Alabama singer and songwriter Jason Isbell is nominated for three Grammy awards. He’ll be considered in the categories of “Best Folk Album.” The title track from the album is up for “Best American Roots Song,” and another number from the album, “Crimson and Clay,” will compete for “Best American Roots Performance.” Isbell talked on “APR Notebook” about recording his album “Foxes in the Snow,” and how it came about during a hard time for him, personally.
“Yes, you know, that’s how I kind of, I mean, I do real therapy too, but I also do musical therapy, from writing songs and singing them for people,” Isbell said. “And I think there’s a witness to it, once you document something and get it down on paper and record it and sing it for people. You know, there’s, there’s this idea that it, that it somehow is authenticated as being real, and so it authenticates my own experience. And making that record really helped me do that. It was a, it was a very tough time, very, very difficult, you know, very anxious time. I have a 10 year old daughter, and so, you know, figuring out how I could have her with me as much as possible and still make it comfortable for her and make her feel safe and and then negotiating the split, the divorce and the separation and everything that came after that. Those things are never fun, but the music kept me focused, and it kept me centered. And making that album, it reminded me of what my purpose is, and reminded me of the thing that sort of tethers me to the earth and the community. And yeah, so it, it served its purpose in that way for sure.”
Isbell also went into detail on the unique instrument he used for the solo recording. It was an 85 year old Martin guitar, which he described as a instrument designed for beginners. But, he added that it had the right “voice” for “Foxes in the Snow,” which was the performer’s first album recorded without a back-up band. On “APR Notebook,” Isbell recalled the story of how he acquired it…