Live at The Dance Barn: If You Knew BettySoo

A recent house concert with Texas singer-songwriter BettySoo at the Dance Barn in Mebane, NC reminded me of lyrics from two of my favorite songwriters.  Not for what the evening was, but for what it wasn’t. And if you attend live music you’ll truly understand what I’m talking about.  Tommy Womack described what a drag it is “when it is solo and people are talking while I’m singing”. Chris Hickey sang about a singer in a bar “signing an autograph for a fan who would rather talk to him”.  The audience sat, listened, and BettySoo rewarded us with an intimate truly remarkable evening of live music, conversation, and camaraderie. Highlights were the BettySoo originals  “Last Night”, “100 Different Ways of Being Alone” and “The Things She Left Town With” from When We’re Gone (2014) (which would have been one of my favorite discs of 2014 if I had heard it in 2014) and “Secrets” from Tiny Little Secrets.  A beautiful soulful reworking of Butch Hancock’s West Texas classic “Boxcars” and a cover of Blaze Foley’s “Big Cheeseburgers and Good French Fries” were tasty nods to her Texas roots.  BettySoo’s sharp–she described it as sarcastic–often self-deprecating banter skillfully wove the songs together into a truly special evening. BettySoo mingled with the crowd during the pre-concert pot luck dinner, as well as after her set chatting with both her loyal fans and the newly converted. I’m pretty sure she would have signed an autograph but  it would have felt like a goofy request, sort of  like asking your new best friend for an autograph.

As a musical point of reference, BettySoo’s clear evocative voice and poignant honest lyrics recall Patti Griffin and Laura Cantrell with the occasional hint of Joni Mitchell. Did I mention she’s a hell of a guitar player? I’ve never been so impressed with someone I knew so little about. Consider me a fan, maybe a fanatic. She’s that talented.  

The very special event would not have taken place without the generous hospitality of the hosts, Beth Lavinder and Michael Chandler. Following the BettySoo interview Beth answers a few questions about hosting house concerts and offers some insight into spreading the gospel of live music!

HB- You grew up in Houston and relocated to Austin. On your album  Across the Borderline: Lie to Me with Doug Cox you cover Blaze Foley, Butch Hancock, Guy Clark and Doug Sahm. I moved to Houston and stumbled across Joe Ely’s debut in the Houston Public Library and that was my gateway drug. When/how did you discover the great Texas singer/songwriters?

BettySoo-I grew up in Texas. I came up in Spring, a town that was once somewhat hidden under a canopy of pine trees but is now pretty much a strip-malled suburb north of Houston. Texas music was a “thing.” I listened to country music a lot, as well as pop, rock, classical, folk, etc., and the country stations I grew up listening to played Texas artists. Lyle Lovett was a local hero. At school, it was big news the next day when someone had a Lyle Lovett or Julia Roberts sighting. Anyway, I don’t know that my story of discovery is all that unique; you probably know how these things go: buy a record, read the credits, then buy records by the other songwriters and guest artists credited on the album. The dominos fall. The next thing you know, your ears are opened to a whole slew of other artists. Of course, this was in the 90s, before you could just YouTube everything. We took a risk with what little money you had from your after school job to buy these albums, and so you listened to them in this very invested way. Maybe I’m being overly nostalgic about this, but this morning as I type this in a hotel lobby in Atlanta, this is how the change in the times strikes me. I might feel differently tomorrow. Ha ha.

HB-You’ve worked with Mark Hallman (Congress House Studios) on some of your albums. He’s worked with Carole King, Ani Difranco, Rain Perry, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and Tom Russell. That’s quite a stamp of approval!

BettySoo-Mark is great. He is a great friend and a great champion of a lot of artists. I love recording with him because he has great ears and wants things to be right, and he gets things there by bringing out the best in performers with his gentle, funny, loving personality and a great sense of humor. He also builds trust so well that it doesn’t even phase me if he says something like, “Nah, that wasn’t it. You can do it better.” You’re right: he has worked with some really great artists, so his support is meaningful. Plus I just love the man, so I feel lucky whenever I spend time with him.

