The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

The Daily Campus

The Daily Campus

The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

The Daily Campus

The Independent Voice of Southern Methodist University Since 1915

The Daily Campus

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Parker Millsap talks to Daily Campus about his unique sound, second album

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Photo credit: Youtube

Parker Millsap is coming to Dallas April 9 to play the Kessler Theater. His unique blend of gospel, blues and country is a whirlwind of music that shouldn’t be missed. The Daily Campus was lucky enough to sit down and talk with Millsap about his upcoming tour and new record.

Campus Weekly: Is it exciting playing in Nashville as it’s such an epicenter for country music?

Parker Millsap: Yeah it’s great. Nashville crowds show up. There’s enough people and music there, you know shows happen all over the city and they’re all so great.

CW: Do you have a favorite place to perform?

PM: Not really, I like the traveling part of touring. I like getting to play all over. The fun of it is being in a different place every night.

CW: What inspired you to pursue music as a career?

PM: I was around music a lot when I was a kid and when I was about 7. I convinced my parents to buy me a guitar and when I was about 9. I convinced them to pay for some lessons for me. I think a year or two after getting somewhere on guitar I kind of fell in love and decided I wanted to play music.

CW: Was there anything specifically that drew you to country?

PM: I didn’t grow up listening to a lot of country music. I guess what I do has fallen into country. I listen to a lot of gospel, a lot of blues and old folk music. So kind of where the roots of country are.

CW: Is it hard to follow that path in an industry largely focused on modernized music?

PM: Not really. For me it’s all been very gradual. When I was about 14, I started playing shows that I could actually get paid for, like the county fair, a back to school party, things like that. I had a PA, my parents bought me a PA so I could go to shows and run my own sound.

CW: You’re about to release your second album right?

PM: Well it’s really my third or fourth album depending on how far you go back. I made two records in high school. And me and Mike, my current bass player, made a record called “Palisades,” it came out in 2012. So this is the fourth record for me, but it’s the second record.

CW: Has your musical approach changed?

PM: Yeah absolutely, it’s always changing. That’s what’s exciting about it is you pursue something and you get somewhere near it and then work from here. I like it, just doing different things,. This record was really about the band. Me and the band got together to make arrangements of the songs. We tracked a lot of it live so it kind of has that feel.

CW: Are there any songs specifically on this record that you’re especially proud of?

PM: “One of the Blues” is probably my favorite because it’s kind of a feel-good song.

CW: You said you were gradual with your approach, were there any artists you listened to that inspired you to take that approach?

PM: Yeah, Tom Waits, he continues to change and continues to pursue what he wants to do and does a great job of it. Yeah I mean, artists that just keep pursuing their own craft instead of worrying about selling a million records.

CW: Do you ever find it tough to balance music with the other obligations in
your life?

PM: I’m lucky to have people around me who really get it, who understand what I do and why I do it. And they help my out a lot, my girlfriend helps me out a lot my parents have been great. So for me it’s all just kind of part of the same thing and I like that. It feels honest.

CW: Do you have any tips for aspiring musicians?

PM: Write more songs. I don’t really have any authority, I’m a young musician myself, but I feel like that seems to be the thing that helps.

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