Fiddlin' Around
Charlie Overman & Ella Webster | EP 25
It's Bitlin' Around on 96.1 The Hound. I think my favorite thing about the Lexington and greater sort of Eastern Kentucky music scene is the kindness of the people who you might be intimidated to typically play with. It is very familial and people are just really nice and welcoming to other people. People who really want other people to succeed. Exactly. Yeah. Game is cute. Oh, yeah, for NASA. You're listening to Fitlin' Around on 96.1 FM, The Hound. My name is Callistice and I'm so glad to be joined today in the studio by Ella Webster and Charlie Overman. Thanks for coming in. Yeah, thanks for having us. Yeah, absolutely. I'm glad to talk to you about the John Prine tribute, which is coming up this week. But before that, I just wanted to wish you all a happy holidays. I know we're getting through the brunt of it now. Do you have any plans to celebrate with family, are you staying in, watching some movies? Actually, after we record this broadcast, I'm driving with my mom and the rest of my family to Flatwoods where she's from. Oh, wow. So we'll be up there with my grandparents and cousins for the holidays. That'll be fun. Mm-hmm. I know you had a run with an uncle at a Christmas party. Oh, yeah. We had our holidays with my dad's side yesterday and it was the morning after we had all been to a show at the Bell Theatre and he wanted to keep the party going, so to speak. As you must always do, it can never end. Yeah. What about you, Charlie? Yeah, I was with my grandparents over the weekend. I went to see, I went play at the Bell Theatre with Cole Chaney and Pineville, which is where my mom's side is from. And so I was with them over the weekend and, yeah, now I'm just staying in town. My dad's side's coming to Lexington, so. Nice. Just a chill Christmas. Yeah. I'm excited. I can't believe it's nicking up on us already. I know. I thought I had a couple more days to buy gifts and get ready for it, but. I'm so excited. Whoo! Who knows? Target's going to be my place to be in the next couple days. But thanks for coming on. I hope you have a great holiday. Thank you for having us. Absolutely. Totally. Well, I just wanted to get us started because I know you all have been besties for the resties for a long, long time, and Colin has been involved too, my man. And I just wanted to get to know how you all became this dynamic duo, y'all are legendary songwriters and musicians here in town. Thank you. I just love y'all. But yeah, how did you all get to know each other and what drew you to each other's collaborators in the music scene here? Well, we met through our friend Taylor Kindle, who had a rock band called Tony and the Chore Boys that we both played in at various times. And honestly, it was through his love of John Prine and Charlie's love of John Prine that we all started jamming, wouldn't you say? Yeah, yeah. I remember being at a party at our friend Grant's house and Taylor was there and I was kind of just as I was getting to know him. And it was, I think I started playing clocks and spoons and then he knew all the words. And I was so, so just bewildered because that's not a super popular one of his. And I thought it was so cool that somebody else knew that song. And Ella was also at that party and yeah, that's how we all got to jam. In fact, one of the first jams that we had, it might surprise you all to know that at this point, we were, I was about 18, freshman at UK, Charlie had never sang in front of any of us. Wow. Never. And one day, he asked if he could show us something and he sang this ballad completely acapella. And we were all like, dude, are you kidding me? You have to start singing and honestly, the rest is history. Wow. That is wild. Yeah. It all starts in the jams. It really does. A lot of people, especially here in Lexington, I've noticed that the jam community is the core of it all. Yeah. We have a very musical friend group, so we get to do a lot of that sort of thing. Yeah. Yeah. And Blakely is there too. Good to all new John McGee. Oh, yes. I went to high school with him and all of his brothers. Oh, my God. It's very wild. Yes. Yes. Well, that's actually another way Ella and John have been together for, like, six years? Yeah, six years now. That's wild. And one of the other things that happened around the time we all started hanging out was John was doing this rock and roll project called The Clap, which there is an album out on Spotify and stuff. And I was going over to his house a lot to kind of help make that album and stuff. And that was also kind of, so we would all be over there kind of at different times for that. And then just other times randomly casually for jams. And so that was also a big part of it. Yeah. That's wild. It's a small world. It's like a big spider web. It truly is. Yes. Well, I guess we touched on a little bit. Yeah, I love the Lexington Music Community because everyone is so friendly and down to earth with each other. And you've got to know everyone to kind of be in it. Everyone knows each other. So from being in the music scene here for