: I knew that the skeletons were holding on really tight
[6:46] Speaker 2: and they weren't really ready to let go. So it's
[6:49] Speaker 2: an invitation. That song is for me more of a
[6:55] Speaker 2: you hit me back when you're ready, you know, like
[6:58] Speaker 2: one of those really brilliant and voice memos or messages
[7:02] Speaker 2: that you get from a friend, and you listen to
[7:04] Speaker 2: it again and again because there's still a question in
[7:07] Speaker 2: the air and maybe you're not ready to answer that question.
[7:11] Speaker 2: That's really what that song captures for me.
[7:14] Speaker 3: Can you talk about the early days in Vermont? I
[7:17] Speaker 3: know you still spend time in Vermont, but those early days,
[7:21] Speaker 3: how did they shape you musically and with your sort
[7:26] Speaker 3: of worldview today?
[7:29] Speaker 2: I didn't understand eras I didn't know that there was
[7:31] Speaker 2: like dates in which records were made. In fact, I
[7:34] Speaker 2: think growing up with a bit of a sense of
[7:36] Speaker 2: timelessness in Vermont was very formative for me because I
[7:43] Speaker 2: spent time with and loved socializing with people of all ages.
[7:46] Speaker 2: I didn't have this understanding that there was like a
[7:48] Speaker 2: sector or age group I was supposed to be in,
[7:52] Speaker 2: and it served me really well because the more I
[7:56] Speaker 2: found access to different points of view and different natures
[8:02] Speaker 2: and different inclinations. And you know, Vermont is a place
[8:06] Speaker 2: where it can be a bit of an echo chamber
[8:08] Speaker 2: of I think. There's a lot of intellectuals and there's
[8:12] Speaker 2: a lot of farmers, so that mixed bag, I think
[8:15] Speaker 2: created a lot of curiosity for me as to how
[8:19] Speaker 2: this group of people all ended up together. You know,
[8:22] Speaker 2: the back to the Land boomers coming in from Ivy
[8:25] Speaker 2: League schools because they had done some ski vacation there
[8:29] Speaker 2: in the sixties. Suddenly they're coming and planting their roots
[8:33] Speaker 2: there among a large group of farmers who've been living
[8:37] Speaker 2: and taking cues from nature for their entire lives, and
[8:40] Speaker 2: living by the season and living by the harvest, living
[8:43] Speaker 2: by the hurricane or the flood that happened that year.
[8:47] Speaker 2: It definitely grounded me, but it also left me constantly
[8:52] Speaker 2: reaching outward and open to whatever the rest of the
[8:56] Speaker 2: world had to offer, mostly because I wanted to bring
[9:00] Speaker 2: it back to the land, just like my parents did.
[9:04] Speaker 2: Culture is a huge part of my life, and yet
[9:08] Speaker 2: if you think about Vermont. There's only a few. It's
[9:10] Speaker 2: it's sort of the people get that glazed overlooking their
[9:14] Speaker 2: eye and they picture cows in a field, they picture
[9:16] Speaker 2: Benajerry's ice cream. They picture, you know, tapping maple syrup,
[9:19] Speaker 2: or skiing down a mountain or riding a mountain bike.
[9:22] Speaker 2: But there's so much more, And from a very young age,
[9:25] Speaker 2: I wanted to dig into that more and I'm still
[9:28] Speaker 2: doing that to this day.
[9:31] Speaker 3: Not that there's anything wrong with just glazing off to
[9:33] Speaker 3: those things either, right, and just we love.
[9:36] Speaker 2: That that's a brand. That's what we call a brand.
[9:39] Speaker 2: Baby Vermont has a very strong brand, you know. And
[9:43] Speaker 2: and I didn't. I didn't. I wasn't aware of it
[9:45] Speaker 2: until I got out into the wider world that that
[9:48] Speaker 2: not everywhere is like this. And it was kind of
[9:52] Speaker 2: stunning to me, especially as I was heading west, especially
[9:56] Speaker 2: to the Midwest and out outward into the desert regions,
[10:01] Speaker 2: where life is so different and people's way of processing
[10:06] Speaker 2: and viewing things and just observing the world around them
[10:11] Speaker 2: seems so much less about the weather and more about
[10:14] Speaker 2: you know, what an exit are we going to take
[10:16] Speaker 2: to get gas? And where's the nearest movie theater or mall.
