Getting It Done: An Interview with Hot Buttered Rum Frontman Nat Keefe

Nat talks New Year’s resolutions, blending electronic beats with bluegrass, and much more.

By Emilie Rohrbach

Hi Nat! I'm so bummed to have missed Nat Keefe's Concert Carnival at The Independent in December this past year, but I was traveling to the East Coast for my sister's 40th - how was it?

One of the best ever! The T Sisters shined, Ben Morrison was excellent, while Michael Devol was playing bass we sounded like Greensky Bluegrass doing spacey “jamgrass” - awesome! – and there were so many others. It was an honor to be at the helm of such an illustrious crew! Isn't it funny how people say they are "humbled" when they do great things or get great honors? They often mean quite the opposite. I would say it's not humbling to put on the Nat Keefe Concert Carnival, it's ego-gratifying! But I try to keep it in check.

How's the new year treating you so far - any resolutions you'd like to share with us?

I'm going to stop biting my toenails. It's been hard, but this is my year to make the change! (Laughs) Actually, my wife and I are off the booze this month. I loooove drinking a couple glasses of wine most nights, and I loooove partying on weekends and on tour. I love to party. I don't think I have much of a dark side with it, but it's good to break up habits and that leads to its own kind of pleasure... at least, that's what I'm telling myself!

For those in the reading audience who might be unfamiliar with your music, can you tell us more about the creation and evolution of Hot Buttered Rum?

Butter began on a backpacking trip in the Sierra Nevada in 1999. I can't believe 20 years have passed! We set out to rediscover and recreate our own way of doing west coast bluegrass music. That sounds a bit precocious to me now... but man oh man we were feeling it at the time, probably appropriate for 23 year olds. The entity has changed, and it’s weathered a lot of the things that kill most bands. We've always sung about the things that are real and immediate to us: years ago we sang about being free in the mountains and meeting girls; these days we sing about change and loss and commitment and enjoying what you are given. I feel more humble and more confident than when we began, and I'm grateful to still be making sounds with some of my best friends.

Besides Hot Buttered Rum, you're currently involved in a few other projects - can you tell us about those as well?

I'm as busy and multifarious as I've ever been. And pretty stoked about it! Next month, I'm recording an album with my bluegrass trio, Lost Radio Drift. It's with Yoseff Tucker, who wins awards as Bluegrass Guitarist of the Year and is a killer singer, and Katya Tucker, who is an excellent singer and bassist. It's dark, lonesome stuff, with lots of three-part singing. I'm also working on the first full-length album for BeatMower, my solo electronic project. I've been recording bluegrass sounds here and there, and I'm figuring how to mix them to be dance music. In the near future I'm also producing projects with three excellent artists: Maddy Allen, Brotherly Mud, and Kyle Ledson. Producing records — helping people realize their vision — is just about my favorite thing to do.

I believe there is a new album coming from Hot Buttered Rum in 2020 - what was the inspiration?

HBR's new album "Something Beautiful" will be out late summer 2020. We holed up at Panoramic Studio up above Stinson Beach. There's a tune on there, "Good One Gone" and Erik's tune "Something Beautiful" both of which I'm particularly excited about. Can’t wait to share.

Tell us about the show at Whetstone Wine Cellars and how it came to be? Who should we expect to see playing with you, what kind of vibe will it have?

For the Whetstone show, I'm taking a good part of the Concert Carnival cast, and building from there. Very happy to have Jill and Steve Pierce playing and singing... I think she sounds like Billie Holiday. Lucas Carlton on drums, Phil Ferlino on keys, and Justin Purtill on bass. I'm going to give everyone room to shine.

What's next on your horizon?

I'm trying to build my skill set, particularly with producing. This involves really listening to other people, asking questions to find what they need, and using intuition too. I'm also building my skills with recording and electronic music. I want to have a constant stream of music coming out of me. There are limited hours to do what you need to do. Life and health are ephemeral, and in these moments when I have my wits about me and relative stability, I gotta git ‘er dun!