This month we're taking a deep dive into the various creative endeavors of featured artist Aaron Guest. This month we have showcased everything from his high energy 12-string playing in the band Polecat to the hand-crafted and authentic multi-instrumental tracks from within his solo project A. Guest (view on facebook). Today we will showcase Aaron's 12-string acoustical contributions within a completely different genre; with work with folk artist Coty Hogue (Spotify). Specifically, we're showcasing the studio album Flight which was recorded at Rec Room Studio by Ben Surratt in Nashville, TN and also features Molly Tuttle, John Mailander, and Missy Raines. We welcome you to enjoy the album below. You can also click this link to view the album on Spotify.
Breedlove: Thanks for sitting down to chat with us, Aaron. We listened to a variety of examples of your work with Coty Hogue. How long have you been playing together?
Aaron: I met Coty Hogue at Fairhaven college at Western Washington University in Bellingham in 2005. Fairhaven College has a rare interdisciplinary approach; you write your own degree to a certain extent, which is really fascinating and works very well for self-driven folks that don't necessarily want to fit in a certain major mold.
Coty and I discovered a lot about ourselves at Fairhaven together. We took several classes together. In particular, there was a songwriting class that really sparked a lot of how I've sculpted my songs since. There was also a singing class, one credit, Wednesdays at noon: we got together in a big circle and sang folk songs. It was refreshing to have 50 minutes in the middle of your day to sing and play together.
Each quarter was a completely different focus. One quarter would be the music of Woodstock, another the songs of John Cash, et cetera. We ended up taking that class together many times, and we each re-discovered our love of folk music that way. We started playing in little groups together at open mics, then open mic features, then gigs around small places around Bellingham, and eventually toured all over the Western US.
I love Coty's distinctive, powerful voice, and the songs she writes really reflect her old soul well. This project has been a great exercise in how to be a solid side person. We made our first album together, just her and I. Like the A Guess stuff, I played drums, bass, keyboards – I was the backing band. The 12-string guitar has always been my main instrument live, though. Her main focus instrumentally is clawhammer banjo. Very dark, soft, and comtemplative playing, nothing like the bluegrass Scruggs thing. She also plays 6 string guitar, either soft strumming or fingerpicking. The Coty Hogue Trio would not be complete without the dynamic and masterful fiddle playing of Kat Bula. She is a rare talent that can blend violin (classical) and fiddle (folk) chops into her own beautiful sound. Her playing is featured very well on 'Flight'. We've toured extensively together and made several records over the years. Go Team ACK! (Aaron Coty Kat)
My biggest challenge with that project, which I love, has been implementing a 12-string in a really soft approach rather than the driving, forceful playing that is a big part of Polecat sound. With Coty my focus is being supportive but never overpowering, using alternate tunings and capo positions. Focusing on that style of playing while singing soft, gentle vocal harmonies is also a huge challenge.
Breedlove: How do you bring the 12-string to life in this genre without overpowering any other instrument? Are there techniques? How do you get a lot out of that instrument but also reducing how powerful it can be?
Aaron: It's a lot of left-hand stamina, do be honest. Holding chords tightly enough to allow for subtle voicing changes for more dynamic finger picking. Everything needs to be more precise when you're fingerpicking. It's definitely more work on a 12-string because you're holding down two strings with each finger. But, I'm crazy enough to do it I guess…
As far as my right hand, I almost never use a plectrum. Even if I'm strumming, I'm really gently using some fingernails if I want to dig in a little bit, but mostly I just use the pads of my fingers with my right hand. That's what keeps it warm and quiet but still precise.
Breedlove: Your work with the band Polecat is very high energy. (Learn more).
Your solo work feels more meditative. (Learn more).
Is working in the acoustic folk/Americana genres somewhere in the middle?
Aaron: Going on tour with Coty has always been a really nice yin-yang thing for me, compared to Polecat. The audience is seated; you can hear a pin drop in most of the venues we play. The majority of our performances are unamplified house concerts, or small halls. It's a great challenge to perform for people that are sitting, watching and listening, 100% attentive to the music.
With the Polecat, it's all about the party, the energy, people feeling the energy and dancing, hootin' and hollering and that kind of thing. It's really nice to be able to craft these two very different approaches to performance with the same instrument. A. Guest has always been the personal project in the middle where I get to stretch my recording chops on all my instruments. It's been great to feel a good balance with these three projects, for the last many years now.
You can learn more about Aaron on this month's featured artist profile, here.
