Posted by Renee Bodie Garret Swayne...A keenly intelligent country/folk artist with a unique wit and a slightly irreverent take on life, he woos his audience with sometimes humorous, often poignant, but always beautifully crafted songs that people want to hear again and again. He is not only an exciting singer/songwriter with stories to tell, he also does a wonderful job hosting his own Singer/Songwriter showcase (The Main Street Songwriters Showcase to be exact) every Tuesday night at Café Bellissimo in Woodland Hills. BIOS: Severin Browne comes from a very musical family. Severin has referred to his father -- a talented jazz musician -- as "The world's greatest unpublished songwriter." Thus, Severin started playing piano and guitar at a very young age. His brother, Jackson, is also a talented singer/songwriter who has recorded many albums for the Asylum/Elektra labels. Severin started off his musical career in the early 1970s as a staff writer for Motown Records and, at the urging of Barry Gordy, eventually released two albums on the Motown label, Severin Browne, and New Improved Severin Brwone. Severin's 1995 comeback album, From The Edge Of The World, shows the growth that can come from 20 years of life's experiences. The CD is infused with an amazing flair for great melody and lyrics. Songs like "My Love Mo Betta" and "Uptown" showcase Severin's inspired soul and R&B influence, which has a strong Van Morrison feel. "Edge of The World" is a great rocker, while love songs like "Leaving You's The Hardest Thing I've Known " and "If I Loved You" show that Severin has not lost the great 70's pop feel that was such a part of his earlier recordings. Severin released one of our favorite albums of the past few years, This Twisted Road in 2001. The album contains 10 songs that showcase some of the very best of Severin's songwriting talent. Severin produced the album with Edward Tree, and had the help of James Coberly Smith, Freebo, John Townsend, Skip Edwards, and others. Those familiar with Severin's earlier work will quickly notice his continued growth as both a songwriter and guitar player. The album showcases Severin Browne at the very top of his profession as both a singer and songwriter. Severin also happens to be one of the nicest people we know and a strong supporter of the whole house concert concept (Severin and James started off our House Concert series in September of 2000). You can get Severin's 2001 album, This Twisted Road, and his 1995 album, From The Edge Of The World, through his Web site at www.severinbrowne.com. James Coberly Smith traces his beginnings to Racine, Wisconsin - a city not unlike L.A. except it's flatter, smaller and can be very cold (it snows there!). James acquired a good education, a love for a particular Danish pastry, a football team, a trombone, a ukulele, a banjo, and a guitar or two. Eventually, like many Mid-Westerners, James left town. (The cold makes them go.) Driving across the country in a VW squareback, James made a fortunate stop in Rapid City, South Dakota. There he found a 1930s vintage Gibson guitar in a pawnshop. Perhaps while pretending to be some farm boy who didn't know about this or that, James was able to purchase this guitar for a small amount of money. Maybe he took advantage of that pawnbroker (you've got to watch this guy) or maybe God just wanted him to have that guitar. You be the judge. James Coberly Smith is a master guitar player whose fun and whitty songs captivate audiences and leave everyone wanting more. If credentials are your bag, he has some, but doesn't talk about them much. He seems to think that his most important show is the one he is about to do. James Coberly Smith's instrumental CD The Great Twelve String Adventure is a project of solo, acoustic 12 string, bottleneck slide instrumentals. He released a new CD of vocal songs -- song that will make you laugh and songs that will make you cry -- in late 2001. The album, Cocomo, contains some of our favorite James Coberly Smith tunes including "Flypaper Highway", "If You Leave Before Me", and "Bad Ideas". You can purchase them at CDBaby. Robert Morgan Fisher was born in Austin, Texas. His father was a Naval Flight Officer, so the Fisher family was constantly on the move. Robert returned to The University of Texas at Austin where he attended classes and began performing music in bars and coffeehouses. He soon migrated to Los Angeles where he put his Radio, T.V. and Film Degree to work in various jobs including announcer, production assistant and, finally, as a writer. His fiction has been published in many national journals, and throughout the 1990s, his work was recognized in numerous writing competitions. In January of 2000, Robert's first novel, Set The Poem Free, was awarded a 2nd place prize of $5,000 in the PublishingOnline North American Fiction Open. Subsequently, Minor Weiss took the prestigious 2002 New Century Writer Award for best novel. Both