by Mark Brown
David Bromberg walked away.
After becoming one of the most in-demand guitar and multi-instrumental virtuosos of the folk/rock era, who worked with everyone – Bob Dylan, John Prine, Carly Simon, Gordon Lightfoot, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, the Eagles and Bonnie Raitt just to name a tiny fraction – Bromberg convinced himself he wasn’t a musician anymore.
He put down his instruments and virtually didn’t touch them, even for fun, for 22 years. He moved to Wilmington, Delaware, and spent the decades running a violin shop. In 2007 he put out a low-key album of traditional songs, Try Me One More Time, that quietly sank. Fans were shocked that such a talent simply quit – and were maybe more surprised when he came back this year with a superb concept album, Use Me. He covers the Bill Withers song of that name on the album, but it was more than a title, it was a concept. He called up his musician friends and literally asked them to use him – write a song that would work, then produce Bromberg’s recording of it. John Hiatt, Keb’ Mo’, Vince Gill, Los Lobos, Dr. John and more happily stepped up to the task, resulting in Bromberg’s most satisfying record since his prime years. His Dec. 30 show for Swallow Hill Music is sold out, but Bromberg happily answered questions, some submitted by Swallow Hill Music fans going to the show, about how he got here today – and his surprising picks for his two favorite female singers of the moment.
Q: Use Me – did the concept come first, or your version of the song?
A: No the song was last. I had the idea where I called up a bunch of people and with balls of brass asked each one to write a song for me then produce me doing it (laughs).
Q: You traveled to each musician in Nashville, New Orleans, etc. to get a regional vibe, but it sounds like just an excuse for a bunch of fun road trips.
A: It was a bunch of fun road trips, but it was expensive! It took a couple of years to line up sessions with everybody. Some people we never were able to get our schedules to match, but we certainly had enough for an album so we went for it.
Q: How did it get started?
A: The first person I asked was John Hiatt. It all stemmed from a concert he and Lyle Lovett did in Wilmington. They called me up and asked me to come over and bring a guitar. I thought they wanted me to accompany them but they wanted me to do some of my tunes, which was very sweet. After the show John said ‘You know, you ought to come down to Nashville. I’ve got a studio in my house and we’ll fool around.’ That gave rise to the germ of the idea. Lyle was the guy we couldn’t get our schedules together. He did agree to do one with me, but he works more than any human should work.
Q: And those sessions are going to be in an upcoming documentary, yes? “David Bromberg, Unsung Treasure?”
A: There’s a woman named Beth Toni Kruvant who decided to film some of it. That film is going to be out sometime in September. I can’t wait to see it myself. My wife and I saw a rough of it recently. It was kind of like the world’s greatest home movie for us, us and all our friends.
Q: You’ve always had some humor in your music, from your classic “Sharon” to the new Dr. John song, “You Don’t Want To Make Me Mad.”
A: In most cases I asked people not to send me anything humorous. It’s tough to write humor for somebody else. What works for you won’t necessarily work for me. What works for me is a little tricky. I actually rejected one humorous thing because the best line in it was something I didn’t want to say. It seemed a little saltier than I wanted to be. Mac’s tune, when he sent me a tape of it, I said ‘I can do that.’ That’s the only humorous thing on there. There are some adlibs on ‘The Old Neighborhood’ but they’re not humorous. Also some at the end of ‘Use Me.’ Bill didn’t do that.
Q: Tell me about shifting gears mid-career, leaving performing and opening a music shop.
A: They’re completely separate things, truthfully. It’s a violin shop. I stopped performing and even playing for approximately 22 years. I stopped almost completely for 22 years. I spent those 22 years studying fine old violins.
Q: How could you give up such a career?
A: I got burnt out and I was too stupid to recognize it as burnout. I never believed I could be burned out. I wasn’t practicing, I wasn’t jamming, I wasn’t writing. I concluded I was no longer a musician. I didn’t wanna be one of these guys who drags his ass on the stage and does a bitter imitation of what he used to love. There are guys like that. I decided I had to find another way to live my life. I was living in Marin County at the time and the place I found the most inspiration was in a violin shop. It fascinated me how someone could inspect a violin and without referring to the label could tell you when and where it was made and sometimes by whom. That’s what I studied and continue to study. That’s what I do in my violin sop. I don’t do any repairs. I don’t make them. I try to identify the things people bring me and educate myself to know more makers. Like music, it’s one of these things that no one will ever know all of it.
Q: What brought you back?
A: When I moved to Wilmington, Delaware, in 2002 I had lunch with the mayor who loves music. He told me there used to be live music up and down the street that my shop and my home were on. He wanted to see that again. I thought I could start a couple of jam sessions. I started an acoustic bluegrass-based session and a Chicago blues electric jam session. I figured I’d start them then they’d live or die on their own. What happened was some very fine musicians started showing up, some traveling quite some ways to be there. I was really enjoying playing again and I decided ‘I am a musician’ and started doing gigs. But I have control of it. I don’t do so many that I know I’m going to be unhappy. I don’t do ones where I know at the end I’ll feel exhausted and terrible. I don’t want to be on the street hunting for a taxi cab at 4 a.m., you know? I won’t allow myself to be put in that position again.
Q: You turned up everywhere at the right time, from the Greenwich Village folk scene to Rick Derringer’s “Rock and Roll Hootchie Koo” to performing at “The Last Waltz.” Serendipity, or did you actively make those events happen for yourself?
