10 Questions with Robert Lester Folsom - ‘Sunshine Only Sometimes: Archives Vol. 2: 1972–1975’
Sunshine Only Sometimes: Archives Vol. 2, 1972–1975 continues Anthology Recordings’ excavation, and exploration, of southern singer, songwriter, and psychedelic serviceman Robert Lester Folsom’s bountiful archives. Recorded across Georgia in various bedrooms, a barn, and a motel room with a reel-to-reel and a revolving cast of whip smart studio musicians in the first half of a dazed and confused decade, Sunshine Only Sometimes furthers Folsom’s place in the canon of long lost but eventually found independently spirited, high-flying American folk rock.
When Anthology’s reissue of Music and Dreams, the sole contemporaneous album released in 1976 by Folsom, surfaced in 2010, little else was known of Folsom’s nearly five-decade deep archive of unreleased demos and fully formed studio recordings. Born and raised in Adel, Georgia—both then, and now, a sleepy hamlet with a population of less than 5,000—Folsom was fortunate to be minded after extremely supportive parents. Exhibiting a precocious affinity for music, things went widescreen when he observed the same ferry from ‘cross the Mersey as many others of his generation, carrying the four musical moptops to their paradigm shifting appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Bio : Mexican Summer Press Kit
The SOS Archive: '72-75 were recorded across your home state of Georgia in various locations. Can you tell me about some of those settings as well as some of the back story of the songs from this incredible 3 year period.
Several of the songs were recorded in my parent's home when they were away. "Strolling Along" was in their living room because there was a large Wurlitzer organ there and I played the tune on it and my friends came over and just jammed along. "Singing In the Shower" was in a pack house with hay bales all around and cows hanging out outside. It was hot and we were really rocking at night stomping on the pack house floors which you can hear in the recording ! "Lonely" was recorded in the music suite at South Georgia College which I pretty much gained ownership of. Just me on a grand piano and a 12 string guitar late at night.
You had various studio musicians involved during this time, would you mind walking me through how you guys would set up, recording wise using a reel to reel as well as the approach towards the material?
Really just my music friends with either an old Shure SH55 microphone or one of the cheap plastic ones that came with the Sears reel to reel. Set up around the mike and record on the left side usually guitar , vocal, bass and sometimes drums. Then playback and add to the right side more vocal and more guitar and maybe keyboard. Play them back together and hope it sounds in sync and then maybe transfer to a cassette tape for our listening pleasure. Very simple and primitive!
How much did your environments such as the motels, barns, etc. influence thesongwriting process for you during that time?
Those things did not have much to do with the songwriting but they did influence the performances. The night time country setting in the barn, well away from civilization made us maybe rock out like crazy as if we knew only the livestock was listening. The motel room setting made us feel like were very hip out recording on the road. When recording in my bedroom I maybe felt like I was revealing my feelings to my reel to reel and the loneliness of being home alone instead of being out with my friends.
What comes first for you, the music, or the poetry?
Most of the time it's the music first. One recent exception I came across some lines I jotted down many years ago and I remembered what inspired them and a tune came very quickly and then completed a whole song. I pick up the guitar quite often everyday and ideas keep coming around and eventually a song will come out of the picking.
What can you tell me about the title, "Sunshine Only Sometimes"? What does this mean to you?
When we did the first Archives collection I suggested to the label that they call it "Ode To A Rainy Day" because the tune had been selected for that release. I get into weather situations and rainy days seem to inspire me. This time Keith, A&R at Anthology had selected the song "Sunshine Only Sometimes" to be on the release and we both felt it would be cool to stay on a weather theme for the album title. If it rains a lot then the sunshine only comes sometimes!
Tell me about transporting the gear/equipment during those sessions. Did you guys have a caravan set up going? What was the mission, or overall vision for that '72-75 period?
Usually we used my dads GMC pick up truck. I would usually write a batch of songs then we would get together to record them. It was like we were making albums that would never get released but we would play them for our friends. We were in our own happy little world ! We would finish one album and after a few months it would be time to put another one together. We never imagined any of these recordings would some day be on vinyl and available to the masses. (or on the internet, listened to all over the world) Truly amazing and tremendously rewarding. There was probably a time between now and then when these recordings were a little bit embarrassing. They are like audio photo albums!
Because Georgia gets all the seasons here in the South, would explore various moods/attitudes/methods, etc. with each new season through your songwriting?
Seasons did play a role in moods and what would be happening at any given time. Bitter cold winters and very violent summer thunderstorms could create misery which would lead to creativity in music. Misery would be the result of hot, humid summers that lasted way too long and then spring would bring anticipation of being out of school and have more free time to be creative.
Growing up in Adel, a population of 5,000 or so residents, did you ever feel that you stood out from everyone, or was there a fairly healthy music scene in your area during your formative years writing and recording?
I stood out because people knew I was crazy about music. They knew I was very passionate and driven. There was not really much of a music scene. There were a lot of music lovers. People would ask me if I had written more songs when they saw me. I had my group of friends that made music with me and we shared records and talked about the big time musicians like the Beatles, Dylan, Stones , Cream and so on. We were all good kids crazy about music.
Simple question! What is your favorite track from this collection and why?
That's like asking me which one of my children is my favorite ! But I was listening to my test pressing of the new release and I was mesmerized by the title track, "Sunshine Only Sometimes". It's a simple tune, poetic lyrics and the flanging effects I used made it seem very intimate and very sad. Just the kind of tune that misery creates in an also joyful kind of way.
The guys over at Mexican Summer/Anthology have been killing it for years with their excellent work and passion for the more underground/obscure music and artists of the day. What are you most excited about working with them on this project and what do you hope people get from this beautiful archive of unreleased from you?
The folks at the label are the best. They understand me and they appreciate what I have done and I feel like they want to share it with the world. They know how much I cherish what I have created and they show me great honor and respect. I'm excited about working with them because they let me be a part of what they are trying to do and I hope the people who appreciate what we are doing will let us know they want to hear more in the near future. I see a volume 3 in the next few years! There are so many more recordings waiting to be heard. I am so grateful to so many and I want to thank you Primtive Man Soundz!
