Interview with Natural Child

Something must be in the water up in Nashville because an old familiar sound is brewing in the local scene and Natural Child seem to be drinking the Kool-aid. Formed during the summer of 2009, Natural Child take the classic rock sounds of the 70s, mix it with a little bit of mid-70s garage rock and hold it together with a psychedelic groove that is both dirty and smooth. I sat down with the Nashville three-piece and discussed their band’s sound, marijuana, cats and their evil overlords Jack White and Kid Rock. Natural Child released their latest full length 1971 in April of last year. They are preparing to release their next full length this May. They are playing at the Sandwich Bar this Saturday with Girls on the Beach, Tam Tam and Tight Genes.


I was listening to your bandcamp earlier and it really had a kind of early/mid-70s groove to it. Was that something you guys have always wanted to do or it was just something that happened when you got together as a band happened.

Zack: It kind of happened when we got together as a band because most of what we listen to is this music. We just like a lot of old rock and soul country and that just happens to be the time when all that good stuff was from.

You guys kind of make it obvious, but how much of an influence is marijuana on the band?

Wes: Me and Zack try to smoke it as much as we can and Seth likes to smoke too. You know, we like to party (all laugh).

Seth: I mean everyone smokes weed and they just don’t talk about it.

Zack: Yeah, I don’t think we smoke the most weed than everyone in the world or anything, but we do smoke.

Seth: Yeah maybe in America.


Do you think it influences your sound at all?

Zack: Sure, it influences me. It makes me feel high. Yeah, it does

Wes: You ever list to music on weed man?

(Everyone laughs)

Zack: It sounds different.

Yeah, that’s at least what I hear. Is there any time when you play and you aren’t stoned? Does it help with nerves at all?

Zack: I think we are all comfortable so I don’t think really think it would matter that much if we didn’t, but meanwhile it does make it more fun.

Seth: We’re never nervous.

Zack: I just get high because it sounds better to me.

Wes: I just get high because I have to.

(Everyone laughs)

What is the scene like in Nashville, where you guys are from?

Zack: Well, it’s kind of like a newspaper. (laughter) It’s really like a really big rock craze, now it’s a national rock craze.

Seth: You see there’s this thing called the National Scene that’s a newspaper here, so all the locals here got together and decided that it’s not actually called a scene it’s called a National Rock Craze and everyone is just apart of this National Rock Craze. We’re all sort of directed, I mean I don’t wanna call us puppets, because I feel like I kind of control my life.

Zack: Yeah, we’re all happy to be doing what it is we are doing.

Seth: Yeah, but are all kind of sort of apart of this master plan sort of put out by Jack and Kid you know? They write all the songs and tell us how to dress. They sort of tell us how our attitude is suppose to be.

Zack: It’s not just us.

Seth: Yeah it’s not just us. It’s all the bands in the National Rock Craze.

Zack: JEFF the Brotherhood, Diarrhea Planet, Heavy Cream, Those Darlin’s.

Seth: Cheap Time.

Zack: It’s all apart of you know, Jack and Kid do all that directing. So, it’s really fun but it’s interesting. You know, they moved down here from Detroit a couple years ago and I think it’s going pretty well for them.

Wes: And for all of us. Obviously for them too.

Seth: It’s really doing wonders for them.

Zack: We jut gave them the benefit of the doubt, you know.

You guys just named a lot of bands is it kind of a unified thing where you guys help each other and book shows?

Zack: Jack White and Kid Rock help us out and we in return help them out. So that’s kind of the way that works out. They write all the songs for those bands and they tell us what to do.

So is there like a 70s rock revival going on in Nashville? Is it something recent or has it been going for awhile now?

Zack: I’m not sure. That’s what they tell us to play so you’re gonna have ask Jack White and Kid Rock.

(Everyone laughs)

So Jack White and Kid Rock are a pretty big influence on you guys?

Zack: Well, it’s their music and they write all of it.

So Jack White and Kid Rock clearly don’t write all your songs, so as far as song writing goes who typically writes the music and lyrics? Do you split up?

Wes: All three of us kind of do. I think me and Seth write most of the lyrics and Zach writes most of the grooves. We do all the arranging together.

Seth: We pretty much write all of our songs together at practice where we are every day.

So, you guys practice every day? Do you guys have day jobs at all?

Wes: No.

Seth: No.

Zack: No, we’re broke.

So how hours a day of you actually practice?

Wes: Like two or so. We don’t try to wear ourselves out.

Seth: I got into this thing to get out of the 9 to 5.

(Wes laughs)

Zack: People come up to me on the street and ask me about working and I always tell them I got into this to get away from the 9 to 5.

Seth: Yeah, it’s not an 8 hour shift with a two hour lunch break you know.

Zack: It’s like a two hour party.

Seth: Every day.

Zack: It’s like a workshop. And then Jack and Kid come over and we show them what we’ve done and they start making suggestions.

Wes: “That’s not how the song goes!”

Zack: “Why don’t you guys try harder next time!”

He really pushes you guys hard?

Wes: Yeah.

Seth: Yeah, I mean, I don’t throw the word slave around much...

Wes: But a slave is a would you could apply. They are all slave drivers.

So, how long have you guys been together as a band?

Zack: About two and a half years or so? Summer of ‘09

Wes: Yep, that’s right.

Seth: That’s about the time we decided to stop cutting our own hair.

As far as tours go, how many long tours have you guys been on since then?

Zack: That’s kind of hard to think about because we’ve been on a shit ton of 10 day or two week tours.

Seth: We probably tour about 150 days out of the year.

Zack: But we do it a little more spaced out and not for two months at a time, but obviously when we do a west coast tour it turns into like a month because we end up coming home for a couple days after three weeks. I don’t know, we are touring more than we have and it’s like 150 days or more a year.

Seth: Yeah, we’ve toured probably more than 200 days this year.

Wow, that’s a lot.

Wes: That’s nothing compared to other bands. A lot of bands tour out a lot now. So I don’t know, it’s a lot to some people and than other bands I see go out and tour for 9 months straight.

Zack: And then their and breaks up.

Is the touring schedule more out of necessity, like is it more affordable for you guys or is it just something that happens?

Zack: It’s whatever we feel comfortable with. We always like to write and play new songs. We always kind of done it this way. We have been touring now more than we ever have, but we still keep it spaced out so we can have new stuff to play on tour.

Seth: We try not to leave for tour without at least one new song.

Zack: And we’re always so anxious to write new songs that we get anxious to record a new album so we want to have time to do that. You can get on tour and feel like you’re playing the same songs all the time. It’s always good to feel excited and have new shit to play.

Seth: We just try to do what we want all the time.

I think that’s a good mentality to have in a band.

Zack: Thanks man, we appreciate it.

So, have you guys played in Orlando at all?

Zack: I’ve never played in Florida.

Wes: I played in Florida a lot when I was in high school, but that’s been a long time so I’m excited to get back down there. It’s really the only area in the country that we haven’t been to.

That’s pretty crazy.

Wes: Yeah and it’s pretty close to us so yeah I’m really excited.


http://naturalchild.bandcamp.com/