Brendan Hogan’s music is a transporting experience.  The listener ends up as a witness to struggle, longing, and the need to seek a way out of despair in all its dark colors.  Armed with an acoustic guitar, his live shows embody both a focus and a soulful quality that is deeply rooted in the blues.  His debut CD Long Night Coming evokes all of these qualities and more.  He will be celebrating the release of the record at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, MA on January 29, 2010. You can purchase a copy HERE.  

The Deli: How would you describe your sound?

Brendan Hogan: It’s introspective, acoustic, post-blues roots music.

The Deli: What was it like making “Long Night Coming”?  Did you have any expectations going in to the process and were they met?

BH: The only expectation that I had was to complete it…I went through so many phases of starting and stopping the process…it started out as something that I thought would just be a solo record and done in a few months to being an album where half the songs have a rhythm section.  I surrendered to the idea early on that it wasn’t going to be exactly what I thought it was going to be in my head.  I really didn’t know what the process was like, so I just let it take its course and let the songs become what they were going to become.  I only had a few rules like I did not want a lot of guitars on it, and I did not want any obvious instrumentation like harmonicas, which is why we opted for the accordion and the ukulele.  No heavy crunchy guitars.  My goal was to keep the project moving and not get bogged down.

The Deli: Let’s talk about the songs on the record.  Eight originals, two covers…was there anything grouping the songs together thematically that came to light during and after the recording?

BH: Any awareness I have of the songs I get from performing them…there is no cohesive thread running through all the songs.  There are some similarities that I have noticed in my own writing though…I was thinking I should shrink-wrap some razor blades and include them with the CD.  [laughs]

The Deli: The first track, “Nothing Belongs to Me,” seems like such a personal song, but combined with a lot of fantastical and imaginative imagery.  That seems like a common thread in your writing.  How do you balance the autobiographical elements with the more character-driven aspects of your songs?  Do you start writing a song with personal elements or do you have a character in your mind going in?

BH: It starts very personal but it doesn’t end up that way.  I wind up making the song work for me, so a song like “Nothing Belongs to Me” comes from a very personal experience but it winds up telling a story that becomes its own character.  Songs usually start with a single phrase, and I will try to send it in one direction, but it will end up finding its own path.

The Deli: How do you know when a song is done?

BH: The last couple of songs I have written, I have just felt the need to move on after awhile.  When I feel like I have gotten the point across, and I feel I need to make myself stop editing the song.

The Deli: Why did you decide to include “Goodnight Irene” and “Green Green Grass of Home” on the record?  What drew you to cover those songs?

BH: Well, I’ve been playing “Goodnight Irene” for awhile now and thought I’d take a stab at it to show some of the roots of where I am coming from.  That was written by Lead Belly, who’s not only a blues or a folk singer, but a songster.  The lyrics are just awesome.  He was in state penitentiaries twice in his life and somehow later in his life would sing songs for groups of children and was in Disney films.  The song is something parents sing to their kids at night, but listen to some of those verses!  Lead Belly was the first blues singer I ever listened to, so it was kind of a personal choice.  “Green Green Grass of Home” shows some of the roots of where I think I’m coming from too. The song has a story that hits you square in the chest and that’s right up my alley.

The Deli: Other than Lead Belly, who is inspiring you these days?

BH:  I’ve been listening to a lot of songwriters lately.  A lot of WUMB [folk radio] type stuff…people with a well-honed craft…a unique and succinct perspective on life that they can put to a three-minute song. My friend, Danielle Miraglia , is always an inspiration, as are the working and traveling musicians in the Cambridge/Somerville community. Frank Morey has intensity and dirt in his music that I really like. Dwight & Nicole, too. Dwight’s one of my favorite guitar players and singers, period, and Nicole has an ability to let it flow that is rare to come by. Everyone I watch play has something to offer. I’m especially drawn to solo performers, though. Nothing beats a solo performer who can provide it all themselves - the songs, the energy, the show, the dynamics.

The Deli: How has being a DJ [ for WGBH radio ] informed you as a songwriter and/or performer?  Any there any advantages or even disadvantages you feel you have as a result of having been a DJ?

BH: The feeling of songs, like how all of the songs on my record were done in one or two takes…it’s about going for the feel, and that is directly drawn from the blues.  I’ve listened to a lot of that music!  It’s about getting the mood established which influences how I play.  I am not a blues player per se, but that approach to getting a feeling, as opposed to a kind of perfection has influenced me.That’s an advantage.

The Deli: When did you first pick up the guitar?

BH: I got my first guitar when I was ten…before that I had some of those balloon guitars you used to get at the carnival [laughs]…I always loved the guitar.  I took some lessons, went through various stages like Nirvana and the Beatles.  Then I found Lead Belly, Robert Johnson and the blues.  I learned a lot from Chris Stovall Brown.  He taught me a lot about the vocabulary in playing blues.

The Deli: Was there a particular moment or experience when you realized you were serious about music and wanted to make records?

BH: I always knew I wanted to play music.  One of the reasons I got into radio was because I secretly wanted to be the performer, but I did not think I was good enough when I was 18, 19 years old.  As long as I can remember I‘ve loved music and wanted it to be a central part of what I do.  When I was three years old I used to dance on a table to Michael Jackson and all that stuff.  I got lucky doing radio…after college I sent out air-check tapes to radio stations and nobody got back to me except WGBH.  I was playing guitar all this time, and I also took a corporate day-job that made me miserable.  It was leading nowhere.  I was really miserable in my life.  I can remember it was seeing that Townes Van Zandt film, “Be Here to Love Me.”  I saw that at the Brattle Theater and it was like one of those “where have you been all my life?” kind of moments.  Townes is not a household name, and he’s not exactly a role model being a guy who drank himself to death by the time he was 52.  But seeing that film made me feel good, made me feel happy.  Because of who he was and what he did musically.  I think that inspired me to finally get the guts enough to start going to open mics around town.

The Deli: Yeah, there’s that scene in that film where Townes is talking about how you have to put music before everything else in your life including jobs, relationships, family, etc.

BH:  He took that to the extreme, yes.  You have to do it.  In my life at that point I was miserable.  I had not tried, and that was a bad feeling.  You can’t even regret something if you haven’t tried it.  So that’s what it was.  I can’t believe how it has turned out… it’s as good as I could have imagined.

The Deli:  OK, finally, here’s a silly question.  You have to pick one…Dylan or the Beatles?

BH: Dylan.

(Final Note: You can catch up with Brendan online at http://brendanhogan.net/ and don’t miss the CD Release show on January 29 at the Lizard Lounge!)

- Interview by James Houlahan