[10:20] Speaker 3: We don't.
[10:21] Speaker 2: I didn't go to the mall. There wasn't a mall.
[10:23] Speaker 2: You know. My dad is a sign maker, and I
[10:25] Speaker 2: remember when he got hired to do the signs for
[10:28] Speaker 2: the mall, and it was like it was a food
[10:32] Speaker 2: court and you know, basically an indoor farmer's market. And
[10:39] Speaker 2: then you know, but I'd watch movies like Clueless or whatever,
[10:41] Speaker 2: and I'd be like, Okay, so there's definitely like a
[10:44] Speaker 2: mall vibe. But I wanted to hear that mus act
[10:48] Speaker 2: like we didn't have that. There was no mus act playing,
[10:50] Speaker 2: there was no I think that the American dream version
[10:56] Speaker 2: of life was something I had to discover really in
[10:58] Speaker 2: my twenties when I when I got out of state
[11:00] Speaker 2: and started traveling around and playing music live. You know.
[11:05] Speaker 3: So take us back to two thousand and eight stepping
[11:08] Speaker 3: into the studio to record Medicine. What were you feeling then?
[11:13] Speaker 3: Do you remember, especially going to work with the iconic
[11:18] Speaker 3: T Bone Burnette.
[11:20] Speaker 2: Yeah, it was immensely exciting and world changing. I think
[11:28] Speaker 2: my openness to the collaboration started because he was so open.
[11:36] Speaker 2: You know, I was otherwise ready to take instruction, and
[11:40] Speaker 2: you know, I felt like I needed to behave myself.
[11:44] Speaker 2: You know, I think I'd been warned by executives and
[11:49] Speaker 2: people in the industry that not necessarily not to stand
[11:53] Speaker 2: up for myself, but to like just roll with the
[11:54] Speaker 2: punches like it's that I was told it would be hard,
[11:57] Speaker 2: like a wrestling match. Everything about being in the studio
[11:59] Speaker 2: felt a little bit like brain surgery to me. Up
[12:02] Speaker 2: until that point, there was a lot of opinions. There
[12:05] Speaker 2: was a lot of people that weren't the musicians in
[12:07] Speaker 2: the room who were immensely involved in the process. And
[12:14] Speaker 2: to me that as a young person, I was like
[12:16] Speaker 2: in my late teens early twenties getting into the studio,
[12:20] Speaker 2: I just felt like that must be how it is everywhere.
[12:22] Speaker 2: And I didn't understand that I could be a force
[12:25] Speaker 2: for change or even advocate for myself in the early days.
[12:30] Speaker 2: And it took a lot of experience, and specifically the
[12:33] Speaker 2: experience of working with t Bone to understand that he
[12:36] Speaker 2: cared about my opinion. He actually genuinely wanted to know
[12:40] Speaker 2: what was my natural reaction to something. He would want
[12:44] Speaker 2: to hear me just sing something down in the studio
[12:47] Speaker 2: and see where my instincts would take me. And there
[12:51] Speaker 2: was none of this sort of incision into my instincts
[12:55] Speaker 2: to insert himself into that sound was much more effortless
[13:01] Speaker 2: and organic, and it was a living, breathing experience of
[13:06] Speaker 2: watching four strangers, five strangers in a studio become an
[13:11] Speaker 2: organism that operated as one. And up until then, the
[13:15] Speaker 2: only experiences I'd had like that were with my band live.
[13:19] Speaker 2: And suddenly it felt more like I was in a
[13:21] Speaker 2: concert hall and almost like a Quaker ceremony all at once.
[13:26] Speaker 2: You know, there was a very spiritual experience happening. It's
[13:29] Speaker 2: because there was a reverence and a respect being not
[13:32] Speaker 2: only thrown out into the tape reels and into the microphones,
[13:37] Speaker 2: but shown towards me. And it was the beginning of
[13:41] Speaker 2: my understanding that that I had agency and creative importance
[13:48] Speaker 2: in the room, and I had not expected that.
[13:52] Speaker 1: We'll be right back with more of that Taken a
[13:54] Speaker 1: Walk podcast. Welcome back to the Taking a Walk Podcast.
[14:03] Speaker 3: So why was this, you know, not released?
