"Dobro Master" Abbie Gardner Interview
www.AbbieGardner.com
Interview by Roger Zee (12/07/20)
Roger Zee: Who inspired you to play guitar and sing?
Abbie Gardner: I grew up in a musical family, including my dad who's a jazz musician. Growing up, I listened to a lot of Billie Holiday, Ray Charles, Bonnie Raitt, Jerry Douglas, and Tim O’Brien.
RZ: Talk about some of the musicians you've worked with.
AG: I've worked most of my career as a solo or with the trio Red Molly, usually in and around the singer/songwriter scene in the Northeast. I helped form the band back in 2004, with Laurie MacAllister and Carolann Solebello. Despite a change of lineup (Molly Venter joined in 2010) and a two year mutual hiatus, we’ve continued strong ever since. We’ve found a nice balance now between solo careers and the band.
I've either recorded with, written with, or shared a stage with David Olney, Will Kimbrough, Brooks Williams, Ellis Paul, Vance Gilbert, Amy Speace, Jonathan Byrd, Tim O’Brien, Claire Lynch, and many more. I’m honored to call many of these musicians my friends. I’m grateful to have had a chance to perform and record with my father and his band. And I even got to sit in with Keb Mo on the Cayamo Music cruise in 2018! What an incredible moment! But when it comes down to it, I just really want to create genuine musical experiences with people, famous or not -- whether on stage or in a Green room with nobody listening.
RZ: What guitars, strings, and amplifiers do you currently use?
AG: I mostly play the resonator guitar these days, aka the dobro. That’s a lap style guitar with the strings raised up high off the fretboard and a square neck to hold all the tension of playing lap style. I started with that in 2004 when I injured my left wrist. I still play guitar and ukulele and I sing as well.
My primary instrument's a Beard model resonator guitar with a double shot attachment for changing quickly between open G tuning and D tuning. I primarily play acoustically, though I do own a Fender tube amp for the rare occasion I want to Rock out. I use D’Addario J42 strings. I've also got a National steel body guitar that I use for playing in open E-tuning.
RZ: Do you teach private lessons?
AG: I’ve had a great time teaching group online songwriting classes. For Dobro lessons, I would recommend Mike Witcher and Ivan Rosenberg.
RZ: How's the Pandemic affected you? What's on your horizon?
AG: The pandemic canceled all of my solo and band tours, as well as the songwriting and dobro camps they slated me to teach. Like many people, the Pandemic kept me from seeing my family and friends. So heartbreaking but better then putting them in danger.
I used the time to work on recording, practicing, and making videos. I perform live streaming shows twice a month from home and started a Patreon membership page. The latter's a complete joy. I get to follow my creative instinct and share whatever I'm working on, giving my fans a deeper look into my process. It also helps monetize the day-to-day creative work I need to do for my business. So it's very inspiring. I’m also currently working on a video for my new Christmas song as well as prepping for recording a full length solo album in January.
RZ: How do you see the future of the music business?
AG: For the moment, I see the future of the music business primarily online. I'm sure live shows will come back eventually. But in the meantime, we need to learn how to reach out and connect over the internet.
RZ: What advice do you give up-and-coming musicians?
AG: I tell them to follow their heart and keep a firm grasp on what inspires them creatively. At the moment, it's harder than ever to make a living with music. But this works as a blessing in disguise because it helps you to focus on the real reason you do it. Make your money however you can and keep your music and art pure. It's also a great time to invest in yourself and gain skills, whether in video editing and recording software, or extra practice time. So many high level musicians now give lessons. So take advantage of that. Figure out what interests you. See if you can find a course online that suits your needs. I'm currently taking a class in music notation through Muse Score. It only costs $25 and it's broken down into small segments so I can go step-by-step and gradually learn a very useful skill even if I only do a half hour per day. It's SO important to enjoy success with small things right now so you stay motivated!
RZ: Describe your most special and/or unusual gig.
AG: I recently performed a birthday party over Zoom while waiting for Covid test results (which turned out negative, thankfully) -- a surreal experience!
YouTube - A Piece of You - Abbie Gardner
©2020 Roger Zee
