Willie Nile kicks off Stearns Square SeriesDate: 6/29/2010 June 30, 2010.
By Mike Briotta
PRIME Editor
GREATER SPRINGFIELD -- Willie Nile's foray into the world of rock 'n' roll was actually a baptism by fire: A few short months after forming his original band, Nile found himself opening for The Who in a national tour.
It was a surreal transition for Nile, whose small recordings as a fledgling singer-songwriter in New York were never supposed to attract so much national attention in the early 1980s.
Nile fast became a darling of music critics, his career seemingly blossoming overnight, and it's not hard to tell why. His pop hooks are infectious, his lyrics subversive, and his stage performances simply rock. He's been likened to Bob Dylan and early John "Cougar" Mellencamp, though his approach is more electric guitar-oriented than the former, and his rock edge is more metropolitan than the latter.
"I went from being in oblivion to my first album coming out in the early '80s. It was the first time I had ever been in a studio recording with a band," Nile recalled. "We followed up with three weeks of shows around the country. Those were the first concerts I had ever given. I was a poet in libraries before that."
He continued about scoring his first big break, "I had heard that Pete Townshend was a fan of the first recording, but I didn't believe it. I was performing in the Roxy in Los Angeles and his manager asked, would I like to open up for The Who? It was a dream come true. Words can't explain what a thrill that was."
Springfield-area audiences will once again be treated to Nile's music at the Stearns Square Concert series, which he kicks off July 1. Admission is free. Nile was a crowd favorite in his previous Springfield performance in 2007; he also suggested he'll be wearing his Indian Motorcycle shirt in honor of the city.
Backing him at Stearns Square will be some familiar bandmates: Peter Hoffman on guitar; Frankie Lee on drums; and Johnny Pisano on bass. The last open-air concert series that Nile kicked off was a few weeks ago, when he sang at a Simon and Garfunkel-themed event in Central Park, with those legendary performers in the audience, as well as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Nile continued, "I just got back from Italy and the United Kingdom in support of 'House of a Thousand Guitars.' I played a show last week at the New York City Summer Stage. It was a night of Simon and Garfunkel duets. I sang 'The Boxer' with Alejandro Escovedo."
Asked if having Simon and Garfunkel in the audience that night changed the tone of the performance, he replied, "I wasn't nervous; that song is so strong. At rehearsal, we brought the house down, and so we couldn't wait to perform it in front of everyone."
Nile has been dubbed by music critics as "one of the most underrated musicians of all time." He replied, "Underrated? In some places, perhaps. I like the recordings I've done and I'm really happy with the last few records. I've been able to tour around the world, and I think I've come into my own."
The New York Times has called him "one of the most gifted singer-songwriters to emerge from the New York scene in years."
His fellow musicians have also heaped praise upon the performer; From Bono to Ringo, many have sung the praises of Nile's lyrical craftsmanship.
Notable filmmaker Jim Jarmusch is also a fan. He said in a press release, "Willie Nile craft[s] his songs from street-level observations and the leanings of his heart." Quipped Garden State rocker Little Steven: "Willie's so good, I can't believe he's not from New Jersey." Nile also sang with Bruce Springsteen at Giants Stadium last September and again in Buffalo that November. Nile is a Buffalo native.
Few modern performers can say that their early CDs are worth more than a dollar or two on the used market, but it's a testament to Nile's lasting popularity -- and the rarity of those songs -- that his nascent work is highly valued.
Although Nile's first few recordings were made prior to the CD era, the records that were later released on CD in 1994 now command $75 to $100 each on Amazon.com. Only one of his earlier CDs, "Places I Have Never Been," was re-released. "I'd rather have them all be re-released and be accessible," the musician said.
His 1992 recording "Hard Times in America" seems especially prescient nearly two decades later in light of recent financial and ecological crises. "Sadly it's more appropriate today with the recession and lost jobs," Nile said.
Another of his songs that eerily foreshadowed the 2009 financial meltdown was his take on our relationship with money, Capitalism, and the stock market called "Game of Fools." It is a powerful track from his 2006 CD "Streets of New York," a comeback album after Nile took a nearly four-year hiatus from recording.
His music has been categorized as everything from "Americana" to "Alt-Country," but it may as well be labeled subversive pop-rock: it's catchy and heavy at the same time. He said he finds parallels to "Game of Fools" in the news every day, four years later. "What's going on in the Gulf right now is so tragic," he said. "It's a 'Game of Fools.' It's people playing with matches."
His newest full-length recording, "The Innocent Ones" hits store shelves and online retailers in late August or early September.
"It's about the innocent victims around the world of man's inhumanity to man," Nile said. "A song on that album got standing ovations in Europe every night I played it. It's about human beings feeling compassion."
His current tour is to support "House of a Thousand Guitars," which is Nile's homage and fond remembrances of the guitar gods of rock. It could be said that it's also a fantastic vision of the 62-year-old's own personal nirvana: a fictional place in the musician's imagination, where guitar greats throughout history could meet and jam and hang out, somewhere in the ether.
"The title song came in a dream about a house where great musicians could go and chill with their friends," he said. "I grew up with this music on the radio; I was lucky to grow up with it, all the joy this music has given to me."
For a complete schedule of performances at the Stearns Square Concert Series, which runs through Sept. 2, visit www.springfielddowntown.com.
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