THIS BRUCE ENJOYS BEING HIS OWN BOSS.Byline: David Kronke Staff Writer Let's face it, after 34 years and 27 albums, Bruce Cockburn Bruce Douglas Cockburn, OC (IPA ['kobɝn]; phonetically: "co-burn") (born May 27, 1945)[1] is a Canadian folk/rock guitarist and singer-songwriter. doesn't have to answer to anybody. Either you adore his music or it's managed to slip beneath your radar for three decades. It's difficult to imagine anyone who's listened to his work and simply shrugged it off. Cockburn (pronounced CO-burn), at age 58, has enjoyed the sort of career singer-songwriters with integrity can only dream about: successful enough to keep recording and touring, yet not such a hit machine that he needs worry about compromising his music. He also boasts an interesting aesthetic journey. What else can you say about a guy whose first American First American may refer to:
It was opened in 1987 by Michael Dorf and Bob Appel, both from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. in Hollywood. After a string of hits in his native Canada, Cockburn splashed into the American consciousness in 1979, just as he was abandoning his traditional, smiley-faced religiosity re·li·gi·os·i·ty n. 1. The quality of being religious. 2. Excessive or affected piety. Noun 1. religiosity - exaggerated or affected piety and religious zeal religiousism, pietism, religionism for a grittier brand of faith. ``I remember one letter - how could I be a Christian and use words like s---,'' Cockburn, his voice deeper and darker than on his recordings, remembered in a recent phone conversation. ``What came after easily eclipsed that - more people were either taken aback or captivated cap·ti·vate tr.v. cap·ti·vat·ed, cap·ti·vat·ing, cap·ti·vates 1. To attract and hold by charm, beauty, or excellence. See Synonyms at charm. 2. Archaic To capture. .'' In the early '80s, Cockburn expanded his worldview world·view n. In both senses also called Weltanschauung. 1. The overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world. 2. A collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or a group. with treks to global hot spots hot spots acute moist dermatitis. like Nicaragua, Nepal and Mozambique on fact-finding missions with nongovernmental agencies, not record-peddling tours. These experiences transformed his work from an ethereal ethereal /ethe·re·al/ (e-ther´e-il) 1. pertaining to, prepared with, containing, or resembling ether. 2. evanescent; delicate. e·the·re·al adj. 1. buoyancy to a gritty, almost bitter rant against pervasive injustice. ``People in these places have ways to survive, and one way is through humor and their ability to party. In Mozambique, however, people seemed utterly demoralized de·mor·al·ize tr.v. de·mor·al·ized, de·mor·al·iz·ing, de·mor·al·iz·es 1. To undermine the confidence or morale of; dishearten: an inconsistent policy that demoralized the staff. . That combination of 400 years of colonialism and 25 years of civil war had utterly broken their spirit.'' Once Cockburn started exploring and divining the awful truths of the world around him, the challenge was to present his findings in a palatably musical fashion. ``The creative process doesn't work based on guessing who's gonna buy records. I'm aware of my audience at the end of the chain and realize I have to make my records intelligible to people. I'm writing for a one-on-one contact with my listeners.'' Record labels, of course, have a curious notion of what makes for that one-on-one contact. Cockburn remembers when shopping ``Stealing Fire,'' which featured his biggest American single, ``If I Had a Rocket Launcher,'' in America, ``We went around to every major label, they all said no. We found a small label that said OK. It worked.'' Clearly, though, stardom is not on Cockburn's things-to-do list. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. what would happen if I became successful. I'm terrified ter·ri·fy tr.v. ter·ri·fied, ter·ri·fy·ing, ter·ri·fies 1. To fill with terror; make deeply afraid. See Synonyms at frighten. 2. To menace or threaten; intimidate. of becoming a star. It would be the worst thing that could happen to me personally and spiritually; it has no appeal whatsoever. ``Nobody was more surprised than me when ('If I Had a Rocket Launcher') was on the radio. I thought, 'Are you kidding? The lyrics include the phrase (SOB), it's about war. There's not a snowball's chance in hell.' And the next thing, there it is, everywhere. And my next single, 'Call It Democracy,' is along the same lines, but somehow that's too scary for people.'' David Kronke, (818) 713-3638 david.kronke(at)dailynews.com BRUCE COCKBURN Where: House of Blues, 530 S. Disneyland Drive, Anaheim. When: 8 p.m. Friday. Tickets: $27.50. Call (714) 778-2583. Where: Knitting Factory, 7021 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 209, Hollywood. When: 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets: $27. Call (323) 463-0204. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Singer Bruce Cockburn says flying under the celebrity radar suits him just fine. ``I'm terrified of becoming a star. It would be the worst thing that could happen to me personally and spiritually; it has no appeal whatsoever.'' Tim Jackson/WireImage.com |
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