Venus: Gillian Welch
Ironically, in recollecting her own motivation for moving to Nashville, Gillian settles easily on the adjectives "romantic" and "unrealistic." In effect, a whim. Like a young Charlie Parker moving to New York City for Jazz music, or Axl Rose hopping a Greyhound to find heavy metal in L.A., Gillian migrated to Nashville, Tennessee for no other reason than the country music that she loves.
Now, some ten years later, she is not only hitting her stride musically but brimming with stories about her time in the Nashville that had she hoped for. Both humble and amused, Gillian doesn't take notice that Emmylou Harris is just "Emmy" in her stories or that performing at the Grand Ole Opry is just "the Opry." She can, however, appreciate the beauty of being stood up for dinner by Willie Nelson at a tiny fried chicken shack. "Willie stood us up," she explains with a laugh, "but it's better to be stood up by Willie, than to not have a date with Willie."
Actually, this optimism went a long way, since Gillian and her co-collaborator David Rawlings salvaged a song for the new album out of the experience. Standing in line for their fried chicken Gillian overheard a wonderful piece of spontaneous conversation - "Well you know, one monkey don't stop the show" - a phrase that would be the main foundation and chorus for the Soul Journey track "One Monkey."
Gillian sees this as further evidence of finding the Nashville she had dreamed of. "Willie knew there was a song waiting there for me...and he didn't want me to miss it," she explains humorously.
Without ever needing to directly speak of her reasons for titling her latest album Soul Journey, her motives are clear, "This is what I meant by the Nashville that I moved here for, it has come to life all around me."
