Cody Dickinson, besides being the drummer and co-founder of the Grammy award – winning blues band North Mississippi Allstars, is also a Grammy winning record producer and film documentarian.
Recently he spoke with Americana Highways about his new solo album, Homemade, about the vibrant musical genre that is the blues and his career in general. The resultant conversation, edited for clarity and length, is below.
Americana Highways: Although your recently released album Homemade is technically your fourth solo effort, you really consider it your first solo album, correct?
Cody Dickinson: Yes. I consider this my first solo album because it is my first stand-alone solo project with an outside record company. The other three records that you are referencing were all self recorded and self- produced, so I consider them different from Homemade.
AH: How would you consider it different from your work with the North Mississippi Allstars?
CD: With NMAS, my brother Luther mostly chooses the direction we go in as a band and our recording of new songs. I am part of the process, but he sets the tone. With Homemade, I was in charge of the direction of the songs, and because of this, I was able to bring in a lot of my varied musical influences to the mix. It helped that I also played every instrument on the album as well.
AH: What would you say inspires you as an artist?
CD: Life, man. It is so amazing. It provides me with a never-ending supply of creative ideas and opportunities. Every day offers up something new. With all of the things that I do, I live in a state of constant creativity.
AH: How would you define the blues?
CD: It’s a musical form based on how we all deal with the pressures of life. We all have our own problems and perspectives, and the blues let’s us hear how others are dealing with their problems. We get to hear that we are not alone. Growing up, I was heavily influenced and touched by the music of RL Burnside and Junior Kimbrough, two legendary Southern bluesmen, and their music changed my life forever.
AH: Following that thought about the blues, you were once quoted as saying “The older I get, the more I realize how important it is to record this music, so younger kids can hear it. I just want to make sure we pass it on. It’s a huge honor to be a part of this tradition.” That pretty much sums it up doesn’t it?
CD: Yes, definitely. The thing is when I was younger, I was sort of indifferent to the tradition behind playing blues songs. I know now you have to maintain the integrity of the song, and in that way, you honor it and the original creators and performers of the music.
It was in that spirit that I co-created and produced the documentary Take Me to the River which brought together and showcased multiple generations of Memphis and Mississippi Delta musicians and performers.
It’s all about passing down this wonderful American music to future generations.
AH:What does music mean to you?
CD: Wow, that’s tough one. I would say it’s the essence of existence for me. I grew up in a musical family. My dad is the well known Memphis musical figure Jim Dickinson who worked with the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, and a ton of other performers. Music is and has always been around me everywhere I go.
It’s as essential as taking a breath to me.
AH: Are there any future plans you can tell us about?
CD: Yes. We are currently working on a new NMAS album with the legendary bluesman himself Bobby Rush, which is a blast. We are also formulating plans to celebrate the 25th anniversary next year of the release of our first album Shake Hands With Shorty.. We will be touring as a band through the rest of the year and into next year. In between, I will also playing a number of dates with my brother Luther as well some solo dates.
As far as my filmmaking, I have a number of projects that I can’t talk about yet, but will be able to as they become more developed.
Thanks very much for chatting with us, Cody Dickinson! Stay tuned to Cody Dickinson’s website and social media to stay updated on all of his projects and to purchase his latest release Homemade .
For more about the album, check out our review here:REVIEW: Cody Dickinson “Homemade”
