Catching Up with Ross Hammond as He Readies the Release of His New Album, Flight

Ross Hammond stuck out like a guitar player’s sore strumming thumb sitting in front of the Old Soul coffeehouse at the Weatherstone. Wearing one of his signature golf caps and sleek black eyeglasses, with a guitar case resting up against the brick wall behind him, he was unmistakable even from a distance.

With each step I took toward him, though, the more I surveyed the scene for a blonde little girl wandering about somewhere nearby—his daughter Lola, I’ve heard, isn’t usually too far from his side. Apparently, I had just missed her. Darn it.

And with that, Hammond and I stood up and took a stroll around the blocks of 21st and I streets, spiraling outward in concentric circles as we discussed his latest solo acoustic album, Flight, his recent departure from the annual Midtown In the Flow concert series and how his family continues to be a constant source of inspiration in his music.

Since completing his collaborative quartet album Adored in 2012, Hammond recorded three other joint projects prior to Flight—due out April 14—all of which are about as free jazz and experimental as anything he’s ever done. Flight, however, is much more in the same vein as his eighth-posted album from his Bandcamp page, Music from “Cemetery Rose,” where he also used six- and 12-string guitars to evoke more of a rural, outdoorsy sentiment through traditional country-like twang and discernible folk melodies.

Much like “Cemetery Rose,” Hammond says he wanted to take Flight back to the basics of acoustic, which his teacher Jimi Butler once described to him as the bedrock of all guitar playing.

“He told me a long time ago. He said, ‘Hey man, if you can’t play on acoustic, you can’t play shit,’” Hammond says with a smirk on his face. “So, you know. I mean, I agree with that. But I’ve been wanting to do an acoustic thing for a long time now.”

Still, Hammond’s newest record truly feels like it belongs in a league of its own, if not for its rejuvenating spiritual aesthetic—where each track unpacks like a bindle with a sense of reflection and, at times, even adventure—then just for the unfiltered homegrown recipe of a man, his guitars and a portable Zoom recorder. That’s all Flight is. Nothing more, nothing less.

“It’s like, ‘How bare bones can I get? How minimalist can I get? And will it work if it’s just one instrument with no overdubs, no real processing?’” Hammond says. “I want it to sound raw like it sounds at the kitchen table.”

A recurring theme in almost all of his works, it comes as no surprise that Hammond’s family life seeps its way onto the record in some of the most endearing ways. In “When Cows Face the Same Direction,” listeners can actually hear echoes of his daughter Lola playing with her mother in the background while Hammond sits at home and records live around his loved ones.

“I’m a sentimental dude,” he says. “I like that kind of stuff.”

The song “You Are My Sunshine” is also dedicated to his daughter, standing as the only track on the album to receive a music video treatment, which portrays a fragmented day in the life of the Hammonds in super-slow motion.

“For me, the best music you’re gonna make is not because you’ve been sitting at home and practicing your scales all day, or learning all these freakin’ chords and stuff,” Hammond says. “The best music anyone’s going to make is music that resonates and music that is related to how they live. And the message that they’re trying to send, and how to channel their life through sound. To me, that’s the most important thing.”

Between being a family man, running his live music studio (Gold Lion Arts in Land Park) and trying to succeed as a full-time musician who distributes his own records, Hammond has had to let go of some of his former booking duties here in Sacramento—primarily for the In the Flow festival that he’s hosted annually since 2008, which incorporated live local music, local art, spoken word and open mics throughout different venues in Midtown and Downtown.

Hammond says practically all the responsibilities of running In the Flow were being bounced off of him in one way or another, despite having volunteers. At its busiest, In the Flow was juggling about 35 local bands over the course of five days.

“So that was a lot of fun, it was really cool. But for me, it had kind of—it was just getting to be too much work for one person,” Hammond explains. “I just felt like we did it. We said what we wanted to say and it was cool. And now, it’s like I have a space [in Gold Lion] and we can basically do something similar to In the Flow over the whole year.”

In other words, Hammond is just trying to be responsible—both to his family and to himself. Nothing wrong with that at all.

Feeling as though he’s done his fair share for the local jazz and creative music scene in Sacramento, Hammond says he’s at a point now where he wants to pull back a bit and focus more on furthering his own life and career goals, which are not necessarily tied to this town.

“I mean, at this point, I like living here. I like that I can make a living here and stuff. But after so long, I don’t really feel a responsibility,” Hammond says. “And one of these days, you know, one of these days we may just pick up and, ‘Oh, let’s go check out what Chicago’s like. Or let’s see what New York’s like.’”

