ACL preview: Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals come from Vermont, which is probably why they get labeled as a jam band more often than not. We talked to Grace about her upcoming ACL set, her new album, This is Somewhere, and the promise of gratuitous nudity.

That Other Paper Do you come to Austin often?

Grace Potter Whenever I wear holes through my cowboy boots and need to come back and get another pair. We go there a lot, because, being on the road, Texas is a nice, central point for us. We’ve spent more time in Texas and Colorado than we have in Vermont these past couple of years, actually.

TOP There are so many different places to play in Texas.

GP Yeah, and such different kinds of places. You’ve got your Austin, which is your kinda-hipster, awesome community. But you can also tap into this great culture of blues and country fans, which I love. I think Austin, as a city, is my focal point. If we ever have a couple of days off and we’re in Kansas or something, and there’s some band we want to see in Austin, we’ll just drive down there to hang out and listen to Lucinda Williams or something.

TOP Where are your favorite places to go in Austin?

GP First of all, my favorite hotel to stay at is the Hotel San Jose on South Congress, because that’s the one place we ever stayed as a band that actually provided us with wine and cheese and a really sweet patio instead of itchy blankets and flat, hard pillows. We also spent some time filming a music video in Austin. There’s a really cool school called the EcoSchool. They have this really funky, old playground, and we’d been looking to film a music video in a playground. So we went and location scouted and finally managed to eke our way in there to film a music video, which I was directing. So quality control wasn’t really an issue at that point. But because it was Austin, it made it fun.

TOP And you played at South by Southwest this year.

GP Yeah, like most bands, we came in the front door and played South by Southwest first, and it was awesome. But I almost wish we had found it on our own, because everybody who goes to South by Southwest falls in love with Austin and wants to stay there forever. But I actually like Austin better when it isn’t so nuts and crazy and crowded, because there’s this soul — this beating heart to the city you don’t find at South by Southwest.

TOP I think during South by Southwest it’s really easy to tell the Austinites apart because they’re the ones walking really quickly with their heads down, trying not to look at anything, grumbling about their favorite restaurants having huge waits. So this is your first time to play ACL Fest, though.

GP Yeah, it’s something we’ve wanted to do for a long time and I’m really excited about it. It’s just another excuse to go to Austin.

TOP What should we expect from your live show?

GP I think the live show is ever-expanding, and it’s really dynamic. We’re not just one kind of music, and I think that’s what surprises people the most about us. Everybody who hears about us has some preconceived notion that I’m the next Sheryl Crow, or we’re the next Phish — the jammiest of jam bands. And it’s none of that. We have our really spacey, wild, atmospheric moments where we take it out on a limb, and then we come back in and throw down some good, old country blues funk. I think it’s just about being honest with the crowd. I’m so sick of watching bands where the lead singer’s trying to be a marching band captain, and he’s putting on all these crazy, big-eyed, I’m-on-Ecstasy faces. It’s all about being truthful and sharing what you’re really feeling. I know how to be honest and put on a show at the same time, and I think that’s a hard thing for a lot of people to lasso.

TOP So who are you looking forward to seeing, then? Who else puts on a good show?

GP I was just talking to John Stirratt from Wilco and we knew we were playing something together, and we were trying so hard to figure it out. I was digging deep in my mind for all the festivals we were playing at, and — duh — I should’ve known. Austin City Limits is one of the most unforgettable festivals on our calendar. So I’m looking forward to Wilco and My Morning Jacket, but I think they’re playing within 20 minutes of each other. I can’t prioritize that shit, man! Those are two of my favorite current bands. So those guys, but some of the smaller stuff, too. There’s so many bands that don’t start bleeping on the map for people until they get bigger, and we’ve been one of those bands for a long time. It’s like, “Oh, yeah, I’ve heard their name.” But you need a good reason to take time out of your schedule when there’s other, much bigger bands playing. I think that we don’t have that backbone of a reputation, so I just need to do all I can do to get people to come out to see us. Even if that means mooning the city of Austin as we fly in on our plane.

