American Fork People

American Fork native Debra Fotheringham has a (relatively) new album and toured this last summer across the US and in Europe, I caught up with her via email for a quick interview:

M Ryan Taylor (MRT) : First, just so people can listen while they’re reading, what’s the best place to check out your music?

Debra Fotheringham (DF) : For continuous play, probably my MySpace page, but you can also listen to a few tracks on my regular website : debrafotheringham.com

MRT : You’re based in American Fork now, did you grow up here?

DF : Yep, born and raised in good ol’ A.F.

MRT : Is your family musical? or What got you started in music?

DF : Yes, my family is musical.  My dad was a jazz musician in the 50’s and played tenor sax in various big bands.  My mom played sax as well and she is really smart with music theory.  Any time I have a music theory question, I ask her.  Most of my siblings have tried one instrument or another, only the three youngest (myself and my younger sister and brother) have really been dedicated to it.  Among the three of us we play flute, tin whistle, piano, guitar, and percussion respectively.

How did I get started?  This might be long.  I’ve always loved music, even has a little tiny kid.  I remember dancing around the room to some of my dad’s jazz as a little kid.  I have always…and I mean always…wanted to be a musician.  I started out taking violin lessons.  I played for a couple years but got frustrated and gave up.  After that I got distracted with soccer.  I didn’t pick up another instrument until I started Jr. High and I picked the trumpet.  I played for a year but then I convinced my teacher to let me quit and play percussion instead.  I played percussion all through Jr. High and High School.  I marched snare in the AF drumline.  After high school I started playing hand percussion.  I love it.

About the same time I started percussion in school, I got a guitar for Christmas.  I started learning by teaching myself tabs for Jewel songs and at the same time I would write my own little songs.  They were terrible.  I would spend hours and hours playing the guitar, writing, singing.  Singing came as an afterthought.  It was necessary to sing in order to play the songs I wanted to play. The first time I ever realized that I might be able to be a singer and not just a guitar player was on a tour bus in Australia.  I was fourteen.  I was there with a group of student ambassadors from Utah.  Someone was playing a tape on the bus as we drove from Sydney to Brisbane…and I was singing along softly to myself.  I was a painfully shy kid.  One of our adult tour guides looked over at me and said really sincerely with this look of astonishment on his face, "You know, you could be a singer."  Up to that point, I didn’t even dare sing hymns in church.  I thought I had a terrible voice.  Now singing is one of the ultimate joys in my life.  I sing all the time.  At the table, in the car, in the shower, at work, when I’m sleeping.  (Yes, I’ve been told I sing in my sleep.)  I never shut up.

After that I started playing in local coffee shops and other venues…and the rest you can probably surmise.

MRT : Nothings like hearing it, but how would you describe your style? your influences?

DF : Hmmm…this is a hard question.  Usually I say acoustic folk rock with a little jazz thrown into the mix.  I’ve been heavily influenced by a lot of jazz musicians because of my Dad’s music collection.  But I’ve also been heavily influenced by the songwriter’s songwriters.  People like Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, etc.  As well as contemporaries like Sarah McLachlan, Jewel’s older stuff, Imogen Heap.

MRT : I’ve been following you online for some time now, but it looks like you’ve been doing some traveling yourself lately?

DF : Ha.  Yes, indeed.  Last summer was intense.  In three months I managed to make it to just about every major point between Logan and St. George and then Seattle, Portland, New York City, Long Island, Albuquerque, Boise…and then Germany, France, and Scotland.  It was a tiring summer but mostly just exhilarating.  I consider it the best summer on record.  I had so many awesome experiences and so many chances to grow creatively, spiritually, and emotionally.  I’ll be traveling this summer as well, but definitely not as far.  Maybe next year.  :)  I want to try to make it back to Australia and New Zealand within the next few years.  It’s been ten years since I was there last.  This time I want to go to perform.

MRT : I’ve noticed you perform a lot with Stephanie Smith, what’s the connection? How’d you get to working together?

DF : Stephanie and I met five or six years ago through random musical connections.  I think the first time we saw each other perform was at the Freedom Festival in Provo.  Then Stephanie learned that I was a percussionist as well and she asked me to play percussion with her at a few shows.  After that we just became really, really good friends.  We have similar personalities in a lot of ways.  I really respect and admire her talent as a singer/songwriter.  She’s just fantastic.  I’ve learned a lot from her.   We get along well so we enjoy traveling and playing shows together.  It’s much more fun to go to strange/unknown places when you’ve got a good friend to share it with.

MRT : What’s the greatest challenge facing a singer/songwriter like yourself in today’s climate?

DF : The greatest challenge?  I can only answer that from my perspective but I’d say business, for sure.  The market is so weird right now because the record label is losing its place as king, which is both good and bad.  It gives artists a better chance of making a living through art independently, but it also forces you to be more business savvy.  If you want to make a living, you have to know how to market yourself.  I am really awful at that.

MRT : And the greatest reward? What makes it worth it to you?

DF : After one show I played, a lady came up to me with tears in her eyes and told me that she had been having a personal struggle and one of my songs was exactly what she needed to hear at that moment.  I know that sounds cheesy but it’s stuff like that. I  hope people feel uplifted or feel something positive when they listen to my music.  By nature, I’m not really a loquacious or outgoing person, so performing music is my way of connecting with people around me.  We all need that connection.

MRT : Any cool irons in the fire right now?

DF : Hey, that’s a good name for a metal band!  Irons in the Fire.  Well, I’m working on some new material.  I want to dedicate myself to writing diligently so I have enough material for a new album.  I have some traveling planned for the summer.  I want to do a big show at an auditorium or larger venue every few months or so.  I just did one in February at the Tahitian Noni Auditorium in Provo.  It’s about time to start planning my next.  Also, I’m starting a metal band called Irons in the Fire.  ;)
 
MRT : How can people keep up to date on where your perfoming next? Where are you performing next?

DF : My website calendar and my Myspace calendar are always up to date with the latest information.  I have an email list that I send out about once a month to inform people of my upcoming shows.  You can sign up for that on my home page.  There’s a little link at the top that says "Join Email List."  If you click on that, it will pull up your email program.  Send a blank email to the address it pulls up and you’ll be automatically subscribed.  Soon there will be a field where you can enter your email, hit join, and have the process over with.  My webmaster is working on it.

MRT : What’s your favorite thing about American Fork?

DF : I think it has the perfect mix of rural and developed land.  Unfortunately, I think we’re losing a lot of that beautiful rural farm land to housing development…but I guess that’s the way it goes.  I like how it’s so centrally located near cultural life.  SLC is a tolerable drive away.  We have two universities within a very short distance to the south.  And then ten minutes away we have one of the most beautiful canyons in this country.  You can’t beat that.

MRT : What’s one way ordinary people could make American Fork a better place?

DF : Make yourself aware of the local issues.  Pay attention to local elections, educate yourself, and vote.  It’s the easiest and most effective way to contribute to your community.  I can definitely do better at this myself.  Also, I think Am. Forkers do a pretty good job at this already, but support local art, music, and cultural events.

You can get Debra Fotheringham’s latest album at http://www.debrafotheringham.com