Hosting the same kinds of shows and cycling through the same sorts of gigs in Sacramento, he adds, tends to create a “revolving door” effect for artists here. It’s a phenomenon he hopes to avoid by following his music down whatever path it may lead him—wherever it leads him—and, of course, taking his family along for the ride the entire way.

“It’s trying to fit everything in,” he says. “I’m trying to be a dad and trying to be a husband and trying to be a guitar player and not suck at any of those things. That’s the trick.”

In the midst of the juggle, Hammond ponders his next move.

“So the next thing? I don’t know. I mean recording-wise and then long term, who knows?” he says. “I’ve got a two-year lease on Gold Lion, and then if we renew our rent might go up like $40. So we’ll see—we’ll just see how it goes. As long as I’ve got the family happening, I’m not tied to anything.”

Ross Hammond’s Flight is available for pre-order via his website, Rosshammond.com. He’ll be celebrating the release of the album with two shows: The first will be a solo show at Gold Lion Arts (2733 Riverside Boulevard, Sacramento) at 4 p.m. on April 12, 2015. On April 13, you can catch him at Luna’s Cafe (with Alex Jenkins on percussion) as part of the Nebraska Mondays series. Go to Lunascafe.com for more info.

“Five years! Wow. I can’t believe it,” says Ross Hammond, local guitar player and primary organizer of In the Flow Festival, which celebrates its fifth birthday from May 9—14, 2012 at various venues around town. “It’s really a good feeling that we’ve managed to get this far,” he said of the improvisational music and art festival that features everything from jazz to rock, poetry and spoken word to electronic music and blues. For Hammond and the others involved, In the Flow is a very personal thing. “We’ve lost some great friends along the way, namely Byron Blackburn and Tommy VanWormer, both of whom helped plan the festival in the early years. So it really is a good feeling because it’s a nice way to keep paying tribute to friends.” Hammond admits that back in 2008, the festival’s formative year, they had no clue what they were doing. They had no permits, no real contracts with talent and a lack of publicity. “But it turned out great,” Hammond remembers. The second year saw them trying to “involve the community more” to really up the ante. They also started incorporating poetry and art. “Every year we’ve grown and it seems like we’ve found a groove,” he said. “Five years feels like we’re legit now.” To view In the Flow Festival’s entire schedule, visit http://intheflowsacramento.com.

WEB EXCLUSIVE!!! EXTENSION OF OUR Q&A WITH ROSS HAMMOND!!!

Submerge is sponsoring an In the Flow Festival show on Friday, May 11 at Phono Select that will feature Afternoon Teacup Collection, Jaroba and Keith Cary as well as Kevin Corcoran. What can you tell our readers about those performers?
Ross Hammond: Kevin is intense. He’s intense and super focused on the sounds he wants to make. There is really no jive with him. He has a great musical intuition and a unique voice on percussion. I really enjoy listening to him (and playing with him too). Afternoon Teacup Collection is our foray into including more classical-based music this year. They are a very cool group of extremely talented musicians playing new classical music. I first saw them at Bows and Arrows last fall and was blown away by them. They did an adaptation of a Terry Riley piece that was completely surreal to see live (in a cafe, nonetheless). Jaroba and Keith Cary are going to be playing a collection of homemade instruments and musical inventions. The first time I saw them Keith was playing a stationary bicycle, which he was using to generate electricity, and using it as an pitch bending oscillator/noisemaker. He ran that signal through one of his amps. While he was doing that, Jaroba was playing a mountain of tubing going into an air horn. Yeah, that’s what they do. They’re pretty badass.

What is In the Flow Festival really all about, anyways? What would you like people to know about it?
RH: In general, In the Flow is about showcasing Sacramento’s creative music, art and poetry (oftentimes marrying all of those together). The programming this year has something that nearly everyone will get into. There is straight-ahead jazz, soul, electronic music, free jazz, noise, rock, hip hop, urban poetry, spoken word, acoustic music and more. I’ve always wanted to collaborate with as many musicians as I can, and this festival has a similar vision. If it’s good, it’s good. That’s pretty much it. That being said, also go see Nagual!

Ross Hammond discusses his new album with The Ross Hammond Quartet and His New Muse

Interviewing Ross Hammond on a Friday afternoon while his wife was out of town meant a secondary task of taking his 18-month old daughter, Lola, for a stroll around the 17th and L block of Midtown.

Lola led the way, while Hammond and I discussed his upcoming Ross Hammond Quartet record due this month. As we strolled and pointed out flowers, dogs and trucks (Lola loves trucks and buses), it became apparent the little blondie was responsible for changes and inspiration in her father she’ll not understand for years. The record, Adored, and Hammond’s artistic growth displayed on the album would not be possible without her.

