Q&A with local indie folk artist Taylor Campi of the Best Friends

Don’t tell members of the local band the Best Friends, “You can’t just go around playing music,” like the manager of Gresham Food Court did. They’ll just reply, “Why not?”

Last November, the band members trickled into the food court one by one with their instrument cases.

They purchased food, sat down and ate. Then Neal Anderson took out his
accordion.

Soon, all the members of the Best Friends were playing their original song “Clock on the Wall.”

Taylor Campi, an IU junior and the band’s guitarist and vocalist, recalled the scene as her favorite band memory.

She said the Foster crowd was half receptive and half confused, and some diners clapped along to the performance.

The Best Friends later tested their music in  Wright Food Court, weaving through tables and playing the song “Dirt.” The crowd was even more receptive there, Campi said.

The last impromptu performance was in the dining hall at Read Center. The diners sat quietly and listened intently to the performance, even singing along when asked to, Campi said, perhaps because many of them were musicians themselves.

Now, nearly a year later, The Best Friends has taken a break from performing as it records its first EP. Campi said they hope to have it out in the spring.

Campi is also a songwriter. She said she has about 30 original songs in addition to the 13 she’s written for the band.

She discussed with the IDS her solo and group work, from a song about stolen cats to her songwriting process.

She will perform a solo set at 9 p.m. Saturday at The Bishop with Eric Ayotte and Anna Vogelzang. Admission is $5.

IDS When did you start playing guitar?
CAMPI I started playing my mom’s guitar in eighth grade. I still have her guitar. That’s the guitar I use — that’s kind of cool.

IDS Do you prefer playing in the band or your solo set?
CAMPI There are times when I do prefer playing a solo set because I’m in control of the whole sound of the set. The flip side of that is that it’s really awesome to get to play music with six of my best friends. I’m torn on that sometimes.

IDS Is indie folk an accurate description of your music?
CAMPI Definitely. Our bassist always describes it as playful folk, which I can see for a lot of the songs. But then there are some songs that are definitely not playful. A lot of our songs are either playful folk or indie folk.

IDS Who are some of your influences?
CAMPI I would say that some of my influences are — have you seen “Juno”? Kimia Dawson is the lady who did most of the music. Another huge influence would be Regina Spektor. They’re both kind of quirky. If you listen to their lyrics, a lot of them are quirky, cute songs. And then, it’s totally not in my time, but Simon and Garfunkel. “The Boxer” was one of the first songs I learned. That really got me into the folky realm.

IDS What advice do you have for musicians starting out?
CAMPI For solo artists, definitely do open mic nights. They have them all over town. You just have to find them.

IDS What’s your songwriting process like?
CAMPI If  I have an idea in my head, if I think of a rhyme while I’m walking along, I’ll just think of words that go along, and then I’ll write it in my phone and remember it later. I’ll just write a song on the spot in five minutes. And then other times, it’ll take me a couple weeks to finish a song.