[14:07] Speaker 2: Probably they may be I was. I think that the
[14:10] Speaker 2: people that were used to being in the room hadn't
[14:13] Speaker 2: been in the room, and so there was I think
[14:16] Speaker 2: there's a lot of pride and ownership over the process
[14:20] Speaker 2: and at the time. Like I said, there was a
[14:23] Speaker 2: lot of hands on me, There was a lot of
[14:25] Speaker 2: eyes on me. There was a lot of attention and
[14:27] Speaker 2: a lot of money being spent, and the room that
[14:33] Speaker 2: we were in was a very quiet, very still, very
[14:37] Speaker 2: peaceful place. But that also meant that it was not
[14:40] Speaker 2: a place of what do you think? And so there
[14:42] Speaker 2: was no what do you think? Until it was completed.
[14:45] Speaker 2: And I think they actually really liked the record. I
[14:48] Speaker 2: think that. I mean, I got some really amazing feedback
[14:51] Speaker 2: whenever there were little visits to the studio, there was
[14:54] Speaker 2: very little input being put in, but there was a
[14:56] Speaker 2: lot of like, just wow, this is a very different
[15:00] Speaker 2: pressure valve being pushed by your voice, and this music
[15:04] Speaker 2: sounds wildly different. And I think that it was a
[15:07] Speaker 2: concern that the investment that had been made in me
[15:11] Speaker 2: was one thing, and that this was a hard left
[15:16] Speaker 2: too soon in my career, and that it would put
[15:20] Speaker 2: me into a category of almost that legacy sound, that
[15:25] Speaker 2: timeless sound that, while heroic, doesn't necessarily need to or
[15:31] Speaker 2: belong in the career arc of a twenty five, twenty
[15:36] Speaker 2: six year old woman who's just at the beginning. I
[15:39] Speaker 2: think there was a lot at stake and they felt
[15:42] Speaker 2: like taking a second crack at it with a producer
[15:45] Speaker 2: who's more radio friendly, more aware of my age and
[15:49] Speaker 2: the vivacious nature of me, which I think for so
[15:53] Speaker 2: many female musicians it feels like there's a shelf life there.
[15:57] Speaker 2: But I think, you know, Tina Turner can a test
[16:00] Speaker 2: to the fact that that's not at all true. And
[16:04] Speaker 2: I'm certainly doing the same thing now, you know, twenty
[16:06] Speaker 2: years later, almost I've probably got more vivaciousness in me
[16:12] Speaker 2: now than I did even then, because I have more
[16:13] Speaker 2: of a command over it. You know.
[16:16] Speaker 3: Well, I think the work is amazing, so as I
[16:18] Speaker 3: hear you explaining the situation, it sounds like, you know,
[16:22] Speaker 3: from a far sort of typical business gobbledegoot that gets
[16:26] Speaker 3: in the way of creativity and great work by an artist.
[16:30] Speaker 3: That's my take. But yeah, you didn't say that, I
[16:34] Speaker 3: said it.
[16:34] Speaker 2: Well, I appreciate that, and I think that true music
[16:37] Speaker 2: fans are going to get a chance to judge for themselves.
[16:40] Speaker 2: And I think that anybody with any experience in the
[16:43] Speaker 2: industry can hear what's happening and appreciate it, even just
[16:48] Speaker 2: the little bits that we have drizzled out into the world.
[16:52] Speaker 2: So far there is a thunderclap of like, oh my god,
[16:57] Speaker 2: this is that, this is that voice, but it's it's
[17:00] Speaker 2: completely recontextualized. And I think, if I look at the
[17:05] Speaker 2: timeline and I look at how my career had been
[17:07] Speaker 2: going in the arc of what we were aiming for,
[17:11] Speaker 2: this was the plane just you know, tilting a little
[17:15] Speaker 2: bit to the left. It was just a little bit
[17:17] Speaker 2: of a subtle adjustment. And I always wonder what it
[17:21] Speaker 2: would have been like if it had come out, and
[17:23] Speaker 2: how my career would have how it would have adjusted things.
[17:28] Speaker 2: Not because I'm unhappy with how things turned out, but
[17:31] Speaker 2: because it was there all along, buried underneath, you know.
[17:36] Speaker 2: And it feels like I think timing is everything, and
[17:42] Speaker 2: for whatever reason, I love the word gobbledegook. By the way,
[17:46] Speaker 2: timing and gobbledygook may have gotten in the way a
[17:49] Speaker 2: little bit.
