Four Minutes, Four Questions Pokey LaFarge

Plenty has been said about musician Pokey LaFarge's image and sound blending the present moment in the immediacy of his themes and lyrics with the retro aura encompassing him. And his new album "Manic Revelations," released May 19, remains true to form. Here, the Roots Festival alum took some time to answer a few questions for What's Up! before his return to Northwest Arkansas for a show Saturday at George's Majestic Lounge.

Q. "Manic Revelations" is still your "sound" of course, but it's a little bit different than some of your previous records. What can you tell me about the development of your sound as it led to "MR"?

A. I would like to think that my work develops organically. It's influenced greatly by different life experiences but also by the music that you're listening to. So in this instance, I've been listening to a lot more '60s soul and roots reggae and rock steady stuff, so I think that might be part of the explanation in the songs [having] all the horns and stuff like that. But I actually prefer to have a more minimalist approach to my work. That record, I felt like I wanted to make a big explosion, a big louder sound. But I think that was just a phase. I like things to be a little bit more stripped down and raw.

Q. In the press for the album, there's a quote of you saying, "This album is about confronting yourself. It's about confronting your city, its relation with the world, and all its people." Is that idea where this album started? Or did that theme reveal itself after you had already gotten into the writing?

A. It [revealed] itself. There's a sort of manic state in the creative process. [And] the revelations come -- the "revelations" being the songs, really. I'm writing all the time. It's just what I do. So when you're writing, you don't necessarily know where it comes from. It kind of comes from nowhere, I guess it comes from the subconscious -- what ever the hell that is. So as you're writing, you figure some things out. It's like a relationship. you work your way through the hard times; writing allows you to do the same thing.

Q. When you're writing, are you ever writing for those people you're trying to turn on to your style of music, or the people you've already reached, or are you writing for yourself and it's more about your own process?

A. I'd say all of the above really, but I don't intentionally write for anybody else. I don't intentionally write at all. You shouldn't have to. I do write for other people, but I think it's like [for] the proverbial "they" or "we" in that I'm considering larger elements of mankind in the work that I produce. But at the same time, there's a simultaneous "F-ck you" in a lot of things I do. Not to my fans, but just kind of to life in general in a way. I'm very grateful; I have many thanks for the life I've lived. But there has been -- probably always will be -- a chip on my shoulder being a small kid from Normal, Ill. And because of a lot of people out there in the world that are not getting a fair shake and they're being beaten down. So that's the "F-ck you" part.

Q. A lot has been said about the feel of your music, you've got this unique aesthetic going in your look as well -- is that a big part of the live show? Is any of that a persona you put on for the stage?

A. For me, everything I do is somewhat in the pursuit of truth -- my own truth. And everything I put out there in the world is just an extension of myself and of that truth that I have found for myself. So that's all my music is, same as my performance: an extension of who I am. The way I dress, the way I talk, the way I sing -- it's all me. So when performing, visually that's what it is, but it's just a little bit more exuberant. There's a special joy that comes over you when performing and you also have to play the crowd and put on a show, but it's all me, baby!

-- Jocelyn Murphy

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NAN What's Up on 09/15/2017