HB-You’ve got a great sense of humor. Is there a bad or really weird gig that looking back you can laugh about?

BettySoo-Thanks for the compliment. Some people don’t find me funny at all. I got a letter once from someone at a show who “didn’t understand the reason for all the little chit chat.” He basically said to shut up and sing. I have it framed in my office. Ten years ago, that probably would have crushed a little part of me. I’m thankful that I can laugh about it now. It has always been a difficult thing for me to talk less. I’ve gotten in trouble for it constantly pretty much since I became verbal. Most of my listeners seem to enjoy it; some do not. I’ve been told often enough by people at shows that they come partly for the music and mostly for the humor and entertainment over the years that a letter like that didn’t crush me at this point in my career. I’m learning to accept that my personality is what it is, and while I can always try to be mindful of an audience’s needs, I probably cannot change the essential parts of my personality that have been with me as far back as I can remember. The truth of it is that not everyone is going to like everyone else. It may be unfortunate, but it’s true. As a person who has always wanted approval and has gone crazy when I’ve lost it or failed to earn it, it’s been a difficult and wonderful truth to absorb deeply. I know this answer is more about a response to a gig than the actual gig, but it is something I think about at most gigs since.

HB-Do you draw the artwork and design the layout for all of your albums?  I noticed the “Printed with vegetable inks on certified 100% green forestry practices board”.  I love that you package your discs without those plastic CD cases!

BettySoo-Yes, I have done the artwork for my albums. I grew up as an art kid, not a choir kid or a band kid. For a long time, studying art was the thing I most wanted to do. I guess I look for opportunities to be creative or to work on my artistic skills when I can. Also, designing album covers is just fun – a lot more fun than working on bookkeeping or cleaning house. As for the plastic cases, they take up so much room and never survive travel. Also, I’ve got to believe they’re more toxic to produce than paper covers. I also don’t shrink-wrap any CDs unless they are going to a major distributor. For years now, I haven’t ordered any shrink-wrapped CDs. When I mail boxes to my distributor, I have to sit down for an afternoon and stick all the CDs into these little sleeves so the stores can put a price sticker on the cover. I hate all the excess packaging we have on everything these days. It’s ridiculous and unnecessary. 

HB-What comes first the words or the music?

BettySoo-For me, words and music usually come together, and then both undergo a lot of tweaking. But sometimes words come first. And sometimes music comes first. Mostly, what comes first is me sitting down at the computer, either at the piano or with a guitar in my hand, and I stare at a screen or play a bunch of nonsense looking for a spark.

HB-You mentioned you are touring Europe with Curtis McMurtry in 2015.  I loved your quote about “100 miles or 100 years” describing how in America 100 years is a long time while in Europe 100 miles is a long distance. Is touring Europe easier because it is smaller than the US or more difficult because of the language or does it all just balance out?

BettySoo-Touring in foreign countries is always a great experience to me. Sure, there are obvious hurdles: language, culture, stress about paperwork (and taxes and visas and permits). Realizing this is a bit preachy, I will still say I think one of the most important and life-changing things any person can do is to have an immersive cross-cultural experience. It may be a summer in Mexico or a month in Ukraine, but whatever and wherever one goes, living among other cultures opens one’s eyes to lots of beautiful differences, and most importantly, I think it builds our compassion and widens our understanding of the “normal” human experience. As for touring specifically, it all balances out, in my opinion. 

HB-Fill in the blank: If I wasn’t making music I’d probably be __________!

BettySoo-If I wasn’t making music, I might be a hundred other things. I’ve thought about going to architecture school to study design. I’ve thought about going to art school like I always wanted. I’ve thought about going back and getting that masters I was working on before I quit grad school to do this – and be a therapist after all. I’ve thought about going back to teaching, which I also quit after student teaching. I’ve thought about making jewelry full time. I’ve also thought about being a sofa blob and watching old episodes of Roseanne.

