Baton Rouge band Alabaster Stag tells us what they are listening to

Former cover band Alabaster Stag will be taking the stage at the Baton Rouge Blues Festival this month after spending the past year introducing the city to its own original music. Started by lead singer Chloe Johnson, the local band’s soothing, smooth and funky coffeehouse sound is versatile and unique.

Songs on the band’s debut album Perfume, like “Somebody Smile” and “#1 Spot,” offer a genuine and fun introduction to the band’s sound, with ’90s rock and ’70s funk vibes.

We chatted with members of Alabaster Stag about some of their blues favorites and the other types of music that inspire them.

“Bag Lady” by Erykah Badu

“I think it would be impossible to make this list without including a Badu tune. I was raised on Mama’s Gun, and this track in particular is one that has really stuck with me. I can remember being a kid and recognizing the therapeutic effect this song had on the women who raised me, and it was really beautiful to discover that as I grew up, it did the same thing for me. Lyrically and poetically I think it’s one of the most beautiful songs ever written, and I aspire to create something like that one day. Sometimes you need a reminder to just ‘let it go let it go let it go let it go…’”

—Chloe Johnson, vocalist

“She’s Gone” by Hound Dog Taylor

“Found out about Hound Dog Taylor’s first album on a whim in high school and fell in love immediately. Listened to him for about a month straight. Absolutely love his raw, trashy guitar tone and his unique style of slide playing. Plus, he’s a great singer!”

—James West, guitarist

“Mad” by Solange ft. Lil Wayne

“I had to include something from A Seat at the Table because this album is nothing but #BlackGirlMagic, and that’s what I try to bring to everything Alabaster Stag-related. I love the back-and-forth between Solange’s beautiful vocals and Wayne’s rhythmic verses. This song rings so true to the black experience in America, at least from my own point of view, and it does so through pretty much every line. Solange does an incredible job of being an artist that reflects the times.”

—Johnson

“I’ll Play the Blues for You” by Albert King

“I love the bass in it. King kills the solo, and I like the side conversation aspect of the song that a lot of blues players have.”

—Chris Polk, bassist and rapper

“Ice Cream Phoenix” by Jefferson Airplane

“This might sound weird, but Grace Slick’s vibrato is one of my favorite things ever. She’s one of my favorite singers, and I’ve always thought the way she uses her voice is really interesting. It sort of pierces through the sound of the band and lends a really powerful tone to the chorus of this song especially. My favorite lyrics: ‘Are you so old that you’ve no childhood?/Is your timeline so unreal/That all your sunsets come in the morning/Baby tell me how you feel?’”

—Johnson

This article was originally published in the April 2017 issue in 225 Magazine.