Middle-Aged Songwriters That Are Better Than Ever

Notes on the "Amplified" Songwriters-in-the-Round Show
Bluebird Café, May 5th, 2009
Too bad if you missed this show. It was a classic in my book. Mary Gauthier(Go-Shay), David Olney, Cam King, Jon Langford and Robbie Fulks, supported by a couple of mighty fine guitar pickers whose names I never could catch. I liked the other three writers but I was there for Gauthier and Olney so that’s where my attention focused. Tommy Womack, an artist I have only discovered in the last couple of months (shame on me), was attending the show, and I was fortunate enough to meet him afterwards. I include a little info about that meeting. FYI, I made the notes below after riding back home that night from Nashville, arriving at 4:00 a.m. I didn’t want to lose the vibe. Hope I captured a little of what the night was like for you. Here goes:
Mary Gauthier has a light that pulses from within her. If I could read auras, hers would be blinding. Here we are in this tiny listening room, packed to the gills with people, seven singer-songwriters and supporting musicians in the round, and Mary just shines. Her ability to command a room is no small thing. I wonder if it’s strange how much pride I feel. It’s as though I was her older sibling in another life, and now I get to see her blossom and grow into this incredible, incredible artist. I think she at her best when it is just Mary playing that blue Taylor, little bit of support from another musician or two, and that’s it. Mary’s work is so good on it’s own that trying to dress it with too many accoutrements is akin to screwing up a good basic recipe with fussy additions. Leave her work unadulterated, and you have something classic and beautiful. She amazes me with her insight, her ability to condense a plethora of words and images into a single line. Yes, I am biased. I am a huge fan and hope to bring many people who fall within my six degrees into the circle of Mary’s gift of song. My favorite Gauthier song of the night: "Sideshow".
David Olney is the master craftsman. No song is an ordinary ditty. Every piece is special, and you can’t help but feel privileged when you hear David perform his songs live. He is the consummate showman, knowing just where to go in a songwriter’s round, although later on he said it wasn’t easy to follow Mary. As I told him, he danced with beautiful elegance and grace, playing songs that tell their stories with their symbolic hands around your throat. You don’t go to the bathroom if David Olney is playing; you know you dare not miss a syllable. He never disappoints and, apparently, he doesn’t slow down. He has so many new projects coming up that I can’t keep track. It’s as thought he has actually thrown a saddle on the little mustang and taken off on a wild ride, leaving those of us who want to experience it to try to keep up. Good luck keeping up with David Olney. Personally, I don’t think it can be done. My favorite Olney song of the night: "Jerusalem Tomorrow".
Tommy Womack is one cool person: brutally honest songwriter at times, published author, and lifetime learner. He’s big stuff, Peeps, really big stuff. I kept hoping if I stood close enough, some of that mega-creativity would rub off on me. We’re chatting outside when I have a moment a realization. By the time I’m talking with Tommy, I’ve had four, five cups of caffeine, and I’m not used to it. My brain catches up to the fact that my mouth has been running amuck for who knows how long. By then, it’s too late to shut it up. The mouth has grabbed the proverbial bit and is galloping at a dangerous pace. The brain does it's best to slow it down by making a big circle. That works. Hallelujah. Lord only knows how much I blabbered, and about what scintillating topic(s). Anyway, I’m listening to his music every chance I get these days. Can’t listen to it in the background. I have to be able to tune in and absorb it. He’s the real deal, worth any investment you can make, be it time, money or both.
What a night! What a perfect, perfect birthday present.

Unfamiliarity

Ah, me. Where to begin? I am a singer/songwriter, a composer of songs about love and life, written from a mature point of view, primarily mature by nature of the number of my winters. I draw from all the music I've ever heard and held inside my heart. How do I stick that in a box and put a label on it? Someone said that Americana is the genre of every type of music that doesn't fit anywhere else, so I guess that's my label (I understand that having one helps people quickly draw a bead on where my music lies in the spectrum but that doesn't mean I like it).

I feel like I'm "lost in the middle ages" because people look at me and see a gal who is on her way down the other side of the hill, and I see myself standing on top of that hill planting a victory flag. I see the world as my oyster, and marketing people see the world, particularly the world of entertainment, as a domain belonging to artists whose sexuality is wrapped in dewy youthfulness, not people who are sporting wrinkles and the beginnings of those blasted age spots. These folks seem to think, "You haven't made it to stardom by now, shouldn't you just stay home and play for your family? After all, you're old, and the world isn't interested in hearing the kinds of songs you're writing." Gotta tell you, People, I am NOT the kind of person who can be content to write a batch of songs just to sit on them, and I'm happy to say that there are a ton of excellent, talented artists who feel the same. We're all out there, doing our thing the best we can, some of us more noticed than other, but all of us pursuing our bliss.

Why would I want to hide my light under a bushel just because I'm over thirty years old?? Why would you?? Why should you?!! What if you're a late bloomer, and all your best efforts are still in front of you? People, we need to keep following whatever dreams we have, whatever our passions are, to the best of our abilities for as long as we can, no matter how unfamiliar this middle-age landscape is. Who knows when we're really through shinin' our little lights? Maybe part of the answer to coping with the unfamiliar is to shine the light brighter than ever. Sure, it gets tougher the older we get, but haven't you heard? Old age ain't for sissies.

I'll leave you with this quote from Brenda Ueland, who left a legacy of inspiration to people of all ilk and age:

"This is what I learned: that everybody is talented, original and has something important to say."

http://www.MarthaAnnBrooks.com