quite a long time, what have you found as your favorite part of it all, especially having traveled across the country to perform in many other places? I think my favorite thing about the Lexington and greater sort of Eastern Kentucky music scene is the kindness of the people who you might be intimidated to typically play with. Like people who are a lot older and who are sort of masters in their craft, especially with traditional bluegrass and old-time music. I've had the complete experience of them just wanting to keep that scene alive so they'll do things that are helpful and try to give younger people opportunities. And it is very familial and people are just really nice and welcoming to other people because you don't get that in all music scenes and it's really the reason that people are able to get out and be on shows and have new opportunities and get heard by people. Totally. Totally. Yeah. Totally. Yeah, I would echo that. I would echo what Ella said. And I don't have as much experience as Ella does with the old-time scene in Eastern Kentucky. That's something I've kind of gotten into through Ella but yeah, but then crossover from Lexington and that scene, two people who have helped me out a lot in my own projects have been Don Rogers who is somebody who is kind of crossover from that Eastern Kentucky old-time scene and then also he played in a band in town for a long time called Green Jeans which was kind of a jam rock type band and then CJ Kane who's been another big big help to me. I've had a lot of older people from the scene and from the traditional scene in Eastern Kentucky to help me out and really be just big support, big supporters and big helps for what I'm doing. Yeah. Yeah. People here really want other people to succeed. Exactly. Yeah. I've noticed that. Definitely. The mentorship game is huge. Oh yeah. Massive. And I mean we are kind of like the great unifier of being in Kentucky because I mean we have to the East, there's Eastern Kentucky and all that bluegrass old-time music and then there's Nashville right below us and then we have the big city of Chicago, New York, above us. So everyone kind of comes together, this crossroads here and you get such a wonderful conglomeration of cultures and backgrounds and everyone's just willing to like put it in the pot and see what happens and I love it so much. I need to mention Linda Jean Stokely too. Oh and we're going to talk about it. Yeah. She's also been a great help and was also one of those early crossovers of for me of kind of getting into songwriting and also the traditional thing. Yeah. It's really like a musical big sister to me. She's one of my icons for sure and the local honey is one of my favorites ever but I guess that's a good transition in the talking about your album which is released earlier this year which is really, really exciting. Congratulations. Oh thank you. It's one of the highlights of your year I'm sure. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. And you've got some insane players. Yes. One of which was in the room right now. Yes. Hello. Hello. Hello. Yes. Yes. And the whole lineup is insane. I mean you've got Linda Jean. Yes. And you've got you've got CJ. You've got Otto behind the board and many, many others on there which makes a really, really wonderful album. And Linda Jean is actually my favorite song on my album. I do have to say. Oh yeah. She's a pirate one. She really is. Oh yeah. But I just want to know what was it like putting that together with all those wonderful people who you've spent many years with growing up with and collaborating with. It was great. I don't know. I wouldn't have been near as happy with the end product if those people, if that specific group of people hadn't been involved, you know, just what Linda is a great person to have on as far as ideas with regard to arrangement and things. She's really great at that. And as is Otto Helmeth who helped produce and engineer and then CJ, Don Rogers, just everybody man. Everybody just really helped me out. And everybody really pushed me and was behind me through the whole thing which I really appreciated, you know. I've said too, like early on, I was just going to make maybe like a four song EP and was just going to have a small band on there made up of it was just going to be a little bit more ragtag, I think, which would have been fun, but then CJ offered to get involved and really pushed me and really got behind me and was really supportive of what I was doing and told me that I should just make a full length album and I just said, you know, and that really just pushed me to kind of buckle down and write, you know. And so, yeah, I couldn't have done it without all of them. And Ella too, Ella has been a massive supporter of me and did an amazing job on Fiddle, on D.L.A. and, you know, yeah, it's been great. I can't imagine, I mean, being a musician, I'm a musician too, and it's one of the hardest jobs in the world, besides like, I don't know, being a doctor, like an emergency service person, I like to say it's really hard, but I mean, it really takes a village to