Here’s an interview with Scott Nurkin who’s painting a mural of Blind Boy Fuller on the side of the old Belk building in downtown Wadesboro as part of his statewide mural project focused on N.C. musicians. He’s also completed several murals, unrelated to the musician project, in downtown Mt. Gilead. Sidenote: Scott is not just a muralist, he’s an accomplished drummer; he even had a bit part in a backup band featured on Season 1 of the HBO show “The Righteous Gemstones.”  (Photo courtesy of INDYweek; click here to read their story on how Scott became a muralist.)

When did you first have the idea of the musician mural project, and what sparked it? Why, specifically, musicians? 

Scott: I got the idea about 10 years ago when I painted a bunch of portraits of N.C. musicians for a mural at a local pizza joint here in Chapel Hill. I knew the state had produced a wealth of musical talent and it was important to me to spread the word because I never learned anything about that in grade school studying N.C. history. I have played music all my life (drums mainly) and been in bands and toured all over for the past 30 years. Music and art have always been my main interests. It seemed like a logical fit.

How many murals have you done as part of this project?

Scott: So far I have completed 14 with many, many more to come.

How do you choose which towns to visit and artists to feature?

Scott: When I started it was important for me to try and knock out the big names first (John Coltrane – Hamlet, Nina Simone – Tryon, Earl Scruggs – Shelby, Randy Travis – Marshville, to name a few) so I contacted each town to see if there was any interest. From there it was a matter of which town was the most willing to follow through (i.e. had funding, wall space, general interest and support). Now that I have done quite a few walls people are starting to take notice and it has been slightly easier to get towns to respond to my emails. SLIGHTLY.

How big is the one of Blind Boy Fuller in Wadesboro going to be? Is that one of the bigger ones you’ve tackled?

Scott: This is a great big wall, 45 feet tall. The mural will be about that high and almost as wide. It is definitely on the bigger side. I think the only two bigger than this are Coltrane (60 feet tall) and Thelonious Monk in Rocky Mount (40 feet by 120 feet).

Is this the first one that the state Department of Natural and Cultural Resources has funded? How did you talk them into that? How were the others funded?

Scott: This is the first one in which the state has had any involvement. They reached out to me after seeing a few of the murals and asked if I had interest in joining forces, which of course I jumped at because it seemed like a no brainer. The whole point of my project is to showcase N.C. as a fertile ground for musical geniuses. It just so happened that the NCDNCR was working on revitalization work in Wadesboro at the same time I was lobbying their town manager (David Edwards) to do a Blind Boy Fuller mural, so it was pretty serendipitous. 

What’s your favorite type of music?

Scott: I love artists and songs from virtually every genre. I’m most inclined to listen to stuff that has a good melody. But if you had to twist my arm right now I’m gonna go with ’60s garage rock. And any soul or R&B records. Most all reggae or ’70s funk. Any jazz. Classic rock, of course. Definitively: 1972 produced the greatest number of my favorite albums.

What’s your timeline on the Blind Boy Fuller mural?

Scott: Well, unfortunately, we have run into logistical problems at the base of the wall where I am painting. The ground simply will not support the lift needed to get the job done so we are working on resolving that. Coupled with the cold weather which has finally arrived, the mural may get pushed back a few weeks until it warms up again. Once I am able to start painting I should be finished in 7-10 days.

How will you know when you’ve finished with this mural project? Will you ever run out of artists to feature?

Scott: Haha, I’m a bad person to ask that question because I always feel like I could add more until my hands bleed. As far as running out of artists, N.C. has a whole bundle of talented musicians that need to be talked about more. After the bigger names, there is an insane amount of backup singers, side players and one-hit wonders from all over the state. If I had my druthers I would only paint N.C. musicians from here on out. And I’m pretty sure I could stay busy for the foreseeable future. Although it should be noted I have a strict “No American Idols” policy. Those folks can sing, no disrespect. I LOVE Fantasia. I’m just not interested in painting gameshow contestants.