The musical project of guitarist and vocalist Zack Kardon, Southern Pine offers subtle yet intricate, and deeply personal, songs - layering multiple instruments and voices to create an ethereal soundscape that can support raucous guitar solos and delicate string arrangements alike.
The newest single, "Way Back Home" was inspired by Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude and written to illustrate the sweet melancholy of nostalgia. Reminiscent of Sam Beam of Iron & Wine, Kardon’s voice is "dusty and intimate, like an attic full of forgotten treasures." Here, Kardon answers his Essential 8 and talks songwriting, traveling the country, his guilty pleasure song, and much more. Do you write about personal experience, the experience of others, observations, made up stories, something else or a combination? Almost all of my songs are rooted in personal experience. I think my best writing is allegorical. More than telling a story, I try to write songs that paint the vignette of a feeling. My story is specific to me, but feelings are universal, and if you can tap into a feeling that seems very specific and maybe even a little isolating then I think that's where music can have a tremendous catharsis. When/Where do you do your best writing? There are a handful of factors that put me into a space that is conducive for writing. Probably the the biggest is travel. When I go to a new place I see the world with fresh eyes. Home life is comprised of routine, which has it's own beautiful reward, but when I'm out of my element I'm able to observe small details that otherwise live in my periphery. Another important factor is to make sure I'm ingesting steady diet of art. It's pretty simple, I'm able to produce satisfying work when I am prioritizing my intake. That means trying to always have a book I'm reading, searching for new music, journaling daily; If i'm growing and moving forward then songs are a natural by product of that. Do you have any touring tips? Southern Pine is a new project so I've yet to do any touring in that context, but I've been touring regularly since I was 19 years old. My touring experience has always been on a pretty serious budget, so things I've learned prioritize staying happy and healthy on the road and doing it all for cheap. Bringing a portable stove is a must in my opinion, especially if you're traveling with multiple people. Eating Sheets for a month straight (I admittedly love sheets) will take a pretty serious toll on ones energy level. If you bring a cook top you can make use of down time and be in control of what you're putting into your body. Another big thing is camping. For a fraction of the cost of a hotel room there are tones of beautiful campgrounds all over this country. Staying up sitting around a fire is good for the soul, and they often have nicer showers then many of the budget hotels I've stayed at.
What has been your biggest success?
Success is a tricky thing in my opinion. I try to keep my bar for success pretty low and to prioritize working hard and moving forward. Right now, I would consider my biggest success simply being able to make a life for myself that is centered around music. In my home of Asheville, NC I get to collaborate with a ton of different songwriters, teach some music and write songs. The fact that I'm able to keep myself happy and fed doing this is a success. Is there a recent release you can't stop listening to? There's an artist I've been really loving lately named Angelo De Augustine. I heard his record Swim Inside The Moon and ordered it on vinyl the very same day. His songs are sparsely arranged, mostly nylon guitar, and his voice delivers beautiful unconventional melodies with a a very soft falsetto that still manages to cut deep. Each time I listen to his record I like it a little bit more. Is there a professional "bucket list" item you'd like to check off? One of the ambitions that made me want to pursue music was a desire to use it as a vehicle to see the world. My biggest "Bucket List" item I'd like to check off would be to travel out of the country to do a tour. Do you have a favorite gift from a fan? One of my collaborators, Jack Victor, and I used to do a bunch of street performing in the Boston subway system when we were in college. Usually people would sit and watch for a bit then toss in some change and keep on going about there day. Every once in a while we would notice someone sitting and studying us for a while. I'm not sure who it came from but I have a little sketch with note on it from that period and it always makes me smile when I look at it. Do you have a guilty pleasure song/artist? I'm hesitant to share this, but hey. For years now I don't think a week has passed that the Shakira song, 'Hips Don't Lie' hasn't got stuck in my head at some point. Just about everyone that spends time with me has heard me start mumbling at some "I'm on tonight you know my hips don't lie and I'm starting to feels it's right" At this point I've accepted that I may be with me until I die. Bandcamp/Facebook/IG Southern Pine's debut solo EP, Standing Still, will be released in January of 2019.
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