We were lucky to catch up with Warren Hood recently and have shared our conversation below.

Warren, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I never stop learning. I have been playing professionally for over 25 years, won string player of the year 12 times, was inducted to the Austin Music Hall of Fame, but I am still climbing that mountain to be the best I can be just like I was at the beginning of my journey. I still feel just like that 14 year old kid sitting in with an unfamiliar band and trying to figure how best to contribute to the sound with the instrument in my hand. It’s a spiritual quest for me and hearing the improvement over time is the reward. That is why I record almost every show I play on my phone. Whether it’s singing with my own band or just playing fiddle with somebody else I put that phone on my monitor to hear the truth. Since it’s mostly me coming from my monitor I hear every detail… Was I playing music or showing off? Was I in tune and in time with the band or in my own little world? Were my phrases concise statements or were they babbling incoherently? I might not listen to the whole gig on my drive home but I’ll pick out spots that I thought were either great or terrible and try to figure out why. Usually, I find my performances are never as bad or as good as I thought in the moment. More often then not it just sounds like me for better or worse. The minor adjustments I make are really only noticeable to me but that counts for something.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I was born the son of Austin fiddler/guitarist, Champ Hood. My childhood was spent going to my dad’s gigs where I was unknowingly absorbing folk, blues, country, rock, jazz, cajun, and pop music. Fast-forward a few years and I I started playing classical violin at age 11 in the school orchestra. I thought I was going to learn “fiddle” but they made me a “violinist” (fiddle is just slang for violin. It’s the same instrument but different styles are like different languages. Ex. classical verses bluegrass). I studied classical violin with a wonderful teacher named Bill dick and I won classical music competitions, including the Pearl Amster Youth Concerto Competition and the Austin Youth Award, which gave me the opportunity to perform as a soloist on “Lalo Symphonie Espagnole” with the Austin Symphony, conducted by Peter Bay. Eventually I started “fiddling around” and playing bars while still in high school. Growing up with dancehall music later combined with classical training led to me creating my own style of fiddle playing. I balanced studying at Austin High with touring with Charlie Robison and the South Austin Jug Band. After high school, I earned a scholarship to Berklee College of Music where I majored in Violin Performance, played with Steven Tyler and formed an acoustic string band, Blue Light Special. At Berklee, I earned the coveted String Achievement Award, an award chosen by faculty to honor talent and as a vote of confidence on future success.

Leaving Berklee, I returned to Austin and was in demand as a sideman, playing with Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis, Alejandro Escovedo, Joe Ely, Lyle Lovett and joining The Waybacks. Through all of this, I played with the South Austin Jug Band when I could, especially as a part of their Sunday night residency at Momo’s on W 6th St in Austin. When the residency ended for SAJB, I gathered a group of friends and took over Sunday nights under my own name, starting my first solo venture and releasing my first studio record, “Warren Hood”, an eclectic mix of both songs and legendary Austin players including Marcia Ball, Cindy Cashdollar, and Ephraim Owens.

The Momo’s Sunday residency lasted seven years and was a testing ground for me where I found my sound, learned how to lead a band, and gave the artists I shared the stage with space to shine – something I had plenty of experience with from the other point of view, having been a sideman for 10+ years. The way I ran Sunday nights had a lot in common with the residencies I grew up around in Austin – My father, Champ’s, ‘Singin for your Supper’ at Threadgill’s (Marcia Ball, Butch Hancock, Ruthie Foster, Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, Jimmie Dale Gilmore) and Toni Price’s ’Hippie Hour’ at The Continental Club.

My band now (Marshall Hood and Willie Pipkin on guitar, Nate Rowe on bass, and Jordan Cook on drums) is the current version of the band I started back in 2004 at Momo’s. This band plays every week at ABGB, drawing a mix of “old Austin” and newcomers, musicians and music lovers, and dancers who stay on the floor from the first to last song. The Warren Hood Band plays a mix of our own songs, classic country, and blues, with a nod towards our Texas roots with a few Uncle Walt’s Band songs.

My greatest influence is certainly my father, Champ Hood. Champ was a member of Uncle Walt’s Band, an acoustic folk trio from Spartanburg, South Carolina that also included Walter Hyatt and David Ball. They moved to Austin in 1975, prime time for the zeitgeist of the Austin heyday, playing at Waterloo and the Armadillo and building a cadre of lifelong fans. Their intricate harmonies and creative songwriting inspired their contemporaries, many of whom are today’s best loved and most respected songwriters and artists, and continue to touch those who discover their records today. I spend as much time with my band as I do playing and recording alongside other artists: David Ball, The Bodeans, Hayes Carll, Joe Ely, Alejandro Escovedo, Robert Earl Keen, Ben Kweller, Little Feat, Lyle Lovett, Joan Osborne, Toni Price, Bob Schneider, South Austin Jug Band, Redd Volkaert, Jerry Jeff Walker The Waybacks, Bob Weir, Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis and more.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I think folks that don’t live the lifestyle I do have many misconceptions about what I do. There are many ways to be successful in this business. Just because you are not on TV or the radio does not mean you are not successful. I make a great living doing what I love but most people have never heard of me. Of course I would like to play bigger shows in the future but that’s not what keeps me going. As I said before, music is more of a spiritual quest for me. I really like making music with other people. Most of the meaningful relationships in my life have been forged through music. I get to do what I love and do not travel as much as one might think. I have 2 kids and a wife so being home is a priority for me. Much of my band and other people I meet in business have similar lives to mine. Most of us are not drug addicts, take our craft seriously, and are just trying to make a living doing something we love.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding part of what I do is meeting great people. The musicians I play with are my best friends. I met my wife at a show. The people I meet that go out on a regular basis to enjoy live music are some of the happiest and most positive people in the world. Music is uplifting. It feels good to make music and it makes people around you feel good too. I get to live in that world all of time and I could not imagine doing anything else.    

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.warrenhood.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/warrenhoodfanpage

Image Credits
Todd Wolfson, Michael Marie, John Grubbs