Chris Comper - the fine musician using the pseudonym Prinz Grizzley - resides in the Bregenz Forest area of Voralberg in Austria. Lonesome Highway caught up with him to discuss his recently released album as well as his thoughts on getting back on the road, both in Austria and further afield, in these unsettling times.
His second solo album is titled TO MY GREEN MOUNTAINS HOME, which we have recently reviewed and it follows his well-received 2017 recording COME ON IN. With the new album completed and ready for release, like many other artists, he was faced with the dilemma of sitting on it for a while to await easing of Covid-19 pandemic restrictions giving him the option to tour in support of the album.
‘Yeah, I really was thinking about that option. But then I heard of so many artists delaying their releases that I thought I had better stick to my plan. There’s so much music out there anyway and if all the better known artists release new music around the same time, you can be sure to get swallowed in the masses. I took the risk of the release in favour of maybe getting heard right now. I will live with the disadvantage of not selling any of it at live shows. You can’t have everything.’
Chris is pragmatic on the effect the pandemic has had on both his work schedule and the manner in which the Government has dealt with the virus in Austria.
‘Apart from not being able to play live shows, it has not had too dramatic an effect for me. Me and my wife just got another baby in March, so we can´t complain about having too much time on our hands. I think our Government is doing a good job: they acted early enough and avoided many deaths through that. I think it is time to swing back to normal life now, step away from the panic and start to analyse these events and learn our lessons from it. Right now, we do have to wear masks in shops and public transportation, but there´s an end in sight on that too. We are allowed to have events with 250 people from July on, but with very strict rules.’
The opportunity to perform locally may indeed unfold, but the option to travel further afield with his band The Beargaroos, remains uncertain.
‘To be honest, I really don’t know if there will be any touring this year. I will focus on getting some weekend shows in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, as I don’t know yet whether travelling to other European countries will be an option. I haven´t tried too hard yet to reach out to venues either, because everything is still a bit uncertain. A few shows that I would have had in spring are now delayed until Autumn. I hope the venues and agents don’t face bankruptcy We will see how many venues still exist come September.’
His latest album is a combination of some material that was written for his debut solo album, together with some more recent compositions. Interestingly, the motivation for some of the tracks emanated from preparations for his first appearances at the Kilkenny Roots Festival in 2017. With the opportunity to perform on no less than six occasions with his band over the weekend at the festival, Chris wanted to make certain that he had ample material to draw on.
‘I wrote three or four songs from the latest album in early 2017. I had just got booked to play Kilkenny Roots Festival for the first time and the organiser John Cleere asked for a 90-minute set which I had, but I was missing some faster songs. So, I wrote Longing for a Fire, Drifting (the old version) and I think Meet Me at the Pines especially for this Kilkenny set. And they have stuck in the set list since then. I guess, sometimes all it needs is half an hour and a bit of pressure to write. The other songs came out of a pool of around 60-plus songs I wrote after or around COME ON IN was released.’
The new album was produced by Beau Bedford, who has an impressive list of employers to his name in recent years, both as a producer and session player. He’s worked with country outlaw extrovert Paul Cauthen, Texas Gentlemen and Jonathan Tyler to name but a few and his engagement with Chris came about quite fortuitously.
‘Imagine, you are an artist coming from Austria, you have just released an album, then you get to play the Americana U.K. in London. You go for dinner and by chance you sit next to who you think is only the keyboarder of a really awesome band. You get talking, he´s a really nice guy, and you share contact details. Then just before you leave for SXSW, your pedal steel player tells you he looked that guy up, then tells you that he is Beau Bedford who has not only played on that Texas Gentlemen record, but has produced it as well as another record you really dig, sound and song wise, by Paul Cauthen. Then you meet him again in Austin, pass him a demo, two month later he calls you to say he´s in. I mean, that is unreal isn´t it? What was the question again? But what really influenced my decision was, I was a big fan of his productions, before I even knew he produced them.’
Chris invited Bedford to Austria to oversee the recording at Nautilus Studios in Dornbirn, rather than travelling to the USA to record the album.
‘Yes, that´s right, he came over to record with me here in Austria. We chose to do so because I wanted to have my steady backing band "The Beargaroos" play on the songs. We had already played a bunch of the songs live that then ended up on the album. I didn´t want to rob my gang of the fruits of their hard work and let someone else play their parts. The last three years they have travelled with me through highs and lows and supported me where they could. I couldn´t have asked for a better band, thanks guys, I love you all.
‘I think for Beau it was a great experience, too. By coming over he could see and breath what inspires so much of my music. We hiked a bit in the mountains, he looked out the same window as I did when I wrote those songs, got to know my family, and so on. I guess through knowing all that, it was so easy to work on the recording with him. We had a great time in these Austrian mountains.’
