When I Gravitated Back To Music, It Was For The Right Reasons
Framing Hanley
Cris Cohen: One of the fascinating aspects of the Framing Hanley story is that the band took a break for two to three years. And not only did you step away from the band, you stepped away from music. How did that time away influence the musician you've become?
Kenneth Nixon of Framing Hanley: I can't overstate how much. At that point in my professional career and life, I lost the passion for music. It became like a rat race, where we were trying to write hit singles, to appease some label, instead of writing… it didn't feel as pure anymore.
I was making music because it was my livelihood. It was how I took care of my family. Not because it was a form of therapy, or the passion that I'd had since I was a child.
So, when my kids started school, I was like, “I don't want to miss my kids’ lives, being gone 200 plus days out of the year, (for) something that I feel like I'm doing for the wrong reasons.” And that was definitely tainted by the business side of things.
I will say, when I gravitated back to music, it was for the right reasons. That break was so necessary. Not just from a professional standpoint, but also as a listener. The music that I started getting more into and listening more to during that break really (drove) home the importance of storytelling again, and remembering this is why I was doing this… to tell stories.
And Jason Isbell was the biggest piece of that. When I picked up a guitar again, I was going to do Americana, singer-songwriter stuff. And then naturally the gain volume was cranked more and more until I was like, “I'm writing Framing Hanley songs again.”
But I wouldn't be here having this interview with you right now, if I wouldn't have stepped away for that period. It was so vital.
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