Scott Knickerbocker, also known as Professor Banjobocker, is a musician and English professor from Caldwell, Idaho. I had the pleasure of meeting him while he was performing on the bus during the Treefort Music Festival in Boise, Idaho. In this interview, I was lucky to learn more about who he is as a person inside and outside of music, how music has played a major role in his life, and what he hopes to see from the world.
[Emma Knight]
My name is Emma Knight. I work for KDUP College Radio. I saw you on the bus [at Treefort Music Festival]. I loved what you were doing. So. Yeah, I just wanted to interview you and see how you got to that point. I’m just intrigued, to say the least.
[Scott]
Awesome. Thank you for your interest.
[Emma Knight]
Yeah, no worries. I have a few questions for you. It can just be kind of more like a conversation. There’s no wrong answers. So first we’ll start with what’s your name and age and where are you from.
[Scott]
Okay, my name is Scott Knickerbocker and I’m 47. I live in Caldwell, Idaho, which is 30 miles west of Boise. And, originally I am from Ashland, Oregon, which is where I am right now.
[Emma Knight]
Oh, awesome. What made you move from Ashland to Caldwell?
[Scott]
I moved to Idaho about 17 years ago for a job. In addition to being a musician, I’m a professor at the College of Idaho, which is in Caldwell.
[Emma Knight]
Gotcha.
[Scott]
So I moved there for that teaching position.
[Emma Knight]
Nice, and what do you teach?
[Scott]
What do I do… I am mainly in the English department, so I teach American Literature and creative writing. As well as, environmental studies. And now I’m actually teaching a songwriting workshop as well. So I’m trying to bring my worlds together a little bit.
[Emma Knight]
That’s awesome. That sounds like a really good move. What instruments do you play?
I know on the bus I saw you playing the guitar and then I also saw you playing the fiddle.
[Scott]
Yeah.
[Emma Knight]
Are there other instruments that you play or are those just the main 2?
[Scott]
I also play the banjo.
[Emma Knight]
Oh, that’s really cool.
[Scott]
Yeah. But those are the 3, yeah, guitar, banjo, and fiddle are the main ones these days.
[Emma Knight]
That’s amazing. My next question is how were you introduced to performing? And was it something from a young age that you started doing and it’s just continued on with you or is it something more recent that you’ve started doing?
[Scott]
Okay. So, when I was very young, I played viola like in the school orchestra and I took lessons and that was my first really musical experience and I performed a bit in that context in the school orchestra and string quartet playing classical music. And then, when I was in high school, I, you know, started playing guitar and I was in a garage band and just sort of play it like small informal concerts for our friends. You know, teenagers. And then in college, played in a couple of bands, just concerts there at the college. So it’s just been sort of like steadily there. And then when I lived in Eugene when I was in grad school at U of O, I was in an old-time string band there and played quite a bit in the Eugene area. And then things kind of picked up more once I moved to Idaho, like, 17 years ago.
[Emma Knight]
Yeah.
[Scott]
Basically, ever since then, I’ve been playing pretty regularly, like performing pretty regularly in both a band and solo. So, I would say like, 2 to 3 times a month at least, become pretty regular.
[Emma Knight]
That’s awesome. What’s your favorite thing to do outside of performing and playing music?
[Scott]
Oh gosh. So many things. I like to get outside a lot and go on outdoor adventures. So I like to go on long runs. I am a marathon runner, I run like 60-mile races and stuff on trails.
[Emma Knight]
Oh wow.
[Scott]
I like to go mountain biking and, back-country skiing and anything that kind of gets me out into the wilderness. Go backpacking stuff like that. Like to cook food and bake bread and just hang out with my family.
[Emma Knight]
It’s definitely the best. Yeah. Yeah. So when I found you on the bus at Treefort, you were singing “All You Fascists Bound to Lose” by Woody Guthrie
[Scott]
Yeah.
[Emma Knight]
And I’m wondering, how do you feel your political beliefs influence your music and creativity?
