by Kevin Ransom of The Ann Arbor News
The notion of an artist "coming full
circle'' can sometimes be a shopworn observation,
but in Willy Porter's case, it just happens to be true.
Seventeen years go, when Porter released his first CD,
"The Trees Have Soul,'' it was a
self-produced effort on his own label. He went on to release four other CDs on established labels
after that, notched a radio hit with "Angry
Words,'' and did some serious woodshedding on his
way to becoming an accomplished guitarist who somehow
managed to locate the stylistic intersection of Leo Kottke,
Richard Thompson and Michael Hedges. Back to the "full circle'' conceit. His new
disc, "Available Light,'' finds him again
issuing a self-produced disc on his own small label. When Porter began rolling around the idea of making a new
record, he knew he wanted to use his touring band instead of
session musicians. "Yeah, on my last few releases, the record company
seemed to have a lot of opinions about how they thought the
albums should sound, and that limits what you can
do,'' says Porter, who comes to The Ark on Friday.
"They wanted lots and lots of guitars, and wanted them
to be have more of a pop music sound, and I never really
felt comfortable in that idiom. "So this time out, I used my touring band, and kept
things more spare, and decided I didn't set out to try
and please pop radio. I did it in my own studio - it was a
really liberating way to make a record.'' The title track is a synergy of sorts, combining ambient
electric guitar textures with trad-folk Travis-style finger
picking. The song "Loose Gravel,'' meanwhile
- one that the band has been in its live repertoire for
years - showcases some sultry lap-steel playing from Porter
while also making room in the mix for some soulful Hammond
B-3 playing from bandmate David Adler. And "Still Doing
Time'' evokes very early Neil Young with its
forlorn piano and shambling drum track. "Willy Porter is a really terrific singer-songwriter
and fabulous guitarist,'' said Gerri Barr, an Ark
board member and volunteer. "He's energetic and
entertaining, and he delightfully engages the audience in
his songs and stories. And I love his musical range, which
runs the gamut from intimate to intense.'' The writing and recording of "Available
Time'' was an emotional experience for Porter,
since all of it was done while his father was dying of
cancer. Porter says there was no way he could keep the
emotions conjured by such an experience from entering into
the music, and, especially, the lyrics. But he manages to
keep the disc from falling into wall-to-wall pathos - he
says he was more interested in taking the sadness and
turning it into hope and redemption. "But I can't say I did it
consciously,'' said Porter. "Only one tune,
'Me and My Old Man,' is an obvious homage to him,
but beyond that, this album isn't really a tone poem
that honors him or even deals with death. But I guess some
of the feelings of mortality and the circle of life did
creep into some of the songs.'' While Porter loves playing with his band, the bulk of his
live performing the last several years has been as a solo
performer. "Yeah, back in 2000 or so, I started getting
calls from people like Jeff Beck and Paul Simon and Tori
Amos, wanting me to open up for them - you know, be the
sacrificial lamb,'' joked Porter. "But they
wanted a solo act, not a band. And I felt I had decent
enough chops for the solo thing, so it's worked
out.'' His Ark show will also be a solo-acoustic outing. "
When I play solo, I really do prefer the acoustic to the
electric,'' Porter said. "I feel like the
electric, by itself, doesn't really have the meat and
potatoes - where, to me, the acoustic guitar is more
percussive, and it's like having a whole band in your
hands.'' Kevin Ransom can be reached at KevinRansom10@aol.com. PREVIEW
Willy Porter
Who: Folk musician and acoustic guitarist from Wisconsin.
His 1994 album, "Dog-Eared Dream,'' yielded
the hit "Angry Words.'' Raining Jane opens. What: Songs from his new disc, "Available
Light.'' Where: The Ark, 316 S. Main St. When: 8 p.m. Friday. How much: $17.50 Details: 734-761-1451
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