The following edited interview contains excerpts from Keith and Sonya’s interview on the Rec Room Radio Hour, courtesy of WXPI 88.5, Williamsport, PA. Hosted and interviewed by Michael Lundy.
Michael: We are so happy to have you on the show tonight and on the podcast!
Keith: Hey Mike, great, great to be here!
Sonya: Hi Mike, nice to meet you!!
M: Likewise, finally get to meet you. Give us a quick rundown Keith of where you’ve been, where you’re at, and where you’re going in just a little bit!
K: Absolutely Mike. Sonya and I have been pretty busy on the local scene and we slowed up over this fall and winter season. Over the slow down I put out a little E.P. It’s Americana based. It’s banjos and uprights and Mandolin…
M: Which is different for you! It’s almost a 180 for you, is it not? Your album “Aspire,” correct me if I’m wrong, was almost jazzy to an extent?
K:Yeah, it had a soft Jazz vibe for sure.
M: And now the songs you’ve gifted us and we’ve played are very Americana. They’re stompy and thats like a 180 for you. You don’t want them to sound the same.
K: No, I don’t, and I think that as I grow and continue to record, that Im going to marry all of the styles together, so you might here Sonya’s saxophone and the banjo and it may take on a bit of a Jazz or an Americana vibe.
M: That would work! And Sonya, you’re all over “Aspire”, correct?
S: Yes I am!
M: Tell us a little about you Sonya, because you’ve got a little musical back ground as well.
S: I was born in Williamsport PA. I joined the band in Elementary School and wanted to play the saxophone so bad but was told my hands were too small.
M: I see you have proved them wrong. Were your parents musicians?
S: My Dad was in a band and he played guitar and that was normal to hear in the house. My Mom played the accordion. I played the flute in school and then I just started picking up string instruments about five years ago.
M: I think maybe, with “Aspire” you were the inspiration for that Sonya, because it’s very jazzy and very etherial.
K: That’s 100% true and I think we’re going to get back into that a little more going forward. Over the last year we leaned on the fiddle and made it a little more Country and Americana and just the other day I pulled out a whole third instrumental record written based on the sax and said “I have to put these out soon too.” I think we’re gonna bring the sax back more prominently in the future and see where it goes.
M: “Pray” is a really great song that really captures your attention. What was the inspiration for it?
K: For the last several years Sonya’s folks have been taking us up to the bluegrass festival up in Crossforks and I had just fallen in love with Bluegrass music over the last several years. That was the influence for the record in that I wanted to use all acoustic, Americana instruments and grab that vibe. These obviously aren’t bluegrass songs, but the influence is there 100%.
M: Pray, when I played it the first time, I was like “whoa, that’s way different,” and I think that’s good because it marks you as an open minded, open eyed, and open eared musician.
K: Im just trying to explore what’s out there..I like it all and I’d like to think that some day I’m going to take all of these influences and put them together, but I’m just not there yet.
M: Sonya, are you hearing that it was you that influenced this whole Americana thing by pulling a fiddle out?
S: I think it was me, you’re welcome! (All laughing)
M: I think this has been the first episode of the radio show where it’s been mostly an interview that will be printed in a newspaper so thank you for breaking some ground for us.
K: Absolutely, and I’m so glad you’re letting me do this where we are going to take this interview and use it as the cover feature in the December issue of the Pennsylvania Musician Magazine, which we’re really excited about doing because they’re a great outlet that supports local music, just as you are a fantastic host and your station, WXPI 88.5 FM is also a great outlet for local musicians.
M: For the radio show, I have said this a number of times, we’re really kind of carrying on Whitey’s (Whitey Noll, PA Musicians Magazine founder) legacy in promoting local music because he and now Josh have been doing this for 40+ years.
K: I’m really looking forward to combining two, if not more of my favorite entities out there supporting local music, you guys have been great, which is a great segway into a third entity and the next song we’re going to talk about which is, “The Giving Season’s Here.” The third entity is the Central Pennsylvania Musicians Hall of Fame. Every year CPMHOF does an awards ceremony awarding some of the more accomplished artists in our area. And again it’s another avenue for local musicians to meet each other, to network, to get their music out there. I wrote “The Giving Season’s Here” specifically for a project that they help curate, and that’s the “Joy to the Burg” a compilation recording of Christmas songs performed by local musicians. The Central Pennsylvania Hall of Fame, President, Brandon Valentine and that whole crew, help in this endeavor by connecting musicians and their music and help with marketing the project.
M: So, “The Giving Season’s Here,” where did that come from?
K: I very specifically wrote it for this “Joy to the Burg” record. When I decided to write something for “Joy to the Burg”, I started with the banjo riff and the rest came from there. The lyrics for this one just came out. The theme behind it, its really about the darker side of the holidays and how it’s not always easy for everybody.
M: Somebody told me there was an alternate title to this song?
K: Hahaha, yeah Sonya came up with it, what is your title?
S: Yeah, excuse my language but after hearing this song all summer long as he’s writing and recording it, I’ve come up with a better title, I think, it’s “You ‘aint Getting (bleep) for Christmas”, That pretty much wraps up the song (group laughs)
M: They might have balked at that for “Joy to the Burg” (continued laughter). Anything else for “The Giving Season’s Here” because we’re going to play it right now.
K: Sure. If you like the song and you google “Joy to the Burg”, check it out, the proceeds go to assisting the homeless and less fortunate in Harrisburg, and that’s really what it’s about. It’s a double disc so you also get to hear a ton of Pennsylvania artists recording and doing their share for the less fortunate.
Special Thanks to Michael Lundy and WXPI and Josh Noll at Pennsylvania Musician Magazine for helping us put this all together.
For the full interview, please visit
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2111188/episodes/16084765. The Rec Room Radio Hour show can be heard each Tuesday at 6pm Eastern Time on WXPI Community Radio, 88.5FM and online at: www.wxpiradio.org
For info on Keith’s original music or
Keith n’ Sonya’s Acoustic Roadshow, please visit
www.keith-n-sonya.com To order the “Joy to the Burg” recording, please visit www.joytotheburg.com