A note from Nathan Nix, site founder and editor of All Americana.
All Americana is not a site about Americana music. Not exclusively, at least. It is more encompassing than that. It explores how we tell the American tale, whether through words, photos, music, dance, acting, or on a physical canvas.
My name is Nathan Nix, and I am a writer based in Houston, Texas. All Americana is an educational journey that I’m inviting everyone to take with me. The goal is to tell better stories. In order to do that, I decided I would interview artists I respect, asking them how they go about telling their own stories.
The site is meant to be both a chronicle and a resource. Everyone has a story, and there are a thousand different ways to tell it. I often find myself floored when a filmmaker chops up a narrative to manipulate a certain experience, when a screenwriter crafts perfect dialogue—revealing yet subtle, or when a photographer is in the right place at the right time to capture a small slice of life that serves as a microcosm of a nationwide experience.
I want to know what makes that filmmaker determine that their particular narrative needs to be presented in a disjointed manner to achieve that unique effect, what extra words that screenwriter cuts out to pare the dialogue down to the essential, and why that photographer is in that place at that time. And maybe what film stock they use.
That is why All Americana is both a chronicle and a resource. It exists first and foremost for my own selfish reasons—I want to learn the craft of storytelling from those who are better than me so I can get better. It is a chronicle of my education. And in posting my own work—whether fiction, photography, films, or music—I hope you will be able to see how I apply lessons I’ve learned through these interviews.
It is a resource in that the content within is here for you to facilitate your own education. Read through the interviews multiple times, regardless of whether you’ve heard of the artist. You never know what will pop out to you and when. Be inspired to tell your own stories. Learn with me.
About Nathan Nix:
Nathan is a native Houstonian and a graduate of the University of Houston School of Communications, with a focus in Print Journalism. While fiction is his main medium, he has also dabbled in filmmaking, photography, and music. His work has been featured on Relevant Magazine’s website and in Free Press Houston, among other publications.