keep going sometimes and when the goings get rough, there's nothing like having your buddies be like, just get up and do it. And that's when a lot of people's best work comes out and I'm certain that that's what happened in this interview too. So congratulations on that and you've been told with some of that music too and I'm sure we'll hear more of that in the New Year, which we'll talk about. But moving on to Ella, oh my gosh, your year has been insane. It has. It's been a really busy year. I know. Yeah. You've been all over the place and Cole Cheney, you've been torn with his band playing some Fiddle all over the country. And I know you all met back in 2022, is that right after a show? Yes. Can you talk a little bit about what drew you to him and how it all just kind of blew up into this wonderful thing? Well before I knew Cole or really even knew his music, I just knew that he was surrounded by these top bluegrass players in our area. There was a band called Wolfpin Branch that had some amazing musicians and I knew Arthur Hancock who is now in the duo Hancock and Shouse. Wonderful. They were just on the show back in August. Yeah. I saw that. They are just so great. Him and Chris both. And Arthur that summer and then sort of met Cole a little bit because of him around the burl, which is I spent a lot of time at the burl. We met because we jammed and Charlie was actually part of the jam before a flood relief show in August of 2022, I believe. I had never really seen him perform live. We played a bunch of bluegrass music together with Blakely and Cole and Charlie. And then he got up in front of this crowd of hundreds of people and played his original music and I was completely blown away by the reaction that he had and also the way that those bluegrass players made his songs sound just over the top amazing. They always do. Yeah. Those bluegrass players. Yeah. And I think that Cole and I can both, we both agree that playing with those people because when I played fiddle for him, some of those guys were still playing with him was such a cool learning experience with both of us being sort of in our younger 20s, just being mentored by people like Arthur and Chris Shouse who really helped me come out of my shell as a performer with Cole on stage because it was definitely the biggest crowds that I had ever played. And even Cole too has been very encouraging of me, you know, started having me sing with him on stage. Now, it's a main part of my job as well. Wow. Oh, that is so exciting. Yeah. And is there a pretty big crossover between the band that he started out with and then the band that he has now? Well, actually, there have been a ton of players come and go since I joined the band. It was for New Year's Eve of 2022. So in the last two years, we have had some people come and go who have been really amazing musicians and now have pretty much arrived at our full band, which is James Gooding on the drums, Kyle Kleinman on mandolin, Joel Merta on bass, me on fiddle, and that is it and Cole. I don't want to forget anyone, but those we all fit together and work together on the road as such a unit and a family and sort of like roommates, it just, it really couldn't get any better. I love them all so much and they're great people to be on stage with. I can't imagine. It's so fun to play with them. Yeah. But apart from just the incredible music that you get to play for hundreds of people across the country, what's been the most fulfilling part of touring with him for you? Well, I have gotten to see a lot of America that I haven't normally and you get to do it in such this unique way where you're sort of living out of a van that a lot of people like to talk about and sing about in songs, but to really live it is very eye opening. And luckily, I actually really enjoy it. It can be weird sometimes, but also is one of the most special jobs I could possibly ask for. We've been to California twice this year in a van, and I loved being in Montana and Idaho and Washington state. This past October, that was probably my favorite place. That's such a beautiful part of the country. It was amazing. I bet it felt like almost famous. Driving through a van. Oh my gosh. With West. Oh my gosh. Most of them, the movie, almost famous, and we were all a little bit like, "Well, this is kind of what I like." In a way. In a way. Imagine it. In a way. That's why I've always dreamed of having like, well, to an extent, having like a microphone in a van's tour van and like hearing all the conversations that go on in there, because I bet it's just like the craziest bonding, the craziest experience, just like living with all these people and working with them day in and day out. Yeah. I bet it's just wonderful. We are all extremely close. Yeah. And everyone is very much has sort of this like deranged meme humor, I feel well. Oh no. So there's like so many layers going on of seriousness and the opposite of seriousness on a day to day basis. Get some Gen Z meme talk in there. It's like jokes. It's horrible, but I am there with you. Yes. It's true. Well, I guess going along with