Nashville born indie pop-rocker Landon Pigg may only be 23 years of age but his songs ooze with a wisdom beyond his tender years. Born into a musical family, Pigg was immersed in the sounds of The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Rufus Wainwright, that later played a significant role in his development as a singer-songwriter. On Pigg's recently released debut album, simply titled LP , his Maton acoustic guitars provide the filter for a rich tapestry of textures on many of the album's songs. Pigg is destined to become the newest teen bop poster boy. I recently caught up with Pigg for this interview.

Your father instilled in you the notion that songwriting is paramount over anything else, how important do you think this rule is to you and to other songwriters?

I think if you are a writer, you probably don't need any person to tell you to write. I think it's important to find your role in music, and if that role is to write lyrics and melody, or a gut wrenching bass line, it is extremely important to perform just that. Everything speaks.

Your dad Gary Pigg is a session musician whose voice can be heard on the recent Neil Young film Heart Of Gold as well as on McDonald's ads, would you like to follow a similar path as your father into session work some day?

Well, I already have, in a way. I've done a bit of session work for different T.V. commercials as a kid. It has been priceless to be invited to run in the same circles as my father, even since the young age of eight years old. As a result, a microphone feels more like home than a stage for me. It's been great trying to build a career singing songs and melodies that I have written, I find joy in it, but to get a chance to sing with Neil Young? Yeah, I'd like to follow in my father's path.

How much of an effect did growing up in a musical family have on your life?

I don't know, its weird answering such a big question that I haven't once thought about. But let me see... it has to do with a certain mindset I think. I grew up thinking that not having a boss and working out of the house was the common thing to do. Growing up in a musical family allowed me to view music as something that was worth focusing on. Something that was just as viable as any other career that one could choose. I see now that for many people, this mindset is somewhat uncommon.

Do you think that what makes a good song is in how the melody relates to the chords?

The melody/chord relationship is exactly the thing that gives me the most instant gratification either while listening to a song or constructing one. However, I don't necessarily think that's all you need. Clever lyrics are always a nice addition--clever, but not too clever, that is. If lyrics are written with an excess of wittiness or forethought, you may end up with a song that is devoid of any real emotion. And as Paul McCartney popularized on his latest album, ‘it's a fine line' indeed. Right now, I'm in to songs that make me feel something that pushes me over without touching me. That's the kind of magic I care about.

What is the process you go through when writing a song?

I'll play something random on the guitar or piano then start narrowing it down until it begins to feel specific and intimate to my secret state at that moment. Then, once I find it musically, I just dwell in it for a while and enjoy it. The next step is somewhat fragile, because either you can find the right melody that enhances the original song, adding to the pleasure and power, or you can find the wrong melody, detracting from the intimacy and ruining the moment. In this specific writing style, the lyrics would then come last, and once again there is a chance to make the original more powerful if you find lyrics that are on par with everything up to that point. Sometimes I start with the lyrics. And sometimes I write an entire song a capella, as in the case of ‘Eggshells'. I have different ways.

Living in Nashville , how important is the music scene there to an artist like your self?  

Though I really enjoyed opening for David Mead at 12th and Porter a few years back, I don't really know much about the scene though.

Can you tell us more about your Maton guitars and why you play them?

They're so very easy to play and make your fingers happy. The body style looks really cool on stage, especially the 808 model. They compliment vocals, as they don't drown out what you are trying to sing. Also one of the most difficult things to find is an acoustic guitar that actually sounds like an acoustic guitar when it's plugged in. With the Maton guitars, I have found from personal experience, that they provide a sound of which I am proud. Plus, people always say it sounds good and they ask what kind of guitar it is.

How did you come across Maton guitars?

My friend Peter Barbie works for Tommy Emmanuel so as a result, Peter had a Maton lying around in his flat in Nashville , and right when I picked it up, it felt different from any other guitar I had played. It was crystal clear, and very responsive to the slightest touch. Every string gets a fair chance to be heard, and that's what I call a five string utopia!

You've mentioned that Led Zeppelin gave you a love for electric guitar, Radiohead influenced your singing and Rufus Wainwright gave you a sense of melody...can you tell us more about these influences and what they mean to you and your music?