[17:49] Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, Well, I mean the music is so great.
[17:52] Speaker 3: It's it's hypnotic, it's rich sounding, it's it's got that
[17:58] Speaker 3: amazing you know back up crew, which are sort of
[18:02] Speaker 3: legendary unto themselves.
[18:05] Speaker 2: Yes, they're the hit men of music. I mean, it's
[18:07] Speaker 2: just so.
[18:09] Speaker 3: So many, it's incredible. So it's so cool that it's out.
[18:12] Speaker 3: What are your some of your other favorites off of it?
[18:16] Speaker 2: I think the thing I'm the most excited about is
[18:19] Speaker 2: for people to hear the songs that they already know
[18:23] Speaker 2: that you know. For the people hearing it, it's going
[18:26] Speaker 2: to seem like it's a reimagining of that song. But
[18:28] Speaker 2: actually these songs were recorded before the song as they
[18:32] Speaker 2: know it now, because we made this record April May,
[18:36] Speaker 2: mastering in June, and then went back into the studio
[18:39] Speaker 2: July August, September to re record a large selection of
[18:44] Speaker 2: these songs. So a song like Oasis, which I wrote
[18:48] Speaker 2: with Mark Batson, who produced the eponymous record, I remember
[18:53] Speaker 2: being in the studio with him when I when we
[18:55] Speaker 2: wrote it and it was the first song we wrote,
[18:57] Speaker 2: and going into the studio with t Bone with this
[19:02] Speaker 2: demo from me and Batson, and then hearing t Bone
[19:04] Speaker 2: take it and go okay, but what if it was this,
[19:07] Speaker 2: and then going back to recording it with Bats and
[19:10] Speaker 2: it was a real masterclass in the subtlety but also
[19:15] Speaker 2: the broad sweeps, the brave choices that get made and
[19:19] Speaker 2: that one. I mean, it's an incredibly avant garde approach
[19:22] Speaker 2: to a song that otherwise people know as basically like
[19:25] Speaker 2: a reggaeton drum beat and an eclectic set of visuals
[19:33] Speaker 2: that still are there, but really the only thread that
[19:36] Speaker 2: remains is the key of the song and the lyrics,
[19:39] Speaker 2: but the rest of it has been completely reimagined. So
[19:41] Speaker 2: that's one of my favorites, as well as Colors. Another
[19:45] Speaker 2: one that was I think a paradigm shift from what
[19:48] Speaker 2: it was to what it you know, what it was
[19:51] Speaker 2: when I recorded it with T Bone to what it
[19:53] Speaker 2: was on the record with Mark. So those are those
[19:56] Speaker 2: are the studies, the case studies that I really like
[19:58] Speaker 2: to dive into a heart level. I just think Losing
[20:02] Speaker 2: You and Before the Sky Falls were just like, ah,
[20:07] Speaker 2: I just love them, you know, and no one's ever
[20:09] Speaker 2: heard them before.
[20:10] Speaker 3: So yeah, I love them too. It's just and I
[20:13] Speaker 3: love how excited you are to get these out to
[20:16] Speaker 3: the world. It's so important for it to be out.
[20:20] Speaker 3: So as you reflect now on your experience working with
[20:25] Speaker 3: T Bone, not the moment in time when it happened,
[20:29] Speaker 3: but kind of years later, how do you think he
[20:32] Speaker 3: made you a better artist?
[20:35] Speaker 2: I want to say the word trust, but that sort
[20:37] Speaker 2: of was broken when the record didn't come out. But
[20:40] Speaker 2: in the moment, it was trust. It was trust. He
[20:44] Speaker 2: trusted me, I trusted him. There was an implicit understanding
[20:47] Speaker 2: of what exactly what we were doing, and that faith
[20:51] Speaker 2: in one another and in the directive, like we had
[20:56] Speaker 2: sort of a prime directive of like a dream state, trancy,
[21:00] Speaker 2: elemental conjuring, and it was fearless. And I've never lost
[21:09] Speaker 2: that fearlessness, and I don't regret the fearlessness that was
[21:14] Speaker 2: implanted from that moment forward in my life. But I
[21:18] Speaker 2: wish that the trust had been there, you know, and
[21:22] Speaker 2: that it could continue through the thread of all the
[21:26] Speaker 2: different people I've been managed by and handled y you know,
[21:30] Speaker 2: I had different management at the time, and I think
[21:34] Speaker 2: there was a lot of thought and a lot of
[21:37] Speaker 2: energy put into what was going on here because it
[21:40] Speaker 2: was clear that I wasn't happy that the record wasn't
[21:43] Speaker 2: coming out, and so there was It was not so
[21:45] Speaker 2: much a breach of trust between me and t Bone
[21:48] Speaker 2: as it was with the greater wider world of just like,
[21:51] Speaker 2: what is going on here? Am I living in a
[21:53] Speaker 2: twilight zone? Like?
