Published: July 18, 2010 5:28 PM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA (Juniorscave.com)
New Music Spotlight July 2010 Edition
The Tadcasters
Music Now Artist/Band Spotlight Weekly Series
The Tadcasters
Indie Bluegrass band The Tadcasters mixes elements of Bluegrass, Acoustic, and Folk into their music that gives the band their special sound. Bill Littleford (Guitar, Vocals) spent some time speaking with our online magazine about the band’s music and what he hopes others will take from their music. Here is what transpired from this online meeting.
Isaac: Let’s get started with this interview. When and how did you first become interested in music? How long have you been playing music?
Bill: I've always been interested in music. My older brother was always playing records and that was always a fun time. I guess I started playing guitar when I was 11 so I've been playing some type of music for 23 years.
Isaac: Who would you say are your biggest musical influences and why?
Bill: There are so many and from a variety of different styles. And it's different for each member of The Tadcasters but I would say Jimi Hendrix is my biggest influence. The excitement and originality of his music still impresses me.
Isaac: What has been the greatest highpoint in your career so far?
Bill: Probably releasing The Tadcasters CD. We'll hopefully put out a lot more but the first one always gets the ball rolling.
Isaac: What has been the greatest disappointment in your career so far? What did you learn from that experience?
Bill: Trying to get a gig or trying to sell your sound to an uninterested audience is always tough. But over the years I've learned patience. If you're doing something good, just keep doing it. The music is what matters most. And if you're making good music with good friends, then you're already in a great place.
Isaac: What draws you to want to play the type of music that you do?
Bill: About 10 years ago, I started playing more acoustic music than electric music and I kinda found my voice. I've always been an 'improvising' musician or a 'jam' type of player. So bluegrass and jazz were just natural styles for me to go after. And I've always been into great songwriters and great songs. So put together good songs with good jams with acoustic instruments and all it seems to work out.
Isaac: What do you feel it takes to play this type of music that you play?
Bill: Experience. Feel. Listening. Practice. Working together with musicians instead of playing all over them.
Isaac: What do you think you will create that will make your performances and who you are stand out in the music industry?
Bill: Being original and not being afraid to do things outside of our 'genre.' Too many people get caught up in sounding 'right' or 'correct' that they forget that you need an open mind to sounds and arrangements.
Isaac: If you had the opportunity to do one cover, what cover would you do and why? How would you put your own spin on this cover?
Bill: It's gotten popular for bluegrass bands to do mainstream covers in a bluegrass style. So maybe we should take a traditional bluegrass song and not play it in a bluegrass style.
Isaac: What does it take to be a good songwriter?
Bill: Hard work. Even if you're the most gifted songwriter of all time, you still need to work at it.
Isaac: How difficult is it to juggle music, family and work obligation, and life in general? Explain.
Bill: That's probably what most artists or musicians struggle with the most. Creativity happens when it happens and it's frustrating when it happens when you have to be at work or some other obligation. Many times you'll work all day, have to rush home and grab your gear and then you're at a gig trying to remember who you are. But after you play it's all good again and you remember why you do what you do. It's never been easy for creative people. Just being able to make music you love is the reward.
Isaac: What is your definition of being an Indie artist/band?
Bill: The advantage to being an indie band is you have most of the artistic control over your music. We're not stuck with the record companies’ game plan. Plus we're not rock stars; we're everyday people like everyone else. We just happen to make and play music.
Isaac: Where can fans access your music online?
Bill: www.thetadcasters.com is good place to start. It has links to MySpace and CDBaby and other places.
Isaac: In five years…….
Bill: We want to have a few more records out and hopefully we'll be touring every summer. Meeting new people and playing for new audiences.
