Billy Strings Turns Grief Into Art
- 9 minutes ago
- 5 min read
For most, the death of a mother means instant heartbreak. But for many recording artists it can provide heart-felt inspiration to produce their very-best creativity to honor that special person. And nobody has done this better than contemporary bluegrass whizz Billy Strings who has just released a new album, aptly named So Much for Goodbyes. It is a back-to-the-basics masterpiece.
Strings (William Apostol) had just arrived for a concert in Lexington, Kentucky, on June 20 last year when his wife called to say his mother, Debra Apostol, had died in her sleep. Strings decided he would go ahead with two sold-out concerts at Lexington’s Rupp Arena because “that is what my mom would have wanted me to do.” Instead of calling for the traditional moment’s silence, he implored the crowd of 20,000 to “make as much noise right now for my mom?” A roar erupted throughout the arena.
That was then. Now, some 14 months later, Strings has honored his mother again in music, with an album that must rank as probably the finest in his catalogue of eight albums - three of which have won Grammys for Best Bluegrass Album.
Much about the album immortalizes his mom.
First there is the album title So Much for Goodbyes. In a three-page letter Strings posted on Instagram to coincide with the release, he wrote: “She’s not gone. She’s very much still with me. So much for goodbyes.” The last of the 16 tracks – “Debra’s Waltz – bears her name. It is a beautiful instrumental – the only one on the album – and it provides a fitting conclusion. But of more impact is the album cover which features a work of art by Debra.
“She was an amazing artist and was constantly working many different things. All her pieces had a story. The piece we ended up using for the cover was the one she was working on the night she died,” he wrote. “I believe her intention was to show it to me when it was finished to see if I would use it for the cover. Although I don’t believe she had the chance to complete it, I am so happy we were able to fulfill that dream.”
When it comes to reviewing So Much for Goodbyes, and reflect on what Strings has achieved, there is no one better suited to do this than the man himself. “To me, this record stands out among my other albums because it feels a bit more mature. I wasn’t trying to break any boundaries or change the face of bluegrass. I wasn’t trying to make some big psychedelic journey through space with effects pedals and synthesizers. I wanted something real,” he posted.
The fact that it feels “a bit more mature” and didn’t “change the face of bluegrass” may have had something to with the fact that he reached out to producer-extraordinaire T Bone Burnett, who helped define Americana music - and indeed introduce it to a global audience -with his 2000 release Oh Brother Where Art Thou?, his Grammy-winning soundtrack album to the Coen Brothers’ hit movie. Burnett ended up co-producing So Much for Goodbyes with Strings.
“I can’t say enough about him,” Strings enthused. “As we made our way deep into this album, I realized what he is who he is. He had such a way of bringing good ideas to the table and getting the best performances out of all of us without ever being overbearing or pushy. There is just no ego involved, and it made the whole process from start to finish extremely pleasant.”
And Strings provides one example where Burnett’s influence impacted. “We were working up “10,000 Miles From a Friend” when I had the thought, ‘Man, a bass harmonica would sound great on this.’ Moments later, in walks Mickey Raphael to play it with us.”
In fact “10,000 Miles From a Friend” personifies more than any of the songs a return to the roots Strings was striving for. Like such classics as Little Feat’s “Willin” and Fred Eaglesmith’s “Trucker Speed,” the song – written by Strings and Aaron Allen – laments the loneliness of cross-country truck driving.
From Albany to Omaha, it’s Adderall and alcohol
To pick me up and set me down again
Well my tired eyes are bloodshot
Like my gut’s been full of buckshot
And I feel ten thousand miles from a friend
It was one of the few tracks that Strings had played live prior to the album’s release. What adds to the song’s intrigue is the accompanying video – a tearjerker to match the beautiful ballad! It was directed by Bryan Schlam and dramatically interprets – like few other music videos – the song’s lyrical plot. To add authenticity to a truckie’s life on the road, Schlam cast a real-life driver in the lead role. Strings gets a cameo - with script lines - as a store clerk
But the heart of the album – fused constantly by Billy’s delicately-appealing guitar picking – remains his acute sense of loss. His ongoing reflection is no better personified than on “Light the Way.” It is though he has plucked it out of the great vaults of gospel music. And with melodic assurance he tries to ease family pain.
Can you light my way from your home above?
Can you show me the way back to the ones I dearly love?
At the end of my journey, when at last my spirit’s free
When you’re looking down from heaven, won’t you light the way for me
“Lay Me Down,” a co-write with Burnett, is similar but more confronting. And, together with a soothing fiddle bridge from Alex Hargreaves and backing vocals by bluegrass great Del McCoury, Springs acutely faces the future!
Lay me down on the hillside
Lay me down and walk away
Leave no roses on my headstone
Leave no footprints in the clay
Just lay me own and walk away
But none of the tracks personify his self-examination of grief more so than “Still I Crash,” an intimate eulogy where Springs - accompanied only by his wonderful acoustic guitar - softly expresses his emotions.
Mother oh how I know you
Thinking down here below you
Always pretending that you’re fast asleep
Mother can you still hear me?
Wishing you were still near me
Hoping that this won’t really be the end
And I am still your one true friend
Such is Billy’s - and indeed T Bone’s - standing in Nashville, this album features some big names in country. Besides McCoury, there are cameos from the likes of Alison Krauss, Dan Taminiski, Paul Franklin, Tim O’Brien and Lindsay Lou. “It was a really fun time having all of these amazing musicians who I have such respect for in the room making contributions to the album. None of it felt like work. We were all just having fun making music. It was a dream come true,” said Springs.
This star-studded line-up may have contributed to the album’s instant impact on the charts -debuting at number four on the Americana album listings in its first week of release.
Given the intensely personal motivations for the album, it is fitting that any final reflections should come from the artist. In his promotional letter, Springs concluded: “I made this record to honor my other. To notice and embrace this very significant period of grief in my life and make art from it. To turn my heartbreak into songs while using my guitar as a coping mechanism as I always have. It’s always been there for me to lean on through the hard times, and I figure it always will … until it’s my time to say goodbye.”
Paul Cutler
Editor Crossroads – Americana Music Appreciation
Comments