By Amanda Knox

Nick Drummond is a young but seasoned musician from Seattle. His bands are the acclaimed acoustic trio, The Senate, and the folksy duo, Impossible Bird. Nick was kind enough to meet with me to discuss his new album, Follow the Rivulets, the product of his solo musical endeavors.

Can you tell me about your album, Follow the Rivulets?

It’s got heartbreak in there. A seven-year-long relationship fell out from under me, but I don’t think of it as a break-up album. It’s optimistic and stubbornly hopeful. It’s fun and vibrant. The way I look at it, if I’m combining lyrical imagery and melody in a way that connects to a listener and you can feel what the song is about and I can make you dance at the same time, then I’m doing my job right. That’s my overall approach.

Did you feel like you had to make an active effort to create that silver lining, or does that come naturally to you?

It’s not a conscious endeavor, except that I like to play with juxtaposition. There’s a song on Follow the Rivulets called “How Strange” that sounds really upbeat, but is actually one of the sadder songs about losing a person who your were really close to and have shared so much with.

What is the ultimate take-away from a song like that?

Hope, and gratitude for having had that experience. You might as well celebrate something that you’ve lost, because it’s made you who you are.

That sounds like the opposite of Justin Timberlake’s “What Goes Around...Comes Around.”

It’s the opposite of most pop music. And I’m OK with that.

I think every musician has their own way of describing what genre their music belongs to. What’s yours?

I don’t know what to call it. I’m definitely a singer-songwriter, but I think that implies a greater degree of control than I feel like I have. Sometimes I feel like, “I just work here,” and I don’t really know what’s going to come out. That said, I think the sound of Follow the Rivulets is consistent. It’s where I’m drawing from that is not all that consistent.

Where are you drawing from? Who are your influences?

I like Paul Simon a lot. I grew up listening to afro pop. I played hand drums when I was a kid.

Are you an Amadou and Mariam fan?

Do I have a pulse? Yes! I also like the lyricists. Leonard Cohen, Guy Garvey of Elbow. Paul Simon is a brilliant bridge between two worlds: he creates a life-affirming groove, but then his lyrics and story take you somewhere. I don’t know if Follow the Rivulets is like Paul Simon at all, but to me it juxtaposes these same factors.

Is this your first solo project to come to fruition?

Yes. My writing was taking me somewhere that I wanted to explore in such a way that all the pieces I was writing would be kept intact, and I’d never done that before. It’s always a struggle in band dynamics to figure that out. For instance, with my band, The Senate, we never did anything with the drums. I’m a drummer at heart, even if I’m terrible at them. That’s always been my focus, and I wanted to paint with that brush.

Are there any weird anecdotes from the making of Follow the Rivulets that you’d care to share?

Sure. So, the studio I recorded in, Ballard Bait Shop, is right next to the railroad tracks that go through Ballard. Much to the annoyance of people who park down there and go to the bars for their $15 cocktails, the railroad tracks are actually used, so the parking that people assume is there and free is actually a working railroad. The guy who drives that train doesn’t like that so much. So one day I’m down at the studio tracking this quiet acoustic song and I’m singing my heart out and gradually in the headphones I hear this rumble rise as the train is going through. I thought, “That’s cool. I’ll just keep playing.” Then it goes by, except the guy is out on the front of the train screaming bloody murder at somebody, and it is loud and clear in the microphones. I really wish I had been able to keep it together and keep playing and have that be a thing, but I just lost it. I started laughing and fell out of the moment. It was really fun to go back and listen to that take, because it’s this really sweet, gentle song, and then this rumble creeps in, and then this crystal clear, horrific language.

Those moments were few and far between. The majority of putting the album together went smoothly. It was truly a joy.

Follow the Rivulets was released April 10th and is available through iTunes. For more information on the album and the artist, visit www.NickDrummond.com.