I’m chuffed to bring you Buck Meek, co-founder of the band Big Thief—if you don’t know them, give them a spin on shuffle and enjoy the ride—this week. He also makes his own music under his name, and released the brilliant Haunted Mountain this past August. Through various performances and interviews over the years, I’ve taken note of Big Thief’s unique style. Frankly, I could feature each member here, and hope to. When it comes to Buck, I especially admire his knack for mixing tailoring and knowledge of fit with the generally eccentric—not dissimilar to the dissonance (or is it symbiosis?) that makes Big Thief special.

Art and style go hand in hand, and Meek is a shining example. Traditionalists: I’d challenge you to read this interview before judging his outfits. Perhaps his foundations and perspective will allow you to wrap your head around some of the stranger elements. In the Q&A below, which has been edited and condensed, Buck and I discuss his Texan roots, how dressing a certain way keeps him grounded on tour, and plenty more.

Fit One

Vintage Western shirt, tank top by Hemen, jeans by Levi’s, and boots by R.M. Williams.

"I was born in Houston, Texas," Meeks says. "My grandpa grew up in Louisiana and was close to Lightnin’ Hopkins, so I grew up surrounded by blues, ragtime, and New Orleans jazz."

In his adolescence, Meek "played blues and ragtime and swing for dances and parties. That’s where I really fell in love with music as a currency for joy."

Christopher Fenimore

Tell me a bit about your upbringing and how you first found your passion for music.

I was born in Houston, Texas. My grandpa grew up in Louisiana and was close to Lightnin' Hopkins, so I grew up surrounded by blues, ragtime, and New Orleans jazz. When I was 11, I moved to Wimberley, Texas, a small town out in the Hill Country. It’s a liberal stronghold, so a lot of the artists from Austin moved out there to live in the country and it’s a pretty cool music community.

I ended up at this spot called The Kerrville Folk Festival as a teenager. It’s called a folk festival, but it’s really an original songwriters festival where people gather for 18 days every summer to sing songs around campfires. It’s a place that's really connected to the essence of songs to me, and that’s kind of where I came up. [In my adolescence] I played blues and ragtime and swing for dances and parties. That’s where I really fell in love with music as a currency for joy. I went to school to study music right out of high school, but I didn’t fully resonate with the competitive environment. Then I moved to New York City to play rock and roll and to reconnect with the heart of music that I grew up with, which was playing music for people to dance to and to fall in love to.

Fit Two

Shirt by Edward Cuming, jeans by Levi’s, and Spock shoes by Haruta.

"When Adrianne and I were first playing as a duo, we were mixing our original material and writing a lot together," Meek says of the genesis of Big Thief and his solo project. "After a couple years of that, we both wanted to have a little more autonomy in the writing process."

The trick to working on multiple projects, he says, is "just trying to be present with what feels the most empowering and challenging in the moment."

Christopher Fenimore

How did Big Thief come to be?

Adrianne Lenker and I played a house concert. I had a ragtime jazz band in Boston when I was at Berklee College of Music called Mob Ted, and we opened for her band at the time. We met again in New York City a year later and started playing as a duo. [We did that] for a couple of years, made a record, just singing our own songs and writing songs together. Then she got an electric guitar and started writing heavier songs, so we decided to put a band together to raise the roof a bit. And that's when we found Max [Oleartchik] and James [Krivchenia].

How do you separate writing new material for each of your projects?

When Adrianne and I were first playing as a duo, we were mixing our original material and writing a lot together. After a couple years of that, we both wanted to have a little more autonomy in the writing process, but we still wanted to play together. We created Big Thief as primarily her writing project, with me as a guitar player, a singer, and a support. I created my project to fulfill my own vision as a writer. The funny thing is, we've ended up writing a lot together over the years, in between the cracks, and we're starting to write more together as a band and Big Thief. We're all writing together right now actually to create new material as a group, which is the first time we've ever really done that from scratch.

To answer your question: Just trying to be present with what feels the most empowering and challenging in the moment. There was a time where writing together [with Adrianne] felt just really vital. And then there was a time where we needed to go our separate ways and have our own projects. I've nurtured my solo projects as my own private world, and I think I'm going to hold that. But it's always changing.

Fit Three

Suit by Gucci, shirt by Bode, and shoes by Peal & Co.

