FIDELITY: BRYAN MCPHERSON

Bryan McPherson started performing on the street corners of and at house parties in Dorchester, where his is originally from. He then toiled away in the T stations of Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville before securing gigs at venues such as Club Passim, Abbey Lounge, Middle East Upstairs, and Johnny D’s. Among the highlights of his career in Boston were opening for Chuck Berry at the Berklee Performance Center in 2008 and for the Dropkick Murphys during their annual string of St. Patrick’s Day shows at the House of Blues in 2009.

In anticipation of an upcoming gig at another of his old haunts (Church), my friend and former roommate spoke to me via phone from his apartment in Berkeley, California, on the condition that I not make him look like too much of a dick.

You once lived in the People’s Republic of Cambridge. Now you live in the People’s Republic of Berkeley?
Yeah, I know, it’s fucked. I had no real particular draw to Berkeley. A friend helped me get a show out here, and he knew I wanted to get away from Boston for a while. He was looking for a roommate, so I ended up in Berkeley.

Both are pretty liberal towns. Are they different kinds of liberal?
Berkeley is much more liberal than Cambridge, socially. There are all kinds of people: old hippies, politically radical people. That helps me get in touch with the times. It is much more of a free-for-all. Cambridge is stiflingly intellectual. It’s tough for people there to believe something if they don’t read it in a book.

How many Occupy spots have you been to?
I spent a lot of time performing at Occupy Oakland and hanging out at Occupy San Francisco. I checked out Occupy Berkeley and Occupy Cal [University of California], but Berkeley is kinda occupied all of the time already. Occupy San Francisco was originally very small, with only crazy-looking fringe people. Then Occupy Oakland blew up and it was huge. They occupied a whole park. Then San Francisco caught up, and they occupied a park. Berkeley was always kinda small. Tear Gas Tuesday happened in Oakland. I had never been shot at before that.

Do you think that someone is more likely to fuck stuff up even more when he or she gets elected to office than he or she is to make things better?
I don’t believe Republicans or Democrats. People don’t feel like the government represents them. [Politicians] are bought and paid for by corporations. Corporations are people, but citizens have no rights. Those are the laws that they are making. Politicians can change things if they actually represent people. That’s why people are marching in the street.

A few months ago, I didn’t think there was hope. Now I do. I had been half-asleep, like most people had been. Everybody knows that banks and corporations are fucking them over. And then people gathered at Wall Street. When that went off, I got hope and strength that other people were also sick and tired of it, and that I wasn’t totally powerless. And with the Internet, people can talk back.

I have more faith in people who have been living in a tent, for free, having not bathed in a week, than some lying fat cat piece of shit living in D.C.

Ok, let’s talk about music. You have a song on your 2007 album Fourteen Stories called “O.F.D.” I know that songwriters like to be cryptic, but I have done some research and learned that O.F.D. refers to Orofaciodigital Syndrome. According to Wikipedia, this is “an X-linked congenital disorder characterized by malformations of the face, oral cavity, and digits with polycystic kidney disease and variable involvement of the central nervous system.” Why did you choose to write about such an obscure medical condition?
(laughs) Well, I have that condition. I wake up, and I am horrified by the crazy faces that I make. Man you did do some research. I didn’t think anyone would pick up on that! I’m a topical writer. Gimmie any topic and I’ll write a jingle and work something up.

Two new songs--”American Boy American Girl (Worker’s Song)” and “Black Man”--are available on bryanmcpherson.com. When will your new album be released?
I recorded a bunch of songs before I left Boston. Those two turned out really well. I have been building the new album piece by piece. I am talking to a couple of labels, then it takes a month or two after that to come out. So probably early 2012.

I am glad that you got your trademark laugh in at the end of the song “Poor Boy” (from Fourteen Stories). That’s how I used to know you were home, by the way.
If I’m laughing, it’s a good thing. I’ve been getting that for a long time. People laugh at me when I laugh. It was a genuine laugh, too. It was like, “wow, that was a wonderful drum take!”

Have you played Church before? What kind of crowd do you expect?
I had a residency there back in 2008. I played there a bunch of times. I have no idea about the crowd. Depends on what kind of thing they’ve got going on any given night.

Before I let you go, I’ve been having some trouble with my computer lately. Do you think you could stop by while you’re in town and take a look at it?
(laughs) Do you still have that same one, the Microsoft Millennium Edition? Sure, I’ll swing by and check it out!

BRYAN MCPHERSON W/ MARK LIND, JEFF ROWE, AND THE SWAGGERIN’ GROWLERS
THURSDAY 12.15.11
CHURCH
69 KILMARNOCK STREET BOSTON
DOORS 7PM/21+/$10

FIDELITY IS DIG BOSTON’S COLUMN WHEREIN WRITERS WHO HAVE FRIENDS IN BANDS INTERVIEW THEIR FRIENDS IN BANDS.