Some of the richest blues influences come from David Bromberg, who plays various guitars including the National Steel. Bromberg has recorded with Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, John Hurt, the Reverend Gary Davis, Tom Paxton and Chubby Checker. Throughout the 1970’s Bromberg toured with his own band and in recent years has revitalized his career as a solo artist.
“David studied at the knee of the Reverend Gary Davis. He is very deeply connected with the old blues and he is a real student of that as well. I think that he has certainly colored our influences. We really take advantage of his ability to bring that to our band. He plays National Steel on a couple of tunes and slide on some tunes. Arguably, the tunes on the CD which are the most bluesy are “Drown In The Fountain Of Good,” and the last one, “Jump Back In The Ditch.” The song, “Jump Back In The Ditch,” is more of a gospel tune, but David uses the National Steel on that one, so it has crossover influences as well,” says Josephson.
As our conversation segues into a discussion of gospel music, Josephson tells me, “I think that all of us (in Angel Band) have been influenced by gospel music (Kathleen Weber performed with the Moravian Women’s Choir). I don’t know of anyone out there who I listen to who is not influenced by gospel music. It is just so real, deep, authentic and spiritual. For me and my band, we cannot help but be really turned on by some of that old gospel stuff.”
Josephson shares her personal connection to gospel music, “I was the only white Jewish girl in an all women’s gospel choir on the south side of Chicago, and I was with them for five years. It was about feeling this depth of spirituality. It wasn’t necessarily related to Catholic, Christian, Methodist or whatever. It was about having this connection to a bigger spirit. I feel that is the best of what music can do, it can transport in a very spiritual way, the listener into a place that is both universal and very, very personal. That to me was a schooling that I couldn’t get anywhere else and it was amazing. I think for the first year, they were just waiting for me to go and nobody was interested in having me around (she says laughing). After the first year, I was one of them. Being a member of the choir allowed me to sing in a particular way that I have never sung before.”
The re-emergence of, or perhaps a better description would be the reinventing of, several forms of music into Americana or roots music has contributed to a renaissance and appears to be attracting fans from every age group in America. As the country experiences turmoil and uncertainty on several fronts, Josephson has some thoughts as to how that relates to the popularity of music such as that of the Angel Band.
“I think that people are interested in hearing the truth. It is like what is happening with our politics right now. People are tired of having pre-packaged, fabricated, glossed up, polished packaging. That’s just not how life is. It’s grey, its not black and white. I think that people respond to this authentic voice and to truth. I think that people are really hungry for it. I certainly am,” she says.
While it would be tempting for some artists to become a bit smug or complacent about their music careers, after enjoying the success that Nancy Josephson and the other members of Angel Band have, that has not been the case.
“One of the things that we (she and David) feel is that we are very grateful. We don’t take this for granted. I feel that it is important that none of us in Angel Band take anything for granted. There is not an expectation that people will love us, buy our CDs and come to our shows. We are grateful for everybody who we touch. We feel a sense of responsibility that when people come to our show, that the music we put out there is real, deep and as righteous as we can make it. I think that is basically who we are. That’s how we function in life,” says Josephson.
Interview by Joe Montague
August 2008
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