A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Get ready for an espresso shot of endorphins.
(SOUNDBITE OF BILLY STRINGS' "BLUEWATER BREAKDOWN")
MARTÍNEZ: That's William Lee Apostol, better known by his stage name, Billy Strings. He's a three-time Grammy Award winner who combines bluegrass, rock, folk and country with sizzling flat-picking guitar.
(SOUNDBITE OF BILLY STRINGS' "BLUEWATER BREAKDOWN")
MARTÍNEZ: Oh, and he's a pretty good singer, too.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I LIKE TRAIN SONGS")
BILLY STRINGS: (Singing) Some like songs of happiness and some of times of pain. You can keep them all. I like my songs about a train. I'm on a choo-choo rolling...
MARTÍNEZ: But Billy Strings takes things down a notch on his new album, "So Much For Goodbyes." It's dedicated to his mother, Debra, who died last year.
BILLY STRINGS: She was born on Halloween in 1960, and she was a Scorpio and a psychic and a North Side queen and just a really far-out lady. We were driving in the car, something would come on the radio, and she would say, you know, who's this? And I'd say, oh, well, that's Edgar Winter. That's Pearl Jam, or that's, you know, John Lennon or - I remember her playing, like, "The White Album" backwards for me when I was, like, 7 years old or something, you know, just being like, you hear that? It says turn me on, dead man. You know, I'm just like, what? We struggled with a lot of different things, but there was a lot of love and there was a lot of music.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "STILL I CRASH")
BILLY STRINGS: (Singing) Mother, can you still hear me wishing you were still near me, hoping that this won't really be the end?
It was a rough thing losing my mom. And, you know, my guitar's always been that kind of friend where I can lean on it to kind of deal with all these feelings, and it's always been my coping mechanism and, you know, working through some stuff and making lemonade, you know?
MARTÍNEZ: Now, you grew up Muir, Michigan - right? - kind of a rural area of Michigan.
BILLY STRINGS: Yeah. Muir is a little village about 7 miles outside of Ionia - a lot of cornfields and just a tiny, little town. There's not even a stoplight, you know? It's just along the river there. It was a really kind of sweet, but also boring at times, place to grow up, and we had to sort of entertain ourselves.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. I asked you about that because in the song "One Of Those," you sing about being really proud and nostalgic about how and where you grew up.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I'M ONE OF THOSE")
BILLY STRINGS: (Singing) I'm looking for the place I used to live. I've been driving up and down this road, trying to bring back old memories for one reason or another. I let it go. Well, I'm one of those.
It's just about driving through your old hometown and seeing the ghosts walking down the sidewalk - you know, maybe your friends and loved ones that aren't there anymore. I'm a real nostalgic type and sentimental about the past, and I think it's just because, you know, I left when I was a teenager, and, I mean, by the time I was 18, I was on the road. And...
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.
BILLY STRINGS: ...I've been on the road ever since. Like I said, I can drive by and say, oh, there's my friend's old house, or I used to sleep in that basement there, or that's where I got arrested, or that's where, you know...
MARTÍNEZ: (Laughter).
BILLY STRINGS: ...Whatever happened. And, you know, there's the Ionia Theater. That's where I first stood on stage and peed my pants 'cause I was so nervous, you know?
(SOUNDBITE OF BILLY STRINGS' "BLUEWATER BREAKDOWN")
MARTÍNEZ: Billy, I don't want to give the impression that this is a 100% downer of an album because there are still plenty of songs with a solid kick on this album, right?
BILLY STRINGS: Yeah. I mean, there's a lot of different flavors. I feel like every time I make a record, it ends up being that way. I guess because I have several different influences, you know, just all in my mind. I try not to get in the song's way, and I try to just let the songs kind of lead me to where they want to go.
(SOUNDBITE OF BILLY STRINGS' "BLUEWATER BREAKDOWN")
MARTÍNEZ: So, Billy, as we were connecting, we caught you working on some stuff. What were you working on?
BILLY STRINGS: Well, I'm working on some music from the band Cryptopsy. I'm going to play with them, and I have to learn this song called "Open Face Surgery."
MARTÍNEZ: Can you play a little of it?
BILLY STRINGS: Yeah. I mean, I reckon. I don't know if you'll be able to hear it very good through the phone. Let's see. I'll have to set it down.
MARTÍNEZ: OK.
BILLY STRINGS: (Playing electric guitar).
It's like that.
MARTÍNEZ: Well, it sounds like you got it, Billy. I mean, I don't know the song, but it sounds on my end that you absolutely have nailed it. Are you close in your mind to having it learned?
BILLY STRINGS: Yeah. I've been working on it the last couple of days. It's fun trying to play some death metal again. But then, on the other hand, I think, man, I might as well stick to bluegrass guitar because I still am learning how to do that, you know? And I'm not going to learn how to be a professional skier or get really good at bowling or something. It's like, I might as well just kind of stick to my lane and try to get as good as I can at that.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LIGHT THE WAY")
BILLY STRINGS: (Singing) At the end of my journey, when at last, my spirit's free, when you're looking down from heaven, won't you light the way for me?
MARTÍNEZ: Your mother, your biological father, they both died of drug overdoses. You have had struggles with addiction but have stopped using hard drugs. Do you ever wonder, Billy, if this family curse can end with you?
BILLY STRINGS: Yeah. That's the goal anyways. I have a son now, and I just - my goal is to be there for him forever. I don't ever want him to see me messed up, you know? So I think he's been a real inspiration for me to just stay sober. And I've always wondered what life would be like without drugs and alcohol and stuff. And, you know, I was huffing rubber cement by the time I was 10 years old, just trying to get high however I could, and coffee is my drug of choice these days. And it's great. I love it. Life's been good, and I feel like, you know, I got nice smooth water that I can sail on. It's like glass. I feel good, you know?
MARTÍNEZ: That's good to hear. That's Billy Strings. His new album is titled "So Much For Goodbyes." Billy, thank you.
BILLY STRINGS: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF BILLY STRINGS' "BLUEWATER BREAKDOWN") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
