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GETS BACK TO HIS ROOTS BEN MOON
Singer/Songwriter Returns to the Lobero with Smoke and Mirrors by Aly Comingore
W
hen the wellspring of inspiration runs dry, many artists find themselves returning to their roots. For singer/songwriter Brett Dennen, those roots are buried deep in the wilderness of Northern California, a place he grew up and still calls home. Following more than a year of touring behind 2011’s adorably upbeat Loverboy, the red-headed troubadour found himself at a crossroads of sorts.“I thought the last album was going to make me break through to a much bigger audience,” he explained via phone last week, “but I ended up just touring a lot. I wanted to keep touring; [eventually] all of the people I work with kind of decided that it was just time for me to disappear for a while.” Frustrated and confused, Dennen retreated to a cabin near his childhood home in the Sierra Nevada Mountains to FRESH STARTS: For his latest album, Brett Dennen returned reassess. Not long after, the songs started home to the mountains of Northern California to find coming. The result of Dennen’s retreat is his muse. The result is the sprawling, stripped-down, and last year’s Smoke and Mirrors, a beautiironically titled Smoke and Mirrors. fully stripped-down folksy offering that finds the singer at his most open and personable yet. On Thursday, March 20, Dennen returns some time off, I didn’t see it at first. But once I moved back to the Lobero Theatre with a full band in support of the up into the mountains, I was like, “Holy crap!” There was record. Below, he chats about growing up, letting go, and a whole life that I had completely forgotten about. And it’s a really good-quality life that’s just about taking care of taking risks. yourself and communing with nature and being an artist. I don’t think I knew you grew up near Yosem- I realized that sometimes I get too far away from that when ite. Were you big into the outdoors as a kid? I’m caught up with the work. Definitely. It’s such a blessing to be so close to so many great things to do outside. Camping was a great big part You worked with producer Charlie Peacock. How of my childhood. I think it fostered a relationship with did he fit into the recording process? He just added the natural world that will forever have an impact on me. a whole extra dimension of sound and space and energy Like, I’m always going to be someone who will fight for that had never occurred to me. On one hand [this record] environmental causes. I think I have a deeper connection sounds more stripped down compared to my last record, to my place in the world and how I fit in, but I also think but it’s really a lot more lush and a lot more full. He really it has a lot to do with my storytelling and my songwriting. helped me get into the nitty-gritty of each song and the It’s definitely a big source of inspiration. To this day, I feel emotion behind it and how we could build instruments way more comfortable out in the wild than I do in a city. around it to do nothing but support the vocals. Being outdoors, it’s almost like discovering your inner self. As a kid, to just be let loose was incredible. Did you guys talk about other albums you liked or even a certain vibe that you wanted to go Do you remember the point when you decided to after? Ya know, we never really talked about it that much. make music your career? When I was around 22 or I remember at one point he said to me,“Hey, Brett, I think 23, I knew that I wanted to pursue music, but as far back as we’re making two records here. I think we’re making a I can remember, I identified as an artist. I’ve been drawing big-sounding record that we need to just go for and knock and painting ever since I was really little, and I always just it out the park. But the other half is going to be this quiet, thought of myself as an artist. I was the kid in the family introspective record that we just need to keep really raw who was a good drawer. People would come over to visit and honest and bare. We need to keep all the imperfections my parents, and I would sit and draw a picture of them. I in there, because that will make it shine.” That was really had a lot of time to cultivate that and get comfortable with the only time we ever put words to what we were going for. that, and it definitely helped me with songwriting. I already was comfortable with the creative process, but it wasn’t New Noise presents Brett until I was out of college that I decided to give music a go. Dennen at the Lobero I know you took some real time off between this record and the last. What was it like to go home after that much touring? Well, I had really wanted to keep touring. When everyone told me I needed to take
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Theatre (33 E. Canon Perdido St.) on Thursday, March 20, at 7:30 p.m. Foy Vance opens the show. For tickets and info, call 963-0761 or visit lobero.com.
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