Courtesy of Debrissa McKinney

Debrissa McKinney hasn't forgotten her Virginia roots.

Debrissa McKinney has been playing the tenor sax and traveling with the band Laura Reed and Deep Pocket since last December. The band will play at Floyd Fest in Floyd in July. She now lives in Asheville, N.C. but she hasn't forgotten her "roots" in Virginia. This is her conversation with community news journalist Ryan Jones.

Q How did you become a part of Laura Reed and Deep Pocket?

A I met them, actually, when they played a show at Awful Arthur's... I guess it was last year. I had kept in contact with Laura, so I went and performed a few more shows with them and kept finding them at festivals... It was cool because I really didn't know any of the music yet but I just kind of threw in some harmonies and joined in. [Later] they were like, "please come join the band," and it took me from July to December to finally move to Asheville.

Q How many other people are in the band?

A On stage all the time there are five of us, but it can go upwards of an 11- to 12-piece band.

Q Is the band your full-time job? What else do you do?

A I definitely don't have time for anything else. This is definitely my full-time job for sure.

Q How would you describe your sound?

AI would describe the sound as funk, soul, R&B ... I would definitely say soul music for sure, with funk aspects as well as conscious lyrics. It also has different types of time signatures and different types of musical styles. It encompasses so much, that's why it's difficult to describe.

Q Where is it that you call home?

A I was born in Youngstown, Ohio, but I grew up in Buchanan, Va.

Q So you went to James River High School... When did you graduate?

A I graduated from James River in 2002 and went to Hollins University. I went through sophomore year at Hollins.

Q What kinds of activities did you do in high school? Did you play the sax in the school band?

A I was in the marching band, concert band, and jazz band all the way from sixth- to twelfth-grade. I was field commander when I graduated. [The band] took up most of my time but I was also in theater. I participated with Attic Productions.

Q Do you play other instruments?

A No I don't, but I do sing backup in the group.

Q So getting back to the band... How often are you traveling?

A We pretty much travel all the time. In July we have 20 shows. Right now we're driving down through Michigan and Indiana and Chicago. We're pretty much gone quite often. I'm more often on the road than at home.

Q Is it hard to be on the road so much?

A I actually like traveling because it's hard for me to be stationary. So I don't mind being gone at all. I get to see different scenery and meet lots of people and perform great music, so it all works out.

Q How often do you make it home?

A It depends on the month... but usually about once a month and we're at home about a week or so. I currently have an apartment in Asheville, N.C., but I visit my family in Botetourt whenever I can, which is not too often. The last time I was there was a couple months ago. If we have a couple weeks I'll relax my first week and then drive up.

Q Did you grow up going to festivals like Floyd Fest?

A It's fairly new to me. The first festival I went to was Floyd Fest last year when I worked there. It's interesting because it was the first time I'd been to a huge festival like that. So, no, I didn't grow up going to festivals. When I lived in Virginia I spent most of my time between Buchanan and Roanoke, then I went to college in Roanoke. I didn't start going to many until I was in a band.

Q What's your favorite venue/city to play?

A One of my favorites was the Bamboo Room in Miami, Fla.