Untitled Document
Brian Granse is not just anybody; in fact, he’s
not even somebody. He’s a nobody — an American Nobody, to be
precise. “In this world I’m just a speck on the
music scene,” says the Illinois-reared singer/songwriter.
“That’s where the idea of American Nobody came from.”
After recording his first couple of records under his
given name, Granse felt uncomfortable promoting himself and was looking for
an different direction. After a helpful suggestion by fellow
singer/songwriter Aaron Davis, Granse became American Nobody, complete with
a brown paper bag over his head on the cover of his latest CD.
(The wearing of the bag took place only during the photo shoot, and Granse
emphatically states that he does not perform with a bag over his head.) The music of American Nobody is basically pleasant
acoustic instrumentation overlaid with introspective and interesting
lyrics. Highlights of the new album include a stellar Dobro solo on
“South to Memphis” by local musician Mike Steinhauer. Granse,
who recorded Steinhauer at his Rochester home on a portable system, plays
almost all of the instruments on the 12-song disk.
Granse began home recording in his early teens,
learning the intricacies of multitracking and the art of layering tracks.
As recording technology progressed, the songwriter took full advantage of
the new opportunities, especially a process known as looping, a replaying
of a recorded part over and over in a loop, with other recorded tracks then
laid over the basic rhythm beat. When incorporating the looping process into his live
show, Granse starts with an acoustic guitar slung on his back and a bass
guitar and an African djembe hand drum on ready-to-play stands. After playing and
recording the drum and bass into his chosen looping machine, he pulls the
guitar around for added instrumental work and as an accompaniment when he
steps to a microphone and sings. “This is my first tour with
multiinstruments,” says Granse. “It adds more intriguing
elements — a one-man band where every instrument is played and
recorded live.”
Granse — formerly a guitarist/vocalist with
From the Attic, a popular Springfield/ Carbondale band — originally
hails from Villa Grove, a small town near Champaign-Urbana. He’s
spent the last four years out West, mostly in Colorado and Wyoming,
occasionally returning to the Springfield area for shows and visits. What does the future hold? “I know my needs are going to change later, but
at this moment I’m doing what I need to be doing,” Granse says.
“Making a living at being an artist — that’s dream
enough.”
Hear American Nobody at 10 p.m. Friday, May 11, at
the Underground City Tavern (700 E. Adams St., 217-789-1530).
Contact Tom Irwin at tirwin@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in May 3-9, 2007.
