JULY 2019 • UNCUT• 55
either.Youcandoyourownthing.”
Fussellhasmanyofhisownthings.
There’shissolocareer,withalbumsout
onChapelHill-basedindielabel
ParadiseOfBachelors,anda fewgigs
aroundtheTrianglenowandthen.
Almostimmediately,hereleasedhis
self-titledalbumin2015.Hefollowedit
upin 2017 withWhatInTheNatural
Worldand,thisJune,OutOfSight. When
he’snottouring,hepicksupshiftsat
CarolinaSoulRecordsindowntown
Durham,andheco-hostsa weeklyradio
showcalledFallLineRadioonthelocal
stationWHUP,wherehespinsrecords
froma rangeofgenres.Healsoplays
aroundtheTriangleinsmallDIYspaces
andlargerclubs,sometimessoloand
occasionallywitha smallbandbacking
himup.Sometimeshegetstositinwith
friendsorwithmusicalheroes.Just
recentlyhebegana residencyata barin
ChapelHillcalledtheCrunkleton,
accompanyinga localdrummernamed
James“Bubba”Norwood,who is
himselfa pieceoflivingmusichistory.
“James’résuméis amazing,”saysFussell.“Played
withCurtisMayfield.KnewOtisRedding.Whenhe
was17,hewashiredtoplaydrumsforIkeandTina
Turner.Hehadtogetpermissionfromhismotherto
goontourwiththem.Heendedupstayingwiththem
foreightyears.Weweretalkingaboutit,andhewants
todomoreshows.It mightturnintoa regulargig.I
lovehavinga residencylikethat.It givesyoua chance
toplaya lotofsongsyoumightnotnormallyplay.”
Thesedays,Fussellgravitatestowardmusicians
ofallstripes,stilllearningfromthemashegoes.
NathanSalsburg,a folkguitaristbasedinLouisville,
Kentucky,andarchivistattheAlanLomaxArchives,
firstsawJakeplayata bluesfestivalinMississippiin
theearly2010s.Theybecameinstantfriends,sharing
anobsessiverelationshipwithfolkmusic.
“It’shardtoimaginesomeoneofmygeneration
havingfirsthandaccesstopeoplelikethat,”says
Salsburg.“SoI wasreallyexcitedtomeethim,
althougheverytimewegettogetherit’sa bitofa
mess.Wejusttalkandtalkandtalk.He’soneofthe
only people I can talk to about all this stuff.”
F
USSeLLtreadsa finelinebetweenhistorian
andmusician,betweensongcollectorandsong
creator.Youdon’thavetoknowtheoriginsof
a songlike“TheRiverStJohns”,theleadofftrackon
OutOfSight, toappreciateitsmelancholytoneorits
richmelodicveins.It’sa fishmonger’scryfromthe
late1800s,butthathistoryis lessimportantthanthe
joyFusselltakesinthemagicalrealismofthelyrics:
“I’vegotfreshfishthismorning,ladies!Theyaregilded
withgoldandyoumayfinda diamondintheirmouth.”
“I love that,” hesays.“Thelanguageandimagery–
that’sa lotofwhatI’mdrawnto
n theseoldersongs.I trytobe
pickyaboutwhatkindsofsongs
doandhowI dothem.I don’t
wanttotakeanyoldfolksong
andputa synthesiserontopof it
- althoughthatmightbe
nteresting.It’smoreofan
ntuitivething.Therehastobe
omequalityinthesongthat
want to draw out, and it has to
recorderthen,andI havestacksoftapesfromdoing
that.eventuallyI wanttodosomethingwiththem.”
JakeneverperformedpubliclywithBryant,buthe
didbecomesomethingofa sidemaninColumbus,
playingweeklygigswitha localbluegrassbandand
occasionallysittinginwithan Alabama blues
musiciannamedGeorge
Daniel.Later,whenhemoved
toOxford,Mississippi,to
pursuea degreeinfolklore,he
playedoftenwiththeRevJohn
Wilkins,sonofthelegendary
bluesmanRobertWilkins.
Fromthemhelearnednotonly
thetechniquesandstyleshe
incorporatesintohisguitar
playing,butalsonottobeso
preciouswiththismusic,notto
treatit asanartefact.Rather,it
becomesa livingthing,onethat
canbeusefullydisplacedintime.
“Iknewa lotofmusicianswhoweren’tnecessarily
wearingclothesthatwepicturewhenwethinkabout
thiskindofmusic.Theymightbewearinga Nike
tracksuitandplayingsongsfromthe1890s.It wasall
mixedup.Formeit continuesto bemixedup,andthat’s
what I’m trying to get at when I’m playing these songs.”
F
USSeLLrelocatedfromOxfordtoDurham
nearlyfiveyearsago,andsincethenhehas
becomeentrenchedintheTriangle’sfolkscene,
alongsideelephantMicah,HissGoldenMessenger
andothers.TheTarheelStatehasquietlybecomea
nexusformusicianslookingtogentlyexpandthe
soundandthenatureoffolkmusic,whetherit’s
HouseAndLandoverinAsheville(SarahLouise
HensonandSallyAnneMorgandoingdroning
versionsofhymnsandballads)orNathanBowles
hereinDurham(a banjoplayerandpianistwhomixes
traditionalsongswithavant-gardecomposition).
“There’sa goodscene,”saysFussell,“ifyoureally
wanttocallit a scene.I don’tknowwhatthatmeans
halfthetimeotherthanjusta bunchofmusicians
makingmusicina particularlocale.Butpeopledo
tendtobesupportiveofoneanotherhere.Youcan
collaborate with anybody, but there’s no pressure Wanda natale
HowtoBuy...
JakeXerXes
Fussell
JakeXerXes
FUsseLL
ParadiseOF
aCheLOrs,2015)
ussell’ssolodebut
troducesanartist
ensitivetothevariety
ofuSfolktraditions
andtothepeoplewho
createdthem.among
hisbest-knownsongs
s “raggylevy”,which
Jake’sfatherFred
countsamonghis
favorites:“Itwasa
songhelearnedfrom
anoldfriendofoursin theGeorgia
SeaIslandSingers.I didn’tknowhe
hadanythingtodowiththesonguntil
PrairieHomeCompanionwashere
in Columbus.Heperformedit onthe
show,andI wasreallysurprised.”8/10
WhaTiNThe
N aT U r a LWO r L d
ParadiseOFBaCheLOrs, 2017
Fussell’ssecondalbumfollowssailors
onthehighseas,canyoneershikingfar
fromcivilisation,andminersdigging
deepintotheearth.“therewasa lot
ofstuffonthatrecordthatseemed
ecological,”hesays,“butthatwasn’t
apparenttomeuntillater.” the two
standoutsarehis
bluesyreimagining
of“thebellsOf
rhymney”andhis
sprawlingversion
“HaveyoueverSeen
PeachesGrowing
Ona SweetPotato
Vine?”byGeorgia
bluesmanJimmy
leeWilliams.8/10
OutOfSightis
reviewed on page 27
Playingwith–
andlearning
from– revJohn
Wilkinswhile
studyingfolklore
in Oxford,
mississippi , 2012
