Family band

Music
Suz Slezak talks motherhood, lullabies, and the David Wax Museum’s new album

Claire Roeth

In the beginning, Mexo-Americana was a self-applied tagline for the David Wax Museum. As fans of the band have long known, front man David Wax studied music in Mexico and applied elements of traditional Mexican rhythms and song structures to his American folk and indie-rock sound.

“The Mexican influence is the reason that the band came into being,” says Suz Slezak, Wax’s wife and the other half of the David Wax Museum. “It gave him a lens for his songwriting. It gave him a way of standing out from the crowd of songwriters … and it really spurred on his own creative work.”

But, with the band’s fifth album due out next month, they no longer feel bound by the Mexo-Americana label. Though the influence remains embedded in the fabric of Wax’s songs, the band is toning down its prevalence. On their new album, “Guesthouse,” the Mexican element is “subtle,” Slezak says.

“We don’t have to have it as the central piece of our story, but anyone who knows the other albums will hear a lot in common,” she says. “If you didn’t know it, you might hear Paul Simon in there more than a Mexican folk song.”

Besides, a new influence has crawled into the couple’s music — namely, their 1-year-old daughter, Calliope. Inspired by motherhood, Slezak released her first solo album earlier this year. It’s a collection of children’s lullabies, some original and some obscure covers, called “Watching the Nighttime Come.”

Local fans can get a taste of Slezak’s new album and David Wax Museum’s forthcoming release on Saturday, Sept. 5. Slezak will play a children’s show at Prescott Park in Portsmouth that morning, and David Wax Museum follows with a feature performance in the park that night.

Slezak’s morning concert is one of only a handful of shows she’s played in support of “Watching the Nighttime Come.” She’ll play in a trio format with Wax and bassist Corey DiMario (also of David Wax Museum and Crooked Still).

“It’s really a special event. We’re really delighted to be able to share the music with Portsmouth,” she says.

Slezak started playing lullabies before she was pregnant. A few years ago, she recorded a demo of songs in Somerville, Mass., to give away to friends who were parents. She played everything herself — guitar, fiddle, vocals — and produced a small batch of CDs, which got an enthusiastic response from her friends. When she became pregnant, she decided to turn her DIY demo into a full album.

“It just felt like, when I got pregnant, this is my moment,” she says. “I feel like it was important for me to do a first album under my name.”

“I didn’t have any idea I’d be a musician, but I did know that I wanted to do something that involved my family.” — Suz Slezak

The songs are soft and soothing, featuring Slezak’s tender vocals and light instrumentation, calming for kids and pleasant for parents. Slezak sees it as a “first step” that will hopefully lead to more solo recordings.

Will the concert in Portsmouth send the audience drifting into a blissful sleep? Slezak says napping is welcome, but she’ll mix in some kid-friendly David Wax Museum songs and other upbeat tunes to keep it lively.

References to parenthood also sneak into “Guesthouse.” Slezak says there is a song called “Everything Changes,” which features the line, “Everything changes when two become three.”

That’s certainly true for Slezak and Wax. They’ve been bringing their 1-and-a-half-year-old daughter along on tours, travelling not only as a band but also as a family. For them, life on the road is the norm.

“It’s amazing to have one’s family together all the time, and that’s been something really important. That’s been important to me from the earliest thoughts of a career,” she says. “I didn’t have any idea I’d be a musician, but I did know that I wanted to do something that involved my family. I don’t want to separate my work and my family. I feel like I want it to all be integrated.”

Photo of Suz Slezak and David Wax of the band David Wax Museum.

Suz Slezak and David Wax form the core of the David Wax Museum. photo by Todd Roeth

Slezak and Wax launched an Indiegogo campaign to self-release “Guesthouse,” and they far exceeded their target of $35,000. Their fundraising success reflects the loyalty of their fan base, and how much that base has grown over the years. The band formed eight years ago in the Boston area and has gained a national audience, touring with the Avett Brothers, performing at the Newport Folk Festival, and maturing their sound with each new album.

The band released the title track of their new album on National Public Radio a couple of weeks ago. It’s a boisterously energetic tune, based loosely on two Mexican folk songs, about seeking places to crash while on the road. It’s quickly become Slezak’s favorite song to play live.

“It is such a fun song to perform,” she says. “For that alone, I’m looking forward to the new chapter, the new cycle, just getting to play that song every night.”

Throughout the album, they tried to capture the energy and intimacy of their concerts, often recording with the whole band playing live in the same room. That atmosphere of togetherness has always been one of David Wax Museum’s signature appeals. It started during their early gigs at small bars and clubs, including local venues like The Press Room in Portsmouth.

“Often we’d be playing in noisy bars and we’d think, ‘How can we get people to focus here?’ So we’d jump off the stage and jump on the bar, or chairs or stools or tables or people’s shoulders or whatever. It felt like a fun way of performing and changing up the pace,” Slezak says.

This time around, David Wax Museum will perform as a quartet, with a bassist and drummer joining Wax and Slezak. As always, Slezak will sing harmony vocals and play fiddle, as well as her other instrument — a donkey jawbone.

David Wax Museum has shows lined up through October, and the whole family will be along for the ride. When they’re not travelling, the family now lives in Virginia, Slezak’s home state. Between parenthood and their musical pursuits, they keep busy, but they like it that way.

“It’s been a really wonderful few years,” Slezak says.

Suz Slezak plays at the Prescott Park Arts Festival on Saturday, Sept. 5 at 11 a.m. David Wax Museum performs that night at 7 p.m. Both shows take place at Prescott Park on Marcy Street in Portsmouth. There is a suggested donation of $8-$10.