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