By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org
The song stories on Griffin House’s soon-to-be-released album Rising Star — some of which will undoubtedly be sweetly sung and appreciatively heard at his stop at Spring Lake’s Seven Steps Up on Saturday, May 4 — offer a peek in the real and/or imagined world of a singer who has spent much of the last 16 years on the road.
There are stories of the frustration with life if not the brutal business of making independent music. But there are also stories of understanding that, like a good country folk song lyric, “life is kinda what happens while you are making your way as best ya can.”
On “Hindsight”, House sings of a frustrating future: “Am I am fool for waiting / On a ship already gone / I only see the damage done in hindsight”. Yet there is also balance, an acceptance of whatever the future holds, as in “Cup of Fulfillment”: “There’s a light in the dark it’s the fire in our hearts / Even when our work is done / Long may your love live on”.
If that is not the true conflict of a singer wandering over the road of a music life, nothing is.
But I suspect listing to those tunes are just scratching the surface of House’s life and his music.
With something like 11 albums and 16 years of work in Nashville and around the country, House’s Rising Star (set for a June 28 release), described as “a self-reflective record that shows just how honed House is as a writer and musician”, is proof of the progression of his music and his life.
Rising Star was created with old friends, Paul Moak and Ian Fitchuk, and also features co-writes with fellow Nashville musician Brian Elmquist of The Lone Bellow, longtime collaborator Jeff Trott (who also works with Sheryl Crow) and Joy Williams of The Civil Wars — with percussion from Grammy-winning “Album of the Year” producer Ian Fitchuk (he of Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour).
“This album seemed to come together with a little more grace and ease than records I’ve made in the past,” House said in supplied material. “And I think so much of that is attributed to how good the people I got worth with on this record are, they all just happen to be really good friends too.”
And that diversity of working relationships, of partners in musical crime, is clear on Rising Star.
The title tune is a sparse, almost spoken word poem of a song that leaves no doubt the writer not only knows what lonely feels like, but knows how to put that feeling into lyrics. And while “15 Minutes of Fame” give evidence of the dangers of getting what you pray for, “Crash and Burn” makes clear the dangers of not getting what you prayed for.
House song/stories often remind me of Gordon Lightfoot’s clear, cutting storytelling — and I liked Gord’s gold a lot — but with a very modern American outlook.
My favorite tune on the album, however, on first listen, is “Change”, which features some beautiful harmonies with Joy Williams, lyrical truths such as “We were never meant to stay the same”, and, maybe, a little glimpse of where House is in his home-life (with wife and two daughters).
Alas, the tune may not be on the program as he tours solo acoustic, often opening for the likes of John Mellencamp, Mat Kearny and Josh Ritter.
In addition to the release of the album Rising Star, House also stars in the full-length documentary film by the same title, set for release this year. According to supplied information, the film is co-produced with music video director and filmmaker Shane Drake, and chronicles House’s life as a musician and features music from his new album as well other tunes from his catalog.
Seven Steps Up is located 116 S. Jackson Street. For tickets and information call 616-930-4755 or visit sevenstepsup.com.
