|
|
|
Written by Glenn BurnSilver
|
|
Wednesday, 18 October 2006 |
|
|
|
|
For most guys, when your auto-racing father gives you a racecar, you, well, follow in his footsteps and go out and race it.
Although such a career move was tempting, songwriter Willy Porter instead chose a musical path. It is as difficult as auto racing in many ways, he said, and just as rewarding.
“I saw how hard (auto racing) was,” Porter explained by phone recently from his Milwaukee home. “He put so much energy into it. In many ways it’s similar to music. People see the show, but they don’t see what’s behind it. The preparation and frustration is huge. … I think it would have been fun at the right time, but in a sort of unconscious way he steered me away from it.”
Instead of zooming around a track, Porter relishes the challenge of writing songs and playing guitar. Not a bad job if you can get it, yet, like auto racing, you rarely become a winner right way. But Porter doesn’t measure his success against others. Humble and self-effacing, Porter stresses that, despite several critically acclaimed albums, he is constantly trying to become a better songwriter.
“It’s just a remarkable thing to have character development and have a real transference of time in a three and a half minute song. It is really hard to pull off,” he said, dolling out accolades to Richard Thompson, master of the art form. “I enjoy the challenge of that, though I don’t think I am particularly good at it.
“In a lot of ways I feel I know even less about music,” he added. “It’s as fast and wider to me than when I first started out. It still holds the wonder of a beginner’s mind.”
Such whole-hearted fascination affords Porter a wide-eyed view of the world, which invariably means his music cannot be limited to a single style or genre. There a moments of new age jazz transcended by bluesy rock, followed by wistful acoustic moments. But is such a broad scope too much for the average listener to comprehend?
“There are those who listen to music and those who have music on as the background to their lives,” Porter said. “People have been trained to think music has to be one way or another. … The minute (the artist) starts chasing that, you’ve already lost — you’ve lost your individually. The landscape of independence that is affordable now is a great avenue to reclaim what music really is.”
Co-producing his own albums and using his own label as a platform for his work, Porter is not restricted in exploring what music really means to him. But after almost than 20 years of making that music, he still isn’t exactly sure what he’s after. Instead, he remains happy to just wait and see what develops.
“I feel like I’m just getting started still,” he said with a laugh. “That’s why I’m still at it. I think it’s a great gift to play music. It has a really deep spiritual power to it. That keeps me rolling. I don’t look at it without gratitude. It’s pretty sacred stuff — not just my music, but all music.”
Willy Porter
• Doors 7 p.m.; show 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20
• Avogadro’s Number, 605 S. Mason St., Fort Collins
• Tickets: $17; 493.5555
• He also performs Oct. 21 at the Bluebird Theatre in Denver. $16.50. 303.830.TIXS.
• www.willyporter.com
Bathtub on Wheels
A self-professed “fan of all things motorsports,” songwriter Willy Porter keeps a race car — a Tiage Sport 2000 SC78 with a 2-liter Ford engine — in his garage. “Your basically sitting in a bathtub,” he said of the car. “I love it and take it out occasionally.”
Eighth Wonder of the World
You wouldn’t know it by listening to his new album, “Available Light,” but Porter doesn’t think of himself as a very good electric guitar player.
“I feel totally comfortable with the acoustic guitar, but getting the right tone on an electric, if it’s not the eighth wonder of the world, it’s got to be right in there,” he explained. “I’ve had to work really hard to get my electric guitar chops together.”
Glenn BurnSilver | Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. |
|
|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
|  | We're not that bright, even though in our own little world, we're geniuses. We like 80s hair bands and one-hit wonders, but among us we have respectable tastes, too. Metallica, Iron Maiden, U2. Pursuit of all things trivial is a lifestyle, not just a game. We like some sports, love other sports, and can find something to say about anything. We watch TV and movies and we've read a book or two, even a few classics (Yes, Classic Comics count!)
We call it insight, you call it what you will. | |
|  | Felix Wong is an outdoor enthusiast living in Fort Collins. A mechanical engineer by day, he is especially passionate about bicycling, running, and backpacking. | |
|  | Hola Amigos! I'm Sandra. I like to believe that people are 70 percent good and 30 percent dumb. I'm stickin to that story. Reading this blog might make you want to be good, but probably just dumb. | |
|  | Donovan Henderson is editor of NEXTnc. | |
|  | Here at Nextnc we have some characters. Get a sneak peak behind the curtain and find out what amusing antics our staffers get themselves into on a weekly basis. | |
|  | What is up FoCo?
I am a recent college graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead. After recieving my B.A. in English and Mass Communications this past August I moved down to Colorado.
I enjoy long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, and heavy metal. My hobbies include reading and writing, music, movies, and getting drunk. Some of my favorite contemporary authors include Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Kurt Vonnegut. My top movies are anything directed by Kubrick. I enjoy listening to anything that rocks.
Right now I am just trying to get to know Colorado and FoCo better. Mostly in order to find the best drink specials on each day that ends in Y. So if you know where I can get a cheap drunk on, let me know!
--Drew | |
|  | Life's little morsels of inspiration, observation and encouragement seen through the eyes of the Nextnc reporter.
| |
|  | Ms. Giles currently lives in Colorado where she stars in her own private reality show. She writes aphoristic accounts of her life, taken completely out of context, and embellished with characters and situations disguised to resemble something close to interesting. | |
|  | over and out | |
| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
|
|