To me, the guitar hooks in Zeppelin are equally as essential as the vocals, and maybe even more memorable. It's almost as if there are two singers in that band, it's just that one comes from the amplifier box, and one comes from the voice box. I guess I have been shaped by music that has an appreciation 'closed circuit melodies' (melodies that repeat). And with Radiohead, even though at times they have specialized in destroying classic pop rules and making very disjointed, shaky, almost atonal music like for example on ‘Pull Revolving Doors' from Amnesiac. I have a hunch that they will never completely abandon a well constructed, melodic, hooky ballad like ‘High and Dry'. Rufus's melodies are challenging and provided the door that opened for me. And as I've always said, I would love to have written the album Poses . If you haven't heard much of his music, go listen to ‘ Tower Of Learning '. This was the first song I heard of his via a friend of mine smashing a pair of headphones on my ears and making me listen to it!

If you could play with any artist of your choice who would it be and why?

I think it would be fun to play with Paul McCartney. Why? Because we both like pop.

What is your favorite song of all time and why?

I've never been good with such definite questions even if it's about my favorite movie, my favorite food, my favorite season or anything. I never have an answer and I don't know why. Maybe it's because my brain can't handle such a level of commitment. Or maybe I just don't like anything enough? Or maybe I just don't remember how much I like things until I'm reminded of them.

What do you do to relax away from work?

I play the recorder by the river with a goose feather bound to my upper arm by a hair tie that I'm not at that moment using to throw my hair in a pone tail. I will either play a Strokes song, an old hymn or a melody that I'm making up.

What's your most prized possession?

There we go again with scary words such as ‘most'. I don't know. I like my scarves, I like my health a lot, I like whatever nerves I have that send the signals to my brain called pleasure.

What was the first record you bought?

I can't remember as I'm not a huge record buyer. I think I probably know the least about music out of all my music friends. I never really had posters and such stuff. I don't know why. I can tell you though the last record I bought it was Eraser by Thom Yorke. It's tasty, especially the track ‘Harrowdown Hill'. It seems to me to be a somewhat vulnerable sounding album, which I find exciting.

You've got looks that people can mistake you for Ashton Kutcher at times, have you ever been mistaken for Ashton?

Yeah actually once or twice, I'm starting to wonder if my face changed all of the sudden, because prior to the last six months, I hadn't even heard a whisper about that kind of thing.

The music business is such a fickle industry, at such a young age do you ever think that if it ended tomorrow, what would you do and would it bother you?

If it all ended, then I would be forced to pursue other interests I have, and that would not be a negative thing. I think my feelings might get hurt if my music career ended, but hopefully I would get over it and continue making music - for no money - and maybe go to school across the pond.

You worked with three different producers on your debut album, Dan Brodbeck, Paul Ebersold and Clif Magness, why and what did each bring to the overall process?

My A & R man at RCA, Steve Ferrara, wanted to send me around to experience as many different types of environments and work ethics as possible before beginning the official full length, LP . This helped me develop opinions so I slowly, as is always the speed with me, began to hone what LP was meant to sound like. Clif helped translate my tiny, unproduced acoustic songs into something that you can blast on your speakers. Dan helped create a sort of band feel that I had been craving, even though in reality, there was no band per say. Paul gave me an outlet for the more quirky songs I had been writing. It was very good for me to be introduced to all of these truly fine people.

You've never had a guitar lesson do you think this helps to develop a sense of individuality in a player?

Yes. If you don't know the rules, you are more likely to break them with a smile. Tradition is a great thing to follow, but so is anti-tradition. Heads and tales, you know. I incorporate chords that may be oddly voiced high on the neck, and as a result I often don't even know the name of the chord I am playing.

What has the rest of the year in store for you?

he plan is to get on a really fun tour-- hopefully someone slightly bigger than us, and a touch smaller then say, McCartney or Radiohead. I really am looking forward to finding "the right fit" for me and my cronies. It will be very fun indeed.

www.landonpigg.com

By Joe Matera
www.joematera.com

Friday 18th Aug, 2006