A Conversation with Israel Nash – HuffPost 8.26.14

Mike Ragogna: Your new album Rain Plans already has received international acclaim. What do you think of the reaction so far?

Israel Nash: The reaction overseas has been really rewarding. The album made a number of year-end lists in Europe in publications like Uncut, Rolling StoneGermany, and Rolling Stone France. But more importantly, I feel the album has really connected with fans whom have given me overwhelming compliments as to how much this album has meant to them. That’s an incredible reward to me. These songs are bigger than me and are made to be shared emotionally with others. So I’m eager to release the album here at home and moreover, to really present the album through our live performances.

MR: Ted Young worked with you on the album. How do you think his involvement affected the album’s evolution?

IN: Ted Young engineered and mixed Rain Plans. Ted is my guy. That was something I always thought was cool about old school records. Artists really had engineers who were more like a part of the band than just some hired gun. I don’t like adding strangers to the mix. Ted is a rock and one of the best, and I’m told if I can come up with a nice Neve console, he might move down here to TX. Anyone have a really cheap Neve console for sale?

MR: [laughs] The title track, “Rain Plans,” comes off like a simple slice of Americana. What’s the story behind that album and a few of the album’s other tracks?

IN: From a songwriting perspective, the songs are all deeply personal vignettes focused on my own life and the transition I had when I moved to the Texas Hill Country. Rain Plans, the song is really about the beauty of looking forward. A rain plan means the day is not ruined. While slightly different, the celebration continues. It’s very easy to see the bad side of things, but there’s so much beauty in the good side of things. This album is about love, clarity, direction, vision, relationships and the evolving power of change.

MR: What’s your creative process like?

IN: I feel that the process is always changing for me and that there is never just a true form or some universal idea of creation. Ultimately, I believe in being honest. Having something to say and a need to say it. But beyond lyrics, I also firmly believe the music should represent those elements as well. With Rain Plans, the band and I really got into using the studio as an instrument and applying a focused lens on the sonic side of things. I really wanted to make a record that sounded and felt like my home and the land around me. I also purchased a 16-track Studer tape machine which we tracked the whole album too. That is definitely part of the process at least in the studio. It’s about a group of trusted friends, and the only people who should be in the room, coming together and unifying as one. For me, it’s about being a real musician, a real band. But at the end, I think if you just do what you are supposed to do in this life, it will be alright.

MR: Which song best represents Israel Nash and why?

IN: I honestly don’t look at individual songs as much anymore. I have a great obsession right now with the idea that songs are like chapters of a book and an album is like a book itself. Take a chapter or two out, and the whole meaning changes. So for me, it’s about albums right now. Rain Plans definitely represents me best at this time. Until the next one…

MR: You recently moved to Texas. Do you think this will affect your musical and lyrical approaches?

IN: I moved to Dripping Springs, a small town in the Hill Country of Texas, just about 3 years ago. I have a 15 acre ranch out here in the country now, which was obviously a big transition from living in NYC, where I had previously lived for almost 6 years. It was really that move that elicited such a change in almost every aspect of my life. When you go through change in your own life, your art should be affected. I firmly believe the place in which I write from has forever been changed. Change is good.

MR: What is your advice for new artists?

IN: I think it’s very easy to become jaded in the music business. Many expectations may not be met, but then expectation change. I’d say the biggest piece of advice for a young artist is to realize they will need to lean on people, people need people and artists definitely need them. Ultimately though, trust yourself and your vision and make your own critical decisions about your art. It is your path

MR: What was the best advice given to you?

IN: I think most artists have a point early on in their careers where they realize that this endeavor isn’t going to be an easy one. Sometimes that can definitely be frustrating. There’s a lot of material out now. More people than ever want to be in a band or like the idea of it at least. That reality becomes disappointing when all you want is to put your music forth. When I was going through that, I had a producer friend tell me not to worry and that the cream always rises. That’s always stuck with me. Maybe it’s about being the last man standing. I don’t know. Once again, confidence in yourself and your art and the knowledge that, if you are doing something that you know is right, then it can’t be wrong. Maybe no one knows it’s right, but time will indeed tell.

MR: How do you see yourself and your musical path going in the next five to ten years?

IN: I had a fan ask me once if my next album would be just like my last album. I replied, “I really hope not.” I believe the charge that any artist should have is not to so much please fans, but instead taking people somewhere new. I feel that we have that duty to the craft, to the art. So, I hope that I always search, grow, and move forward in my music. When you do those things with truth and passion, the next five, ten, even fifty years, will be something you’re proud of.