DM) How did you get your start in music?
AB) I was a music lover straight out of the womb, probably
even before that. My very first memories are of listening to
my parents Beatles records. They also had Simon and Garfunkel,
Neil Diamond, The Doors and such. Jumping ahead a bit, when I
was 13, my dad bought me a Casio keyboard. I started writing
songs immediately, ripping off everyone from Buddy Holly to Gary
Numan. You can probably guess how those songs sounded!
DM) What was the first Beatles song you remember hearing?
AB) "I Want to Hold Your Hand" though, my folks
had "Sgt. Pepper," "Hard Day's Night" and
a copy of "Rubber Soul" "borrowed" from the
library, so I heard all sorts of those songs as a kid. I was
too afraid to listen to "Rubber Soul" until I was about
8 years old. The album cover freaked me out too much!
DM) How so?
AB) It freaked me out almost the same way it does today! Freaky,
stretchy heads and eyes that maybe knew too much but didn't care
at all. And the suede, man! Of course, a few years later and
I had to have a jacket like theirs.
DM) How does your live show differ from your recorded music?
AB) I think it was "Brian's Song" plunked out on
my grandmother's upright piano. The first song I ever performed
live was called "Take the Bottle From the Baby." It
was quite a fast little tune, and I dropped my pick the first
verse, so by the end of the song I had rubbed my fingers raw,
smearing blood across the pick-guard and strings. As they say,
the kids loved it!
DM) Blood across the strings? Is this a common occurrence?
AB) No, fortunately! And it's a bit ironic that I originally
switched from playing keyboards to guitar because guitar was
more physically comfortable. Anyway, I'm certainly no great guitarist,
but I can usually make it through the set-list these days without
injury.
DM) What was the first song you ever remember playing?
AB) The live show varies from night to night, based on my
mood, the crowd, my band and so on. Sometimes I'm really on ...
playing well and responding to what's going on in a way that
feeds off itself. I have a lot of nervous energy, and this kinda
gets sprayed all over the audience. If I'm having an off night,
hopefully I can recognize it quickly enough and just focus on
getting the songs across. It's hard sometimes, though, because
I really respond to everything going on around me.
As much as I enjoy doing gigs, I'd always rather be in the studio.
I'm much more focused and relaxed. I'm always in there, playing
with sounds and trying to maintain the balance between the song
and the recording of the song. The difference between enhancement
and over-production is sometimes very slight. I still try to
draw upon my nervous "on" energy when I'm recording,
and I get off on getting something in one take, but if it takes
ten takes to get it right, that's fine with me.
DM) When were you most nervous during a show?
AB) There was a "songwriter's circle" show filmed
for local television that featured two other songwriters and
myself. We each did a song and then the next person would play.
There wasn't much chemistry between us -- though charming flashes
of egotism on everyone's behalf -- the lights and cameras zooming
in and out of our noses didn't make for a very comfortable show.
We couldn't see the crowd past the stage lights, but it was easy
to feel how unpleasant an experience it was on their end too.
Just thinking about that show makes me want to drink lots of
water.
DM) Have you noticed if your stage presence has improved over
time?
AB) I told a recent audience, "I used to be charming,
now I'm just enigmatic." To actually answer your question,
yes. I think I'm sharper and more consistent in regards to playing
my songs. And I try to judge quickly whether my humor is connecting
with the crowd ... if it is, then great. Maybe I'll rant a bit
and we'll all giggle. If my between-song banter isn't working,
hopefully I know quick enough to just shut up and play. It really
does come from an odd place in me, the whole stage presence bit
... I can't ever predict what kind of show it's gonna be, I can
only do my best to respond and react.
