Rocky Votolato Interview: SXSW 2010

Rocky Votolato is a singer-songwriter raised in Dallas and Seattle, both homes to groundbreaking music scenes. Votolato talked with Spinner about his music and returning to SXSW for the third time.

How would you describe your sound in your own words?

I think the closest thing I've heard is "folk songwriting through a punk rock blend." It's informed by a classic singer-songwriter folk sound, but also with an edge. Indie rock is a part of it too. Those are the genre title names that are used, and I think most accurately describe, what I do. It just sounds like me. It's just music from the heart. [I've] been searching for some kind of timelessness, and that's really what I think gets to the core of what I'm doing.

Who are your musical influences?

I grew up actually down in Texas. I was born in Dallas and then I lived outside of Dallas in a small town called Frost. I grew up there and I was exposed to a lot of music my parents listened to and, of course, a lot of country music. A couple of the guys that ended up having the most influence on me would be like early Bob Dylan. 'The Freewheeling Bob Dylan' is what's a really defining album for me when I was young. Then guys like Kris Kristofferson and of course, Johnny Cash and all those outlaw songwriters. Cat Stevens, as well, serves for me as an influence early on. Then I moved up to Seattle around the time I actually started writing songs. So I was in high school when I moved up to the Northwest. That was in the early '90s, so it was grunge time in Seattle. 'Nevermind' had just come out. I loved Nirvana. I saw Nirvana on the 'Nevermind' tour in Seattle, so that was a pretty epic show. But I was more involved with the underground punk scene up in Seattle. I started going to shows and seeing bands like Jawbreaker and Fugazi and punk shows. There was a really good, vibrant scene for that in Seattle. There still is. But that's what really start to inform my songwriting when I started out. It's a combination of those two worlds.
What are your musical guilty pleasures?

I don't know if I have any right now. I know that's kind of a lame answer, but I feel like I only listen to a lot of mellow songwriters. I like to listen to Sigur Ros a lot. That's not a guilty pleasure at all. But if there's something that was probably the most embarrassing thing and that just doesn't seem to necessarily fit, I think Eminem is a total genius. I really like his stuff, but I don't listen to it much. It's too dark, really, for me. I don't spend a lot of time listening to it, but my daughter really digs it, so we kind of come together on that. Oh, you know what else? My Chemical Romance. I love them too, but I hate to say that's a guilty pleasure, because I think those guys are cool.

Why did you decide to use just your name and not a band name for this project?

It's just me. I've had bands off and on throughout my entire career, but right now, just me. At SXSW, I'll actually have a drummer, but I just have hired guns of different people that I work with. I don't have a band name per se for that, but I think it's probably coming from the more traditional perspective on the singer-songwriters from the '60s and '70s. I thought it was fine to just use your name. That was a choice I made early on, probably with the first record in '99 under my own name.

Beatles or Stones?

Definitely the Beatles. I'm not a big Stones fan. I like them OK, but it's a lot of egos and swagger. It's not enough soul, I feel like. But the Beatles, particularly George Harrison, and also Paul McCartney are my favorites. I like John Lennon too. I think he's a great songwriter, but I don't think he lived his life up to the ideals that were set in the music.

Since you've been to SXSW before, what's in your festival survival kit?

We'll see. It's been several years, and I didn't fare so well my last couple of times down there. I try not to do too much. I try to make the best of experiences that I choose to pick out and do. So I've got five performances, and I think that's good. It's spread out over the three days that I'm going to be there. The last time I was there I had relentless show after show and going to shows. I actually ended up getting sick, because I was just running so much. I'm just going to try to take it easy.

What is your biggest vice?

I think it used to be drinking, but not anymore. I'm a perfectionist about things. Probably if anything, I end up stressing out, but I meditate, so that keeps things mellow. I don't have anywhere near as many vices as I used to a few years ago.

Sarah Vasquez is a Seed.com contributor. Learn how you can contribute here.