World Series Warmup
Mr. Baseball (singer/songwriter) Chuck Brodsky to play Sleder’s
Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and … Chuck Brodsky? Well, maybe. After all, the veteran troubadour has not only written nearly two-dozen songs about the great American pastime, he’s even performed them at the Baseball Hall of Fame.
So what better time to have him perform locally than during the midst of the baseball playoffs? Accordingly, the first subject in the interview was about the firing of Gabe Kapler, manager of his hometown Philadelphia Phillies. (He disagreed with the move but didn’t rail against it.)
But paeans to pitchers, catchers, and baseball trivia is only a portion of Brodsky’s interests and his songwriting material. His interests are extensive, and if there’s a commonality among his songs, it’s that they invariably tell some sort of story. “A lot of them are people stories. I’m described as a storyteller, but I don’t think of myself in that way. I’m a folksinger, a singer/songwriter. Story songs are the ones that strike people,” he said.
While he somewhat reluctantly embraces the singer/songwriter label, deep inside he still thinks of himself as a rock and roller, despite the fact it’s just Brodsky and his guitar on stage — no drums, bass or screaming electric guitars. “I was a fan of classic rock bands,” he said, mentioning The Rolling Stones specifically. Before that, his initial inspiration was Bob Dylan, when his grandfather’s friend, who was an executive at Columbia Records, gave him his first record when he was eight or nine.
Over the past several years, he’s been more likely to listen to the likes of Greg Brown, Steve Forbert, or Eliza Gilkyson. “She’s fearless, she’s bold,” Brodsky said of Gilkyson.
Boldness strikes a nerve with Brodsky. “I’m not interested in writing a simple, meaningless song. The golden rule for me is there has to be value in what I’m writing about and singing about.”
That gives him insight into his own writing process. He said he takes his profession seriously, which means when he starts writing a song, he needs to be sure it’s worth his time. “It starts with an idea. I have to decide whether it’s rich enough to take somewhere. My investment in time and focus is tremendous.
“I put the rest of my life on hold if a song that needs to be written pops up,” he continued, noting that it takes two or three days for a song to be completed. He doesn’t want to waste that time and discover the song wasn’t worth his time. “It has to measure up to the 120 others I’ve written. Or to the best 40 or 50 [for] my live show.”
Brodksy chooses the music for each live show the day off, basing the set list on a number of factors: new material, audience favorites, his mood, or the news of the day. “It’s different every show,” he said. “I’ll play two or three baseball songs but don’t make it baseball heavy. That’s a small part, but something I have to do and that has been well received,” he said. “It makes what I do a little different.”
He said he’s been surprised by the number of requests he gets for baseball songs when playing abroad. “It didn’t make any sense to me, but they don’t see them as baseball songs, but as people songs.”
He said that’s what enticed him to baseball story songs in the first place. “Baseball is timeless. In other sports, you’ve got a clock, but [in baseball] the game is over when it’s over.
“It’s a constant we’ve been able to experience for over 100 years. Most people go to a game with their parents for the first tie. It’s such a common experience — to have parents explain the game. There are so many great stories. I find it a fantastic vehicle for storytelling.”
So what will fans at the Traverse City show hear? “I’ve got a couple new songs, one new baseball song. I’ll see when I get there, get a feel for what might fit, or be surprised.”
Brodsky Takes the Field
Brodsky is bringing his guitar, his stories and his songs to Sleder’s Family Tavern for a 4pm Oct. 27 show that’s part of the venerable restaurant’s “On the Porch” concert series. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. They’re available at Sleders, Oryana Food Cooperative and Brilliant Books in Traverse City. Call (231) 947-9213 for tickets or more information.