The O-town Scene - Oneonta, NY
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/29770
Music People: Pianist Drew DeFour Singing pianist Drew DeFour will perform at Sip & Sail Tavern in Oneonta at 10 p.m. Tuesday, April 26, and at the Quarter Moon Cafe in Delhi on April 29. De Four is known for his interactive performance style, taking re- quests from audience members for popular favorites such as “Piano Photo by Todd Russell Although you originally come from Michigan, you’ve become a regional favorite in upstate New York and play shows here several times each year. How did your relationship with this part of the country begin, and what is it about this area or environment that makes you enjoy coming back every year? In 2004, I brought my band, The Darktown Saints, to Binghamton to record at Mansion Audio, where we recorded our debut album with Jeff DaBella and Jimmyjohn McCabe. The band broke up in 2005 (the life of a troubadour isn’t for everyone), but I continued to tour here at least twice a year starting in 2006, when I began my solo career. The people, the geography and the live music scene keep me coming back. Also, my agent, Todd Russell, has found many great venues for my one-man show. As a singer/songwriter, you’ve played your music in both a solo setting and with a full band. Will you be playing solo or with a group in Oneonta on April 26? I’ll be performing with my fiancée, Colleen Curran (Kin Curran is her stage name). She’s a dynamic per- former, and we’ve started perform- ing almost all of my original music and dueling piano shows together. What’s great about performing with her is that I can play essentially the same show I’ve always played, but with a much greater dynamic. 14 O-Town Scene April 21, 2011 I’ve seen your music called a mix of pop and New Orleans jazz, an interesting and seem- ingly rare combination. How did you come to blend those elements as a pianist, and what kind of musical exposure (in terms of influential artists and styles) do you believe led you to pursue that genre as a way of expressing yourself? When I started touring interna- tionally as a solo piano player in 2006, I had to find a way to hold an audience for three to four hours with just myself and a piano. You can’t expect to hold a crowd play- ing ballads and block chords all night, so I’ve developed some really rhythmic approaches to playing piano. All of my piano bar mentors al- ways told me to treat the piano like a drum-set, so I studied rhythmic piano playing. I would write songs and learn cover songs that could get people dancing, singing and clapping without any drums. This naturally lead me to players like Dr. John and Professor Longhair. They have already, in many ways, per- fected the art of solo piano playing (without accompaniment). I’ve stud- ied a lot of their grooves, and I do a lot of their songs, and that’s why I can get a crowd of people to dance with only myself and a piano. I think where I’ve found my niche is taking a lot of the New Orleans piano player techniques and apply- ing them to pop music. Where Dr. John will use mostly Dixieland jazz harmonic progressions, I’ll take his rhythmic ideas and use chords and melodies from the last few decades of pop music. Tom Waits is my favorite singer-songwriter, so I get a lot of inspiration, melodically, from his work (I own every one of his al- bums and listen to them frequently). Having played over 1,000 shows internationally, do you feel that your music, which is based around a very American (New Orleans jazz) style, has garnered the same kind of enthusiasm wherever you’ve gone? Are there certain parts of the world that respond to it especially well, and why do you think that is? Absolutely. I’ve never felt like I was rejected by a crowd. I don’t know if that’s a good thing (maybe I’m just super safe), but I think it’s because I generally like people and I want to give them a good time for just one night in this very difficult life. The best compliment I ever got was in Dingle, Ireland. A girl told me that I “represented everything that’s good about America and American music.” That’s probably Man” as well as his original music. He recently completed his fourth full-length album, “Bartillery.” The new album is a collection of the art- ist’s most popular “bar artillery” songs. De Four, a Mighican native who stands 6 feet, 7 inches, has been performing two or three times a year in upstate New York since he recorded in the area in 2005. the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me after a show. I’ve played in Japan and felt very warmly re- ceived there; they really love good melodies and strong performances from a theatrical perspective. I’ve played just about every jazz club in Krakow, Poland, and I felt an extremely warm reception there. I’m by no means a student of jazz, but I respect it and draw from its history so I feel very “at home” in jazz clubs. How much does also being a dueling pianist affect the way you perform in a regular concert set- ting? Does it train you to be more exact and effective in all of the settings in which you play? Dueling pianos has taught me to find the one thing about every song that makes it connect to the audience. Never just phone in a performance. Always play at your highest level because a crowd can turn on you at any point in the night. It has trained me to be a crowd-oriented player. Playing for tips is a humbling thing as well. You don’t make money if your show sucks. This teaches you that you may have an idea about how things ought to be in this world, but if you want to eat, you better be open to what others think. What are your most requested songs when you’re playing a concert? Of mine: The Tower, In My Dreams, Thumbs. Of others: Piano Man, Don’t Stop Believing, Sweet Caroline. Continued on Page 15 Photo by Todd Russell