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Crossing genres for this Blowfish
Mark Bryan, guitarist for Hootie and the Blowfish, took part in a phone interview with Assistant A&E Editor Tyler Gaskill. The band will play at the Pabst Theater on Nov. 2 as they release a new album, “Looking for Lucky.” The band earned two Grammys in 1994, one for Best New Artist and one for their song, “Let Her Cry,” for Song of the Year by duo or group. Their debut album, “Cracked Rear View,” is the twelfth bestselling album ever.
By Tyler Gaskill
Amy Rigby, she’s great. She writes songs from stand point of a single mom — MILF music.
I read on your Web site that you heard (singer) Darius (Rucker) singing in the shower and that’s what made you want to team up with him musically. Is this true?
We had community showers in the dorm hall we lived in. He was down the hall. He’d sing all the time with his door open, or in the shower. Freshmen year I brought my guitar down and we started playing at a chicken-wing club. We started and never stopped and it’s been 20 years.
How has the band evolved musically over the years? Have you moved away from certain genres and into others?
Not consciously. A little bluegrass has slipped in now and then. We are a little more soulful. Before it was more straight rock — guitar, bass, and drums. We get string percussion if we need it. Each song dictates the music now. There’s really no conscious choice — it’s just a feel.
What are some musical influences in your own life and the band’s lives?
We all share Beatles, John Hiatt and Stevie Wonder. I’m a big Pete Townsend fan. And I’m into Paul Westerberg from The Replacements.
What’s the most surprising, or odd, aspect to achieving such a level of fame?
The fact that the more famous you get, and the more money you have, the more people want to give you stuff. When you can finally do what you want for yourself, people want to give you stuff — it’s weird. And that’s why we want to give back. We’re in such a fortunate position here. That’s why we’ve set up charities.
What do you think of the music scene today? Is there anyone, or thing, you truly like or dislike about it?
What I dislike is how structured it’s become. There’s all these different genres on radio stations now: active rock, aggressive rock and whatever happened to the good ol’ rock ‘n’ roll? You know, stations that play everything that’s cool. That sort of fractioning drives me crazy. That’s what I dislike about the scene. What I like is that … with the Internet and downloading, you’re finding out about a lot of good writers, and that there’s a lot of creative people out there.
What do you think about music downloading?
I’m not for illegal downloading. The legal downloading has changed the face of music, and that’s great. I could make a song at my house and put it on the Web site and thousands of people have access to it. I think you’re stealing if you do it illegally.
UWM has quite a few college bands. What advice would you give to help them reach their hopes of success?
The most important thing is that you love it — it’s something you really love in your heart. Take every show you can get. It’ll make you a better performer. The more gigs you get, the more relaxed you’ll be on stage, and the better you can perform. Maybe you can play great in the closet, but can you get out in front of a crowd? And just make a gig if you can’t find one. If you’re at a party, just grab a guitar and start playing.
What have you been listening to lately?
Old ’97s records. Amy Rigby, she’s great. She writes songs from stand point of a single mom — MILF music. There’s nobody else like her. I just produced an album by Django Walker, Jerry Jeff Walker’s son. I’ve been listening to the mixes of (Django’s) songs making sure they’re right. He’ll put it out at the beginning of next year. When I find good songs I put ’em on a CD. It’s hard to listen to CDs all the way through. That’s why I make compilation CDs.
If you’d rather keep this shrouded in mystery, that’s cool, but, what does the band’s name mean, or what was its inspiration?
It’s these two guys (Byran and Rucker) knew in college, one with thick glasses that looked like an owl, and one guy had big cheeks. The glasses one was nicknamed Hootie, and the one with big cheeks was called Blowfish. We had no idea it (the band) was going to take off, so we weren’t into it (the name), but we were recognized by it, and couldn’t change it. If you’d have told me when I was 18 that’d be the name of my band, I’d have said you’re nuts.
Did you ever expect to gain this fame?
We knew we were getting big in the Southeast after college. We knew it was growing, and we knew it could be our jobs. We never imagined the international success, or the national success. The debut album was such a shock. We were a band for 10 years before we exploded. We were on our way up and now we’re on our way down. But hopefully, we’re on our way up again. I don’t know if we’ll ever do it (achieve that level of fame) again. But we’re able to maintain our musical career. Expect rocking energy at the Pabst.
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