TOP So what is the one thing that you can say right now to convince us to come see you?

GP The one thing? I might get naked. But, actually, not just me. I’m talking about the whole band. So not just a girl’s boobs, or the accidental panty-lift, but some of the pastiest, whitest men with fabulously carved abs potentially lifting up their shirts and showing their sweet, shining, laser–[laughs]. But, actually, we’re good. We’re a really good band, and I’m finally comfortable saying that. We’ve really come into our own. And we’ve gotten cozy with ourselves. We like to be on stage together. It’s important to have that. You have to be authentic.

TOP That’s the other interesting thing about you guys. You were totally DIY for a while. And now you’re on Hollywood Records.

GP The three-year incubation period was important for us. It’s common that bands sign because they want to sign, and it’s a big deal. It’s like, “They’re sending me champagne and iPods.” But they don’t have — to be really nasty about it, I guess — the “product.” And they don’t have the music they’re happy with. That’s what Mandy Moore was complaining about, not that I’m a Mandy Moore fan. But she keeps saying, “These first two CDs, they’re awful and I hate them.” The first three years in the band, we got a lot of offers to sign, but we didn’t feel like we were ready. We didn’t know what we were about yet. We knew we didn’t want to be a straight-up jam band or the next Norah Jones or Bonnie Raitt. We needed to figure out how to be us and share it in the most joyful way.

TOP Yeah, listening to your CD, I’m not sure I could pinpoint you one-to-one with another artist.

GP Thank God you said that! I don’t know why, but everyone’s always going into this Sheryl Crow land. I loved that first Sheryl Crow CD for a week, and then everything was downhill from there. But you gotta take credit where credit is due, and when somebody compares you to another woman, it’s the obvious choice and it’s easy to do. But, being a woman in rock and roll, it’s just gonna happen and I’m trying to stop complaining about it.

TOP So obviously in Austin, we’re a huge music city, and there’s a lot of bands trying to get off the ground. What advice would you give to a band trying to do it themselves?

GP

The other thing is that you have to be good. Practice a lot. Never kid yourself that you’re good enough. You gotta work your chops and open yourself up to new music. Never be narrow-minded. I was just listening to the new Kelly Clarkson CD downstairs — I’m at a ten year old’s birthday party right now — and I had my assumptions about Kelly Clarkson, but I have to say the last track on her record is long, and it sounds like M. Ward. It’s really cool. I understand her label is really upset with it, which is kind of great.

TOP So to completely shift gears, why the Nocturnals? What’s behind that name?

GP That’s easy. When we first got together, we didn’t have any money, and we didn’t have a place to rehearse. The only place was this place called the Java Barn, this coffee house and hipster hang scene. It was the only free place to rehearse, and there were so many bands trying to get rehearsal time in that the only time we could get was two AM. We would rehearse from like two to five. So the Nocturnals comes from loading our trucks up at five AM and watching the sun rise, and then studying for final exams the next day. But we didn’t care, and it was beautiful.

TOP What else should our readers know about you?

GP Warn them that the show is one thing, the CD is another. And we finally kind of grasped that the live show is not something you wanna recreate on a record, because then it’s not special. I mean, U2 at Red Rocks is U2 at Red Rocks. How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb is How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. We grappled with that, being in this jam band world. And a lot of jam bands try to recreate that magic on CD, but it always sounds wanky. That’s the biggest thing about us that people need to know. That, and the nudity.

TOP Yeah, we have to warn them. NSFW. So is every show different?

GP Yeah. You really feed off the energy of the crowd. And, like, if you’re tired — sometimes being tired on stage can be incredibly inspiring for the audience to witness because your emotions are so raw. You get cut apart in front of everbody, and I really love opening myself up to that. But for the most part, we leave a pint of blood on the stage every night.