Paper Maps, Doyle Turner‘s latest album is a love letter to family. Mother’s Day is coming up, Father’s Day, graduations and other big events – happening without any warning. This new album with help you appreciate, cope and maybe sing about it! You can catch the music live on April 25 at the 318 Cafe.
For folks who don’t know your music – please tell us a little about yourself. And for those of us who do know you, what’s on your musical mind these days?
For those who don’t know my music, I’m a singer/songwriter from Bemidji who grew up listening to AM 70s country radio. I always thought that I would write songs like that. The more I write, the more I find I’m leaning over so many different delineations of music: alt country, folk, rock, and Americana. I mainly write what’s on my heart.
These days, I’m doing what I can to change the inputs. When making stuff, you always have boundaries and limitations, and I’m trying to explore and change where I record, the people I draw close to help make the stuff, and trying as many different cowriters as I can. I want to continue to learn and grow.
Your new album, Paper Maps, sounds like a love letter. There’s a joy of All the Stars and the pain of At a Loss – two sides of love. How did the new album come to you? Was there a theme you wrote to – or did the songs emerge more organically?
I like the description of the album as a love letter! It certainly came from that place that makes a person sit down and write a love letter. The arrival at a theme was a purposeful selecting of songs that come together to be a song family. I’m someone who waited around for inspiration for years, always wanting to write. I joined an online songwriting group in January 2020 with prompts and deadlines, and I have written to every prompt they’ve posted since. That means I have quite a few songs hanging around, each with varying degrees of my affection.
The album’s center is definitely the title track, “Paper Maps.” Once that song was written in July of 2023, I knew that I wanted to record it. Sarah Morris, who produced this album, and I sort of held up any other possible album songs next to that one to see if they “rhymed” per se. Sarah is a genius, and I’d asked if she would help me with pre-production for this fuzzy dream I had for an album. She did such amazing work with the pre-production phase that I begged her to stay on to produce. I was fortunate that she agreed to produce the album.
The song “Paper Maps” was written in my son and daughter in law’s first home in Vermont when it became apparent that the likelihood of them being our Minnesota neighbors was low. That realization led to this song of trying to navigate that truth as a parent.
Why is life underwhelming you? I love the nostalgic sound and the Minnesota understatement but there is a bittersweetness, maybe leaning into the bitter taste.
Oh, you got that, did you? I thought I had cleverly disguised all of that in that chipper little upbeat melody! Ha! I call that song my happiest little heartbroke song. As we recorded that song, Dan Schwartz brought a jazzy feel to the guitar part that grew the song up, and we added clarinet! I recorded a song with clarinet! When Matthew Blake started bowing that upright bass, I knew we’d reached an exciting new sound and feel with this song.
I have been known to spend some days in the blue, and sometimes sunshine is enough to help those feelings to pass. Sometimes you write a song and that does the trick.
I like the juxtaposition of Underwhelming with A Mistake for Me. Is Mistake written with someone specific in mind, maybe you kid? Are you talking to your younger (or current) self? Do you feel you’d be less underwhelmed if you were making mistakes and swinging for the fences?
“A Mistake Today For Me” was written by Jonathan Richman, and that song was gifted to me on a mixtape way back in 1991. I loved it so much that I’ve sung it during shows for years. Lately, I’ve loved it because it is a reminder that perfection is not the goal for me. I stayed hidden for so many years wishing and waiting for perfection. This song is a reminder that, as someone who makes stuff, you have to be generous and offer, even if you think it isn’t perfect. It urges me to make the mistakes, and I do.
Please tell us about the Twin Cities album release show.
I’m incredibly excited for this show! This album release is the second solo album I’ve gotten to celebrate with a release show. My first two solo projects were released during the pandemic, so there were no big celebratory shows.
I’m beyond fortunate to be playing with an absolute stunner of a band at the 318 Cafe: Jordan Carlson, Nick Salisbury, Hale E. Rydell, and Dan Schwartz. The sound, the food, the listening room atmosphere are all so good at the 318! The show is Friday, April 25th at 8 pm. There are a few seats left, and you can get your ticket at: https://www.exploretock.com/318cafe/event/533937/doyle-turner-paper-maps-album-release
I do hope you’ll join us, as the 318 is one of those places where you can be so close to the music that you hear every little nuance. It’s going to be a night!
Mostly Minnesota 