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| Dates: |
8/29/2010 - 8/29/2010 |
| Event Name: |
Concert |
| Description: |
Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist (guitar, banjo, accordian & saxophone) Mark Growden performs his original works. Presented by Porto Franco Records as part of the El Monte Sagrado Gallery Concert Series. $10 at the door (cash only).
“I want to touch people’s hearts instead of their heads,” says singer and songwriter (and accordionist, banjoist, guitarist and saxophonist) Mark Growden. He’s talking about his new record, Saint Judas, but he might just as well be talking about his philosophy of life in general. For Growden, life bleeds into music and vice versa, which is part of the reason his songs have always held such a deep emotional sway with such a wide audience. Growden’s first few recordings – like 1999’s Downstairs Karaoke and 2001’s Inside Beneath Behind – built on the outlaw troubadour vibe of his legendary (and plentiful) live performances around the Bay Area. Now comes Saint Judas, a quantum leap forward for the singer that is his most refined recording yet. Saint Judas is Growden’s first studio recording of his own songs in eight years. Although there have been two live albums and some film soundtracks, the gap is significant, and reflects a period of some turmoil in Growden’s life that surfaces in the themes of redemption and forgiveness that runs through the album’s 13 songs. The album’s title track – a Kurt Weill-sounding cabaret rocker with its refrain of “Bottoms up to you, buddy, 'cause somebody had to take the blame” – honors the Biblical “Saint of Sinners” often vilified as the traitor who turned on Jesus.
It’s a way of acknowledging and accepting the worst that lies within everyone while finding the strength to forgive and carry on - a theme with deep personal resonance for Growden these days. The singer’s extended break from music was largely due to a drug addiction that he needed time and space away from music to overcome. Now clean for over two years, Growden says the strength and perspective he has gained from kicking his habit has given him a renewed focus on music. “Now that I’m back,” he says, “my relationship to music is more clear.” |
| Time Started: |
7:00 PM |
| Time Ended: |
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