Our walk began in the alley outside Old Soul Coffee. We did roughly three laps of the block and if we stopped the question was posed, “Lola walk?” In answering, Lola formed her first contribution to the interview tape “Lola walk.” Many of Hammond’s responses were fractured with quick “stay close” requests, but we eventually got down to brass tacks. The immediate information to hash out: Who are the players in the Ross Hammond Quartet?

The ensemble came together mostly through the intricate web of the jazz scene involving booking, travel and of course, collaboration, although Hammond first came to know each member from owning their albums. Whether on stage or in the studio, he said he had several surreal moments that left him pondering, “How did I get here?” The Quartet comprises Hammond on guitar, Vinny Golia on saxophone, Steuart Liebig on contrabass guitar and Alex Cline on percussion. Hammond said he’d known Golia from booking him a gig at the Cool Cat Gallery on 24th–back when it existed–and Cline in a similar fashion. Cline is the twin brother of legendary guitarist Nels Cline, who’s currently playing lead guitar in Wilco. “It’s freaky, dude,” Hammond said regarding the Cline brothers. “They’re identical and both really tall.”

As for Liebig, “I don’t know how I met, Steuart… I guess through the scene.”

He played three to four gigs, including the In the Flow Festival in Sacramento last year, with the members, planting the seed for the quartet. After he’d enlisted the three musicians for a studio session in Los Angeles, the makings of an official ensemble came to fruition.

When it came time to name the project, Hammond was surprised by the other members’ suggestion of naming the quartet after him. At 34, Hammond is the youngest member of the group while the rest were born as far back as the ‘40s. It is a humble and impressive gesture coming from three renowned L.A. jazz musicians who have each had ensembles bearing their namesakes.

“For lack of anything better that’s what it is,” Hammond said. “I’ve never had a quartet before. I also feel like I couldn’t replace any of those guys and still call it the same thing.”

Recorded at Newzone Studio and engineered by Wayne Peet, the album was tracked in six hours with only a few songs needing alternate takes. It’s a feat that speaks to the veteran musicianship of Hammond’s quartet. Hammond would play the riff he had in mind for a song and the ensemble would offer a nod or “OK”–no further tutelage required. He said after each track, it was understood that it felt good and they would move on to the next song.

“Playing with these guys it’s just about staying on the wave,” he said. “You don’t have to give them much instruction at all. I think one of the instructions I gave Vinny was, ‘OK, as soon as this song starts you have to come in like an elephant,’ and that’s what he did.”

Adored is carved from a foundation of folk songs with the title track being a lullaby Hammond sings to Lola at bedtime. Hammond said three of the songs are lullabies he sings. After she’d go to sleep he would figure out the notes and write out the lullaby. The writing is at its most encrypted on “Maribel’s Code,” in which the melody is an intervocalic code built from Lola’s initials: LMH.

“Most of the stuff I write has either a dedication or an idea, be it political or romantic,” Hammond said. “I’m never just like, “oh this is a cool riff, I’ll call it…’”

Three years ago when I first interviewed Hammond, he shared a similar sentiment. The inspiration behind the album title An Effective Use of Space came from a saying his wife frequently used. He said it’s one she still uses to this day. Hammond listed his wife as still his deepest muse, but the birth of his daughter is the primary source of inspiration behind Adored.

The immediacy of the recording is palpable, but it’s done in maturity. Hammond said the difficult task in preparing the music was giving the songs a collected feel, but without being united to the point of bleeding the songs together. Adored roars in, spastic and angry, with “Adored” but as “Sesquipedalian” mellows out it introduces the soft lullaby of “She’s My Little Girl.” Consider the album to be much like Hammond’s day-to-day with Lola; awake at 6 a.m. and full of energy, a settling in period, a mid-day walk with small fits of exuberance and crankiness, a lullaby for a nap or the night’s tuck-in. It is all lovingly expressed in the sea changes of Adored.

“Alex [Cline] told me he doesn’t think you mature as a musician until after you’ve been a dad,” Hammond said. “The gist of it was you stop trying to impress people and focus on filtering this feeling you have and this beautiful thing and turn it into a song. Your muse is different. The goofy songs aren’t there anymore. Having a kid forces you to grow up and you grow up in everything. If anything it’s more purposeful now.”

With the particulars of the album discussed and rocks and leaves in our pockets courtesy of the tyke, Hammond asked Lola, “Wanna go swing? Lola swing?” She offered her second sentence of the afternoon; a sharp “Lola swing.” With that, they strapped into a bicycle and road off to the park.

Adored by The Ross Hammond Quartet will be available Feb. 27, 2012. You can preorder it now at Rosshammond.bandcamp.com/album/adored and also listen to the title track. Hammond and co. will throw a CD release party on the very day of its release at Luna’s Café in Sacramento.