About That Song: Becky Kapell
About That Song #53
In our special series, singer-songwriter Sarah Morris interviews artists about the songs that shaped them.
Hi! I’m Sarah Morris. I’m wildly in love with songs and the people who write them. There have been a few songs in my life that have been total gamechangers—songs that made me want to be a songwriter and songs I’ve written that made me feel like I am a songwriter. About That Song is a space where I can learn more about those pivotal songs in other writers’ lives.
In the 53rd edition of this series, I sat down with the lovely Minneapolis country singer-songwriter Becky Kapell! We had a delightful conversation about the songs and artists that shaped her creative journey.
Becky Kapell. Photo credit: Nazara Matos.
Sarah: Hi Becky Kapell! As you know, but readers may not, you are one of my favorite faces to see out and about in the world. So it feels extra special to have you meet me here for the first interview of the second year of About That Song!
Once upon a time I fell in big-swoony-love with a music video of yours, and I ran up to you in line at a store to tell you about my strong feelings. One of my bolder fan moves! Since then, I’ve been fortunate enough to get to hear you live and get to sing with you a time or two, and I wear my Becky Kapell t-shirt every chance I get. You’ve got a busy summer of shows, and I’m wondering if you might have a moment to sit down and speak with us a bit About That Song?
Becky: Well I love you and I LOVE to talk about myself so let's do this! And to the readers, Sarah fails to mention that the store where she ran into me was a liquor store!
Sarah: It’s true, let’s give a shout out to Surdyk’s!! I love that place! Back to music, do you remember the song that you heard that made you want to be a songwriter? Tell us about that song.
Becky: The funny thing is I never wanted to be a songwriter! It literally never occurred to me to try to write a song until I did, which was around age 45. I was messing around on my teenage son’s guitar trying to teach myself basic chords just so I could sing for fun because I LOVE to sing. This was shortly after my divorce and I was basically a single mother of two teenagers, and I’m sure I was also going through perimenopause. I was super emotional and full of angst (and often red wine), so I was also journaling a lot, and I noticed I repeated certain sentiments and sentences over and over in my journal. And as I practiced chords, rhythm and melodies began forming, and some of those repetitive thoughts sort of attached themselves to the melodies and often became the hook of a song. It was all sort of magical, but over the next few years I wrote a bunch of songs!
Sarah: That is sort of magical! While also feeling … utterly natural. I was such a deep lover of songs and music without considering that someone actually WROTE THESE THINGS I LOVED. And then from that space, it was another stretch of time and a leap before I considered becoming one of those someones!
Becky: Another fun fact is that I don’t really listen to the lyrics of songs—even now. I am all about the melody. My first favorite song I was obsessed with at age 7 or 8 was Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring”—so no lyrics. But the melody moved me. Still does!
Sarah: Ooh, yes!!! That’s a gorgeous melody. I bet you could write the lyrics to that someday? Bach would totally be fine with it. I am near certain of this.
Once you began writing, did you feel like a writer immediately? It took me a few years of writing before I believed it—was there a song that gave you that “a-HA! I AM a songwriter!” moment? Tell us about that song.
Becky: For me there isn’t one song that made me feel like an actual songwriter. But once I recorded and released my first record For Now in 2012 I guess I felt fairly legit. I was (and still am) really proud of all those songs. I wrote them entirely for myself with no intention of even recording them, and they completely capture a time of my life that was really difficult but that I knew was transient. Thus the title For Now.
I didn’t know any musicians in the Twin Cities at that time because I was pretty much a soccer mom and had nothing to do with music here. But I’d been a singer in a few bands when I lived in Portland OR from age 19 to 33, so I did know musicians there. I sheepishly played a few of my songs for a couple musician friends there during a visit, and they were super supportive and urged me to record them. It took a few years of going back and forth but I did! I honestly didn’t know if I would ever write another song after that first batch. I thought maybe I’d gotten it all out of my system!
Sarah: As a fan, I am glad you didn’t—that in fact there were more songs to come! And also, I love that your story involves the cheering and prodding of supportive musicians. “Yeah! Go make that thing!” I think we’re incredibly fortunate to have a lot of that in our Twin Cities music scene, and it’s wonderful to know it’s hanging out in Portland as well.
I first met your music through your song “That Certain Ache.” In addition to having a music video I loved so much I needed to chase you down in a store, the song itself is a personal favorite. Melodically, it travels this particular path during the third line of the verse that gets me every time. And lyrically, you set a romantic partner free in a way that feels beautifully clear-cut. I imagine the singer is truly taking care of themselves in a way that makes me cheer. Can you tell us about that song?
Becky: Thank you! I love that song too! I’d been listening to a lot of early Dolly Parton records and somehow the melody came from that. The simplicity of it felt sort of old-fashioned to me and almost corny like some Dolly songs can be. The title and main idea of the song came to me around the same time. I was listening to Terry Gross interview David Duchovny on NPR and she asked him about the nature of the relationship between Mulder and Scully on The X-Files. David paused and said “Well it definitely had that certain ache.” And I was like “Yes! That certain ache. I want that!” You know … just aching for someone. And unfortunately I was missing it in my relationship at the time. So I wrote about that but as usual, as it is with a lot of my songs, I felt like it was just so simple and corny and I was sort of embarrassed by it.
