I’ve previously interviewed Graham Parker and reviewed a book about him and we’re continuing on this pub rock journey by checking out Brinsley Schwarz’s new album Shouting at the Moon. Despite being in the music industry since the 60s with Kippington Lodge, a time that he describes as “just trying to find
our way and learn,” this is only his third solo album. In 2016 he released Unexpected and in 2021 he released Tangled.
While Shouting at the Moon is a new release, quite a few of the songs are ones that Brinsley Schwarz has been carrying in his back pocket for decades, including “The Chance”, “Nothing is What It Seems”, and “What in the World”. There are also some recently written songs like “Hard to Change” and “It’s Been a Long Year”. One song is a cover of a song Graham Parker had written in the late 70s, “Watch The Moon Come Down”, one of Brinsley’s favourite Parker compositions. It’s a very good cover. It’s an album that has a soulful, grooving, almost jazzy sound with dark lyrics throughout, fitting the mood of 2025. If I had to pick a favourite track, I’d pick “Nothing is What It Seems”, I love the sound of the guitar in that one!
The album’s sound has a Van Morrison and Steely Dan influenced sound, two acts that Brinsley Schwarz has mentioned as favourites, alongside many other rock legends. Back in 1970, the band Brinsley Schwarz got the opportunity to open for Van Morrison at the Fillmore East. Brinsley said, “It was a disaster in pretty much all ways except that, as his support act, we got to watch Van Morrison and his band play four times. We were inspired to be better, flew home, rented a big old house, moved in, built
a rehearsal room and played.” He got into Steely Dan thanks to Graham Parker, saying, “In 1976, Graham Parker and The Rumour were touring and making another album. Graham gave me two CDs and said something like ‘listen to these and stop playing Robbie Robertson licks on my records.’ The CDs were by Steely Dan and Little Feat.”
Pub rock is something that’s hard to define, basically being what it says on the tin, but at the same time the sound is varied. Some listeners say it’s country and roots inspired, but Brinsley Schwarz himself says, “We hated labels, the press labelled us pub rock, is why we quit playing pubs. We loved a US band called The Band. They played songs, they were the closest we got to country rock and they weren’t country
rock at all. We played songs, like they did, despite it all.”
He’s not one to like being labelled or categorised, so it’s best to listen to his discography and see for yourself how great and varied it is. Besides Graham Parker, he has worked with Carlene Carter, Kirsty MacColl, Ducks Deluxe, and Desmond Dekker.
Q&A with Brinsley Schwarz
Angie Moon: How would you explain pub rock to a new listener?
Brinsley Schwarz:Simply put, it’s all kinds of music played in pubs by all kinds of musical artists. You
could add that the music and the bands are kind of freed from any type of pressure, they just played what they wanted, so the music is influenced by all kinds of music but, in the beginning, it was about songs.
Angie: Pub rock is very focused on live performances, what made your live shows stand out?
Brinsley Schwarz: Well, firstly, I wouldn’t call what we played ‘shows.’ We just got up and played what
we wanted, unpaid to start with, we played what you might call ‘roots,’ RnB, as it was then called (and not now), our own songs, Motown, rock and roll, 50s music, 60s music, etc.
Angie: You like instrumental rock a lot, with one of your biggest influences being the Shadows. What are your favourite rock instrumentals of all time?
Brinsley Schwarz: I heard the Shadows on the radio when I was a young teenager and was hooked. But like a lot of teenagers, I just loved what was generally known as pop music, from The Beatles to the Stones to Chuck Berry to James Brown to The Temptations….. It was all terrific, exciting and most of our parents didn’t like it. My favourite instrumentals? Well, this is a long time ago … how about ‘Temptation’ by the Shadows.
Angie: I read that you became a luthier after retiring from music in 1990, what are your favourite guitars aesthetically and sound wise?
Brinsley Schwarz: Yes, I became a guitarist, in a way, because I loved guitars, still do and I loved
the work one could do on a guitar, to hone it so it’s the best it can be. I like that I think I can do that, make them feel right, make them sing.
I’ve owned a lot of guitars, had a real 1958 Gibson Les Paul back in the day, but sold it, not realising it would end up being worth £250,000 or more. But right now I have an old 1960 Gibson Les Paul Gold Top, which I’ve had for 20 odd years, and an early 70’s Guild M 20.
I guess the most popular electric guitars are a Gibson Les Paul, a Fender Strat and a Fender Telecaster, although there are obviously many others, many copies and some famous new originals. These three models have very distinctive sounds, and are famously featured on thousands of recordings. But, bizarrely you might think, many guitarists spend a lot of time, and money, trying to make them sound like each other, and as a luthier, I have, at my customers’ request, attempted this impossibility. Although sometimes I do wonder….
Angie: What was it like writing and recording Shouting At The Moon?
Brinsley Schwarz: Mostly a lot of fun. Occasionally you can get stuck on a lyric, but they often come
to you when you’re not concentrating. Same with recording. When things aren’t going as well as you thought they might, you try something different which unexpectedly works great.
Angie: What are your favourite tracks on the new album?
Brinsley Schwarz: “Every Day” and “Nothing is What it Seems.” Or should I say, “all of them.”
Angie: What are your favourite songs and albums by Van Morrison and Steely Dan?
Brinsley Schwarz: Moondance andInto The Mystic by Van Morrison and The Royal Scam and “Kid
Charlemagne” by Steely Dan.
Angie: What is your proudest accomplishment as a musician?
Brinsley Schwarz: Mentioned as a guitarist by Bob Dylan on his radio show.
You can follow Brinsley Schwarz on his website, Facebook, Instagram, and Bandcamp.
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