Won’t You Be My Neighbor? : An Interview With Anthony da Costa
Anthony da Costa is no stranger to collaboration within his breadth of work over the course of his career. Most recently falling into the sideman gig with some of folk/roots musics brightest stars all while releasing formidable projects of his own.
While I could sit here and spout laudatory praise for his last record, we are here to talk about his latest project with musician and friend Adam Levy (plus you can read praise for that last record here anyway).
There are countless embedded themes you could mine from this project. The two artists are nearly 25 years apart in age and the mere experiences that come from that difference of time play a part in what makes the record so interesting. Perhaps a play on the fact that those folks right next door may have more in common with you than you think if you just give yourself a chance to open up. And open up the two singer-songwriters do. The interplay between the two is what keeps the collection so fluid.
Levy’s voice has a gruffness to it. As if slightly scoured with pumice, the scratches and imperfections are what make it so intriguing. Da Costa, on the other hand, has this overwhelming tenderness to the way his vocal ebbs and flows, rising and falling delicately. The balance of the two voices together complement one another in sublime fashion. Almost to the point where you can’t particularly tell who wrote or arranged which tune, aside from the lead vocal on each.
Collectively, this is a highway drive down some fairly vast landscapes of music. ‘Tragically Beautiful’ is a pop tinged rocker that (somehow) effortlessly flows into the country frayed edges of ‘I Said No’, with familiar country guitar lines and a lyric pattern and theme we have seen in many a country songs. The ride that you are taken on through the course of the 12 tracks may bring you differing visuals through the windshield lens of the project, but the vehicle is still the same. With a comfortable seat to keep you feeling good and a high fidelity speaker system…I mean, the execution and mixing of the project is impeccable and the performances on each song are beautiful.
The connection the two artists have is fully realized. They just click. The record is fun and shares a borderline somewhere in pop or indie, but it also shares common threads with country, folk and rock sentiments. I mean, its a term that gets thrown around a lot, but this album has something for everyone. It buoyant and bubbly at times, dire and downtrodden the next. The sonic variety contained within may flow across a delta filled with everything from red dirt ballads to flowing cat tail grass dreamy indie rock, but the perspectives contained within the words from each of the two artists keeps the line straight and connects the dots.
Wonderful writing, fantastic instrumentation and a really brilliant collaboration from two huge talents.
We caught up with Anthony to expand a bit more on this specific project, as well as what it has meant to him to be such a collaborative artist while pushing his own solo material forward as well. How to step into that roll and pour your whole self into it without overstepping boundaries and finding just the right amount of your own style to add to the other artist’s audible aesthetic…something he does extremely well if you have seen him with Aoife O’ Donovan on last year’s touring circuit or more recently with Sarah Jarosz. Buy this record today and head below to read up on our conversation.
RLR: I first came across you through your work with other artists. I had seen Aoife a number of times with a number of different people but there was a spark that ignited on stage with you guys as a trio. You’ve also played guitar in ‘Nancy and Beth’ and currently you are also playing as Sarah Jarosz’s axe-man and perform in a couple of other bands as a sideman.
Do you find you have a switch that you turn on and off for that gig versus performing your own songs? What sort of mentality is there for one show versus another, if there is any?
ADC: Solid question. I definitely approach the two scenarios differently in some ways. For one, it can be a great relief to play in someone else’s band, from a brand perspective. When it’s not my name up there on the marquee, I can relax and know that my job is simply to play guitar, sing and deliver. I don’t have to promote those shows. It’s not my name riding on the line. This helps me focus on the music MUCH more than any other aspect of touring.
I will say, though, that I try to give everything to each and every performance, whether it’s a sideperson or ADC gig. I kind of became a sideperson by accident. From the age of 13 until I was in college, I was playing my music full-time. However, I spent enough time accompanying friends at festivals and late-night jams over the years that I sort of took a shine to it. It all started with how much I love and feel invested in great songs, especially when they’re written by friends of mine. However, I am not the kind of sideperson who simply “blends” into every scenario. I have a natural love for the stage and don’t hide this enthusiasm well. This has led a front person or two to tell me to “calm down a bit” (no joke). All in all, it is definitely easy for me to feel more invested in my own music, but I always do my best to serve whatever song I am playing at the time.
RLR: Given that you are performing with a lot of different acts throughout the year (and years) I would think it safe to say that collaboration is something you enjoy quite a bit and have grown comfortable with. What do you think performing with different acts for a few weeks back to back throughout the year has done for you as not just a musician or side man but also as an artist yourself personally in your own work? Do you find you take a lot from the people that you perform alongside as well as give your own talents?
ADC: I have learned so much from the artists I have toured with as an accompanist. When I played guitar with Jimmy LaFave (may he rest in peace), I learned the value of “going for it” with each and every performance. I never saw Jimmy phone in a show (or a song, for that matter). And he taught me how to CROON. I mean, no one could ever sing quite like Jimmy did…but I’d like to think that I picked up a few tricks after backing him up most every weekend for a year and a half.