[Scott]
Hmm, interesting question. So, a lot of the music I play isn’t overtly political. A lot of the music I should say, for most of my performing career, which I’ve been performing live regularly for 20 years or so, I’ve been playing like traditional music, like old-time music, early banjo fiddle music that predates bluegrass, you know. And really early blues and country from the early twentieth century. And a lot of that music isn’t really, overtly political. But that being said, there is some, I suppose ideological assumption embedded in a lot of that music, which is that music should be of the people. Very democratic, with a small D, and inclusive, rather than exclusive and elitist. So I guess, indirectly there’s politics there. Over the past couple of years, I’ve started writing my own songs and most of those songs, those original songs are not, again, not like. Super political. With a few exceptions, you know, I’m an environmentalist so that often comes into my work in terms of just trying to draw our attention to the natural world and why it’s worthy of our attention and respect. And Woody Guthrie is one of my favorite sort of political artists in that it’s all on his sleeve. It’s very out there but he does so in a way that’s really fun and memorable and artful, I think. That song is just such a good sing-along and I think, I like playing on the bus, especially that style of music because it’s participatory. That’s why I said it’s good a sing-a-long song. I usually assume that people on the Treefort bus don’t like fascists.
[Emma Knight]
Yeah.
[Scott]
I think it’s a good song to sing there.
[Emma Knight]
That was definitely a good choice of song. So how have you seen music bring communities together?Or have you seen music bring communities together?
[Scott]
Yeah, I mean especially in the context of old-time music which often incorporates square dancing as part of that scene. Portland actually has a really robust old-time scene. You probably know and when I lived in Eugene especially, I would go up to the Portland old-time gathering, which is every January. I have a lot of friends who are a part of that scene and it’s been really cool to see that kind of resurgence of interest in traditional music again. There is just a lot of people who are formerly punks or still punks that because of the DIY ethic, do it yourself, communitarian, kind of anti-commercial mainstream sentiment fits right into like playing this weird obscure old-time music.
[Emma Knight]
Yeah. Definitely.
[Scott]
Which is also very community-centric so a lot of potlucks and jam sessions where people just come down and sit in circles and play together instead of like, you know, paying money to go see somebody else play. It’s all very, participatory and the square dancing too, where there’s the band playing and then there’s the caller who’s saying what to do during the dance, do-si-do and all that and then all the dancers. Everybody’s involved, it’s not like a passive consumption of music. Everybody’s involved. Old time music is all about community and bringing people together and erasing that line between performer and audience.
[Emma Knight]
Yeah, definitely. I think that’s the best way to bring people and music together, have it be a participatory event instead of just viewing, like in voyeuristic sense. So,Treefort has a vibrant music and art scene. How do you feel to be a part of it?
[Scott]
Oh, so lucky. Yeah, it’s been so cool to see it develop over time. I mean, it’s like this is the twelfth year and it’s just grown and grown and grown and I’ve been involved in, I haven’t really kept track, but I think most of them, if not all of them, from playing solo to playing in my band or my former band in normal venues. Then the past few years playing on the bus, which from the get-go, from the first experience of doing it has been my favorite way to play Treefort.
[Emma Knight]
Yeah.
[Scott]
I just love how random it is and people coming and going, just the sense of surprise and never knowing what’s gonna happen, you know. Just the kind of oddness of it really appeals to me and how like relaxed it is. I’m way less stressed than at a normal gig with a venue. I’ve loved playing on the bus and it’s so much more than just music. Obviously, there’s so much going on and everybody’s so happy and it’s just about bringing joy to the community and spreading that. Everyone is their most kind and generous happy selves.
[Emma Knight]
Yeah, definitely. Are there any specific musicians or artists you draw inspiration from?
