 Courtesy: Conqueroo “When I wrote ‘Sleeping Dogs,’ I got this image of sleeping dogs lying, and how I need to let shit go,” Plankenhorn explains. “I literally took a lot of things that I’m really bad at or think I’m really bad at, and told myself, ‘If I sing this for a year or two on tour, it may make me better at these things; maybe I won’t take stuff personally, won’t let things get me down.’ And I thought, ‘Maybe somebody else will hear this song and maybe it will help them, too.’ And I really like that idea: I like the idea of writing songs that have a little moral imperative to them.” One of the most highly regarded guitar players on the Austin music scene, Jeff Plankenhorn is readying the release of his new album Sleeping Dogs on May 4th. The all original collection contains eleven tracks including “Tooth and Nail,” which features Ray Wylie Hubbard, the arresting “Holy Lightning” with Patty Griffin, the hurricane Harvey-inspired “Further to Fall”, and the closer, “Heaven on Earth,” a tribute to his wife's love of nature. Ahead of the album's release, Plankenhorn kindly took the time to answer his Essential 8 where he talked about his brother John, shared the story behind Sleeping Dogs, relayed advice from Ray Wylie, and more. Did you have a musical mentor? If so, who was it and how did they influence you? My older brother John who is a bass player and composer. When I was growing up it was always “oh you’re John’s little brother. You pay guitar too? That’s just great.” He taught me so many things about music I couldn’t possibly mention them all. 5 years my senior, I would get influences earlier than all my friends and be listening to Classics from The White Album to Are You Experienced long before I was even in high school. His advice was always sage. A great mentor indeed. With any particular song, was there an “a-ha” moment when you knew the song was completed and perfect? Never. Hasn’t happened yet. Probably never will. What’s the story behind your album’s title? The title track ‘Sleeping Dogs’ became the album title because was a vehicle for me to work out demons and problems and shortcomings. I believed if I sang this song on tour for a year or two, maybe I would learn to ‘let sleeping dogs lie” in a number of ways, and maybe it could help my audience do the same when they sing along. Why did you chose to anchor the album with the songs you did? We started the recording the day Tom Petty died, and everything changed without any discussion. Not entirely, but all sorts of decisions began to be made like ‘what would Mike Campbell do on this guitar part’ and ‘don’t bore us, get to the chorus.’ Where do you draw inspiration from when writing?
Every part of my life. I also try to hang out as much as I can with people who are not professional musicians, because when I hang out with only musicians all I end up writing about is music and the road. I love diversity - in art, in music, and in camaraderie. When/where do you do your best writing? My instinct is to say on Vancouver Island, where my wife was born and raised, with no one around but her and some trees and dogs. Sometimes though, under the gun, with a deadline in the studio, I find I get what I’m looking for out of sheer fear. Do you write about personal experience, the experience of others, observations, made-up stories, something else or a combination? I want everyone to know they have a ‘seat at the table’ with my music. All walks of life, every type of person imaginable. So if I’m writing something too personal, that I’m afraid someone can’t put themselves in the shoes of the main character, I choose to reel it back in so they can. What’s the best advice you have ever gotten from another musician? My brother once said “if you have any doubts at all about being a musician for a living - don’t.” What’s the best advice to give to a musician just starting out? I’ll give you some advice given to me. When I moved to Texas Ray Wylie Hubbard sat me down and asked me, “What do you want to do when you move to Texas?” I said, “I just want to play music that I love, with good people, pay my bills, and maybe have a family.” Then Ray said, “Do you want to have a Jaguar in your driveway?” I paused...”Well no, not necessarily.” His reply: “You can do it” Website/Facebook/Twitter/Purchase/YouTube
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