[21:54] Speaker 1: What?
[21:55] Speaker 2: How is this? Not absolutely what should be shared with
[21:59] Speaker 2: the world right now out? But in a way I
[22:01] Speaker 2: think that's what makes the record coming out now even
[22:04] Speaker 2: more compelling because it is such a curiosity and such
[22:07] Speaker 2: a treasure.
[22:08] Speaker 3: You know, it is a treasure. Well, speaking of a
[22:11] Speaker 3: treasure too, you have experienced this treasure before. You'll be
[22:15] Speaker 3: experiencing again going out on the road playing dates with
[22:19] Speaker 3: Chris Stapleton, in particular. I know there's a couple of
[22:23] Speaker 3: Madison Square Garden dates, but you've had other dates with
[22:27] Speaker 3: Chris Stapleton. Talk about what that experience is like.
[22:32] Speaker 2: No, I mean talk about a treasure. He's a truly
[22:36] Speaker 2: just salt of the earth human who seems like he
[22:40] Speaker 2: came from the primordial ooze of music. I've never met
[22:43] Speaker 2: anybody more musical in my life. He's just got it
[22:47] Speaker 2: and it comes at him the second he opens his mouth.
[22:49] Speaker 2: It's like, you know, he doesn't need to wind himself
[22:55] Speaker 2: up to get to that point. He's not precious about it.
[22:57] Speaker 2: It's just there. It's just always there, and it's a
[23:01] Speaker 2: stirring thing to be around. And you can really see
[23:05] Speaker 2: that respect in his band and his crew. I mean,
[23:07] Speaker 2: he's got such an amazing family of people that travel
[23:10] Speaker 2: with him, and I think he's developed that culture of
[23:14] Speaker 2: support within his group it's just it's an empire I
[23:19] Speaker 2: want to live in. You know, I certainly would love
[23:22] Speaker 2: to build that empire myself. But it's not bad to
[23:26] Speaker 2: be in the caravan, I'll tell you what.
[23:29] Speaker 3: Yeah, it's contagious.
[23:30] Speaker 2: Right, Yeah, it is. And it's like working with t bone.
[23:35] Speaker 2: I think there's there's there's a mastery to every craft.
[23:40] Speaker 2: And I've been on many many tours, you know, I've
[23:43] Speaker 2: seen it the same experience, similar obviously, different crew, different vibe.
[23:47] Speaker 2: But when I was out on tour with Kenny Chesney,
[23:50] Speaker 2: just watching that organism of his crew and of the
[23:54] Speaker 2: leap frogging of his gear and his set and his
[23:56] Speaker 2: backdrop from one venue to the next because they had
[23:59] Speaker 2: to travel with too. You know, these are systems that
[24:03] Speaker 2: work very much like nature does. There's a cyclical quality.
[24:07] Speaker 2: There's an ebb and a flow and acceleration and deceleration
[24:11] Speaker 2: to the process. But when you've perfected it to a
[24:15] Speaker 2: form where truly you know, there's a reason why these
[24:19] Speaker 2: are some of the highest selling tickets. You know, over
[24:22] Speaker 2: the course of any given summer, you look at numbers
[24:24] Speaker 2: and you just go, wow, I I have been exposed
[24:29] Speaker 2: to that level of mastery only a few times in
[24:32] Speaker 2: my life, but I never ever take it for granted.
[24:34] Speaker 2: And I think Stapleton is one of the best examples
[24:37] Speaker 2: of someone who's really He's cultivated it over a long
[24:41] Speaker 2: time and put a lot of experience, a lot of heart,
[24:43] Speaker 2: and a lot of intention into it, and it's it's
[24:46] Speaker 2: a good it's a good tool to have.
