Cory Branan is your favorite songwriter’s favorite songwriter.
Receiving rapturous praise from everyone from Jason Isbell to Dashboard Confessional’s Chris Carrabba, the Nashville-based roots rocker makes lyrically dense songs that are equally emotionally resonant and likeable. His music cuts to the core so profoundly, in fact, that Lucero name-dropped him on the band’s 2003 song, “Tears Don’t Matter Much,” saying, “Cory Branan’s got an evil streak/and a way with words that’ll bring you to your knees.”
While the so-called evil streak is clearly a thing of the past—“I had a reputation in my twenties,” Branan says by phone from his Nashville home. “I drank a lot more. I got my anger under control quite a few years ago”–the easygoing 40-year-old songwriter’s music is as strong as ever. On Friday, the Bloodshot Records-signed artist will return to Chicago area to perform a solo headlining set at Space in Evanston.
You never make a setlist before a show. How do you choose between songs for people deliberately going to see you or people who aren’t very familiar with you?
That’s sort of why I don’t make one. I don’t like to stay to too rigid an idea. When it’s my headlining shows, as soon as things stop occurring to me, which is usually around the second half of the set, I just ask what people want to hear and play that. If the crowd isn’t into me I’ve got some ringers that are easy on the ear–a go-to, hour set that usually works for first-timers.
For a roots rocker, you have such a fervent punk following. What is it about your music that gets Frank Turner and Laura Jane Grace all singing your praises?
A lot of people you just named are people who were in punk bands that picked up acoustic guitars, and I never really did that. I’ve always just done what I’ve been doing: I’m from Memphis, and you have to play aggressively to keep people’s attention.
Now that you’ve settled down a bit with a wife and kids, is it more Netflix on the road than the bar?
Most of the tours I do is just me driving and playing solo. So, there’s really time to do either. Once I get to the hotel I go right to sleep … I don’t want to waste anyone’s time at the shows, just like I don’t want to waste anyone’s time with the songs. I try to make the songs pay off; if the crowd gives me their three and a half minutes to listen to a song, I’m going to give them something. I don’t want to show up to a show and be a sliver of myself from foolin’ around.
Critics have said 2014’s “The No-Hit Wonder” is your most accessible album to date. Would you tell new fans to start there?
Yeah, it’s the only “album” I’ve ever made. My record “Mutt” and “12 Songs” were named for a reason: They were just collections of disparate songs that had a lot of things going on … I noticed when I was making “No-Hit” that I was writing more of a roots record, and I had this stack of old songs left over to use. I remember when Tom Waits called his album, “Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards,” and I realized those tracks of mine are these little bastards running around. Luckily [both] the old songs, [which were] tugging at my leg, and the new ones found a home on “The No-Hit Wonder.”
For Record Store Day, you’re doing a cover of a kind of left-field Prince song, “Under The Cherry Moon.” Why that one?
While I’m a huge Prince fan and “Purple Rain” changed my life, “Under The Cherry Moon” was the first song that popped into my head. I think it’s a great, under-appreciated track. My rendition is an interesting take on it, especially with Matt Rowland’s great mix of gospel and “tied to the traintracks” piano. It was really fun to darkly croon over that.
Another thing you recently did was the 3-D video for “You Make Me.” How did that come about?
We started shooting with my buddy, [director] Perry Bean. He had this idea to do a video around a View-Master concept. He had this View-Master setting on his editing software, and we noticed we could make a 3-D video without necessarily needing glasses. We realized that no one has ever really done a 3-D music video before, so we tried to have fun with it and make it look a little crappy. That’s the humor in it: I’m green-screened into these ridiculous locations. It’s not supposed to be hyper realistic. While the final product may not make a whole lot of sense, I really try to not over-think these things. [Laughs.]
You’ve described your music before as a small-batch whiskey that’s not necessarily for everyone but great for people who drink it. If you’re Four Roses Single Barrel, whose music is vodka and tequila?
Well, a really great tequila would be Raul Malo’s music. I saw him perform for a Kris Kristofferson tribute recently and he did a rendition of “For The Good Times,” and it crushed. Vodka, I’m not so sure.
Have you ever had Jeppson’s Malort?
Unfortunately yes. I drank it in Chicago one night at the GMan Tavern with [The Lawrence Arms’] Brendan Kelly and [Red Scare Industries founder] Toby Jeg. It’s not for everyone. They said it’s an acquired taste, but I don’t think I could ever drink it enough to like it. [Laughs.] Let’s just say Brendan Kelly is Malort.
Cory Branan, 7 p.m. April 17 at SPACE. $15-$27.
jterry@redeyechicago.com, @joshhterry
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