Audio Video
Brian Green writes songs. He performs occasionally on his own, with his
partner, Megan, and with various collections of musicians, but primarily
writes and records, as his greatest interest is bringing people together to
transform words into music. The themes are varied, emerging from a
childhood spent in communities of hope and struggle in Canada,
Central America and southern Africa, a working life in the trade union
movement, and a day to day world of open doors, long tables, and
diverse voices.
After several years with the Vancouver-based band Lone Crow Jubilee,
since relocating to a rural part of the coast Brian has turned more
deliberately to the craft of songwriting and in particular the ability of
lyrics to communicate complete stories and complex ideas in a few
short lines. It is a work in progress, this songsmithing, in which
frustration is the norm, but every now and then a word, a phrase, a verse
takes shape that captures a moment such that the specific becomes universal,
the fiction rings with truth. That, in a nutshell, is what the search is for. Brian doesn’t pretend to have his fingers on it, but it is the quest. And when bits of song take flight as a group of friends gather to put strings to words on the page, that’s where life is at its finest.
It’s original music that feels traditional – sometimes what folks are calling “alt-country”, sometimes old-school folk, sometimes rootsy rock’n’roll. But always, more than anything, it is about the song, the people around the song, the land and history that make us all together.