Q&A With Folk Music’s Rising Stars, Kort & Beth McCumber

After the last year and half with thousands of miles spent traversing the highways and byways of our fair country, Kort McCumber, along with his younger sister Beth and a stellar back up band, have certainly gotten a lot of mileage out of last year’s album release while earning a lot of new fans along the way including the likes of superstar picker Vince Gill (who has become a sometimes musical contributor on Kort’s albums).

The “americana” music genre has always been a fickle niche where bands as polar opposite as old time gospel and traditional appalachian folk bands inevitably get tossed into the same musical catch-all with everything from the breezy acoustic funk of Jack Johnson, the psychedelic roots rock of Wilco, all the way down to the greasy tattooed bluegrass punkabillies in Split Lip Rayfield. But good music is good music no matter what you call it and Kort’s music certainly qualifies for good…no make that great, as evidenced by the the increasingly larger venues and appreciative crowds Kort’s been playing to along with massive radio spins (for americana radio anyway) of the song currently defining his career, the scorching socio-political country rocker Pay The Fiddler:

Never heard of Kort McCumber? Rest assured you will. I had a chance to fire off a couple of questions to both Kort and sister Beth so that you can get to know these rising stars of folk music. Ladies, gentlemen, and fans of americana music, meet Kort and Beth McCumber:

Dutch Seyfarth: Where did the desire to pursue careers as musicians come from?

Kort McCumber: About half way through College, I really started getting serious about playing guitar and writing songs. Soon after that, I started playing gigs in Gainesville, FL, and school went by the wayside when I started touring. I really felt early on that playing music full time was something I was supposed to do, that it chose me. It’s been over ten years now, and I haven’t looked back. I also grew up in a very musical family and saw my mom teach lessons and play in the Symphony in Florida.

Beth McCumber Wilberger: From our mom, Joy Myers, who is a concert pianist and brother, Kort. Kort asked me to play violin with him when I was still in high school and then my freshman year in college I recorded on his first CD in the fall of 1999. Feb. of 2000, we played our CD Release Show in Gainesville, FL and from that point on, I wanted to perform on stage singing harmonies and playing the violin/fiddle with my brother and his music.

Dutch: If each of you weren’t musicians, what would you be doing?

Kort: Well, I went to College on a golf scholarship, but I don’t think I would be playing golf for a living if I didn’t play music. I hope I would be doing something creative. But, I really don’t know. Music is my profession and my hobby.

Beth: Well, I pretty much already do what I love besides playing music since Kort & I started our own music business company called Lucky Nugget Records in Aug. of 2007. I do all the bookings, marketing, promotions and tour management. I definitely would be doing music business as my career choice even if I did not play music.

Dutch: As musicians, was there ever a temptation to live somewhere besides Colorado?

Kort: We lived in Nashville for a little bit, but I have no desire to be anywhere other than up Left Hand Canyon. I did consider Vermont for awhile.

Beth: We are both from the Jacksonville, FL area and moved to Nashville, TN in Jan. of 2001 to be in music city and find out what that was all about in learning and growing as musicians. Colorado is a great place for our style of music and the fans seem to really appreciate the Americana genre of music we play. After living in Nashville, I would not need to live in another area saturated with lots of musicians. Boulder, CO is a good mix and has it’s own unique music scene.

Dutch: The lyrics in “Pay The Fiddler” touch upon the timely topics of unemployment and financial despair so many people are facing these days. Can you talk about what that song means to each of you and where the inspiration for that song came from?

Kort: My co-writing partner, Kevin DeForrest wrote a lot of those lyrics about 6 or 7 years ago when we played in a bluegrass band together. He’s a great lyricist and wanted to write a song that played on the idea of “can’t pay the piper”. We were all living hand to mouth at the time, barely paying rent and car payments. When he brought the lyric to me, we both tweaked it and came up with the original version which was a straight forward bluegrass song. It didn’t get played for a few years until the Fall of 2008 when the stock market crashed. I revisited the song because I knew there was something powerful that needed to be recorded. I love the song, because no matter how the economy is, there’s always people that don’t have enough and struggle every month to pay bills. It just happens that right now it is a lot worse for more people. We are all hearing more about it now because the rich people lost a lot of money. The media doesn’t seem to report on it when they are doing fine.

Beth: I love the song not only to play but the beat, rhythm and intensity really makes you want to groove and listen to what the song is all about lyrically. It’s a great song for the times and hopefully it will catch on to the masses. Kort and his writing partner, Kevin Deforrest really know how to put pen to paper and write something that makes people think!

Dutch: Have there been any dream-come-true moments in your careers so far as musicians?

Kort: Well, when I first picked up the guitar, I just wanted to be good enough to play a few songs around the camp fire. It has just continued after that. Sitting across a table from Vince Gill when he is playing mandolin and singing harmony on one of my songs was an amazing experience. Playing my song “Living On” on grand piano with the Jacksonville symphony in front of ten thousand people. Winning my first song-writing contest in Snowbird, UT in 2007. I’ve been really fortunate.

Beth: We’ve had some great things happen and have shared the stage with some amazing artists, but for me there are still many goals and dreams yet to be made in this business.

Dutch: Why do you both love writing and performing music?

Kort: Writing and performing music feels like an extension of myself. I’m most comfortable in life when I am playing music. I love being able to share that with other musicians and with listeners. Since it makes me feel so good and full, I always hope that it will carry over to the crowd. That is my goal when I play. I love that transfer of energy.

Beth: I love performing songs that mean something and make me feel a certain way, digs deep to my soul. Kort’s music has always done that for me, and that is why I’ve continued down this path with him for the past 10 years. I can only hope that we make people out there feel half of what I feel when hearing his tunes and singing with him. My life is music and always has been since I was a baby. I look forward to making music and continuing on this musical journey.