INTERVIEW: Cody Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars) Coming to Albany, Saturday!!!

Interview: Cody Dickinson
By: Rob Smittix

Saturday June 29th -7pm

The Hollow

79 N Pearl St, Albany, NY,

Cody Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars)

with/E Block show this Saturday at the Hollow

GET TICKETS HERE!

RRX: How you been?

CD: Man, I’ve been having a blast! It’s been really, really great, super busy but busy is good, you know? How about you?

RRX: Yeah, definitely keeping busy.

CD: Absolutely. Where are you at right now?

RRX: So we’re in the Albany, New York area and that’s why I’m reaching out to you because I hear you’re coming to town, this Saturday!

CD: Let’s go, man. This band is on fire too! We’re so excited to play.

RRX: I was checking out the new single “Big City” and I also saw that it looks like your daughter’s on a song with you too (“Goodbye Albuquerque, Tuesday Night”).

CD: Yeah, Mavis Dickinson making her singing debut.

RRX: That’s awesome. Especially coming from a family that’s such a musical family, I mean… Dickinson is quite a last name to have in the music industry. I got a band with my brother but it wasn’t like my kids are doing anything or my parents, you know?

CD: That is so cool, man. What instruments do you guys play?

RRX: My brother is a drummer. I play a bunch of instruments horribly. So I sing in the band and I’ve got a couple good guitarists.

CD: Sick man. I think it’s such a gift to make music with family. You know? It’s a great way to spend time together and maybe even make a little money.

RRX: That wouldn’t hurt. I mean my band never took off. We made a couple thousand bucks.

CD: Well, there you go.

RRX: Hey, but we made some money.

CD: Yeah, exactly. That’s more that’s 2000 more than you had before.

RRX: Right? Exactly. But I do make money on music, doing this magazine and this radio station that we have here. So I’m kind of living the dream on but just on the other side.

CD: Yeah man.

RRX: I did grow up in a family that was very musically aligned. I just didn’t have a lot of musicians in the family. But… my mom showed me the Motown. My dad was into the classic rock and I even got into my Grandfather’s records, like ink spots and Mills Brothers, stuff, like that. There was a lot of influence there growing up but when there’s actual musicians in the house… How does that change things? Or did you have a sibling in the house that wasn’t into it? Like a sports sibling? Like, I’m just gonna go my own way?

CD: So when I got to school, I didn’t know the rules of sports. Everybody knew how football worked but it was like Mars to me man. I did not know that stuff at all. Growing up with my brother (Luther Dickinson) who is a guitarist and my dad was a record producer. He passed away about 10 years ago but he produced a ton of records and played piano. He was a session piano player. My mom even played some. She plays some guitar, sings and writes and stuff.
So it was cool, man. It was just very creative and certainly lots of great music around the house. Dad would come back from a session or a tour and play stuff that he was working on or some, rough mixes or something. So that was always amazing.

RRX: Absolutely. For the record… I do wanna say my Uncle Skip actually was the original vocalist for the band that later became Blue Oyster Cult. So I guess I did have some people credible in music in the family but he got out of it before they made it big. But it’s still kind of cool, and it’s a lifestyle that a lot of people need to adjust to, being on the road and stuff. When you can balance it out with family, that’s one thing. But I think back in those rock and roll days, he was like, no man can’t do it.

CD: Well, you, know? That’s smart. I mean, I admire people that are decisive and know what they want, what they don’t want and can see it coming.
Because that’s where it’s at. That’s actually what my new album is about ‘Homemade’, you know? It’s just this hilarious kind of irony, wanting to be home with my family and writing an album about it. And now I’m out on tour supporting the album that I wrote about wanting to be home with my family. So, that’s where we’re at. I haven’t figured that out. There’s many big steps ahead of me.

RRX: That is quite the concept.

CD: Let me tell you… I joke. But seriously, it is tough, man. My boy is two, my daughter is three going on four. Mavis, my older one, she’s really starting to understand that I have to travel for work. She’s so sympathetic with me and even comforts her brother and stuff. It’s super sweet man. She gets it, they get it.

RRX: That’s amazing, man. So, the new album… like I said, I heard the new single. I hadn’t heard all of the album yet but it looks like the reviews and everything are pretty stellar.

CD: Oh, yeah. So much love. I’m so thankful for that.

RRX: I know you’re obviously touring and pushing the album. Are we gonna hear a lot of this album on Saturday?

CD: Yeah. Playing the whole thing!

RRX: Oh, nice.

CD: This band is on fire. So half the band is from New York. It’s the young rhythm section from New York. They come from a band called Johnny in the Basement. It’s Will Bart on bass and Jager Soss on drums. They both sing and play great. And my guitar player, Aubrey McCrady is from Mississippi. He works a lot in Memphis, he plays on Beale Street, does his own thing and he’s a killer on the slide. These young guys, man, they just inspire me. They get me fired up, they do the work and sound great. But the main thing is we’ve got to Tikyra Jackson from Southern Avenue coming up this week and she’ll be there in Albany as a featured vocalist singing with us. She’s also on the album. So that’s gonna be a big treat. Yeah, she’s flying in tomorrow.

RRX: That is awesome. It sounds like it’s gonna be so much fun. I really love The Hollow. It’s a nice intimate spot. It’s right in the heart of everything. Greg Bell, the promoter always seems to pick winners.

CD: Greg is so cool and just such a patron of the arts. We’re so thankful and honored to be playing for him and at the venue. So, thanks to you for covering it to help get the word out. That’s what it’s all about.

RRX: Yeah, that is the plan.

CD: You’re the best!

RRX: Is there anything else that you would say to folks to inspire them to come on out this Saturday?

CD: It’s a show of all new, all original music with a couple of hill-country blues songs thrown in there for good measure. We’ll play at least 90 minutes, two hours straight. No break. Come on, let’s go boogie. You know what I mean? Come have some fun please.

RRX: I love the energy, man. I really do. I appreciate it. Cody. Thank you.

CD: Sure thing. Alright, we’ll see you Saturday!