Local Spins writer Enrique Olmos recently caught up with the singer-songwriter and record producer now based in Nashville who got his musical start in the Grand Rapids area two decades ago.
Dangerous With a Guitar and Microphone: Nathan Kalish (Courtesy Photo)
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Nathan Kalish doesn’t go out much anymore. He doesn’t smoke weed. And he doesn’t keep alcohol in the house.
In fact, he says, he doesn’t “do much anymore.”
Of course, that’s aside from playing guitar and writing introspective Americana and “cosmic country” songs.
The now-seasoned, well-traveled singer-songwriter who graduated from Sparta High School and started his music career in Grand Rapids releases a new studio album, “SPGC, Vol. 2.” on March 22.
The record follows up his 2022 album, “Great Big Motel Bed in the Sky,” which he mixed and engineered himself in East Nashville (and comes some 17 years after the Grand Rapids release of Nathan Kalish & The Wildfire’s highly praised “Desert Love”).
In a recent interview, Local Spins caught up with Kalish over the phone from his Nashville home.
Homecoming: Nathan Kalish on stage in Grand Rapids in 2022. (Photo/Anna Sink)
Enrique Olmos: What’s your favorite meal?
Nathan Kalish: Well I really like Vietnamese food. Either, like a Vietnamese beef stew. Or Ethiopian food with injera bread.
Enrique: Was there ever a time when you considered quitting music?
Nathan: Yeah, during the pandemic, for sure. I mean, because, you know, I was traveling full time; before the pandemic I was doing between 150 to 220 shows a year kind of, depending on where I was in an album cycle.
And I was never really like at a level where I was putting money away or, or saving money or getting ahead. In the pandemic, I was broke, and I had no income anymore.
Enrique: What kept you going?
Nathan: Recording. I just really just kind of started mixing records and started producing more music and getting into sync licensing and mastering. But I’ve always enjoyed that stuff.
Enrique: Do you have a favorite Nashville hang with?
Nathan: Well, I don’t go out much. But there’s a lot of great places to go see music. Acme Feed and Seed, which is OK often, is actually right on Broadway. (Kalish plays Acme Feed and Seed several times this month, along with The 5 Spot in East Nashville.)
Enrique: Great spot. What’s your relationship with alcohol as someone who doesn’t go out much?
Kalish: I don’t buy alcohol. I don’t keep alcohol at home. I never really have. because I would just drink it all. I don’t have an addictive personality like point in my life. But it’s just not worth it.
Enrique: How about weed?
Kalish: You know, it’s definitely around. When I used to travel more, people would just give me weed. Everywhere I went, people would just give me weed because I had long hair and a beard. I would just give it to my band and they would always be like, “Where did you get this? You know, and I’d be like, somebody just gave me like an eighth of really good weed.” It’s definitely a door to creativity. But if you want to put on an engaging performance, where you’re remembering lyrics, performing for or an audience — which is important to me — I haven’t found it helpful.
Enrique: Yeah, all of a sudden, you’re watching yourself from above. As you’ve gotten older, what else has grown more important?
Kalish: I guess just I’d say you gotta have goals. And I think that it’s important to have goals. But I also think that when you’re focused on the process of a thing it goes smoother.
Enrique: What’s one thing about the new record that’s gotten you amped?
Kalish: I think that it’s different than anything I’ve heard. In the past, I was heavily inspired by things that I was into, but I’m delving into new creative territory. It’s pretty, pretty f—ing wild.
MORE ABOUT NATHAN KALISH: Destructive winds, loss, satire and a return to touring: A story of survival.
VIDEO: Nathan Kalish & His Derechos, “Past the Everglades” (Live at Amber Sound)
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