HB-First, thank you Beth for hosting the monthly shows at the Dance Barn and thank you Michael for the sound. It is such a treat to sit with other music fans who want to listen (and not talk).

Beth-That was a balance I was hoping to hit with the potluck-then-music format. Give folks a bit of time to socialize and reconnect with old friends, meet new people with similar interests, share a bit of food, and then have everyone sit down to actually listen to the music. I’ve been to way too many events where an amazing musician is singing to a crowd of people who are trying to have drunken conversations over the music. It’s like being in a washing machine and can be very frustrating for people like me who are actually there to hear the music. At our house concerts, we often have a little bonfire going outside for people who might want to step outside to chat for a bit.

Beth-You know, I certainly hope so. I’m not a professional music promoter and I kind of fell into this role by accident. I don’t know how the professionals, the folks who run bigger music venues and bars, do it. In our case, 100% of the money collected goes straight to the musician. For musicians who are on the road, I offer to put them up for a night or two. I’ve really enjoyed having these talented folks as house guests and without fail they have been wonderful company. Some hang out with me in the kitchen while I prepare food for the potluck, either working quietly on their computer or chatting with me while I do my thing. Some have even offered to help cut up vegetables and I had to shoo one lovely musician out of my kitchen because she wanted to wash dishes for me. I told her that her job was to play her music and mine was to do the cooking and cleaning. But seriously, it is an honor to have these people pass through our home and I enjoy the opportunity to hopefully make a small contribution towards promoting their music, which is something I believe in. I think it is really challenging to make it as a musician, nowadays more than ever. My main job is to provide a good environment for listening and performing and to round up a bunch of music-loving friends so that the musician can share his or her art. On top of that, I’m more than happy to to pack a sandwich for the road or do a load of laundry. I also happen to be a mother so that comes naturally to me.

HB-I assume you’ve received some great feedback from the performers. The Dance Barn is truly a special place. Rod Picott said it “was like playing inside a giant guitar”!

Beth-That was one of the biggest compliments I could ever hope to receive. My husband, Michael Chandler, and I run a design/build firm together. We had a window order some years ago that turned out to be unusable so my husband built a dance space for me with the windows and some extra material we happened to have on hand. It’s almost completely composed of local poplar, inside and out, and has large sliding barn doors that open up to the meadow to the south. The floor is southern yellow pine (also local) and the ceiling is vaulted. So it turns out that this space that is so conducive to dance is also great for sound. And the Dance Barn name is still applicable as our audience has been known on occasion to push the chairs aside to dance. The thing is, even then, they are still listening.

HB-When did you decide to make the move from music fan to hosting shows?

Beth-Mike June invited me to a house concert he was playing in Raleigh a couple years back. I’d never been to one before and I think I casually remarked to him that we had a space that would probably work really well for house concerts. I didn’t think that would lead to hosting musicians and inviting folks over, but it did. I’m quite used to driving 5 or 6 hours to see a musician I really love, and I gotta say, having them drop by and bring their music right to my own home is a dream come true. Never occurred to me that such a thing was possible. I’ve made a point to go to other house concerts when I get the chance to see how other people do it, and I always ask my musicians for constructive feedback on how I can make my events better. My main challenge is getting a good crowd. Part of it is that people have busy lives. There are often competing events, and not everyone, even music-lovers, prioritize going out to hear live music. The other part of that equation is getting the word out. That’s where the folks who come to my house concerts can help by spreading the word and inviting their friends. 

HB-What are some of the upcoming shows you’ve got scheduled?

Beth- On June 20th, Jon Dee Graham, from Austin TX, will be paying us a visit. I’m also working at lining up Jefferson Hart, an acoustic version of The Backsliders (with Chip Robinson and Steve Howell), Caroline Mamoulides, Michael Rank, and of course Mike June, the guy who started it all.  

Photos courtesy of Beth Lavinder and Lila Forro.