A: You can’t force yourself on people. They have to ask you.
Q: Swallow Hill Music fans have some questions for you. Gary S, of Parker asks: “’Sharon’ is one of my favorites. When you say ‘She went’ and play a sexy little riff – how did you come up with that?”
A: I just felt the lick depicted a sinuous movement that a dancer might do. Later on the guitar talks in ‘Sharon,’ and I got the idea of the guitar talking from the Rev. Gary Davis. I was his seeing-eye dog for a while. He was a great, great musician and the guitar talked for him.
Q: Gary also notes that you said Jerry Jeff Walker “wasn’t in jail on a research project” when he wrote “Mr. Bojangles.” Have you ever been to jail?
A: I’ve never been jailed. I have been in a jail performing, actually a prison would be the proper term. But performing.
Q: Paul B. asks if the song “Sharon” is autobiographical.
A: Kind of. Sharon is my sister-in-law. She is past 50 now and she’s still the dirtiest dancer I’ve ever seen (laughs). The guy with the big bushy beard, red hair? That’s my brother.
Q: Harry B. of Salida said he saw you at a concert in Minneapolis and you said you always tried to find a guitarist for your band who was better than you. Who would you list as the best guitarists of all time?
A: Of all time, I don’t know. Two of the best guitar players I’ve played with – one is very famous and one is not at all famous. Vince Gill is a phenomenal guitar player. The guy I’ve played the most with who just floors me is a guy named John Lippincott. He’s from Wilmington. I met him when I was 15 years old. He played great blues. Then he went to Berkeley and learned to play jazz. Now he’s the guitar player for Little Big Town. John is just a tremendous guitar player, really wonderful. And Jimmy Herring is wonderful. Ricky Skaggs is a great guitar player. I have a guy in my band named Mitch Corbin. And a guy named Mark Cosgrove, brilliant guitar player.
Q: Michael S. asks “As a guitar player with limited skills I’ve always been impressed with your virtuosity on guitar and other instruments. Who would you say is the finest musician you ever played with? And what obscure player could you suggest checking out?”
A: Two names come to mind immediately. The first one, Tim O’Brien. He’s such a great musician. It just flows out of him. It seems effortless. The musician who also just flows out of him and seems effortless who had the most influence on me is this guy named Jody Stecher. He’s recorded with his wife, Kate Brislin. These days he’s on the road playing with Peter Rowan. He’s a brilliant musician.
Q: Jeff L. wants to know if you’ve every played any live shows with your “Dead or Alive” compadres?
A: No, I don’t think I ever did.
Q: Kathleen C. asks if you ever get a chance to play with Corky Siegel? She saw you at Lake Forest College with him.
A: Yeah, we’ve played together a few times. Always fun. Corky’s a good guy and a nice musician. Always a pleasure to be with.
Q: Jane H. asks what are your three personal favorite songs to perform onstage?
A: It’s something new always. These days there’s a song called ’$50 Wig’. I enjoy doing. I heard it on Sirius Radio performed by the guy who wrote it, Doug MacLeod. I was just so floored by the tune I downloaded it and learned it. I love doing that. Then there’s a tune that I did years and years ago then completely forgot about it. There’s this guy … who sent me 14 CDs. He was one of these tape traders and got every show I ever did, I think. On these 14 CDs there were all the songs I’d ever done live. Each of these CDs is 80 minutes long, so you can imagine how many songs are in there. I can’t listen to that crap, but my son did. He pointed out a couple of tunes on there I’d forgotten. One is a great song from Mother Earth’s first album called ‘I’ll Keep Moving’ On.’ I’m really enjoying doing that one lately.
Q: Who haven’t you played with that you’d love to?
A: One person I’d have to name would be Mavis Staples. I finally got to meet her last summer. I’ve been listening to the Staple Signers for 30 years or more, since before they had their pop hits. When I was leading Rev. Gary Davis around I’d go into Sam Goody’s and buy these gospel albums. I’d just buy them by their covers, I didn’t know anything. But when I found the Staple Singers it was all over.
Q: Who do you like who’s up and coming? Keb’ Mo’ and Widespread Panic are on the new album.
A: Kevin and I go back 30 years. He used to open shows for me, then call me sometimes just to ask questions. That’s easily 30 years ago. I love Ollebelle. Buy the first album, it’s really worth it. I’ll tell you something – I started to really appreciate singers who I hadn’t really paid attention to. I started to really appreciate Christina Aguilera on the Grammys a few years ago. Commemorating James Brown, she did ‘It’s a Man’s World’ and sang the hell out of it, without any of the fantastic things she can do. My complaint with her is she did too many fantastic things on too many songs. She has these incredible licks. I’d like her to use them less. She’s a brilliant, brilliant singer, and I’m now a fan. Same with Beyonce. What won my heart with Beyonce is I was nominated for a Grammy several years ago and went to L.A. Beyonce has this performance with Tina Turner. Tina has danced a lot, but she didn’t dance that night. But Beyonce did all of her moves. And that won my heart. I thought ‘Here is a woman who knows where she comes from and is paying respect to it.’ She did that again – she was the star of a terrible movie called ‘Cadillac Records.’ It was awful, but she was great in it. She sang Etta James’ biggest hit, ‘At Last.’ And the performance you could tell how closely she had studied Etta James’ technique and style. She just did a gorgeous job with that and every part of the movie. And I became a Beyonce fan.
***