Last week, Nashville-based guitarist Dave Rawlings, best known for his collaboration with Gillian Welch, released his first solo record, titled A Friend of a Friend. Rawlings appears on all of Welch's albums and has become known for his ephemeral voice and intricate guitar picking. His style is a mix of country, old-time, bluegrass, and rockabilly. Mother Jones talked with Rawlings about his first guitar, concert fiascoes, and what it's like to be in Gillian's shadow. Click here to listen to an extended podcast of our interview.
Mother Jones: How did you start playing music?
Dave Rawlings: When I was probably just about 16, I was walking home from a pizza parlor with one of my best friends, and he said, "Why don't you get a guitar for Christmas and I'll get a harmonica, and we can play 'Heart of Gold,' the Neil Young song, in the talent show." And as soon as I had a guitar I loved it, and I started playing in every spare moment.
MJ: You played in a rock band in the '90s.
DR: When I played with the Esquires, the two of us and our friend David Steal decided to go and play Chuck Berry songs and Tom Waits songs and things like that at a couple local bars in Nashville. That was probably 'round about 1998. But I taped a few of the shows; I know what they sounded like. It was never anything too exciting, but it was fun.