music: interview

> MARC BROUSSARD: IT'S ALL IN THE GROOVE
Louisiana musician Marc Broussard talks to Erie Entertainment about his tour, his current CD, and the components of a good song.

By Allison M. Counasse
Music Editor

Louisiana blues rocker Marc Broussard released his debut album, Momentary Setback on the independent label Ripley Records in 2002. He has recently signed to Island/DefJam Records, which will help him with promotion of his current release. Plus, Broussard’s cover of Bruce Springsteen’s "Back in Your Arms Again" will be included on the upcoming Springsteen tribute CD, Light of Day: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen due out this August.

Broussard, who describes his live show as “a very different animal than the record” opens for Pittsburgh band The Clarks at Sherlock’s in downtown Erie, PA on Thursday, June 26, 2003. He will make several other stops throughout the region this summer.

I recently spoke with Marc Broussard as he was traveling from Nashville to New York on his current tour.

Marc Broussard
(Photo by John Chiasson)

selected discography:

Momentary Setback (2002)

related links:

Marc Broussard - official page
Momentary Setback - message boards and live song downloads

ErieEntertainment.com: I wanted to start by complimenting you on your CD, Momentary Setback. I think it's great. But it's too short.
Marc Broussard: (laughs) Oh! Well, thank you very much. If that's the only bad thing you have to say about it, then I think we're on the right track!

EEc: Definitely.
MB: Thank you. I appreciate that.

EEc: How would you describe your music for people who've never heard you before?
MB: I'd just call it soul music. That's all. It's just 'cos it's just honest, real, from the heart, soul music.

EEc: Do you have a favorite track on Momentary Setback?
MB: I'd have to say "French Café" is definitely my favorite.

EEc: That's the only one you didn't write, correct?
MB: Correct.

EEc: But it gives the vibe of Louisiana?
MB: Yeah. It definitely is a great representation of Louisiana.

EEc: How do you think being from Louisiana has influenced your work?
MB: It's in my blood. I don't think it's influenced it, I think it's just…

EEc: The heart of it?
MB: It's the heart of it, yeah.

EEc: Another thing I liked about your CD is that it's very uplifting.
MB: Oh, well, thank you very much.

EEc: I like"Gotta Be More". It gives you a boost if you're lacking perspective on a situation...
MB: "Gotta Be More" is definitely a… if you've had a rough day at work, just pop that thing in, it'll definitely make you feel better, for sure.

EEc: Are you consciously trying to make an uplifting sound compared to some of the other stuff that's out there?
MB: Yeah. I try to live my life in a positive way and I just, I hope that my music is reflective of that positive vibe that I try to put off at all times.

EEc: I had read that you were signing to a major label. Have you done that?
MB: Yes!

EEc: Could you talk a little bit about that?
MB: Yes. Island/DefJam. It's official now. I'm just excited as all get out to be finally just ready to get to work. I've been working over the past couple of months but that is like a whole burden that's been lifted off of my shoulders. Now we can just focus and get ready to roll.

EEc: How long will you be on tour and when do you expect to get into the studio to work on a follow-up album?
MB: We're actually going to tour through the end of the year. We're not going to get into the studio until probably December of January even. They're (Island/DefJam) going to help me with this record and then we'll see what comes out. The next record will probably come out late next winter.

EEc: What do you enjoy about being out on tour?
MB: I enjoy getting out in front of new people every night. That's really fun—getting in front of people that have never, ever, ever heard of me and probably never would have heard of me, but they're waiting to see their favorite band and I get up on stage before them and just put on a good show. They respond well. It's cool to receive different vibes from different people in different areas. That's real fun.

EEc: Any favorite places along the way that you've found?
MB: New York is definitely a favorite, I would have to say. Chicago's another real fun town. Birmingham's the best though. Birmingham, Alabama is by far the best town to go to.

EEc: Why's that?
MB: They just love music. They just absolutely love music.

EEc: You’re going to have a track on the Bruce Springsteen tribute album. Do you have any cover songs in your set?
MB: Yeah, I've got a couple of old soul tunes…Tyrone Davis tunes...some James Taylor, you know, different things.

EEc: How do you feel about performing your own songs vs. someone else's?
MB: I enjoy performing other people's songs. I think I find with my songs, I'll fall into a routine of doing it the same way every time, but for some reason with other people's tunes, I tend to take a little more license with them. Just like actors enjoy falling into different roles, you know? I enjoy taking on different characters because obviously if you're taking someone else's tune, you gotta kinda take yourself out of your own head, put yourself somewhere else. So, I enjoy it. I enjoy singing other tunes.

EEc: I saw on your site that you have a liberal taping policy. Could you explain why you decided to allow recording when many artists don’t?
MB: Well, why not allow it? First of all, you're going to always get the best recordings from us 'cos we record a lot of the shows ourselves. But, if you want to record a show, you want to take a snapshot of an experience that you had at that time and that place, you're more than welcome to do that. It's just like taking a picture, you know? And I don't refuse people taking pictures at the shows, so might as well not refuse taking audio recordings. Ain't no big deal.

EEc: A couple of songs I saw on your website, MarcBroussard.com, said they're from The Woodland Sessions. Could you just tell me a bit about that recording session and are there more songs to be released from it?
MB: The Woodland Sessions are actually an ongoing project. Every time I go to Nashville, we got this studio that we go out to that we just—me and our boys get together and write tunes and lay 'em down and have a good time. They're really just fun things. Sometimes we come out with crap. Sometimes we come out with really good stuff. So you'll see over the course of the career probably that many, many, many songs are going to be labeled as Woodland Sessions. It's fun. It's a good time.

EEc: Will you periodically offer different MP3s on your website?
MB: We actually just left Nashville today. We were also at Woodland a couple days ago when we finished up this tune, so that should be up on the site fairly soon.

EEc: Who are your musical influences?
MB: My Dad (Louisiana Hall of Fame guitarist Ted Broussard) and my family are definitely the biggest influences but I got a lot of jazz, R&B, you know, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, George Benson, Wes Montgomery, but recently, I say in the past couple of years, more like singer-songwriter Martin Sexton... I got a bunch of different cats, Marc Cohn. There's some really cool stuff out there that I've been diggin' on.

EEc: Anybody you really want to work with?
MB: Martin Sexton, I've worked with and I'm so looking forward to working with him in the future. Bill Withers, I'd love to do some writing with him. There's a bunch of cats out there that I'd love to work with.

EEc: Do you like writing songs alone or in a collaboration?
MB: Collaboration is definitely the best. Definitely the best. Two heads are better than one. Three heads are even better.

EEc: What do you think makes up a good song?
MB: The groove. It all comes down to the groove, really. It all comes down to if it gets your butt moving or not. Moves you. Oh, you know, it's a whole, it's the whole picture, but the heart of it is definitely the groove.

(2003-0618) http://www.erieentertainment.com/music/music_interview-mb.html