Looking back over the breadth of Anders Parker’s two-decade career, there is little he has yet to accomplish or prove. The stylistic range encompassed by his Varnaline work alone is evidence of Parker’s determination to explore, illuminate, absorb and transcend every musical influence he’s experienced, from alt-country and raw folk to pastoral Americana and baroque art rock. And Parker’s catalog under his own name has been equally diverse, be it the transitional familiarity of 2004’s Tell It To The Dust or the ambient instrumental guitar wash of 2010’s Cross Latitudes. There’s A Bluebird In My Heart, Parker’s latest contribution, is a welcome return to his Varnaline/early-solo sound, perhaps in reaction to his recent experimental streak. Parker will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new review of There’s A Bluebird In My Heart.
Parker: Skiing is my sport. I don’t remember the first time I was on skis, but I’ve seen the pictures—it looks like I was hardly old enough to walk, but there I was on skis. I don’t surf, but the way surfers talk about waves is the way I feel about the mountain. There’s a serious spirit-lift component that I relate to. It’s good for my soul. I like the cold. I like the snow.
I grew up skiing at Jay Peak in Northern Vermont. It’s a great ski area that’s pretty damn far out of the way, which, in my opinion makes it that much better. You have to want to go there. They’ve made a lot of changes over the recent past, but it’s still the same mountain in the deep north. It’s one of my homes.
