Anyone who thinks acoustic guitarist Michael Hedges plays aural wallpaper or ”hot tub music” simply because he records for the New Age label Windham Hill obviously hasn`t heard his music. Hedges` sound is adventurous and bold; generally not the kind to put anyone to sleep.
”Well, my music might lull you, and put you to sleep-and then surprise you in the middle of the night,” Hedges says teasingly in a phone interview from his private recording studio in Mendocino, Calif. ”If I put you to sleep, it`s for a reason, you see, not due to a lack of interest. I don`t see any reason why all New Age music should be bad. It`s just that a lot of it seems, to me, to be senseless.”
Hedges delights in surprising his audiences, and this Saturday`s performance at the Park West should be no exception.
His music defies categorizing. His first album, ”Breakfast in the Field,” as well as his second, Grammy-nominee ”Aerial Boundaries,” were instrumentals. Just when the public thought it had him pegged, Hedges released ”Watching My Life Go By,” which included vocals, as well as wind instruments, synthesizers and electric bass. His next album, ”Live on the Double Planet,” captured the raw energy of his live performances and included his covers of Prince`s ”A Love Bizarre” and Dylan`s ”All Along the Watchtower.” And his recently released ”Taproot” album has Celtic and folk elements, as well as heavy rock.
”I bore easily,” says Hedges, explaining why he never repeats himself.
”I`m one of those people who likes instant gratification, but I have enough discipline so I can satisfy my curiosity before I would resort to boredom. That`s my method of composing: to play something that keeps me interested. And hopefully, I`m the person who bores the easiest. If I can always keep myself interested, then my fans will always be interested.
”I`m hoping that people can`t imagine how I`m doing some of the things I do on the records. I think they would wonder, `Gee, how does he do that?`
Probably a lot of people come to the show thinking there`ll be more than one person doing those things. And it`s just me.” Besides his own compositions, Hedges may play his version of The Who`s ”Eminence Front” or ”Pinball Wizard,” as well as Neenah Cherry`s ”Buffalo Stance” and Jimi Hendrix`s ”I Don`t Live Today.”
Hedges called his sound violent acoustic guitar. Then someone named it thrash acoustic, and that label stuck for a while. It fit Hedges` aggressive playing style; he often plays the guitar as if it`s a percussive instrument, hammering and striking the strings to get harmonic chords, and hitting the wood for accent.
”Then I began to call my sound heavy mental, a play on the words `heavy metal,` ” Hedges says. ”Now my music is more primitive, or simple, so instead of calling it `violent` or `thrash` or `heavy,` I just use the word
`savage,` which implies something of a primitive nature. And instead of the mental part, which is a bit academic, I thought `myth` would supply more of a mystical quality, while still being primitive. It was intelligence. So,
`savage myth` is my current handle. And if you call me that for too long, I`ll change it again.”
”Taproot is the title of a myth I wrote,” says Hedges. ”Joseph Campbell`s book, `The Power of Myth,` was very inspirational to me, so I made up my own myth. And I took all the characters, and things they did, the events and the places where they happened, the geographics, and made them into song titles.”
”I Carry Your Heart,” the last song on the album, is based on an e.e. cummings poem. ”It was part of my wedding vows,” Hedges says. ”That was almost 10 years ago, so I thought it was time for a reaffirmation. e.e. cummings lends himself to a more freeform style of songwriting too. He kind of gives you two verses, and just goes on, on kind of a stream of consciousness.”
David Crosby and Graham Nash sing backup on the song. ”Crosby listened to me a lot when he was in jail,” says Hedges. ”When he got out, he called me right up and said, `Hey, let`s do some music.` So I performed on two tunes on his solo album, `Oh Yes I Can,` and I wrote something with him which is on the new Crosby, Stills, Nash record. So when I asked him and Nash if they`d sing with me on this tune, they said yeah.”
Hedges is toying with drums and bass lately, so his next album may be more rock-flavored. ”It`ll be rock-ous and roll-ous,” he puns. ”Just be open, because anything can happen. I figure if you`re not wide open, then you`re partially closed.”
