I OF WAYNE
(Left to right) Devon Allman, Liberty Devitto, Dan Bruder, Muddy Shews and John Ginty on set.
Dixie Chicks, Jewel and Santana.
Ginty enforced strict provisos on
Bruder, such as limiting audio effects
to lend the record an organic quality,
and avoiding singing. “He reminded
me to focus on storytelling, not sing-
ing,” Bruder says. “I’m not a singer.
Every time I attempt to, I’m remind-
ed why.”
The tracks on Evolution blend
seamlessly. Bruder has hardly
changed his sound from the Jersey-
bred bar rock, in the vein of
Southside Johnny, that he played in
his youth. Some of that may be
thanks to his band and Ginty, who
adds more complex layers to give the
songs their anthemic feel — a process
Bruder calls putting on the complex-
ion, the shoes and clothes.
It is important to him that his
songs not be treated as unchangeable,
he says. “Chuck Berry used to go bal-
listic if people didn’t play the song
verbatim, the way he wrote it,”
Bruder says. When he presents the
songs in their barest form to the
other musicians, it is like giving them
a brush and palette, he says. A song
like “Reentry,” for example, has a
reggae rhythm and cadence, which is
all thanks to Ginty and his band.
STILL EVOLVING
For now, The Dan Bruder Band
remains largely a recording project.
While some members, such as Muddy
Shews — former bassist for
Southside Johnny — are from Wayne,
the others, Bruder says, are hard to
corral. Several are still full-time musi-
cians with demanding tour schedules.
Bruder says he is not phased work-
ing with professionals whose playing
has graced albums by Billy Joel and
the Dixie Chicks. But he does want
to make sure that, given how busy
they are, the performances they do
place will be special. ■
WAYNE MAGAZINE FALL 2018
29