that, I mean, you said some of it already, but what do you think has been the biggest challenge for you as a touring musician, especially one that is still writing on her own and still doing other projects like with Charlie? One, it's hard to say because it's such a blessing of a job to have and not a ton of people get to have it. Health and sleep are probably the biggest things about touring that I have to maintain and be careful about, you know, I have to make sure that I am living a sustainable sort of lifestyle and being active and eating healthfully and not, you know, drinking maybe every time that we play a show because to be working in a dive bar every night for a month, you know, you can easily slip into some habits of, you know, sedentary-ness, but that's probably the biggest challenge about it all. You know, I have such good, you know, there's such good synthesis between all of the band members, though, so there's really no conflicts there, luckily, which is very rare and very special. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That synergy is very, very unique. Synergy. Yes. I just learned that word a couple weeks ago. Good synergy. Yeah. But that's wonderful. And I bet it's a good, honestly, going in the near, that's a good thing to reconsider is like, how can I still keep up this lifestyle, but, you know, still be a person and human that functions? Yes. Because I'm an actor, too, and we, people tour bus and truck all the time, and they're like, how do I actually survive doing this because it's really fun playing a pretend on stage for a little bit, but then I have to, you know, take care of my body and not die. So that's, it's always a challenge and I give and take that. Yeah. We'll never truly figure out, but- Yeah. And I mean, I'm young and I'm pretty new to this, and I learn new things every time we play a show or every time we go on tour. Mm-hmm. Major self-discovery journey on tour, I'm sure. Mm-hmm. Sound like a wonderful year for both of you all. And we're closing it out with a wonderful show down at the Burl on the 27th. John Prine tribute show, it's the third annual. And I mean, I don't have to say it really, it goes without saying that John Prine is a legendary songster who inspired the Hound itself and also many, if not all, of American and folk musicians across the country. And we talked about it a little bit in the beginning, but do you have any special feelings being a part of this wonderful event that's been going on for the past couple years here at the Burl? Yeah. I would say Prine was one of the reasons. I think I first started singing because of Prine. I had that debut album that he did, that debut, that CD in my car and just, it was just all I listened to in my car all the time. And that was sort of how I learned to sing, was just like trying to sing along and mimic that. But John Prine is a voice teacher? Wow. Just sort of trying to sing along and mimic that was really just how I started to get into singing. And what got me into folk music, or folk songwriter music was, was Prine really, was the big one. Yeah. And also, I mean, just for both of you, the storytelling aspect of his lyrics are so influential to both of you and to a lot of musicians here in Lexington and in the greater Kentucky area. I mean, just the epic storytelling. And the humor that goes along with it is just incredible and historic. Do you feel like it's inspired you in your own songwriting to, I mean, you can never be John Prine, but it's interesting to have a John Prine look on life and how I can put that into songs. Yes. Definitely. I think that each of his songs are so unique, but they still evoke this universal deep feeling in everyone. You know, they are some of the saddest songs that I've ever heard. Some of them are the funniest songs that I've ever heard. But also this sort of stream of words, of stream of consciousness, is something that I do a lot in my songwriting. I think Charlie can agree. He does it a lot in his songwriting to just include these specific details when you're describing things about the world in a clever way that people wouldn't normally think to do. It's just, it's the best. Totally. Rose-colored glasses. I mean, some John Prine-colored glasses. Yeah. I can't even imagine. But that's going to be a really wonderful show and we're going to hear a preview of that at the end of this set. And I'm really excited to get to that with my own two years later this week. But going on into the new year, what do we have next for you all? Are you continuing touring with Cole next year? Yes. We have some tours slated to open for Shane Smith and the Saints and Blackberry Smoke in the sort of early spring, late winter. And we also have some other projects set up that I can't necessarily get into now. But we, yeah, we have a couple of festivals that I think are on the docket and are also looking towards doing even more of those tours because, you know, we've got something that works and so we're going to continue to go with it. Let's keep going. Yeah. Exactly. And are we going to see any of your songwriting