I played it for Paul Bergen one day and when we started recording together he asked me about it. It had sort of stuck with him. It was one of the first songs we recorded together, and he came up with the beautiful intro guitar line that repeats throughout. We recorded it all in one night in his basement starting with a drum loop Paul came up with that I played acoustic guitar and sang along with. The song wasn’t even really done in my mind the night we recorded it, but we did it anyway. Paul added guitar and bass and I put a harmony vocal on it at about 2 in the morning. It was the only song we didn’t change at all after that one night because it was just sort of magical.
Before the record came out I played that track for Sarah Jean Shervin (who directed the music video for The Cactus Blossoms’ “Mississippi”) and she fell in love with it. Then she saw my house and my bathroom that has this really beautiful mural painted by the original owner and she had a vision to make a video for the song featuring the mural. So the whole video (and really the record cover too) is her brainchild and directed by her. Thank you Sarah Jean!
Sarah: Yes, thank you, Sarah Jean! On your 2022 album In It To Win It, there’s a song called “Idle Down” where you sing “I’m gonna idle down, slow my roll / But babe you know this engine wants to go”—it feels like a good summer mantra/anthem. Can you tell us about that song?
Becky: Once again this was a song that started with me listening to old records! This time it was Doug Kershaw, who’s a Louisiana fiddle player/singer/songwriter. I basically stole the main riff of “Idle Down” from one of his songs. So once again I started with a melody and groove that I was obsessed with and just kept playing my version of that groove on my guitar. My father use to say “Idle down, Rumbenka” (his nickname for me) when I got a little too hyper as a kid—which was often! “I’m gonna idle down, slow my roll” just fit the groove and became the hook.
The rest of the lyrics came pretty easily, although I did have to refrain from using all the most obvious driving/car metaphors. I really love singing that one. It cooks along and flows and is just really fun! We recorded the bulk of it in Paul’s living room during the pandemic and his son Sam Bergen engineered that session, then we finished it up at Erik Koskinen’s Real Phonic Studio.
Becky Kapell. Photo credit: Tom Smouse.
Sarah: In addition to the music you make as Becky Kapell and the Fat 6, you’re part of local Linda Rondstadt tribute band The de’Lindas. One of the most glorious voices ever, I think, Linda also has a way with song interpretation that is unparalleled. Was there a Linda Rondstadt song that first spoke to you?
Becky: I listened to (and sang along to) a lot of Linda Ronstadt as a kid, and I now realize she was a huge influence on me and the way I sing. And she may have been one of the reasons that as a singer I never had the desire to write songs. Linda never wrote a song as far as I know, but as you say she was a great interpreter and had impeccable taste in choosing and arranging songs. What a huge variety too!
Sarah: Alison Krauss was this person for me. Such an amazing interpreter! And gosh there are so many great songs out there already, so …
Becky: I remember listening to and singing along to “I Never Will Marry” about 5,000 times. Dolly Parton sings the harmony with her and it is so beautiful! We don’t do that one in the de’Lindas … yet!
Sarah: The magic of YET! You have a busy summer of shows—where can we see you sing these songs in the near future?
Becky: I’m doing shows with a full band (plus Joe Savage!) on the 5th Sundays of the month (7‒9pm) at the 331 Club in Minneapolis, so the next one is coming up June 30. And then of course the big event of the summer: Becky Kapell and Sarah Morris at the Icehouse courtyard on Sunday July 7! Other summer highlights include a Turf Club night on July 12 with Terry Walsh and 2AM and Curtiss A and the Dark Click, Dusty’s Daze on July 14, and Lowertown Sounds on August 29.
Sarah: So many wonderful gigs! I’m thrilled that we get to share a stage (and all manner of band members). And to think, that night is only possible because I had the nerve to run up to you in line at a liquor store once upon a time. Thank you so much, Becky, for stopping by to talk About That Song! (And, to anyone who has read or shared this column over the past year, thank YOU for being part of ATS!)
I hope you can come see me and Becky in the Icehouse courtyard on Sunday, July 7! Doors open at 5pm for dinner and drinks and the music starts at 7. Pick a table and make a reservation here.
You should also get tickets to see Becky Kapell and The Fat 6 at the Turf Club on Friday July 12, along with Terry Walsh and 2 AM and Curtiss A and the Dark Click! Doors at 7pm; music starts at 8.
Listen to “Idle Down”
“Idle Down” Single Credits
Becky Kapell – vocals, guitar
Paul Bergen – guitars, bass guitar
Nate Gamb – drums
Erik Koskinen – snare and percussion
recorded and mixed by Sam Bergen
additional recording and mixing by Erik Koskinen at Real Phonic Studios
mastered by Tom Garneau at Audioactive
“That Certain Ache” Single Credits
Becky Kapell – vocals and acoustic guitar
Paul Bergen – electric guitars, acoustic guitar, bass
mastered by Tom Garneau at Audioactive
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sarah Morris. Photo credit: Tom Smouse.
Sarah Morris is a superfan of songs and the people who write them, and a believer that certain songs can change your life. A singer-songwriter / mama / bread maker / coffee drinker who recently released her fifth album of original material, she’s been known to joyfully sing with people in her Big Green Bathroom.
