Interview: Mary Lattimore

An Asheville native, harpist Mary Lattimore grew up in the Beaverdam neighborhood on the north side of town until she and her family moved to Shelby in 1992. Though she hasn’t called Asheville home since she was 12, her sister and brother still live here and the family has a cabin nearby, which keeps her feeling closely connected to her roots.

Prior to her latest return home for professional reasons — an opening spot for Beach House on Saturday, July 9, at Rabbit Rabbit — Lattimore spoke with Asheville Stages about her musical ties to Buncombe County, keeping COVID at bay, and what it’s like touring with a giant string instrument.

Edwin Arnaudin: Obviously, Asheville very different now, including the music scene. What are some of your standout music memories from growing up here?

Mary Lattimore: I definitely remember a lot of harp. My mom [Lelia Hall Lattimore] was the principal harpist with the Asheville Symphony for a long time — decades; I think since she was 25 or so. I might be making that up, but definitely when she was in her 20s until just a few years ago when she retired. So, going to her rehearsals and performances of hers was a big part of our lives growing up. She also directed the Blue Ridge Harp Ensemble, which was a lot of her students and some her friends — a bunch of ladies who all played harp together. I think it still exists. But yeah, lots of harp, lots of harp students coming to our house, and just being part of that world. Also going to see John McCutcheon and folk singers around in the area, and MerleFest and Bele Chere and outdoor festivals, like Shining on the Green. Stuff like that.

EA: And then having come back here so many times over the years and playing pretty much every venue, what are your general thoughts on how our city has grown on a musical level? 

ML: I love going back to Asheville. I feel like Harvest Records really had a lot to do with bringing a really good music scene to Asheville. And just watching Harvest grow throughout the years and the [Transfigurations] festival that they have brought a lot of friends of mine there. I keep seeing great great musicians moving to Asheville and loving it and appreciating it, so it makes me really happy because I think, eventually, I'll probably be there more — if not live there. It's really cool that the music scene is so good there.

EA: I'm curious, too, being in LA — in general, how have you fared during the pandemic?

ML: I mean, I definitely didn't fare that great. [laughs] Just mentally — just not having very much purpose and being really scared of sickness and the virus and stuff. It was just a very mysterious, strange, heartbreaking thing for so long. And not being able to tour and connect with people in that way was pretty depressing, but things are bouncing back. Kind of.

I've been touring a lot. I cannot believe I haven't managed to get COVID yet. I'm knocking on wood right now, but I feel like the majority of my friends who are back touring have gotten it. So it's still scary, but we're just trying our best and getting back to it. I'm not sure about you, but I definitely feel like the pandemic was not the happiest time of my life. [laughs] I do know people who really got back to basics and enjoyed their time off in different ways. They planted gardens and got really close with their family, but it's just very personal for everybody. 

EA: Yeah, that uncertainty, like you were saying, and changes… I mean, my job situation changed several times. I got dropped to part-time brought back to full-time. And I’m also a film critic, so not being able to go to the theater for over a year was pretty wild. I'm back there now, but I'm still in the back row, wearing my mask pretty much all the time.

ML: [laughs]. Yeah, I'm wearing my mask all the time, too, except when I'm on the stage. It's still a thing. I definitely hope that movie theaters bounce back because going to the movies is such a ritual and it feels kind of soulless to just watch it on a laptop. You know? So hopefully it comes back.

EA: Being back on tour and playing shows, are there certain aspects of that that have taken on new significance for you in these last few months or year?

ML: I've appreciated a lot more. Every stage that I'm on and getting to see the audience and, like, just to connect in that way and play for people — you remember that it can be taken away in a single cough. [laughs] You know? It can be all taken away, so it's made me appreciate it a lot more. And just being able to travel and even get on a plane. I just, I just think about it each time that I do it. Like, "OK, I wasn't able to do this two years ago. I thought it would never be back, and now it's back!"

EA: Over the years, has it become easier to tour with a harp? Are there better cases or better technology that just make it more conducive to lugging it around the country?

ML: Well, more and more people are playing harp, which is really exciting. And that means there are more harps available to rent. [laughs] So I don't have to bring mine everywhere. It's gotten easier to find harps to rent these days than it was 10 years ago. And also, I feel like I've just gotten better at figuring out the logistical parts, like loading it in and fitting all those suitcases in around it. So it's gotten easier. I don’t know about technology-wise, but definitely logistically [laughs] it's a little easier.

