File Under: David Ford interview on OFTV

Hi folks, I'm coming to you live from Atlantic City, NJ. Before you ask, business not pleasure.

A few weeks ago I posted a few times about musician David Ford. Those posts lead to an offer to conduct an interview with this talented individual. Upon consideration of my 12 year interview hiatus, I decided David would be better served by someone who knew what they were doing. With a little help from A.H. an interviewer was found. Mari at One For The Vault was up for the challenge. Read her interview here.

However, I did submit two questions of my own, and have received my responses:

What was the first song, upon the first listen, that gave you a feeling of instant familiarity and having always existed in your mind?
I’m not sure that is how music works for me. I always like to be presented with something in some way unexpected. The songs which exist in my mind, generally end up going on my records. There are certainly songs which instantly resonate, which I get straight away: Tom Waits – Day After Tomorrow… and then there are songs which are instant because they are just perfectly crafted: Neil Young – Heart of Gold… or those which tap instinctively into a musical tradition in such a way as to make you think you must be listening to a version of some old classic: pretty much every track on The Felice Brothers self titled album does this for me… but I really live for those songs which sneak up on you and then stick around forever, maybe laying dormant in a dark corner of the mind until such a moment as circumstance throws them into sharp focus and they suddenly make sense. Songs like these become a friend for life.

What is your favorite guitar and why?
I have a weathered 1950’s archtop guitar with “aristone” written on the headstock. I know very little about it other than the fact it was inexpensive and the thickness of the neck and fretboard makes it virtually unplayable. But it is a beautiful instrument which has clearly been used and loved for decades and if you are willing to get into a fight with it and persist with the discomfort, it also sounds great.