It's more than a rumor - Graham Parker's back
By David Bauder |
December 9, 2012, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE bassist is a librarian. One guitarist fixes guitars, the other teaches people how to play. The drummer and keyboard player have other gigs.
Yet when Graham Parker decided to reassemble the Rumour, the backup band that played on his first four albums before their breakup more than 30 years ago, no one hesitated to say yes.
The reunion includes an album, "Three Chords Good," and tour, and is giving the singer a renewed burst of attention. Parker's role in filmmaker Judd Apatow's new comedy, "This Is 40," will get him noticed even more upon its release this month.
"It will disappear as soon as this is over and people will say, 'Brian who? Brian Parker? Never heard of him'," he joked. "At the moment I feel like everybody knows me. It's a very strange thing."
Coming out of England in 1975, Parker's tightly wound rock made him a critical favorite. After disbanding the Rumour following the 1980 album, "The Up Escalator," Parker moved to New York's Catskills region and has steadily written, recorded and performed. As with most artists of a certain age (he's 62), the music world's attention moved on. He plays on a recreational soccer team and recently introduced himself to a fellow player, who remarked that Parker had the same name as a musician he liked.
Back in the day, Parker wrote and sang with a snarl.
"I was so intense that I wanted to injure people with music," he said. "It was a bit 'Spinal Tap.' Make some ears bleed."
New songs like "A Lie Gets Halfway Round the World ..." and "Coathangers" show he hasn't lost his lyrical bite. But Parker has heart, too. He's funny. The song "Long Emotional Ride," written after seeing a documentary being made on his life, proves he can be sweetly nostalgic, too.
Judging by the smiles worn by Parker, keyboard player Bob Andrews, guitarists Brinsley Schwarz and Martin Belmont, bassist Andrew Bodnar and drummer Stephen Goulding onstage in Tarrytown, New York, during their first show back, they're having fun reliving their youth. The versatile Rumour brings out the soul, jazzy swing and reggae influences in Parker's songs.
The reunion was set in motion when he asked Goulding and Bodnar to help him on a new CD, and they suggested getting the full band together.
While this was happening, Apatow contacted Parker's agent. In "This Is 40," which stars Leslie Mann and Megan Fox with Paul Rudd, Parker is the visible manifestation of a good artist forgotten by time. Apatow said the joke is on the industry, not Parker. The portrayal was fine with Parker.
"I'm very self-effacing about my position in the world of pop," he said.
Yet when Graham Parker decided to reassemble the Rumour, the backup band that played on his first four albums before their breakup more than 30 years ago, no one hesitated to say yes.
The reunion includes an album, "Three Chords Good," and tour, and is giving the singer a renewed burst of attention. Parker's role in filmmaker Judd Apatow's new comedy, "This Is 40," will get him noticed even more upon its release this month.
"It will disappear as soon as this is over and people will say, 'Brian who? Brian Parker? Never heard of him'," he joked. "At the moment I feel like everybody knows me. It's a very strange thing."
Coming out of England in 1975, Parker's tightly wound rock made him a critical favorite. After disbanding the Rumour following the 1980 album, "The Up Escalator," Parker moved to New York's Catskills region and has steadily written, recorded and performed. As with most artists of a certain age (he's 62), the music world's attention moved on. He plays on a recreational soccer team and recently introduced himself to a fellow player, who remarked that Parker had the same name as a musician he liked.
Back in the day, Parker wrote and sang with a snarl.
"I was so intense that I wanted to injure people with music," he said. "It was a bit 'Spinal Tap.' Make some ears bleed."
New songs like "A Lie Gets Halfway Round the World ..." and "Coathangers" show he hasn't lost his lyrical bite. But Parker has heart, too. He's funny. The song "Long Emotional Ride," written after seeing a documentary being made on his life, proves he can be sweetly nostalgic, too.
Judging by the smiles worn by Parker, keyboard player Bob Andrews, guitarists Brinsley Schwarz and Martin Belmont, bassist Andrew Bodnar and drummer Stephen Goulding onstage in Tarrytown, New York, during their first show back, they're having fun reliving their youth. The versatile Rumour brings out the soul, jazzy swing and reggae influences in Parker's songs.
The reunion was set in motion when he asked Goulding and Bodnar to help him on a new CD, and they suggested getting the full band together.
While this was happening, Apatow contacted Parker's agent. In "This Is 40," which stars Leslie Mann and Megan Fox with Paul Rudd, Parker is the visible manifestation of a good artist forgotten by time. Apatow said the joke is on the industry, not Parker. The portrayal was fine with Parker.
"I'm very self-effacing about my position in the world of pop," he said.
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