[Scott]
Yeah, I mean, it really depends on the genre, I guess. In terms of traditional music, there are all kinds of players, some of whom are, no longer living. There are early recordings of obscure fiddle players and blues musicians. In terms of people who are still around, I actually, since I’ve started writing my own songs, I’m not listening to a ton of other music anymore, probably just cause I wanna not be overtly intimidated slash comparing myself all the time to what I’m hearing out there or overtly influenced by that. I mean, everybody is influenced at least subconsciously, right? But, I want to honor my own instincts and musical paths enough to not overly listen to other people. I’m a little bit out of it in terms of like what’s happening currently. But, in terms of songwriters, I admire, Gillian Welch, who is a great one, and Neko Case actually just played at Treefort and I saw her in the early 2000’s in Eugene so it was great to see her again.
[Emma Knight]
Yeah. She’s amazing.
[Scott]
I’ve always admired her songwriting. Especially since I’ve started writing my own songs in the past couple of years, I’ve started listening a lot more carefully to the words, the lyrics of songs, whereas before even though ironically I’m an English professor now, I would always just be more interested in the musical elements like the melody, harmony, chords, and all that stuff.I would almost ignore the words or not even really pay attention. And now I’m much more attuned to like what’s happening lyrically. It really depends on the genre again, but I do love people who remake traditional genres and make them interesting again. Whether it’s Gilian Welch in the context of the rootsy-style country or Neko Case.
[Emma Knight]
Yeah. I listened to a lot of the artists before Treefort because I was preparing to go see new artists and I listened to a lot of Neko Case and I didn’t realize that a lot of the songs I was listening to were songs that I listened to growing up and it clicked after I was walking away from her set and I was like “Oh my god, I knew Deep Red Bells” when I was really little and I didn’t realize until right now when I’m walking away.
[Scott]
Yeah. That’s so cool.
[Emma Knight]
Yeah, it’s fun to find those people again and see how their influence or their music influenced you throughout your life, what you like to listen to, or what you like to create. Absolutely. If you could be an album, what album would you be?
[Scott]
I like that you’re thinking in terms of albums because a lot of people these days don’t anymore and I think it’s kind of a lost art in terms of experiencing an album as a whole and not just random tracks that you can download separately. But gosh, I mean, I’ve always loved the Beatles. I would choose Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club band as an album. I think it would be fun to be on that album because it would be like the power of a person. They’d be really kind of carnivalesque, surprising and interesting and fun, I think.
[Emma Knight]
That’s a good album to choose. That’s a really good album.
[Scott]
Yeah. Thank you.
[Emma Knight]
If you could tell your younger self one thing. What would it be?
[Scott]
Oh, man. I’d say just, don’t be a perfectionist, you know. Like, let yourself write bad songs. That’s the only way you’ll get to the good songs. Something I’ve been telling my students in my songwriting workshop, partly because I just know from experience myself, that one of my roadblocks as a creative person, is being a perfectionist. I’m prone to comparing myself to what I think is brilliant out there and that can be so debilitating. So I would say, be free to write whatever and not be concerned about whether it’s good or not. Because as soon as you start worrying about whether something’s good, then you just fall into that kind of analysis paralysis of overthinking.
[Emma Knight]
Yeah. That’s really good advice.
[Scott]
Let yourself be messy, I’d say, to my younger self.
[Emma Knight]
Good. This is the last question, and super open-ended, say anything you want to say. What are you looking forward to in the future? Big or small?
[Scott]
Oh boy. I mean the world seems really topsy turvy and maybe it always is but it just seems especially around COVID or even before that, but I would like the world to just settle down a little bit. There are always going to be crises going on, but, I’d love to see more harmony and less division societally, especially in our nation here. It’s so divisive. And that’s sort of the big picture, I suppose. More personally, I’d like to see more balance in terms of work-life balance and for me, personally, balancing being a musician with being a professor. Doing a good job in my day job, but not letting that eclipse my creative life and being able to honor what I feel like I have to do now. Just write songs. I’m not letting that slide because it’s too easy to let that take second and go into the back seat when I have this more seemingly respectable job I’m supposed to show up for. I want to keep the creative, parts of my life because there’s only one life, right? You gotta live it.
[Emma Knight]
Yeah, definitely. Well, thank you so much. That was all the questions that I had. I had a really good time talking to you. Thank you so much.
[Scott]
Yeah. Thanks.