Natural Child is an excellent, rising rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. Since I first heard “Mother Nature’s Daughter” near the end of summer, I’ve been wanting to hear more of their heavy, classic-rock jams. They’ve recently released a 7″ vinyl with the aforementioned “Mother Nature’s Daughter” as the A-side track and “Bodyswitchers Part II” capping it off on the B-side. Aside from the wicked cool cover art (seen above), “Bodyswitchers Part II” was the highlight of the two-track vinyl. Best described as heavy, like really heavy, “Bodyswitchers Part II” gives us a look at a grungier side of Natural Child that you’ve got to hear. If you want your own copy, head over to Jeffrey Drag Records, but be sure to take a look at our interview with the band below.
PastaRunMusic: What do you think it is about Nashville that makes it such a hub for music? Is there something in the water?
Natural Child: I think it’s because it’s called Music City. Broadway, Honky Tonks, The Grand Old Opry. People just believe it.
PRM: It seems that there has been a huge increase of roots music lately, from folk to rock to blues a lot of new bands are popping up with vintage sounds. Have you also noticed that this is the case and do you think it is a response to the explosion of electronic music these days?
NC: We think it’s a response to the huge amount of shitty, focus group, corporate-produced music out there. There’s music made to ignore and there’s music made to pay attention to. We make music because we’re trying to express the things we feel and the things we notice and the things we believe in. When you’re out there being totally honest, somebody is gonna care. Good music always finds its way back.
PRM: If you could pick one album that has influenced you the most what would it be and why?
NC: It’s not a real album, but the Rolling Stones’ Gimme Shelter soundtrack had a huge influence on the way we perform live and the direction we’ve taken our band. It’s different than Get Yer Ya-Yas Out, less polished, more soulful and heavy. Everybody oughta hear it, watch the movie and find the soundtrack out there on the internet.
PRM: Your music always makes me want to cut loose and have a good time, is this something you try to relate to listeners? Do you have a certain feeling that you try to convey to fans in your music?
NC: Yeah, we want people to dance and smile and get together. We always try to get some asses shakin, that’s how it all starts, you know? It’s not too hard to get laid at after a Natural Child show.
PRM: How does your writing process work? Do you often write the lyrics and then work on music or do they go hand in hand? Do you often have a melody in mind going in to writing?
NC: Songs come together all kinds of ways for us. A lot of the time we start playing and it all comes out just jammin and talkin, but you know, songs are like children- you gotta raise each one different. You’ve just gotta be paying attention to the good ideas, they’re always around somewhere.
PRM: Were your interests always in the genre you play now, or did you want to start out playing other kinds of music? I say this in regard to B$G P$MP$M which had some obvious hip-hop references.
NC: To us, good tunes is good tunes. Rap or country, rock n roll or whatever.
PRM: Has your success and cross-country touring affected your music style or the way you view your career in music?
NC: Well we’re together all the time and we listen to the same music in the van all day and see the same bands and have more or less the same experiences. It’s definitely given us plenty to write about.
Our thanks go out to Natural Child for making the time to speak with us!
