Songwriter Greg Brown's music always carries a message
Toolbox
By Sky Barsch Times Argus Staff - Published: October 28, 2005
In the liner notes of Greg Brown's latest release, "In the Hills of California," producer Cloud Moss thanks the artist for his "seemingly endless generosity (of spirit and on the material plane), and for his sense of poetry; both in word and practice."
Could anyone put it better? After more than 20 years of singing and songwriting, Brown continues to write songs that sweetly draw attention to life's pleasant subtleties, put a humorous spin on human idiosyncrasies, and hold us accountable for our misdeeds in a way that can elicit a tear or a hearty laugh from even the most contemptuous of cynics.
And like his songs, which encourage generosity and a detachment from material things, proceeds from "In the Hills of California," like his "Going Driftless," the 2002 Brown tribute album, go to benevolent organizations, not the singer's wallet.
Brown is expected to appear in Vermont for two shows next week, one at South Burlington's Higher Ground on Thursday, Nov. 3, and another at Bellows Falls High School on Saturday, Nov. 5.
It's been about a year since Brown has played in Vermont, but he's been pretty busy in the interim on a rigorous touring schedule. While Vermonters at the upcoming shows can expect a typical Brown performance (hat pulled down low, some good jokes and pleasing guitar playing) he says what he plays at each show depends on how he and the audience are feeling.
"I never know what I'm gonna do. I just show up and play according to my mood and their mood," Brown said in a phone interview, just after returning to his Iowa farm from a few days in southern California. "So it's a surprise."
And that intuitive approach is how Brown writes songs, too.
"I think what influences my songwriting … there's so many things, it's hard to pick them out. The experience of life, I would say, the experiences that a person has, and those can range from what's going on politically in our country to what's going on in someone I know's life. Each particular song has something that came out of my take on the world, or what somebody says. In each one, you've got all those things."
Brown's songs are often centered on or inspired by his love of the Midwest. Even with the country as divided as it is today, Brown says he doesn't find it any more difficult to sing his songs that have such a strong sense of place. In fact, he's more apt to tell it like it is, in an attempt to reach people he thinks aren't completely aware of the "criminals" and "un-American" guy who is running the country, he says.
Politically speaking, Brown says he's frustrated and appalled by the Bush administration, a "disaster beyond disaster."
"It's more important that everybody speaks out to what they're feeling," Brown says. And he does, whether it's denouncing SUVs or strip-mall laden cities that lack character.
But Brown, who mixes storytelling and guitar-playing with his velvety-yet-gritty voice, rarely sings in an angry tone. While some of his songs are dark, sad and conjure up unpleasant images (a "cigarette in a champagne glass" in "Small Dark Movie,") others pay homage to love, family and nature. One extols slow-cooked home meals over fast food restaurants ("McDonald's, baby? No. I want a chef and not a clown to fix me up some … slow food"). His song "Say a Little Prayer" talks about his concern over a child who has come down with a cold or the flu: "Lights on in the middle of the night, there's a sick little child around. Momma said to Poppa, 'Don't you worry, I think her fever's coming down.' Oh yes, and I know, it's just a cold or it's just the flu, but I say a little prayer, I say a little prayer for you…. Let her get better, let her get better soon please do."
Brown says he's been listening to a "collection of old, obscure gospel music John Fahey did a few years back. He's a very eccentric guy. He's a great collector and a great writer about music, too. This collection, it doesn't have a title, it's records on clear vinyl with no labels."
The music is a gospel recording from the first half of the 20th century, from the teens to the '30s. "It's a lot of wonderful singers." He says he listens to songs "one through four, turn it over and start again."
That's the way at least some of Brown's fans listen to his music, too.
Brown's sound certainly isn't manufactured, nor does he aim his music at one demographic, with a hefty amount of disposable income, in an attempt to cash in. In a country where music is often produced largely based on image, for a certain age group, Brown's music appeals to a broad age range. He says he's not sure why it works that way.
"No I don't (target a specific audience), really. I just start and I sing and play," he admits. "It's gratifying to me, it's nice. I'd like to see more things in our country that appeal to not just one specific group."
Brown hasn't spent a great deal of time in Vermont, but has poked around a little. He says before he came to Vermont, he was told it was simply a place for rich city folks to play.
People described it as kind of a playground: "It didn't take me very long to figure out that wasn't what's going on. I think there's still a real strong feeling of independence. There's a strong streak of people doing small, interesting things."
Maybe he'll get to spend a little more time here this time. He has 13 days between the Bellows Falls performance and his next show, which takes brings him back to the Midwest.
Contact Sky Barsch at sky.barsch@timesargus.com or 223-3335.
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