strangelywistful,asthoughanoldwomanis rememberingthe
strengthandbravadoofheryouthspentspoolingcotton.Fussell
singsthesongwitha spryreverie,whileRodenbough’sfiddle
tracesgentlemelodicarcs.“WhenI die,don’tburymeatall,” he
sings.“Hangmeuponthespoolhousewall/Placea bobbin in my
hand,soI cankeepworkinginthepromisedland.”
“It’smakingfunofthisawfulguywho’sanoverseeronthemill
floor,”Fussellsays.“Butatthesametime,there’sa realsenseof
self-preservationinthere,too.I triedtodrawthatqualityout.
That’sonesongthatI hadneverhearda recordingof.It was
transcribedbysomebody,I can’trememberwho,atanindustrial
workerscampforwomen.PeteSeegerdoesaninterpretationofit,
andit’sstylisedinhisownway.Soit wasimpossible to tell what
thesongwouldhavesoundedlikeoriginally.”
Withnohistoricalexampletofollow,Fussellfoundhimselffreeto
imaginehisownsettingforit.“Therewereelementsofthemelody
that I wantedtoemphasiseandromanticisea bit.There’sa remove
toit,becauseI’mremoved.I neverworkedina textile
mill,althoughI grewupina cottonmilltown.I grew
uphearingpeopletalkabouttheirexperiencesinthe
mills.It’scertainlypartofthecultureofwhereI’m
from.Mostofthemillstherearedeadnow,buta lot
ofthemesofthatsongarestillthere.Peoplearestill
workinghardfornexttonothing. There’s still plenty
ofexploitation to go around.”F
uSSellcan’tdecideif hewantsanothercupof
coffee.“Betternot,”hesays,eventhoughhe
knowsit maybea whilebeforehecangetback
toCocoaCinnamon.latelytouringhastakenhim
awayfromDurhammoreoften,asbotha soloartist
andasa sideman.Inthefiveyearssincehereleased
hisdebut,hehastouredwithSalsburg,avant-folk
guitaristDanielBachmanandWilco,amongmany
others.Fussellis,accordingtothelouisville,
Kentucky,folksingerandoccasionaltourmate
JoanShelley,goodcompanyonlongtrips.
“OnethingI noticedwhenwewereinthecar
together,”shesays,“wasthatwhenhewasin
chargeofthemusic,hewouldplayingthingsthat
weredeeplysoulfulandabsolutelyamazing,and
thenhewouldplaysomethingI hadwrittenoffyears
ago,likeGordonlightfoot!It soundedwaytooclean,
waytoosaccharine,butJakesaid,‘No,justlisten.’
He’dpointoutlittlethings,andhechangedmy
mindaboutGordonlightfoot.Hecanbevery
persuasiveaboutmusic.Heknowswhatheloves
andisn’treallytroubledbywhatwe consider –
quote-unquote– authentic.”
Morerecently,however,hehasbeentravelingas
theguitaristfortheComoMamas,threewomenfrom
ruralMississippisingingold-schoolgospelmusic.
SignedtoDaptoneRecords,they’vegaineda sizeable
audienceineuropeandScandinavia,andtheytake
Fussellontheroadformonthsata time.“It’sa fun
sidehustle,butit hasturnedintomoreofsubstantial
gigthanI thoughtit wouldbe,”hesays.“It’sbeen
interestingbeinga sidemanagain.Haven’tdonethat
ina while.It’salsobeeninterestingplayinggospel
guitar.Haven’tdonethatina whileeither.
“Ithinkthere’sa tendencyforpeopletohear
traditionalmusicassomethingthatbelongstothe
past,”Fussellsaysashebusesthetableandbids
farewelltothebarista.“ButI grewupplayingwith
oldermusiciansliketheComoMamasandlearning
fromtheminmyownway.SoI didn’treallydistance
thatstuffinthewaythatI thinka lotofpeople do. To
me it has always been immediate.”workonanemotionallevelforme.It can’tjustbe
apurelyhistoricalorintellectualinterest.”
