Brian S. Green is back with a new album, Campfire Songs of the Apocalypse.
I love the concept. I love the art. I love the music.
And I was fortunate enough to get a few moments of Brian’s time for the below interview!
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I am from the west coast of Canada, a little island called Gabriola.
I write in the folk/ alt-country genres mostly – it’s lyrics-based songwriting, the sound emerging from whatever collective group of musicians come together to help me out with the recording process.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
I have always been interested in folk music and the ability of song lyrics to communicate complex ideas or emotions in a few simple lines, and to take specific, individual experiences and translate them into something universal. I won’t pretend to always accomplish that, but it is the goal.
A couple of years ago I had the opportunity to travel to Nashville to work on songwriting with the amazing Mary Gauthier – that really kicked me into gear, and got me focused on the craft of songwriting, the truth of it, rather than falling into the trap of settling for hooks that might not actually say anything. Since then, the writing has been harder, but more satisfying, and I approach it more as a process of learning than anything else.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
A couple of things are different, I guess. First of all, I had an incredible group of musicians who came together and worked collaboratively on the arrangements, which I hadn’t done previously. Also, this album was very consciously put together as an album, as one entity, with most of the songs centered in some way around themes of crisis and hope, the personal and political tensions of the time.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this over saturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
I live on a small little island. Without technology, there is really nowhere for my music to go, so the communications technology of the present really is necessary for me to share what I do. It’s a struggle, though. Technology doesn’t come naturally to me, so it is a constant learning process, and I ain’t all that good at it!
What was the last song you listened to?
Ha! Well, that’s a strange one. It is Balls to the Wall, by the 80s metal band, Accept. I write and sing folk music, but more than anything else it is old school metal and hard rock that I listen to. Can’t play it for the life of me, but I love it!
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
I prefer vinyl mostly for the liner notes and artwork. But honestly, for ease of use I typically go to digital music.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
I’m a google play guy, myself, but I do use all of the above on occasion.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
I love soundcloud, bandcamp, and other online venue that focus on new, emerging artists and individual songwriters who are otherwise unheard. But there is nothing better than live music to turn me on. I host house concerts myself, and the small, intimate performance is always my favorite way to experience new music and get a sense of the performer.
Anything else before we sign off?
Just a thank you to you for all you do for emerging musicians. Can’t say enough about that!
