Peer as Folk

by Jewly Hight Talking about Robby Hecht’s musical experiences in Nashville is like playing six degrees of Lex Price. Nashville’s folk-pop singer-songwriter scene has grown steadily, first with folks such as Mindy Smith, Julie Lee and Sarah Siskind, and more recently with Thad Cockrell, Hecht and others. And Price has often been in the middle of it all as a producer (for Smith) or sideman (for Siskind and Cockrell).

Price also produced Hecht’s debut solo album, Late Last Night. For that reason—not to mention the fact that Smith, Siskind and Cockrell all supplied harmonies on various tracks—it’s a good snapshot of Nashville’s folk-pop common ground, something it took Hecht his first six months in town to find.

“Right off the bat, I fell into this bluesy country scene,” says Hecht. “It was a while before I fell into a group of writers that I felt were along the same lines as I was. I think Julie [Lee] was the first kindred songwriting spirit that I found in Nashville.”

Hecht met Lee on a tour bus heading to a benefit for the Sago miners’ families, and the domino effect took hold from there. He came to hear Lee sing backup at another show and met Siskind and Price; Lee introduced Hecht to Americana Folk Festival founder Dara Carson, through whom he met Cockrell; and he ran into Smith when they both played AFF.

Talking about Robby Hecht’s musical experiences in Nashville is like playing six degrees of Lex Price. Nashville’s folk-pop singer-songwriter scene has grown steadily, first with folks such as Mindy Smith, Julie Lee and Sarah Siskind, and more recently with Thad Cockrell, Hecht and others. And Price has often been in the middle of it all as a producer (for Smith) or sideman (for Siskind and Cockrell).

Price also produced Hecht’s debut solo album, Late Last Night. For that reason—not to mention the fact that Smith, Siskind and Cockrell all supplied harmonies on various tracks—it’s a good snapshot of Nashville’s folk-pop common ground, something it took Hecht his first six months in town to find.

“Right off the bat, I fell into this bluesy country scene,” says Hecht. “It was a while before I fell into a group of writers that I felt were along the same lines as I was. I think Julie [Lee] was the first kindred songwriting spirit that I found in Nashville.”

Hecht met Lee on a tour bus heading to a benefit for the Sago miners’ families, and the domino effect took hold from there. He came to hear Lee sing backup at another show and met Siskind and Price; Lee introduced Hecht to Americana Folk Festival founder Dara Carson, through whom he met Cockrell; and he ran into Smith when they both played AFF.

Besides personnel, Late Last Night shares with Hecht’s folk-pop counterparts a love of fine textures, fetching melodies and sifted-smooth lyrics. It’s a polished set for an independent debut. Of course, Hecht had his ways of working out over the years: the short-lived band AllDay Radio and busking in Paris and San Francisco.

“I used to love playing in the street and the subways,” Hecht says. “I actually used to compete with this bagpipe guy. He always made more money than me. It’s kind of sad that we don’t have any kind of underground system here, because that was really fun. And you can’t really play in the street here, because there’s too many people doing it. It’s so cliché.”

True to its title, the album evokes hours passing quietly after dark. Price’s delicate touch helped. “You can tell when Lex [Price] has produced a record,” Hecht says. “It’s [distinctive] like when you hear Eddie Van Halen play a guitar solo. It’s really sensitive.”

Many of the songs meditate on losing or savoring love, with a few variants thrown in, like the reluctant soldier ballad “Along the Way” and a cover of A.J. Roach’s psalm for addicts “Chemicals.”

“It doesn’t even really matter that it’s [‘Chemicals’] about alcohol,” Hecht says. “It’s so beautiful. Some people didn’t think I should put it on there because it’s so different from the rest of the record. I talk about whiskey on the record—but that one is about whiskey. The rest of the record you could play for your kids.”

Hecht’s upcoming release show will continue in the six degrees vein with Siskind, The Bittersweets and Peter Bradley Adams on the bill. (Price also produced the latter two.) Hecht doesn’t take for granted the musical wealth he’s found in Nashville.