One day, my mom went to let him onto the porch before bed and he wasn't there. They live on a farm in rural North Carolina and Otis was blind, so he slept on the screened-in porch in the winter. ML: Otis was my family's sweet black lab. Would you mind sharing the inspiration stories for “Otis Walks Into the Woods” and “The Warm Shoulder” for our readers? JK: I loved hearing all the inspirations for your songs at the Ace Hotel. I had the pleasure of meeting her after the show and conducting this interview! She composed songs with herself, using looping pedals, a technique I’d only seen used by guitarists and EDM artists up until that moment, to manipulate the pieces of tunes she played live in front of us. Large tufts of fog floated up from behind her, caught in the bright white spotlight from above Mary as she and her harp sat in the middle of an otherwise dark stage. I’m not exaggerating when I say the entire audience was dead silent, intently listening to each plucked note from her Lyon and Healy Concert Grand harp.
In late September, I was one of a full house at the Ace Hotel Theater, totally riveted by harpist Mary Lattimore’s ethereal performance.
In addition to her multiple solo albums (including the 2018 release, Hundreds of Days), she has played with musicians including Thurston Moore, Sharon Van Etten, Jarvis Cocker, Kurt Vile, and Steve Gunn.
Mary Lattimore is a multifaceted musician who specializes in the harp.