A
gig
on Tuesday 21st June. The event starts at 20:00.
CHUCK BRODSKY (USA) Now at The Hophouse, 16 Kings Road, Clifton, BS8
Tuesday 21 June Folk/Acoustic/Singer Songwriter £8/£6
Chuck Brodsky is a name probably not known to many in the UK.
He has toured Ireland for many years from his home in North Carolina (originally from Philly), USA but has not until last year ventured to Britain.
His first foray over here was to play the Shrewsbury and Shetland Folk Festivals last year where again he was little known. Here is what the organiser of the festival had to say about his performance, it was echoed by a couple of our acoustic music attendees who also saw this performance and encouraged me to try and book him to come to Bristol:
"Chuck played his first shows in the UK at the Shrewsbury Folk Festival in 2010, and left a real impact on the whole festival and everyone who heard him play - his main stage set started with 500 or so in the main marquee and by the end of his performance he had almost 2000 people hanging on his every word; laughing and crying at his songs that make a real connection with the audience. A great performer and a lovely guy to have at any festival - he'll certainly be back at Shrewsbury in the years to come" Neil Patterson for Shrewsbury Folk fest'
These memorials set me off on a quest to discover what Chuck Brodsky was all about. I must say I have now fallen under the spell as well!
He does not possess a great voice but its one of those comfortable, assured, spoken, storytelling voices that gets you listening to every word. His lyrics are amazingly graphic with a wit that carries a sincere integrity about topical issues around seemingly simple things in life. That integrity extends to his understanding that he has no great following over here, which he reflects in his very competitive fee. This is why the gig tonight is not a big price on the door and an opportunity to catch this engaging chap.
When you see the regard he's held in the States you begin to piece things together, suggesting this will be a really fun, entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable experience. If you like Vin Garbutt for instance, Chuck's for you!
'If Mark Twain were reincarnated as a musician, his name might be Chuck Brodsky Fun, heart-warming, witty tales there's a lot more to this songwriter than an eye for criticism and disillusionment'. Florida Today News
Chuck's song writing pokes fun at political corruption, road rage, mischief he made as a kid, even dumping garbage in the river; he sings about unsung heroes and forgotten but incredible people odd characters from the game of baseball, migrant fruit pickers, the Goat Man, a clown, or'Radio, ' a developmentally disabled man and the love showered on him for 40 years at a high school in South Carolina (this song was used in the 2003 movie'Radio').
In addition to being fixtures on the Dr. Demento show, his songs have been recorded by Kathy Mattea, David Wilcox, Sara Hickman, Chuck Pyle, and many others, and his tune'Blow'em Away' was selected by Christine Lavin for Shanachie's 1996'Laugh Tracks' album. He's appeared on nationally syndicated radio programs'Mountain Stage, ' 'Acoustic Cafe, ' and'River City Folk, ' and has performed three concerts of his celebrated baseball story songs at the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
"Down-to-earth lyrics about ordinary folk sung in an often jocular,
and always entertaining style...He may be compassionate, but there's always at least a modicum of black humour somewhere along the line
to keep his audiences on their toes". The Jerusalem Post
Some of the artists he's appeared in concert with include Arlo Guthrie, Janis Ian, Pete Seeger, Tim O'Brien, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, Gillian Welch, Dick Gaughan, Tom Paxton, Richie Havens, Patty Larkin, Steve Forbert.
'Reflects the good old U.S. of A, warts and all... colourful tales...reminds us there's a whole wide world outside our doors. " Rolling Stone Magazine
"One of the finest singer-songwriters in America. There are a lot of good ones, but when it comes to the really great ones it boils down to a select few -- he's one of them"
Larry Groce - Mountain Stage (National Public Radio)
"He is an extraordinary talent in my opinion.
I would place him in the Dylan-Guthrie-Prine league without question.
His lyrics are drawn from the lives of everyday people and his acoustic guitar playing is quite amazing. " BBC Belfast (Tony McAuley)