WONDERLOUS MUSIC | ARTIST SPOTLIGHT Q&A
Artist/Band Name: Chris Bergson Band
Where currently based: New York City
When I was younger I wanted to be: A guitarist, singer and songwriter!
How would you describe your sound/style to someone who has never heard it before? A mixture of Delta and Chicago blues, old-school soul and roots rock. There's a jazz influence in there too in the way we improvise and play off each other. Rootstime - a Belgian publication - gave a nice little summary: "If you like the music of Coltrane, The Band and Muddy Waters, you will definitely like the Chris Bergson Band."
What got you started writing songs? The music of The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin made me want to start writing my own songs when I was a kid. I wrote both instrumentals and songs with lyrics all throughout my childhood. When I was in third grade, I wrote and recorded a "concept" album based on Pink Floyd's The Wall, complete with high tech special effects, including the sounds of an alarm clock.
3 songwriters who've had the greatest influence on you and why:
The Band - I love the way their songs draw from and pull together so many different strands of American music from ragtime to blues to country to rock. Their best songs have a paired-down quality and sound like timeless old stories.
Bob Dylan - I love the vivid imagery in his songs and of course his brilliant lyrics. Dylan proves that you can make any line work - no matter how strange - if it feels real and super specific.
Lennon / McCartney - It is impossible to imagine the world as we know it without their incredible songs! I saw McCartney perform last summer at Yankee stadium and was just totally blown away. He performed "Blackbird" solo acoustic and you could hear a pin drop. I almost couldn't believe it was really him up there in the flesh singing and fingers on the strings. It felt as if some ancient Greek bard had descended to the earth to share these epic songs! I also have to include Ray Charles in this category as well - the way he infused gospel with blues as well as his chord progressions in songs like "Drown In My Own Tears", "What Would I Do" and "Hard Times" has had a huge influence on my writing.
3 of your favorite songs of all time:
The Band - "Across the Great Divide"
Bob Dylan - "Tangled Up In Blue"
Ray Charles - "What Would I Do"
New songwriter/artist recommendation(s): Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, Fleet Foxes, Ray Lamontagne… Also, Richard Julian and Jonah Smith.
What's the best songwriting advice someone ever gave you? Always keep a notebook with you! (this was in the pre-iPhone days - the notepad feature on the iPhone works well for this too). I've gotten so many ideas for songs walking around the city just observing interesting characters or strange juxtapositions of things.
What advice would you give to new songwriters just starting out? Start out a writing session by playing either a song of someone else's you really like or one of your own that you really like - that's always a good place to begin. And don't get freaked out if one day it isn't coming. If you stay connected to the music that really moves you on the soul level (and that made you want to write in the first place), it's easier to stay in the zone and then you're ready when the inspiration comes.
Who is your songwriter-collaboration fantasy? Gillian Welch. She's an incredible singer and songwriter and her last album The Harrow and The Harvest is amazing.
3 of your own songs that mean the most to you:
High Above the Morning: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R_3pWMVFVg
Three Sisters: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6F9-HfDnug
Sanactuary
For someone new to your music, what song(s) should they listen to FIRST?
Fall Changes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UnKv8PVK-U
** Be sure to check out the Chris Bergson Band at the Sept. 8th Midnight Ramble (Woodstock, NY) featuring Jay Collins, Craig Dreyer, Matthew Lindsey & Tony Leone. Discounted tickets available at www.levonhelm.com.