Meek cites his grandfather as a major style influence. "From as long as I can remember, he always dressed me," he says. "He would always take me out and buy me little suits as a kid and make sure that I was dressed right."

Meek also looks to Texas culture and his high-school days for inspiration. "When I got up to the Northeast, I started combining those three things," he explains, "like my grandfather’s New Orleans classic suits with the Texas rodeo thing, and then also just some far-out, charter-arts-high-school, thrift-store stuff."

Christopher Fenimore

How did you first become interested in clothing and style?

My grandfather, Charles Peevy, is the most well-dressed person in my life. From as long as I can remember, he always dressed me. He would always take me out and buy me little suits as a kid and make sure that I was dressed right. He taught me how to tie a tie when I was just four or five years old. He taught me how to work a lapel pin and how to wear a suit. He would take me to a tailor and we'd go through the whole suit. We'd bring in the sleeves, get the wrist in the right spot, get the shoulders lined up with the bone and get the collar to fit right along the neck. Get the pants tapered and hemmed. The whole thing.

But then I also grew up surrounded by cowboy culture and Mexican culture—how beautifully they dress for dances and for the rodeo and everything, with the boots and the beautiful pearl snaps and the embroidery. And finally, I went to this really wild charter arts high school that was kind of a refuge for all the rejects and kids who couldn't hack it at the Texas public schools. It was a beautiful, diverse high school in a pretty red state. All the teachers were local artists. A lot of college professors would teach there after hours. That's where I really came into my style because I could experiment. I was wearing all kinds of crazy stuff. Just going to thrift stores and wearing muumuus and gigantic T-shirts and chopping up my clothing, making patchwork quilted pants. When I got up to the Northeast, I started combining those three things, like my grandfather's New Orleans classic suits with the Texas rodeo thing, and then also just some far-out, charter-arts-high-school, thrift-store stuff.

Fit Four

Shirt by Lisbon Crooks, trousers by Kooi, and cap by Wknd.

"As a musician, I’m traveling constantly," Meek says. "Style is a way to feel at home in my own skin as I move throughout the world and through so many different cultures."

"Of course, I’m a performer and I’m on stage," he continues, "but I believe it’s more of this private experience that I have as an entity, with the clothing being an extension of my body and my movement."

Christopher Fenimore

What role does style play in your day-to-day life and your artistry?

As a musician, I'm traveling constantly. Style is a way to feel at home in my own skin as I move throughout the world and through so many different cultures. It’s a sense of home that I can take with me to feel grounded in myself, my identity, in a constantly changing environment. It's more of an internal thing than an outward thing. Of course, I'm a performer and I'm on stage, but I believe it's more of this private experience that I have as an entity, with the clothing being an extension of my body and my movement. If I can really feel at home in that, then I'm going to be more comfortable and feel more connected to the world.

Do you have any favorite stores or brands?

I like the designer [Emily] Bode in New York City. She's super cool. She uses, repurposes, and recreates a lot of antique fabrics, or recycles designs from a lot of handmade folk textiles from different places in the world. I really love her work. Shed Project in New Mexico, by my friends Johnny Ortiz and Maida Branch, is really beautiful. They make clothing and also micaceous pottery and silver jewelry, and they're super cool. The Wimberley Village thrift store is my favorite thrift store on earth. It's filled with amazing ranch-wear and rodeo dress-wear. Lisbon Crooks is a surf shop outside of Lisbon, Portugal. That's my favorite surf shop. And all of their boards’ designs are kind of like graffiti.

Fit Five

Suit and shirt by SuitSupply, and Spock shoes by Haruta.

As for his favorite brands? Meek calls out Bode and Shed Project alongside the store Lisbon Crooks in Portugal and the thrift shop in his hometown of Wimberley, Texas.

On the footwear front, Meek has a thing for "Haruta Spocks, which are one of my favorite shoes right now. I was in Japan on tour and learned that instead of Danskos, Japanese surgeons wear this super stylin’, kind of like an oxford/loafer style."

Christopher Fenimore

If you had to wear one outfit for the rest of your life, what would it consist of?

That’s a wild question. I think I'd probably just wear jeans and a white T-shirt, and some Haruta Spocks, which are one of my favorite shoes right now. I was in Japan on tour and learned that instead of Danskos, Japanese surgeons wear this super stylin’, kind of like an oxford/loafer style. They’re super cheap. You can get a pair for like 50 bucks over there.

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