I got to spend 2016 as the touring guitarist for Aoife O’Donovan, and that was an incredibly positive experience. Not only is Aoife an extremely talented performer and writer, but she is such a badass on the business front…she knows what she wants for her career, and she is very smart about all of it. She became a bit of a sister figure for me, and gave me tons of advice about how to approach my own songwriting career. She’s definitely one of my heroes.
Lately, I’ve had the pleasure of being in Sarah Jarosz’s band…Sarah is fantastic. I’ve admired her work for years. It’s a real pleasure to get to play music alongside her every night. We’re the same age, and have been doing this for the same amount of time…but we’ve existed in different worlds. There’s such a finesse to what Sarah does, and I have certainly been paying close attention to the nuances of her songs. We’re hopefully gonna get to write a few tunes in the near future.
RLR: The last question may be kind of silly given the recent tracks you sent my way…its quite obvious you thrive in a collaborative environment. The neighbors project with Adam Levy. How did the idea for that come about? How about the process of bringing it all together (where did you record it, when, was it a one day event or something planned over time)?
ADC: Adam has been one of my favorite guitarists since the first time I heard him play. I met Adam through the NYC/East Village music scene. We’ve all heard his guitar playing, sometimes without even knowing it (for instance, the first time I heard the music of Norah Jones). Adam’s playing guitar on her early records, including the one with all of the big hits. He’s played guitar on so many albums, and is one of the most in-demand session players I know…but there’s so much more to that man. For instance, his songs and his voice.
I texted Adam back in the summer of 2015 while I was coming down off of a crazy trip to the desert with my then-girlfriend. She and I were brainstorming about different projects and potential collaborators. I texted Adam to see how he was doing…he told me that he was teaching, doing sessions, and playing guitar with others, while trying to keep his own music going as well. Adam then texted me two words that I was NOT expecting to hear from him…”any advice?” I didn’t respond for about 20 minutes, before I wrote back and suggested that the two of us make an album (as if THAT would solve EVERYTHING). I’m so glad that I did.
We scheduled two days in an Austin, TX studio for November. Most of the songs were written and/or compiled the week before the session. We were supposed to have two rehearsals, but the first one never happened, due to a flight cancellation. We got together for a few hours one day, played a gig at my friend’s bar that night…and then headed into the studio the next morning. We recorded 12 tracks in two days. This record was one of the most spontaneous things I’ve ever done, considering the concept was birthed on a whim, and we had never played a note of music together before…I’m very proud of what we came up with.
RLR: When I first dug into your last record, Da Costa, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I mean, your voice for one is incomparable, but it was the delivery of the lyrics that really took me. You were the youngest winner of both Falcon Ridge and Kerrville competitions for songwriting so I imagine that writing is something you hold in high regard. What does your writing process look like? Do you sit down to start and finish a song or do they kind of come over time.
I used to have a rule with myself that if I couldn’t finish a full draft of a song in one sitting, I would toss it. That was kind of a brutal rule. These days, I’m recording little snippets of ideas all of the time, whether they are melodic, lyrical, or both. For Neighbors (our duo album) in particular, I wrote most of my half of the record after going through a very intense breakup with a woman I once thought I would marry. While I tend to write a lot of songs about relationships, I feel as though this particular batch reflect a very serious time when I was considering more than just the two of us, but a potential life together, and all that might entail. I love the juxtaposition of Adam’s songs with mine, since Adam has about twice the life experience that I do, and comes at a lot of this from a very different angle.
RLR: What’s your muse?
ADC: Love, friends, relationships…the music and words of others. Oh, and Thai food.
RLR: You’ve been spending a lot of time on the road lately (and are making it up my way to Vermont next week).
So I have two questions regarding that: what are 3 things you can’t do without when you are touring? And what are your “go to” 3-5 records for the long hauls in the van?
ADC:
Go-To Touring Items:
1) Headphones. I have had expensive ones, but I am way too hard on these things…so I’m currently rocking a hip-looking pair of Panasonic RP-HTX7’s. They’re cheap, they sound fine, and they look GREAT. Oh, and I always have at least several comedy podcasts downloaded to my phone. Comedy Bang Bang and You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes are two of my favorites.
2) Running shoes – meant to guilt me more than anything, Sometimes, I even USE them.
3) Floss sticks. I know that they are wasteful, but they are the only way I seem to be able to regularly floss my teeth. In this regard, I’m like a child who will only take medicine if it’s bubblegum-flavored. Sorry, Earth. Does it help that I have a reusable water bottle?
Current Favorite Records on the Road (in no particular order):
1) Rumor and Sigh – Richard Thompson
2) The Following Mountain – Sam Amidon
3) Capacity – Big Thief
4) 9 – Damien Rice
5) Are We There – Sharon Van Etten
6) One Two – Jenna Moynihan and Màiri Chaimbeul
Anthony will be on tour throughout New England this coming week with Adam Levy in support of Neighbors. See below, or head to Adam or Anthony‘s websites for more info…
July 6th – Light Club Lamp Shop, Burlington VT
July 7th – Firehouse Center For the Arts, Newburyport, MA
July 8th – Rockwood Stage 3, NYC, New York
July 9th – The Cock n’ Bull, Galway, NY
