Joy Williams and John Paul White are The Civil Wars, a gorgeously haunting folk duo hailing from Nashville, Tennessee. The two met in 2008, at a music studio where they were both attending a songwriting session. Just three years later, following the success of an online-only EP of their live performances in a Georgia music club, The Civil Wars recently released Barton Hollow, their debut full-length of tenderly plucked ditties. We got in touch with them to ask our Five Questions, and to share a playlist of the songs that inspire them.
Five Questions with The Civil Wars
- Who do you think is an important musician that most people have never heard of before?
Joy Williams: Karen Dalton.
John Paul White: Jeff Mangum. - If you had access to any record in the world, what would you listen to right now?
Joy: St. Vincent - Strange Mercy.
John Paul: The Band - The Band. - Which album or artist do you most associate with your childhood?
Joy: The Carpenters.
John Paul: Merle Haggard - 20 Greatest Hits. - We hope people are ______________ when they listen to our music.
Joy: Drinking whiskey.
John Paul: Having relations. - We were thinking about ______________ when we wrote music for the new album.
Joy: Too many things to fit into one sentence.
John Paul: World dominance.
