Interview by Mariam Sobh
August 04, 2010
Hijabtrendz.com
Read original article here
We had a chance to get personal with Dawud Wharnsby and learn about the man behind the music. Wharnsby’s music has influenced many Muslim artists today and has provided inspiration for American Muslims and others living in the West who are looking to reconcile their identity in the entertainment industry while still holding onto their personal beliefs.
How did you get started as a musician?
Writing has always been a very important outlet for me since I was a young boy. Passion for it continued on through my teens, when I also became very influenced by the music of artists like Leonard Cohen, Paul Simon, Harry Chapin and Bob Dylan. It was a natural step for me to begin combining my own poems and stories with simple chord progressions as soon as I started learning how to play the guitar at seventeen. I was never content enough playing other people’s songs. Having been on stage throughout my teens in school musicals and community theatre shows, I felt eager to share my original songs with audiences. Within a year of actually starting to compose material, I found myself in a band (called Crackenthorpe’s Teapot, later called The Climba Trio) with a few friends, auditioning for our local downtown business association to be summer street performers. We got the job, spent a few summers busking on street corners and professional careers in music spun onwards for all of us.
What are your favorite topics to write/sing about?
My songs don’t often start off with me specifically trying to think of a topic to write about. That approach to writing is difficult for me and the results usually come out very contrived. Most of my poems begin as thoughts or feelings jotted in my journal, then sort of evolve into a piece of work that may actually have many layers of meaning for me.
For example, a song like “Midnight” didn’t start out to be a focused piece of writing that examines the issue of “conflict resolution”. It was a reflection on an experience I had…how it made me feel, what I learned from it and how it made me want to grow. In many ways, the tune is a love song…about learning how to love and respect one’s self as much as how to love and respect others – through actions more than words.
Is it easy to make a living as a performing artist?
It is a very difficult career for me. My “love/hate” relationship with the music business results in a lot of personal conflict. It is always a struggle for me to maintain integrity in what I do as an independent artist — seeking to avoid “selling out” or becoming too ego driven. When I am on the road touring I am often surrounded by wonderfully supportive people. I fly high with adrenalin and am often overwhelmed by people’s kindness — always in “go mode”. Suddenly then, I am seeking privacy in my hotel or in the pages of my journal at an airport, only to find I am being watched or approached by people who recognize me. Though I am bombarded with love from audiences, I get very home-sick for my family. I also struggle with very bad stage-freight — usually followed up with great depression brought on by my self-critical nature and the fact that I am never satisfied with my live shows. Then, when I am off the road and am home for months at a time, I sometimes struggle with re-adjusting to a slower pace of life. It takes me time to relax and get back to “real life” – grocery shopping, doing laundry and playing with my daughter.
From a business perspective the music biz is very hard work too — “feast or famine” they call it. Sometimes the bank account is really padded and sometimes it’s thread bare. One must really be able to balance the business with the creative expression – especially when working solo as I do without a manger, agent, secretary or accountant.
When all is said and done though – I am my own boss, make my own schedule, have the blessing of being able to travel and share music that is important to me with people who are very important to me — so I would never trade my career for anything else. Now aren’t you sorry you asked?
Are there any people that inspire your work?
Absolutely. I am inspired by so many experiences, by the people I meet and by the work of other artists. As mentioned, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen have been ongoing musical influences to me since my teens. I am also deeply effected by the work of Stephen Fearing, Richie Havens, Laura Nyro and Jackson Browne. How I carry myself as an independent artist (in terms of my accessibility to others, my commitments to live and work with integrity, and my responsibility to remain social conscious) is directly inspired by some great heros of mine…people like Pete Seeger, Harry Chapin, Phil Oches, Billy Bragg and Johnny Denver. Then, there is the “business” model for how to run my music company — and in that regard I watch artists like Prince, Loreena McKennitt and Jane Sibbery very closely.
The Muslim community seems to be going through a new renaissance of sorts with more musicians and performers, do you think there is enough momentum to sustain it?
It’s always great to see people write and record music that comes from the heart. When those artists find a niche market or an audience to embrace and support their ongoing expression, they should consider themselves very blessed. Most artists struggle with the dilemma of swimming like fish in a small pond, trying to uniquely establish a support base as they work for that legendary “one hit” that will put them on the music-biz map.
Finding a niche market is a little like discovering a wonderful well of fresh water to share and enjoy. Very quickly though, such a well of support can become a trendy place to splash and play. Suddenly everyone wants to jump in and the pool is just too crowded and not fun anymore.
Most “niche” markets started that way — with a big splash — and then sort of balanced out with time.
There are many musicians now who write or perform specifically for a faith community — the Muslim Pop, Christian Pop and even Hindu pop music scenes are all really buzzing these days. But, from what I have experienced, those spiritually focused niche markets all still run pretty much like other genres and niche music markets. They have their artists, managers and labels who are ego driven, fame driven, money driven and they include those who are just trying to share something beautiful, brighten the world and who thankful for the opportunity to do so.
It is my belief that the momentum we see within these religious niche markets will continue and evolve — with lots of room for new artists to share their passion. But I also believe that, like all genres, the longevity of artists will be determined by their dedication to growth, change, honesty and the integrity of their art — not the financial backers behind them, the scale of their shows or the buzz created around the professional personas they create.
How do you define your music? Mainstream? Indy?
As an independent artist, my work is not very “mainstream”. You wouldn’t find it on pop charts or on the top 100 Hits wall at HMV. My airplay tends to be on community radio stations, or on alternative folk, spiritual or political programming lists. That said, BBC in the UK have been quite a kind supporter of my work and they are mainstream.
My work is folk inspired…spiritually rooted, socially conscious and primarily acoustically recorded. It has been classified as “modern-folk,” “alternative-folk” or even “world music” at times.
The religious recordings I released back in the 1990’s were intended to be educational and devotional projects. From my personal creative perspective, I personally do not consider them as a good representation of my musical expression.
If you could meet any artist in the world living or dead, who would it be and why?
There are so many artists who’ve passed on who I wish I could have met or worked with: Laura Nyro, John Denver, Phil Oches, Harry Chapin, Jim Croce, Scott Joplin… I’ve already met or corresponded with many of my heros — and in some cases even worked with a few of them, which has been such an honour for me. I am really privileged to have recorded music with legends like Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), Danny Thompson, Stephen Fearing and Idris Phillips (Phil Bubel) and covered a song by Natalie Merchant, one of my favorite writers.
But – I think the one person I really wish I could meet would be Pete Seeger. Why? Because he has worked tirelessly all his life (he’s 92 now) to preserve song, community and justice. I would love to shake his hand to thank him personally for being such a tremendous role model in my life. I wrote him, and he wrote back with a kind response, but I’d still like to shake his hand and look into his eyes – maybe do a duet with him perhaps….