[24:49] Speaker 3: So in closing, are there are there any artists or
[24:53] Speaker 3: genres to this date that you have not explored that
[24:58] Speaker 3: you feel that you might like to explore at some
[25:01] Speaker 3: point down the road.
[25:02] Speaker 1: Yeah?
[25:02] Speaker 2: Oh well, I mean New Orleans is sort of my
[25:05] Speaker 2: heart home. That's where I belong when I'm not home
[25:08] Speaker 2: in California or a home in Vermont or home on
[25:11] Speaker 2: the tour bus. And it's exposed me to specifically jazz
[25:16] Speaker 2: and blues, but I think that funk, soul, R and B,
[25:19] Speaker 2: hip hop, gospel, every element that I pull from in
[25:23] Speaker 2: my music is something that I certainly don't belong to,
[25:27] Speaker 2: being a random, you know, farmer, mountain hippie from Vermont.
[25:32] Speaker 2: But I think it just opens the floodgates for me
[25:35] Speaker 2: creatively to want to explore deeper. And I've always wanted
[25:39] Speaker 2: to score movies, so the instrumental and working with orchestras
[25:43] Speaker 2: and working in this place where we go back in
[25:46] Speaker 2: time and you look at you know, Count Basie, or
[25:49] Speaker 2: you look at Billie Holliday, or you look at you know,
[25:52] Speaker 2: my my uncle Spiegel stuff. Bringing it back to Grandma Charlotte.
[25:57] Speaker 2: Uncle Spiegel, her little brother was a trombone player with
[26:00] Speaker 2: Tommy Dorsey. And the big band spirit and the orchestra
[26:04] Speaker 2: spirit are very similar. They all were pulling from New Orleans.
[26:08] Speaker 2: You know, They're all pulling from this incredible gumbo of
[26:13] Speaker 2: American music, and it's kind of an eternal well, you know,
[26:18] Speaker 2: especially when I listen to instrumental music, I'm like, well, okay,
[26:21] Speaker 2: just put some vocals to that, and we've got ourselves
[26:24] Speaker 2: a whole record, you know, Martin Denny and Les Baxter
[26:28] Speaker 2: and Escavel and you know, I love Hawaiian music so much.
[26:32] Speaker 2: I would love to make like a whole Hawaiian record.
[26:34] Speaker 2: I'd love to make an entire Spanish language record. I'm
[26:38] Speaker 2: so inspired by Bossa Nova and I've always wanted to
[26:41] Speaker 2: learn how to play Flamenco guitar, having gone to Spain
[26:44] Speaker 2: and spent time in a huge amount of time in Spain.
[26:48] Speaker 2: So I'm just really scratching the surface, you know, of
[26:52] Speaker 2: what is possible, and I'm never going to stop, you know,
[26:56] Speaker 2: looking for that new and wondrous realm that I could
[27:00] Speaker 2: step into. But it's not a genre. I don't believe
[27:02] Speaker 2: in time, and I don't believe in genres. Honestly, it's
[27:05] Speaker 2: just kind of like I don't care when it came out.
[27:08] Speaker 2: I don't care what country it came from. If it
[27:11] Speaker 2: speaks to me, I'm going to chase it down and
[27:14] Speaker 2: find a way to interpret it and find my own
[27:17] Speaker 2: voice in it.
[27:19] Speaker 3: From the Flying V to the Flamenco.
[27:22] Speaker 2: Yeah.
[27:23] Speaker 3: Wow, that is awesome.
[27:26] Speaker 1: I believe it.
[27:27] Speaker 3: Grace Potter. Thank you for the joy you continue to
[27:32] Speaker 3: give us. Thank you for letting us talk about medicine
[27:38] Speaker 3: and talk about your creative process. And thanks for being
[27:41] Speaker 3: on Taking a Walk. It's a pure joy.
[27:44] Speaker 2: I had so much fun talking to you, buzz I.
[27:46] Speaker 2: Hope we get to talk again soon.
[27:49] Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to this episode of the Taking a
[27:51] Speaker 1: Walk Podcast. Share this and other episodes with your friends
[27:55] Speaker 1: and follow us so you never miss an episode. Taking
[27:59] Speaker 1: a Walk is available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
[28:03] Speaker 1: and wherever you get your podcasts,

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