The material deals with a range of issues, but the sanctuary of home is visited on a number of occasions, which is obviously very close to Chris’ heart. The prospect of travelling and touring may appear glamorous but a clear message from the album is the importance of having a strong home base to return to.
‘The first time I was seeking for "fame and glory" I was 20 years old. Me and my band mates quit our jobs, bought an old VW van and went straight to London, thinking they were waiting for us over there. After two months sleeping and living in a tent in Crystal Palace with endless miles of looking for shows and money slowly running out, I had this weird dream. I could clearly see the mountains of home. I started running towards them but they kept being in the distance and I wasn´t able to reach them. I started crying and shouting and felt really desperate. When I woke up, I knew there´s only one place on earth where I will always long to be.’
He closes the album with The Salty Life Of The Ocean, which reinforces this point and also the importance of the sequencing of the songs on the album.
‘For me the sequence of songs is really important, not just on this new album. I don’t want the singles or what I think are the best songs on tracks 1,2,3 or 4. I want the album to work in its whole and people to explore the songs and get soaked in the world I tried to create. I never write a song and then think ‘oh this is a single’. When I write an interesting song, I immediately think of a counterpart to it. I always think in terms of album tracks, rather than singles, I don’t know why.’
COME ON IN included a powerful and personal song titled Walls. It was composed after Chris had visited his ailing grandfather in the nursing home where he spent his final days, having suffered a number of strokes. He has travelled back a further generation with the song Shovel, the subject matter containing an intriguing narrative.
‘It’s about my great grandfather, some real events, some fiction. The fact is he emigrated from Italy into our region in search for work, like many others. They weren't treated very well. I wouldn't say like slaves, but it was not welcomed when outsiders like him married a woman from these villages and settled down. I owe him a lot as he was brave, left his home behind and started a new life somewhere else. Who knows, without that move I maybe would be a professional soccer player in Italy.’
Equally powerful are the lyrics in Magdalena, which reads like a traditional ‘stand by your man’ country song. However, with that sentiment considered from the male perspective, it takes on a somewhat divergent drift.
‘Magdalena is a dedication to all strong women out there. Women who have been put through a lot by the men by their sides, but stood true to them because they knew it wasn´t all hope lost, sometimes beneath the dirt there lies a diamond. This song was very much inspired by one of my favourite albums by Bob Dylan, DESIRE. And yes, my wife´s name is Magdalena.’
Having recorded indie rock albums in a previous life, his two solo recordings are very much in the roots music category. I wondered if he had found his musical home yet, or was he still in transition?
‘What I like most about the music direction I am on now is that it is about the song. This Americana genre is so awesome. On an album you can put a blues song next to a country song, followed by a soulful rocker and nobody gets hurt. There's so much diversity. For me that means total freedom. Hell yes, I feel at home.’
He mentioned the musicians and bands that gradually drew him away from indie and towards a more roots-based sound.
‘I have been listening to Creedence Clearwater Revival since I was a young kid and I always loved their roots orientated sound, still do. I think to get where I am now was kind of a process. I listened to Ryan Adams since his debut, then around 2004 a friend introduced me to John Hiatt with the great album CROSSING MUDDY WATERS. When I lived in London for the second time in 2006, I discovered the Delta Blues with the likes of Robert Johnson, Bukka White, Muddy Waters and Howlin Wolf. All this roots music was in the back of my mind and slowly but surely making its way through into my song writing. For example, I wrote I Can See Darkness for what would be the last album of my band, but it didn´t fit the other songs. When the band broke up I wasn´t too sure where I wanted to go sound wise. Just then I discovered Daniel Romano (genius) and it clicked. The music I had been listening for years broke through and I started writing what would become my debut solo album.’
Never afraid to pull his sleeves up and continue on his musical voyage, an invitation followed to showcase at Americana Fest in Nashville in 2018. The opportunity provided the prospect to both establish a wider fanbase and make useful contacts and connections.
‘It was a really great experience to even be involved in the festival. Nobody is waiting on you and there is a lot competition there, but if you don’t visit the wolves cave, you can’t make progress in howling.’
We’ve all had a wakeup call by recent events and are essentially living through historical times both politically and environmentally. Signing off, Chris articulated his hopes for 2021 and beyond.
‘This may sound like a "Miss Universe" thank you speech, but I wish mankind the wisdom to learn from all these events, finally. Show respect to the human being next to you and to nature. Through this shut-down nature could take a deep breath. We all should be aware to not use the car every time, or to avoid taking the plane for just a weekend trip, which could add a lot to the health of our environment.’
Interview by Declan Culliton