coming to a more of a spotlight next year? Yeah, I was going to say that speaking of projects, I have been very encouraged by Charlie and a lot of people around me and some people who have seen me play original music at shows who are asking to hear the original music in a recorded way. It's awesome. And so I, that is another thing that I plan on doing in the new year, if I have downtime especially. Yeah. Now that I have like eight or nine songs that I perform, you know, I've got to get them off my chest and sort of solidified in a recording. Yeah. Totally. I'm doing that. That's so exciting. That'll be wonderful. It is very exciting. A good New Year's gift for everybody, for sure. And I know you've already got a full docket and kind of you've got some stuff lined up in the new year. Yeah, I've got a, there's a, there's a few festivals I'm doing that I don't think are announced yet. But then, and then there's a couple potential tours that I can't talk about yet, but I'm excited about, very excited about, um, and have been talking to some, some people about that. And then, uh, uh, starting work on a new album, but it's just still early stages. Yeah. One of the next, I guess. But yeah, trying to, yeah, I'm just trying to get myself rolling. The come down is hard. I'm just trying to. Yeah. It's like, we did it and now we have to keep going and move on. It's wild. Charlie will also be in the room when I'm recording and just be a ear and a, and a brain on all my music that he knows so well and has even helped arrange. Yeah. I love L.A. So much. Thank you, Charlie. I love Charlie's album too. Yeah. This is exactly how you find someone who can collaborate so much. Oh, yeah. Very mutual. Yeah. Appreciation for each other's music. It's awesome. And obviously the best friends you can have are people that will admire you for everything that you bring. And then they, it's like a mirror almost. Yeah. It's really beautiful. Yeah. Well, good luck in the new year. And I wish you all the best in your endeavors. And this is a little question just because I'm trying to figure out my own. But what are some New Year's resolutions that you're looking forward to go into the new year? Well, gosh, that was really, I guess really to, to write more. Yeah. Just slowed, I would say, to a pace of like one every six months or so. And I really want to start writing more, even if it's not always songs to branch out into other things, maybe like sometimes I enjoy just little bits of journaling or prose or things like that. And I guess that's, that's the big thing is just to continue working and to, to be more disciplined and working, I guess. That's what we all say. That's all we can help for as artists. I guess that's mostly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Mine is also probably, as I was saying, to record an album of my originals that I have so far and take the ones that I've been performing live and I'm still performing live and just get them out into the world. Just so I can sort of reflect on all of the, you know, some, it's just been so much growth. I used to be just a fiddle player and just allowing myself to fit in the roles and telling myself that, you know, sort of denying the imposter syndrome and that I can be a songwriter and I can be a singer. Yeah. Yeah. She just get that album out in the world. Totally. She's a multi-hyphenate. Oh, yeah. She is. Yeah. I've also been swimming laps at the Y. No way. That's a big deal for me too. We'll be frequenting. Yeah. Big resolution. Shout out. YMCA High Street. That's my favorite. It's like stuck in the eight. Stuck in the eighties. They haven't renovated it since then, but it's like a times capsule. Oh, yeah. I love it. It's a summer as well. Oh, cool. Yeah. Well, thanks for coming on the show. Yeah, thank you, Kelly. Thanks for coming on the Fiddler Around. Thank you so much. Thank you. Always a pleasure. I'm excited to see you all later this week. Yes. And happy New Year. Don't go too crazy on New Year's Eve. All right. But yeah, I'm excited to see what comes next. Yeah. You've been listening to Fiddler Around on 96.1 FM, The Hound, and here are some tunes. This is called Clocks and Spains. One, two, three, four. Clocks and Spains. Clocks and Spoons and empty rooms. Straightening out tonight. What a wait in the day. Turning out the light. Shoot the moon right between the eyes I'm sending. Most of me to sunny countryside. [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] Running through skies of blue. Rolling in the sun. Every day has a way of overflowing white. Shoot the moon right between the eyes I'm keeping. Most of me in sunny countryside. [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] Well, how I did that now. Under where it's gone. I must have spent the way I went. Waiting for the dark. Shoot the moon right between the eyes I'm screaming. Take me back to sunny countryside. Shoot the moon right between the eyes I'm screaming. Take me back to sunny countryside. This is a song called "Marine Maureen" by John Prine. "Marine Maureen" shot a doctor last night on the airplane. He said