Singer/songwriter and contemporary artist Brett Dennen was the perfect candidate for attending UC Santa Cruz. Homeschooled in a small Central California town and infused with an appreciation of nature and respect for life, he was charged with a desire to change things for the better. The Kresge College graduate is bringing his latest multi-dimensional performance to Felton Music Hall on June 17.
“Yeah, it was at UCSC,” Dennen admits of his origin story. “I played music for most of my life, but I never really thought about pursuing it, or even trying to get gigs with a band or anything like that, until I came to UCSC.
“I think it’s partly because I met a lot of people who were in bands, and they were playing around. My cousin, who went to UCSC, is a year older than me and he’s more like a big brother to me than a cousin. I joined his band and that’s when I started playing all the spots, dude. All of those little spots,” Dennen says.
For the renowned environmental activist and world traveller, Dennen started modestly at Henflings, The Ugly Mug, Don Quixote’s and anywhere that allowed fledgling musicians to get stage time.
Playing in Santa Cruz is where Dennen began to get his chops onstage and attract what would blossom into a cult following. If you follow the path of Dennen’s influences like Cat Stevens and Neil Young, it all makes sense. One of Dennen’s first songs, ‘“Blessed”, is like if Paul Simon never met Art Garfunkel. It was a hit first in Southern California.
“When I was in Santa Cruz, I was writing songs that I wasn’t using in the band. The band was more of a collective. It wasn’t like I was a lead singer or anything like that, but I was writing.
“Through a friend of mine in Santa Cruz, I went down and recorded an album in Southern California with my friend’s mom. The album was very do-it-yourself, like in a home studio on Pro Tools and burning the music on the CDs and passing them out at gigs that I would play for free. And through happenstance, a CD got passed from one person to somebody who was in the music industry and then he shared it with a couple of people. And within months, it was getting played on the radio in LA at a pretty influential station at the time. It was called KCRW,” Dennen recalls.
Back in 2005, music didn’t go viral like it does today. But being played on the radio in LA was one way to get noticed.
“Around 2005 and 2006, there was a music venue that was dedicated to singer-songwriters. And it was a scene. The singer-songwriters would all hang out there all the time. And there was always a line out the door. The place was small, but it had a legendary reputation.
“And it was also the kind of place where really big acts would go in there and play small sets unannounced. The place was buzzing. It was during that time where there were all these TV shows that were playing singer-songwriter music in the shows like Scrubs and House and Grey’s Anatomy. People who were in charge of putting music on those shows were hanging out at this music venue. I was lucky enough to start doing it right when that was all happening,” Dennen explains.
On this tour, Dennen doesn’t have a new album that he’s hawking. This time around, the always mutating artist has a new concept. Combining his paintings with his music in an attempt to break down the rigid performer/spectator way of doing things.
“I’ve always been trying to find a way to incorporate visual art into my music career, other than just painting album covers and concert posters and merchandise ideas, and graphics for merch.
“The best idea I could come up with is that I’m gonna bring a bunch of paintings out on tour with me and put them on stage. And I’m going try to play a show that’s more of an interactive thing. I’ll put a painting up in the front of the stage with me, sing a song with it, and go get another painting, put it up on the front of stage with me, sing a song with it.
“And then throughout the night, I engage the audience to have a conversation about what they see in the painting. If it makes them hear the song a certain way, or what songs go with different paintings. They can make song requests based on the paintings they see on the stage,” Dennen concludes.
For two decades, Dennen has toured the globe with his own band, as well as with people such as John Mayer, and Australia’s Pete Murray. Dennen falls into a niche of artists who’ve had national acclaim, yet still strive to create and find new paths in being an authentic artist.
Brett Dennen will be performing on Wednesday, June 17 at The Felton Music Hall, 6275 HWY 9, Felton. Showtime is 8pm and tickets are $67.90.