ThatgivesOutOfSighttheintimacyofa singer-
songwriteralbum,notwhatyou’dcallconfessional
butrevealingnevertheless.Herecordedit witha
looserosterofregionalmusicians,includinglibby
RodenboughoftheNorthCarolinastringbandMipso
playingfiddle,CaseyTollofMountMoriahonbass,
andNathanBowlesondrums.Together,theyworked
outtheirpartsinraggedpracticesessionsduring
whichtheycoveredrecenthitsbyGeorgeStraitand
CurtisMayfield– certainlynottheexpectedfare.
Asthealbumfelltogether,henoticedlarger
patternsandthemesamongthesongs– subjectshe
hadn’tconsideredorplanned.“I’mnotthinking
abouthowsongsfittogetherwhenI’mrecording,but
thatstuffbecomesapparentafterthefact: ‘Oh, I guess
Iwasthinkingaboutthesethings.’”
Whathewasthinkingaboutwasballadsandstory-
songs:“MichaelWasHearty”is a moodytuneabout
amanwhomarriesformoneyinsteadoflove,
harbouringlifelongregrets.Anothermancommits
twogruesomemurderstoreunitewithhistruelove
on“TheRainbowWillow”.Mutinyatseafomentson
“OhCaptain”.SaysFussell,“Ididn’tsetouttomake
a recordthat’ssonarrativedriven,but I guess that’s
whereI’mdriftinginsomeways.”
Butit’sthewaysthathecomplicatesanddeepens
thosestoriesthatmakesthealbumsoimmersiveand
imaginative.Toa certainextent,thesesongsare
aboutremembering:notjustFussellremembering
thesesongsandthepeoplebehindthem,butthe
peopleinthesesongsrecallinghardtimes.The
country-sounding“WinnsboroCottonMillBlues”,for
example,is a laboursongaboutthehardbossatthe
mill– a veryspecificmill,infact,inSouthCarolina.
“YouknowandI know,wedon’thavetotell,” hesings,
“youworkforTomWatson,gottaworklikehell!”
Rather than angry or outraged, the mood isOutOfSightis releasedbyParadise
Of Bachelors on June 756 • UNCUT • JULY 2019W h at ’ sinaname?Fussellonhis
distinctiveappellationX
erxesTheGreatwasa
Persiankingin the400sBC
wholauncheda failedinvasion
ofGreece– butthat’snotwhereJake
xerxesFussell’snameoriginates.“I was
actuallynamedafterDxGordy.Dorris
xerxes.Hewasa traditionalpotterwho
wasclosefriendofmyparentsanda
mentortomydad.I knewhimasa kid
growingup.Hehadhispotteryshop
upin MerriweatherCounty,Georgia.
A verykind,soft-spokenperson,but
immenselyknowledgeableaboutall
kindsofstuff.In additiontobeinga
potter,hewasa herbalist,a self-taught
builder,anda chemist.Hediedwhen
I was 13 or14.
“I’venevermetanotherxerxes,but
it’sa namethatwasaround.Hardly
anybodyevercalledmethat,although
someofmycousinsstillcallmexerc.
WhenI waseightornine,mysister
madethediscoverythatxerxesspelled
backwardsis sexrex.sothatbecame
a bigdeal.sheandmybrothersstillcall
methat.I’vehadsomeoneyellit out
whenI wasonstage.I’veusedit asa
stagenameforseveralyears.
“What’sfunnyis thatpeopledon’t
mispronouncexerxesasmuchasthey
mispronouncemylastname.That’sthe
funnyironyofit. Whenpeopleask how
to pronounce my last name.”Fussellin
2019,still
treading
a fineline
between
historian
and
musicianJAKE XERXES FUSSELL
BrAD BunyeA; BeTTMAnn/GeTTy IMAGes