JESSICA ROTTER
Staff Writer
While the name Bruce Hornsby may not ring a bell with most Pepperdine students, the singer-songwriter and pianist, who has been going strong in the music business for more than 20 years, is definitely someone to get to know.
The three-time Grammy winner — who is up for best pop instrumental performance this year for “Song H” from his “Intersections” box set — recently performed in concert at the modest Malibu Performing Arts Center on Jan. 30. Yet, Hornsby could have easily been playing at the Grand Ol’ Opry, though the setting was very casual and most people were wearing jeans. Malibu elite filled the seats, drinks in hand, but Hornsby’s fan base stretches farther than this beach town’s locals — legendary rock singer and guitarist Bonnie Raitt was in the audience.
At 8:15 p.m., fashionably late and with no introduction, Hornsby took the stage. He took a seat at his Steinway and began playing something requested by an audience member.
A unique aspect of Hornsby’s concerts is that he reads requests placed on the stage prior to the show starting instead of making a set list before the performance. While this technique makes him seem like a performer anxious to cater to his audience, Hornsby does not come off as a showy performer in any way during his show. For the majority of the concert he played his music as he might in his own home, seemingly in his own world and getting lost in the sounds he so gracefully created with his free-flying hands. Hornsby improvised throughout his performance in a way that made the audience feel a part of a miraculous creative process.
It is clear when watching Hornsby perform that his music comes first. But even though Hornsby stayed in his exclusive musical genius bubble with little audience interaction, he still aimed to please. A fan requested a song that he recently composed, and he was not prepared to perform it because the words were backstage. He asked the concertgoers if they would mind if he left — but who could say no? He walked offstage and came back a couple minutes later when he had retrieved the words to his newly composed musical tribute to Donald Trump, a.k.a. “Sick Bastard Trump.”
He probably should take heed when poking fun at a powerful economic figure, but, Hornsby doesn’t seem to be that kind of man.
His best-known song, “The Way It Is,” released in 1986 off an album of the same name, deals with injustice. Hornsby sings in the opening part of the song, “Standing in line marking time, waiting for the welfare dime, ‘cause they can’t buy a job, the man in the silk suit hurries by, as he catches the poor old ladies’ eyes, just for fun he says ‘get a job.’” This leads into the well-known verse, “That’s just the way it is, some things will never change.”
Hornsby is not one to be afraid to speak his mind. In fact, when given a chance to work with Don Henley of The Eagles, Hornsby admitted that he had no idea who they were.
“When Eagles were a really big deal, I was into Coltrane,” he said.
Hornsby ended up becoming great friends with Henley and recalls an event when Henley went to see him play with the Grateful Dead, for which Hornsby was a part-time member during the early 1990s. Hornsby said that Henley only went to see the opening act, Sting.
After the concert, Hornsby asked Henley what he thought of the show.
“It was worse than I thought it would be, and I thought it would be terrible,” Henley said. Seems like a great friend, indeed.
It is interesting that Sting once opened for the Grateful Dead mainly because the influence of the former on Hornsby’s sound is undeniable. As Hornsby sings, it is easy to hear the similar vocal quality the two musicians share.
Hornsby presented the audience with a wide range of fantastically composed music and lyrics and ingeniously contrived improvisations throughout the night. But his song “Hooray for Tom” says it best: “We should all agree to pay homage to me.”
The audience agreed, ending the concert with a standing ovation. The Grammy’s agree too. So if Pepperdine students are unfamiliar with this accomplished musician and lyricist, do not be surprised if, after a few listens, you start lining up to “pay homage” to Hornsby.
02-08-2007
