Solo Tour at Smaller Venues to be Recorded for a Live CD!

Interview and profile by Polly Pruneau

Relationships are the central themes in Bruce Cockburn’s music – relationships between people and relationships between people and the planet. “My biggest concern right now is for mother earth. Our survival,” said the environmentally savvy musician.

Relationships become community-a tapestry woven from multiple threads, and Cockburn’s contributions to this tapestry are his music and activism.  He expresses his concerns through his lyric-driven music, and he and offers his help to organizations that work for humanity and for the planet. “I’ve lent support to a lot of organizations that are trying to make things better in this world.”

“If an organization contacts me and I can do something where my help truly would be meaningful, then I’ll do it.” He has performed at concerts throughout the world to benefit organizations as diverse as Amnesty International and Oxfam.

His efforts to provide support, and to focus attention on critical issues can be seen as an extension of his spirituality or his view of the world community. He has explored a multitude of spiritual disciplines, and has been called both a Christian and a mystic.

“It became a reality to me in high school that you have to pay attention to the spiritual aspect of life. I started with Christianity, but fundamentalism didn’t work for me. I’m not comfortable with people who say ‘I know the way.’  The trouble with that is, they didn’t know. And now, I don’t think anyone knows.  I’ve explored a lot of approaches to spirituality; I looked at Buddhism with the Beats – Kerouac and Ginsburg; the Occult in the 60s; and Tao and Sufi,” he said. “I don’t have much of a definition of myself beyond imagery.  So I am not comfortable with the idea of only one way.  A spiritual culture should let life evolve around it,” he said

“I think there are a lot of people moving towards this phenomenon of approaching spirituality as an individual expression.  Holders of esoteric knowledge, like Sufi or Buddhism, are loosening up, making information accessible for the general public where it used to be more covert. The keepers of the knowledge-the way-are suspending requirements. They are realizing that they have to share the knowledge. I think this time is a turning point for our species; we are evolving and we have to get our sh-- together, or we’re done.”

Asked whether he thought all artists are seeking a connection with the divine through their artistic creations he said, “It sounds too simple. I know a lot of artists who are spiritual and lots who aren’t. I don’t think it’s necessary to be an artist to take spirituality seriously and get the connection within. Granted, creativity can be a meditative-like process. ‘Put it in your heart’ is a line I got from meditation. It was a response to the aftermath of 9/11… how people were reacting to it; the ‘us vs. them attitude’. My creative process? I collect words, ideas and images in a notebook. Sometimes I’ll stumble on a word or phrase and get a whole song.  My songwriting is lyric-driven – then I look for the music.”

This renowned Canadian folk singer, with multiple musical awards and 29 CDs to his credit, is taking his music to the masses in intimate settings in his current tour.  He said it’s been his intent for while now to do a solo live CD, and he decided to do it while on this tour. Cockburn did live CDs in past with bands, in the70s, 80s and mid 90s.  “A decision to make a live CD tends to fall in between other albums because they often are not part of contractual obligations,” he said. “It’s hard to sell live CDs and it’s hard to sell them to mainstream record companies; they are reluctant – they want new stuff.  And if a musician doesn’t have 12 or 14 new songs, a live CD keeps you out there.” He admitted he doesn’t have that many new songs right now, so it’s a good time to do this. Also, there should be a demand for it because he’s never done a solo live CD, he said.

“The challenge of doing this live CD is that playing solo is a different vibe; the focus is totally on the song. People aren’t distracted by a percussion riff or the backup guitar. They are paying more attention to the song. My guitar comes out more; it’s more intimate; it is a true 1:1 relationship with the audience.”

While Cockburn’s music is imbued with influences from throughout his world travels, and while his lyrics address issues on a global level, in the end, it all comes down to one-on-one: What the performer offers and what the listener hears. His message is a wake-up call, but also one of gratitude, and hope for Mother Earth and all of us living on this planet.

Hear Bruce Cockburn perform his solo concert at First Parish Church in Portland on May 22 with tickets available at Bull Moose Music Stores. 

He is also appearing at the Wolfeboro Folk Concert Series in Wolfeboro, NH on May 23 with Catherine Maclellan (at left).