he wouldn't hurt us, but he got me real nervous and mean. He was fed any stank. God knows that he drank more than we do. So I shot him in the first place and I bailed out. Ran on me. She don't believe me. I can tell by your smile. Honey, why don't you leave me. She'll get lost for a while, and I'll ring. [MUSIC] "Marine Maureen" there's a hole in between where we come from. [MUSIC] And the things that I'm thinking ain't necessarily the things that I say. I may have lied to myself, but I tried to tell God how I love you. And even he don't answer his phone anymore when I pray. But she don't believe me. I can tell by your smile. Honey, why don't you leave me. Get lost for a while, and I'll ring. "Marine Maureen" shot a doctor last night on the airplane. The city wouldn't hurt us, but he got me real nervous and mean, nervous and mean. This is John Prine's song called "Subineers." [MUSIC] All this noise turned to water. Christmas days have come and gone. Broken toys and faded colors. All this left to linger on. I ate great guards and old ponchons. Before they always bring me to you. I can't forgive the way they write me. Love my childhood souvenirs. Memories that can't be bought in. There can't be one that kind of owes me free. Well, it took me years to get those souvenirs. And I don't know how they slipped away from me. [MUSIC] Broken hearts and dirty windows make life difficult to see. That's why last night and this morning always looked the same to me. I ate great old love letters. Before they always bring me to you. I can't forgive the way they write me. Love my sweetheart souvenirs. Memories that can't be bought in. There can't be one that kind of owes me free. Well, it took me years to get those souvenirs. And I don't know how they slipped away from me. We're going to play a song by Larry Webster called Interstate 75. It's a long way to Detroit, even longer back home. Well, it's concrete, black, tall, not a tree can be found. And the air smells like sulfur. There ain't a smile in this town. I sure miss the mountains. This time of the year I trade you more. Four seasons back there. Some day when I've made it. Great riches are mine. I'll hit for the last time. Down 75. Well, it's back home on Christmas. Thanksgiving day two. I'll impress them with my new heart. And my forty dollar share. I hear my heart crying. From morning to stay. So it's back home to Detroit. Drive carefully stay safe. I sure miss the mountains. This time of the year. I trade general motors. Four seasons back there. Some day when I've made it. Great riches are mine. I'll hit for the last time. And suddenly find. I'll hit for the last time of the year. I'll hit for the last time of the year. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Sometimes now I wonder. What man of man? He lives his life for a factory. And loses his land. The jobs here are scarce now. I've got babies to feed. So Detroit has my body. So it's all about breeding. I sure miss the mountain. This time of the year. I trade general motors. Four seasons back there. Some day when I've made it. Great riches are mine. I'll hit for the last time. And suddenly find. ♪ ♪ ♪ My name's Charlie Overman, and this song is called "Caps." ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ My friend Kips had a basketball goal with some change for a net. Spray painted chrome and a stepdad Calvin. Like the Jerry Springer Show. And owned several Playboy calendars. Well, Calvin had a heart attack two or three years ago. And he hung that tire sling that swung a little too low. And his dog Benny always slipped outside in the cold. ♪ And nowadays cap smokes weed in the garage and goes to EKU. And he still wears camouflage and he's working on his lats and his triceps. Among some other things. And nowadays I think a lot about the quilts on your bed and the cat hair on your ceiling fan and the brain in your head and the baby blue thong. And you like to wear the bed with the big black t-shirt and the semi painted red. Well, caps is probably raving about the third time and the second time while he was playing for the mountain lions he got himself a concussion. Getting all sentimental and talking in his truck to his favorite distant cousin. And I yearn for those better times with you. Like caps yearns for high school football snaps and dodging sacks. But those beloved days have come to an end. Caps is getting fatter and I'm at the Chevy Chase Inn. ♪ Yeah, man. ♪ ♪ ♪ Doing day and day. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Feeling Randy. ♪ ♪ What you do with the rest of your life is doing part to him you choose to count on. ♪ You wasn't ready and neither was I to say if I'm a hill worth willing to die on. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Thanks. You've been listening to fiddling around with me. Callie Case on 96.1 FM The Hound. A heart of blue rest date to the big apple itself. I'm bringing the jam session to your airwaves with the latest in greatest in blue grass folk and Americana. I'll see you next week with a new episode. Follow us on Instagram @fiddlingaround_ and as always Rowlon. ♪