Illinois Entertainer June 2015 | Page 12

raham G GP: I had already made a few albums before the punk thing went mainstream in England. But people put you in boxes. I was happy to be affiliated with punk music even though I never wrote punk songs. It was popular and I was happy to ride that wave for a while. But in reality, I was influenced by people like James Taylor and Jackson Browne. I was a singer, singer/songwriter. That is what I do. IE: You were often called the British Bruce Springsteen. Looking back, was that fair comment? GP: Bruce was a big champion of mine. He loved the records I was making in the mid '70s. His earlier albums didn't really happen in England. No one knew who he was. It was not until Born To Run came out that I heard him. A friend of mine had that album and when I heard it I thought- yeah, this is good. He would 12 illinoisentertainer.com june 2015 come along to shows and tell how much he loved what I was doing. I see him now and then. I never saw myself as doing the same kind of thing as Elvis Costello – but we were all around at that same time and I would run into him. IE: Do you look back on the Howlin' Wind period and think you might have been too angry or cynical? Are you that way now? 06•2015 Howlin' Wind had "Between You And Me" on it, a sad song of loss, and "Gypsy Blood," an almost maudlin love ballad, so I think the balance between that and "Don't Ask Me Questions," for instance, is pretty good.I don't hear any cynicism anywhere. What I hear is someone who wanted to destroy complacency with ferocious attack. I also hear a guy who couldn't sing! It was more a gruff, primal yell. I'm a singer now and can give both old and new songs the respect they deserve. I still feel like the world needs a good kick in the rear end, but I don't need to be one doing the kicking all the time. Appearing June 7th & June 8th at City Winery, Chicago. Bruce Pilato Graham Parker and the Rumor, circa 1979