Was it just last night? We played Steve Key’s birthday party – 47 singer/songwriters for 47 years. A billion chocolate cupcakes and a fantastic giant German chocolate hoho. More a bouche de noel with a bit of coconut icing on top. And candy, and stuff.
Oh yeah – and some music.
Forty-seven singer/songwriters all in one place amounts to a whole lot of music, and at one song each, it means that even if you don’t like what’s on the stage at the moment, if you wait for five minutes, something else takes its place. But I was rarely truly wishing for change. Steve was truly showing off his friends – some amazing players, amazing voices.
But the highlight of the night was Steve’s performance… he had put together a little pick-up band for the evening – percussion, bass (I don’t remember their names, because I’m THAT forgetful, but the bass player was playing a gorgeous custom-built six-string and used to play for Ray Charles and the Temptations). And on lead instrument (mandolin and guitar), the beautiful and horrifically unattainable Avril Smith.
They only played four songs, but – there’s something so pure about his music. It’s hard to explain, and I think a lot of people don’t really understand why his music in particular effects me the way it does. He writes good, solid, American folk. He writes political music without being overbearing, and Love songs without being sacharine.
He writes incredibly personal music that strikes me to the core. There’s a lot of really good, solid music out there, especially in our circles. I mean, Hell, how often am I struck with shock at how GOOD the musicians are in our circle of friends? But Steve Key really shakes me – some of the writers that cross our paths – they are too clever almost… I’m distracted by the craft – which is a difficult concept to explain to people who don’t get it.
Sometimes a fascination with the brush strokes can interrupt the appreciation of a painting – when the painter is more in Love with the craft than with the overall piece. I don’t think it’s even something that most people would notice, but it’s the driving force of my hatred for a LOT of folk music right now… a lot of art in general, actually – performing and visual. There’s too much of the artist sitting back and sort of pointing something out to you – pointing and saying “see, wasn’t that clever? I am a Good Songwriter”. Steve’s work never has that pretention. They’re just Good Songs.
