In this special episode of the Ponca City Monthly Podcast, I sit down (via Zoom) with hometown musician Brett Horton, now based in Brooklyn, to talk about his new album, Songs Plucked From the Air. If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to chase a lifelong passion for music, this one’s for you.
Brett grew up in Ponca City, taught himself guitar on his dad’s old acoustic, and started writing songs before he even picked up an instrument. We talk about his early days forming garage bands with neighborhood friends, eventually evolving into his longtime project The Guards, and how his ever-shifting musical identity led him to finally release this deeply personal solo record.
The album is a vinyl-first, lo-fi-meets-lush mix of solo acoustic vibes and full band arrangements, all wrapped in Brett’s thoughtful, genre-blurring songwriting. He opens up about his songwriting process, the limitations (and charm) of vinyl formatting, and how some songs like “Riding the Record Like a Merry-Go-Round” were written specifically to fill a few spare minutes on a record side. That kind of intention-meets-improvisation sums up a lot of Brett’s creative process.
We also talk about the themes behind fan favorites like “There’s So Much Work To Do” and the live performance challenges of songs featuring collaborators from all over the world.
Catch Brett live when he returns to Ponca City for a performance at The Alley on June 27, joined by Joe Harkin of Arms of London. Until then, tune in and hear the stories behind the songs—direct from the source.
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