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It's not easy not being cheesy |
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Written by Kurt Brighton
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Thursday, 07 February 2008 |
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Ah, the glamorous life of a musician. Playing shows, drinking constantly, going out every night to see other bands play—the never-ending party must be fun. Catching singer/guitarist Brian Johanson of Glove Trucker at 10 in the morning, the day after he went to see a Railbenders show, promises to be trouble.
“I’m actually kind of being a housewife right now,” he said. “I’m doing some cleaning since my son (Everett) is watching Dora and Diego. That’s the one show he gets to watch during the day. Whenever it comes on he starts dancing—it’s like crack to kids.”
Well, at least someone’s doing “drugs.” Of a sort...
Glove Trucker has been around for just about two years now and has been defying expectations the entire time. The trio, made up of Johanson, mandolin player Darren Radach and upright bassist Ben O’Connor, plays a loose, impudent style of country-rock that lends itself to dancing as often as laughter, with Johanson’s smart-ass lyrics at the heart of it all.
To give you an idea of what they’re like on stage, one of the band’s favorite tricks to play on unsuspecting audiences is to shout out something like, “Does anyone here like Kenny Chesney?” When people respond with whoops and hollers, Johanssen answers, “Yeah, well we don’t,” and launches into a Hank Williams III song or something equally distant from Chesney.
“We’re all about having a good time,” Johanson said. “Leading them on is part of that.”
But that’s not to say that the band is a comedy act, or that the music takes a back seat to the humor. Radach plays with Motorhome, and O’Connor with the venerable Halden Wofford and the High-Beams, so you know these guys know what they’re doing. And with the addition of O’Connor last summer, Johanson said the band is more fired up than ever.
“Ben joined us last July or August for a show at Lucky Joe’s,” Johanson said. “He liked doing the weekday thing, the shows without drums. We loved having a bass back in the band, and all three of us have similar tastes in music. He’s kind of given us a kick in the butt as far as songwriting and recording go.
“Oh, and he was also my professor in college for Web design,” Johanson added. “He hates it when I mention that.”
That motivation has led to Johanson and the others to write several new songs, and the band has begun recording in Radach’s home studio as well. You can hear live recordings of some of them from KRFC’s “Live at Lunch” on the band’s MySpace page.
“I’ve written some new songs that I’m really happy with,” Johanson said. “They’re a little different. They’re not as straightforward, not the simple country stuff I usually write—I always mock the three-chord songs.”
And even for a wise-cracker like Johanson, every now and then a serious song pops out.
“I’m finding as I reach middle age (Johanson is 25) I’m doing some soul-searching,” he said. “No, but the songs do have more of a spiritual side. The lyrics are a little deeper and the songs are maybe a little more complex.”
Fans of Glove Trucker need not fear: Johanson isn’t going all emo-serious-introspective on us. He’s still just as much of a smart-ass as he ever was.
“I still do the same old writing—I try to write country that’s not cheesy,” he said. “But even on more serious songs, I still like writing the occasional funny line here and there.”
Just don’t ask him to play any Kenny Chesney songs.
TO GO:
• Glove Trucker with Motorhome and Halden Wofford and the High-Beams
• Doors 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9
• Aggie Theater, 204 S. College Ave.
• $5
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