Minor Weiss and another novel, In War with Time, remain unpublished. Since coming to Los Angeles in the late 1980's, Fisher has written for radio, t.v. and film. In 1995, Robert composed and performed the music for Tony Guzman's contemporary retelling of the Marquis de Sade's Philosophy in the Bedroom. He then spent several years working for Premiere Radio Networks as a staff writer/producer/actor on numerous nationally-syndicated radio comedy shows. Fisher's penchant for storytelling shows up in his music. In 1996, Robert released the critically-acclaimed CD, Follow A Hunch, on his own Imperative Records label. Other artists have taken note of Robert's narrative songwriting skills. He's collaborated on songs with the late Dr. Timothy Leary and internationally-known neo-narrative singer/songwriter Darryl Purpose. "The songs I've written with Robert are all home runs," says Purpose, "I close my shows with them." Fisher/Purpose co-writes include: "Ring On My Hand," "Traveler's Code," "Dangerous Game," "Late For Dinner," "Granted," "Oughta Be A Highway," "You Must Go Home For Christmas" and many others. Their most famous co-write is probably "Mr. Schwinn" - winner of no less than three major songwriting festivals and now a contemporary folk classic. Garret Swayne:is a troubadour for the Digital Age, Garret's songs are a chronicle of his life and times. If there's a unifying theme to his music, it's about Connection--the idea that we're really all of one heart when we look beneath the surface. Originally from Baltimore, he has traveled the nation and the world, charming audiences throughout the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Scandinavia and even the former Soviet Bloc with his one-of-a-kind brand of Americana.
on 3/16/2004, 12:42 am
172.199.87.190
On Saturday, March 20, at 8PM CONCERTS AT THE BODIE HOUSE (www.BodieHouse.com) in Agoura Hills presents SEVERIN BROWNE & JAMES COBERLEY SMITH/ROBERT MORGAN FISHER with Garret Swayne opening.
$15 Donation (all proceeds go to the musicians).
Appetizer/dessert buffet (food donations are appreciated). RSVP: BodieHouse@aol.com or 818-706-8309. Directions given upon RSVP.
Severin Browne and James Coberley Smith are two of our favoite performers here at the Bodie House. They started off our House Concert series in Sept of 2000, and we've been riding that momentum ever since. When Severin Browne and James Coberly Smith make music together, the room comes alive. Their rich harmonies and excellent musicianship are exciting and infectious. You will be brought to the heights of joy and back again to take an inward journey. Their music delights and amazes, gratifies and surprises. The between song banter will keep you laughing, the music will make you soar, and by the end of their performance, you will have grown. This is a show not to be missed.
If you've ever heard a commercial or song parody on the radio, there's a better than average chance that Robert Morgan Fisher wrote -- and possibly performed -- it. He's collaborated on songs with the late Dr. Timothy Leary and Tangible Records recording artist Darryl Purpose. "The songs I've written with Robert are all home runs," says Purpose, "I close my shows with them." Fisher/Purpose cowrites include: "Ring On My Hand," "Traveler's Code," "Dangerous Game" and "You Must Go Home For Christmas," among others.Their most famous cowrite is "Mr. Schwinn" -- winner of no less than three major songwriting festivals and fast-becoming a contemporary folk classic.
The songs are instantly familiar, like an old friend, and at the same time fresh and new--a reflection of Garret's own upbeat personality. On his debut CD, First Glance, Garret reveals himself to be a courageous artist and performer, unafraid to bare his frailties and inner demons. His compositions, delivered with a supple, silken voice reminiscent of, say, a James Taylor, seem to touch a universal nerve. Whether it?s the hilariously clever ode to Internet romance, "Email Female," or the heart-wrenching regret of love lost in "Do Roses Come in Blue," Garret?s country blues-tinged compositions dig deep--and touch the listener even deeper.
"It's always been about the song", says Garret. "I've always admired songwriting craft above everything else." So from Gershwin to Lennon/McCartney, Carole King to Smokey Robinson, Paul Simon to Sting to Kurt Cobain, it's always been the great classic tunesmiths that Garret considered his heroes. Their genre of music didn't much matter. Garret's unique, country-rock "Folkabilly" sound was forged from a number of different sources--Classic Rock, Motown R&B, the Folk Tradition, The Blues, and of course, Country&Western.
Concerts at the Bodie House
BodieHouse@aol.com
www.BodieHouse.com
3/20 Severin Browne & James Coberley Smith/Robert Morgan Fisher
5/15 Antara & Delilah
7/10 Chris Hillman & Herb Pedersen
10/2 Caroline Aiken
11/6 Joel Rafael
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