Christopher Brown
"Songsmith" Christopher Brown Interview
www.ChristopherBrownMusic.com
Interview by Roger Zee (08/06/19)
Roger Zee: Who inspired you to pick up the guitar and sing?
Christopher Brown I have a low voice. I’ve been told it's an honest bass. It’s definitely not a vocal range you hear often in Pop music. Even as a kid, I couldn't sing along with the hits on the radio by The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Rascals. Back then I didn’t know anything about voice types or transposing. Just thought I couldn’t sing. But then my dad introduced me to the music of the Clancy Brothers. Their albums contained Irish rebel songs with rich, deep vocals that I could duplicate. And when I sang them, people responded to my voice. Almost overnight I went from someone people thought tone deaf to a guy getting compliments for his singing. Needless to say, I put lots of Irish songs in my early repertoire.
Then came the Cat Stevens influence. My discovery of him coincided with my growing interest/obsession with girls as well as my first official broken heart from a devastating two month relationship. On Cat Stevens records, I found a treasure trove of songs about love and lost love. And his voice, although not as low as mine, proved low enough that I could sing a lot of them. So I quickly learned how to play them on guitar as they were fairly simple and started singing them to anyone who would listen. Perfect timing! I could finally express all my pent-up angst in a key that worked for my voice.
Harry Chapin heavily influenced the performance part of what I did and in some ways still do. I used to go see him quite a bit in the early to mid seventies. As a performer, he served as my first role model. Smart, authentic, and very confident. All the things I wanted to be. By nature I'm shy so to get past my stage fright before going on stage, I would channel my inner Chapin, and conjure up his confidence and strut. I would literally imitate him. He used to perform a song called "Circle," a big crowd pleaser that would eventually get everyone singing and clapping along. In my early days with Bookends, I would play it and get everyone singing and clapping just like Harry. Every night, it turned into "our" biggest show moment. Then in the late Seventies, Harry Chapin released his long-awaited live album and ‘Circle’ started getting airplay on FM radio. It’s only a matter of time before I get this phone call from an excited fan/friend. “Chris, Harry Chapin's on the radio and he’s playing your song! And not only that, he’s doing your whole thing!” I was totally busted. Eventually I incorporated his thing into my own stage presence, and at some point the line disappeared. But I definitely owe him a lot.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Springsteen effect. I saw my first Bruce Springsteen concert on December 5, 1975 at McDonough Gym when I visited Georgetown University. I remember the date because it changed my life! I was at the very beginning of what would become a lifelong journey as a singer/songwriter/performer. What I saw that night changed the way I thought about all of it, like finding religion. Through the course of my career I’ve received many well-timed kicks-in-the-butt, but that one remains the most profound.
Roger Zee: Talk about your songwriting process and the new album coming out.
Christopher Brown: I’ve been writing songs since age seventeen. Sometimes I find it hard to explain why. It’s a lot of hard work with a payoff that's tough to quantify. But it’s definitely therapeutic. So in that way I would call it a healthy endeavor. It also allows me to work through my issues in a much more open and enlightened way than I would under normal circumstances. But, honestly, it's a crazy, messy, torturous process that, if done right, should at some point reduce you to tears and have you questioning how you ever had the audacity to consider yourself a songwriter in the first place. But every now and then, you get one that transcends and affects people in ways beyond what you intended. And that’s euphoric. That’s the drug.
We scheduled the new record, "The Brown Album," for release in September. It contains ten newish originals plus two covers. I recorded and produced a bunch of it myself -- a first for me. Thankfully, Al Hemberger of The Loft in Bronxville guided me through every step of the process. Four songs on the CD were produced and recorded by the very talented Lincoln Schleifer at ‘Lincoln’s Log Cabin’ in The Bronx. So many great performances by very talented musicians all over this record along with some cool sounding instruments (theremin, continuum, tuba bass). It’s a fun listen. A lot of grunting and groaning went into getting this one to the finish line. But I take that as a positive sign. Making art should never be too easy. But now that the work's done, let me say I’m extremely proud of this collection and I can’t wait for you to hear it!
Roger Zee: You work as a solo, duo, trio, and full band.
Christopher Brown: The different configurations allow me flexibility in the types of gigs I can pursue and accept. It’s definitely a bit of a juggling act at times, but it usually works out ok. It helps that I perform with all great players so each combination has something unique and special about it. Usually, when all the scheduling gets settled, all the guys I play with end up working about as much as they want to which leaves me some room for my solo gigs, which I love the most. From day one, I knew I would eventually need to develop as a solo performer to allow for complete independence as an artist -- by far my smartest career move. And believe me, I’m not known for smart career moves! Reducing my dependency on "my guys" has allowed far more natural relationships, minus a lot of the tension that breaks up so many bands.
Roger Zee: Where do you usually perform?
Christopher Brown: I feel so very fortunate and thankful to play so many great places! Some come complete with stages and lights and some just cleared corners. They range from listening rooms to heavily TV’d sports bars. Some come in ties and some just t-shirts. I can honestly say that I'm thankful for every single place because they pay me to do something that I absolutely love. Every night I leave the house to play, I go with the hope of making something great happen. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t. But that’s not really the thing. It’s the hope that matters -- a very positive and healthy energy. As long as I have gigs, I have hope. I don’t want to start naming clubs because I’m guaranteed to forget some, and that won’t be good. But there’s a couple on the schedule that deserve honorable mention for longevity — Brodie’s Pub in Mohegan Lake and Rosy Tomorrow’s in Danbury. I’ve appeared monthly in both places for twenty plus years! That says something although I’m not sure just what.
Roger Zee: Tell me about your favorite and/or most unusual gig.
Christopher Brown: My favorite gigs are always the original music shows. Although I play a lot of originals in all my shows, many songs I only perform in a concert atmosphere. With a quiet audience, I hear the tunes differently, hyper clearly. And usually I'm thankful for all the extra sweat I put into writing them! I always look forward to the Annual Bookends Anniversary show at Garcia’s at The Capital Theater in Port Chester. I started the Bookends Band in 1976 with my bandmate Joe Summo. We began as a folky duo but quickly grew into a full band. We built a large and very loyal following by playing colleges and bars in the Westchester area. We were also big on the "Ground Round" circuit. Anyway, once a year we do a ‘throwback’ show to celebrate the whole, long run that the band has enjoyed. It’s a big, sold-out celebration that ends up somewhere between a concert and a high school reunion. Inevitably, every year there’s a moment when I look out at the big crowd and see how happy everyone is to be there. And I think how lucky I am to have had this opportunity to make music as part of my living for so long. It’s a great way to go through life.
Roger Zee: What advice do you give to young musicians?
Christopher Brown: I always feel weird giving anyone advice because we’re all so different. But some absolutes could help. I believe whole-heartedly in presenting what you love with passion. Too many people learn things they think the audience wants to hear, and only for that reason. I believe that the audience can sniff out a lack of passion even if they don’t know what they're smelling! When you play something you love for an audience, you’re saying, “Here, this is precious to me and I want you to have it.” People feel that and will come back for more.
And that’s the second part of what I want to say. Getting people to come back to see you over and over's the key to getting and keeping work. Show them something unique, something they can’t get anywhere else. Make yourself as irreplaceable as possible. Which goes back to my first point about playing or writing songs that you're invested in. Again, none of this is an exact science.
©2019 Roger Zee