Interview: Nathan Kalish

We spoke with Nashville-based singer-songwriter Nathan Kalish about his favorite spots around town, physical media, and his most recent full-length album Great Big Motel Bed In The Sky.

He'll be playing at Star Rover Sound later this month on Saturday, July 29 at 8p, more info here.

The Pamphleteer: What are some of your favorite venues in Nashville?

Nathan Kalish: I like The 5 Spot for East Nashville, Star Rover for Germantown, Acme on Broadway and Dee's up in Madison and Bobby's Idle Hour downtown.

The Pamphleteer: Your album from last year Great Big Motel Bed In The Sky is really lovely — who were your main influences?

Nathan Kalish: I think I started trying to make a folk album and ended up making more of a rock album as it progressed. So by the end, I was kind of trying to mix up T. Rex with Gram Parsons, but also attempting to have a solid lyrical backbone from the original folk concept.

The Pamphleteer: You have a unique talent for finding humor in despair, are there any comedians or people who helped shape your sense of humor?

Nathan Kalish: Thank you! Mitch Hedburg, George Carlin, John Prine, Todd Snider, Andy Kaufman and Tim Heidecker.

The Pamphleteer: Are there any upcoming albums you're currently producing for other artists?

Nathan Kalish: I just produced an EP for a young man Chris Emmert and I'm hoping to do one for my wife in the near future. Also probably going to start working on my new album very soon as it's already been scribbled onto pieces of paper.

The Pamphleteer: Do you believe in the possibility of a CD revival — are you more of a CD, vinyl or digital man?

Nathan Kalish: I've never owned a record player, never really had the money to collect vinyl either. I've been pretty poor my whole life and being a band leader and artist has made that even more of a thing. I really like streaming music because it's cheap and eco-friendly.

I still sell a lot of CDs at my shows, we always get a round printed because a fair amount of radio stations still want them. I used to sell about 1k CDs in a couple months and now it takes about 2 years to sell that many, and it takes longer with every release. Streaming is the only real way to support the amount of music being recorded and I'm fine with that.

I've never been super emotionally attached to physical possessions and I've always tried to keep my possessions limited to one car load. Streaming is also cool because the music doesn't melt when the sun hits your car directly. Also, I can release singles and covers completely independently and randomly whenever I feel like it without any financial or label backing.