I understand musicians are artists and not the computer you get on the phone when you call Qwest for customer assistance. When I called David Eugene Edwards, Sixteen Horsepower's frontman and multi-instrumentalist, he didn't answer. When he finally did answer, about an hour after the appointed time, and I told him what I was up to he replied, "I thought this interview was cancelled." He was not in the best frame of mind to converse because, as he informed me, he'd been having some fights with his computer and a new internet connection. Though I didn't ask, I'm hoping he didn't signed-up for Qwest's broadband services.

Mr. Edwards lives in Denver, Colorado. The drive from Denver isn't very long, but Sixteen Horsepower has never performed live in Salt Lake City. When I spoke with Edwards, he was prepared to play his hometown that evening and then head to Europe for a tour. His band, which has significant roots in American music, is forced to make a living in Europe because that is where the majority of their audience lives. Europeans are much more open to American music than are Americans. Sixteen Horsepower has just released a new CD, self-descriptively titled Folklore. Both American traditional songs and folk songs from around the world inspired this CD, which is their fifth full-length release. The band has evaded all manners of attempts at genre placement and classification in the past. Goth bluegrass, alt-country goth, Bauhaus-esque, just to name a few.

Prior to letting Edwards speak through the miracle of a transcribed phone conversation, I'll note three songs from the album that impressed me which are all covers. Hank Williams Sr., "Alone and Forsaken" - as a devoted Hank Williams fan this song is basically imprinted in the cells of my body. Sixteen Horsepower gives a stunning rendition, an interpretation as haunted as I'm sure Hank's thoughts were when he wrote it. Immediately following "Alone and Foresaken" is a cover of the Carter Family's "Single Girl." Yee haw! Single girls are filled with joy, married women are not always. The third impressive cover, "Horse Head Fiddle," is listed in the liner notes as a Tuvan traditional. Sorry to revel in pedantry. The throat singers of Tuva are one of the world's musical marvels and Sixteen Horsepower covers one of their tunes with insight and dare I write, passion?

After agreeing to talk to me despite the unexpected nature of the phone call, Edwards explained how the songs were selected for the album. I asked about the symbolism of the gray horse, mentioned twice on the album, and the Tuvan throat singers. "There's not necessarily symbolism, we just chose songs that related to our music and that were influential in the music that we make - music from around the world and individuals as well. There's no real significance to the horses other than being horses, you know."
And was Tuvan music an influence on Edwards? "Oh definitely. I'm a big fan of Huun-Huur-Tu. I've seen them a few times and I listen to their music quite a bit." The average person reading this probably isn't too familiar with Tuvan throat-singing so a brief explanation is probably required. Tuvans are obsessed with horses. The country is located on the Siberian/Mongolian border, obviously quite isolated, and the residents have developed a unique vocal style best described as a deep humming groan, mixed with a high pitched whistling sound. The sound of a didgeridoo is a good comparison. Sixteen Horsepower's rendition of "Horse Head Fiddle" approaches that sound.
How did Sixteen Horsepower approach the song? "I did singing and we just used bows. We bowed everything, we bowed the guitar, we bowed the bass and we weren't really trying to replicate the throat-singing, just more of the mood of it - bows and organs, different organ sounds."

Overall, at least to me, the album has a dreamlike quality. Edwards agrees, "Yeah, right. The Huun-Huur-Tu song is about a dream and the 'Outlaw Song' deals with dreams. Some of the original songs we wrote, there's an element of that as well. I think that just kind of happened, without even thinking about it, it came out that way. It wasn't something that was thought out or anything like that."

This is the September issue of SLUG. A year has passed since 9-11. Our president constantly reminds us that the current "war" is perpetual, a statement some might describe as "Orwellian," others as prophetic. Edwards is a deeply spiritual man. He has never attempted to hide his spirituality and while his music does at times have religious overtones, Sixteen Horsepower isn't viewed as a "Christian" or "gospel" band.
Does he think these are the last days? "I believe we're in the last days, I think we've been in them for quite awhile really. I'm not one of those people who are subscribing to a certain date of things happening or we're at a specific point. I believe that things are coming to pass that have been prophesied in the bible, but as far as how far along we are ... I'm not really sure and I'm not too concerned or worrying about it. I do believe we are in the last days, yes, but that doesn't mean it will come to a climax in my lifetime."

Numerous artists have responded to September 11 with mostly ridiculous attempts to express sympathy, empathy, or patriotism. Perhaps the best way to close this out is with Edwards thoughts on his response. "It didn't give me any special inspiration necessarily. It just solidified my beliefs even more and my desire to spread the gospel more, but it didn't put a big change on how I think about things or it didn't make me write certain songs because of what happened. I think I sort of deal with those things all the time, in I guess, a more one-on-one personal level. Men's relationship between each other and the selfishness of man - what it breeds and what it does."

Folklore 1. The traditional beliefs, legends, customs, etc., of a people: lore of a people. 2. The study of such lore.