Chattanooga Pulse

When I was contacted by a mysterious person via my e-mail address with the request to do a story on a singer/songwriter coming to Chattanooga, I took in a quick breath.

Let me explain how excited I was—and by excited I mean very reluctant and already bored. I say that not because I am a hater of singer/songwriters. I actually love them, as, when it comes to music, I am a lyricist before melody. I say it because it is generally difficult to sell singer/songwriters to an audience or readers.

I’ve spent a long time trying to push people in the direction of singer/songwriters, locally, by way of Leticia Wolf, Matt Bohannon, Matt Urmy and Channing Wilson, several very talented and very different styles of writers.

However, it’s been generally hit-or-miss with pulling a crowd as a stand-alone artist.  The Rounders pulled plenty, The Bohannons have a draw, and so did many of Tish’s endeavors with a full band.  I don’t get it.  They are great as openers in this city, but we just turn up our noses at them as headliners.  I am sure there are some exceptions, but for the most part, this has been a general rule.

Begrudgingly, I’ve gotten to the point of thinking that no one is going to care about this genre, which is disheartening because I happen to believe it is a true art form and the most raw form of music, without all the smoke and mirrors. Then I started to realize that maybe it’s all in the packaging.  Because really, Bright Eyes was just Connor Oberst with a fancy name and studio musicians, but people ate that up.  Maybe if all of our talented solo artists gave themselves some spiffy new wrapping paper, people would buy into it.

The point of this specific rant is to say that I went along with the request to find out more information on this singer/songwriter guy, and was actually surprised and impressed.

His name is Cory Branan, and he is not your average singer/songwriter. He’s a gruff Memphis rocker who is doing it solo because he likes to do it his own way.  He’s not at all what you would consider a typical, boring, white guy with an acoustic guitar; which, I am sad to say, causes even music lovers to sigh when that stereotype takes the stage.

Cory is a well-seasoned traveler, having lived all over the United States, but now teeter-totters between Memphis, and Austin. His influences are Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen, among other greats, but he sounds like a mixture of Conner Oberst and Lucero’s Ben Nichols, with intelligent lyrics, but a gruff tone that suggests he might have learned it all the hard way.

The next thing I noticed about this guy’s music is that the tempos aren’t boring. He has slow and somber tunes, like “Tall Green Grass”, followed immediately by some hopped-up rockabilly love song called “A Girl Named Go”, about a girl who was similar to cocaine.  When I talked to him, he mentioned how hard it was to record albums when people just wanted you to choose one style, and he adamantly refuses to do so.  This is probably what makes me like him the most.  He has been songwriting for ten years now, and making music since he was 14.  So he’ll be damned if someone is going to tell him what to do or how to do it.

Hell, yeah.  We also discovered that Lucero is the Kevin Bacon of Memphis and Southern musicians, as they are the connector piece to everyone knowing everyone.  Cory tours almost as much as they do, but does occasionally take a break. This Chattanooga show is the last show he’ll be performing by himself before he meets up with Joey Cape (of Lagwagon and Me First and the Gimme Gimmes) and Jon Snodgrass (of Drag the River) to complete his tour.

He is finishing a new album that should be out in the winter, and apparently, judging by his press kit, he’s loved by Rolling Stone, Playboy, Billboard, and Blender.  Judging by his pictures, he’s definitely been to the Playboy mansion and met Hef, so if that doesn’t tell you he’s not your average singer/songwriter, then you’re just stubborn.

Cory Branan with Gurle Haggard and Packway Handle
$7
10 p.m., Saturday, June 20.
JJ’s Bohemia, 231 E. MLK Blvd.
(423) 266-1400.
www.myspace.com/jjsbohemia