EA: And also on the tech side, are there certain pedals or effects that you've been drawn to lately? Either ones that are brand new to you or older ones that you’re kind of leaning into more recently?

ML: I’ve always used the Line 6 DL4, which is my primary pedal with the looper and stuff. I've just known how to use it very well, but I recently got the new one. They sent it to me and it's really cool. It has even more features on it and it's lightweight and it's got a lighter, smaller  power adapter. I've also been using these Earthquaker Devices pedals that have beautiful delays and echoes. I've been incorporating those with the synthesizer, too, and playing a lot with harp and synth and trying to play synth over top of the loops and get into being a one-person band a little bit more. And just more synthesizer stuff, too.

EA: And with Moog here, I wondered if that was something that you'd been involved in, or if you're on their artist roster.

ML: I love them. They've sent me a lot of nice, really beautiful pedals and I've played there before and played for MoogFest. Jason [Daniello] and Spencer [Kelly] have been very, very generous to me. I really love Moog.

EA: I was also wondering about your recent film scoring opportunities. It seems like that could have been kind of a perfect fit for the pandemic — sitting at home and working. Was that the case?

ML: I have gotten some film scoring opportunities, but, unfortunately, it didn't line up with the “sitting at home” portion of the pandemic. [laughs] You know? Because the films were being worked on then. The work on the actual film had to be done first before the music. And so the timelines have not completely lined up exactly in sync. So I'm still working on them now. And I had some other opportunities, like collaborations I did remotely with friends — those records are just coming out now. And also the collaboration [West Kensington] with my next door neighbor [guitarist Paul Sukeena] that just came out.

EA: That was actually my next question — I’ve listened to you play on tracks with some of my favorite musicians: Sharon Van Etten, Kurt Vile, Steve Gunn, and many more. What qualities do you look for when choosing musical collaborators?

ML: The main thing is if I like them as a person. Like, is it a friendly, open kind of friendship?  Playing music to me feels very social and collaborating feels very social. So to get along with the person as a friend, it's so conversational and that feels really important. I haven't done that many projects with people that I don't know. I don't know if I've done any real records with people that I don't know. It’s always been people that I know and I like, and it's like, "Let's have a jam!" You know? I've done a little bit of session work for people that I didn't really know, but by the end of it, I usually count them as a friend. It's always this very base social hang with instruments.

EA: I’m definitely looking forward to this Rabbit Rabbit show. I saw you at The Grey Eagle opening for Parquet Courts back in 2017, and then again at the Masonic Temple [part of a trio of acoustic solo sets with Kevin Morby and Waxahatchee] just a few months later. Those were really fun but, obviously, those are much smaller venues than this big outdoor space. How do you scale up your show for those kind of huge venues? 

ML: I’ve never played a huge venue like this, so I don't know! [laughs] I think I’m just going to do my thing and hopefully it’s enough. This venue didn't exist, I don't think. I feel it's kinda new, right? 

EA: Yeah.

ML: So it's going to be a shock — maybe a happy shock when I actually see it. [laughs] But it should be cool. I played The Orange Peel kind of recently [March 22, opening for Kim Gordon], and that was the biggest place I've played in Asheville, and that was really fun. So hopefully this will go well and I'll get to see more Asheville people in the crowd and hang out. I think my whole family's going come, so that'll be fun. 

EA: I think you'll have a great time. There's definitely been some solo artists with just guitar. I don't know if you know Bahamas or Buffalo Nichols, but they both played last year. It was pretty stripped down, but they sounded great and the crowd loved them. So, yeah, I think you'll fit right in there.

ML: Cool! Good. I'm excited to go on this tour. It's a very big tour for me. I mean, I love Beach House as a band. I love their sound. So hopefully the sounds are going to be a good match together.

EA: Do you have any personal history with Victoria [Legrand] and Alex [Scally] from the band? 

ML: Nope, not at all. We have a mutual friend in Kurt Vile. I think we hung out backstage one time in Philly with Kurt. But other than that, we don't really know each other. 

EA: Well, hopefully you’ll be fast friends, just like you were saying with your other collaborators.

ML: Yeah! Absolutely. 

IF YOU GO

Who: Beach House with Mary Lattimore
When: Saturday, July 9, 7 p.m.
Where: Rabbit Rabbit, 75 Coxe Ave., rabbitrabbitavl.com
Tickets: $38 advance/$43 day of show

(Photos by Rachael Pony Cassells)