Sweet GA Brown finds inspiration in all kinds of music. Country, punk, folk and hip hop all seep into his songs, but one unifying ingredient is his sense of humor. When discussing songwriting he's just as likely to reference Eddie Murphy as John Prine.
His new song, I Believe, is about Bigfoot, space aliens and other regulars from the Art Bell show. "It's a funny song but also a little smart," he explains. "It's like a Seinfeld episode, where I set something up in the beginning and then bring it all together with a joke at the end."
For Sweet GA Brown a great song should touch many different emotions. "My favorite is when a song can be happy, sad, funny and dark all at the same time. It doesn't have to be high brow subject matter, but it doesn't have to be knuckle-dragging music either." He admits to feeling triggered by certain contemporary country tropes like pick-up tailgates, bluejeans, and cold beers on a Saturday night.
He started out playing bass in Hellstomper, a self-described hillbilly redneck punk band that enjoyed going way over the top. "We'd bring roadkill to our shows," he recalls with a laugh. As the band's lineup continued to evolve, he'd make his way from bass to guitar.
At the same time he found himself a sound engineer running a studio for hip hop and RnB albums after crossing paths with a record executive from LaFace Records. "I loved the music, even if it wasn't what I was used to making back then. I was a fish out of water." He recalls the rappers were lots of fun to work with, but he found it difficult to record RnB singers with more techniques like doubled and harmonized vocal tracks.
All the while Hellstomper continued to play and tour. "We were successful, but not wealthy. We released 10 7-inch records and 10 albums, all with different record indie labels all around the world."
But things changed once he had kids - twins to be exact. Late nights and long tours became a thing of the past. Music now had to exist in the quiet moments when his kids were napping. So instead of ear-splitting punk, his style evolved to be more quiet and lyrically driven.
In 2009 he recorded his first solo album of original songs at his home studio. "I used to not write lyrics," he explains, "but then I heard John Prine. Now I'm just a John Prine stooge who has a punk background." These days he's ten albums into his solo music career.
This led him to cross paths with Joshua Claude Mayfield, the local punk journeyman and founder of Wereopossum records, a local record label representing artists like Matthew Paul Revere and Peter Stubb. Coincidentally, he found out that Mayfield had replaced him in Hellstomper when he'd been forced to move on.
These days his sound continues to evolve. In addition to singing and playing acoustic guitar, he's also built a light-up human-sized drum pad he can perch atop and trigger by stomping. It adds a fun visual element to the show as well as a creative dimension to the music.
Sweet GA Brown will appear alongside Joshua Claude Mayfield at the Woodshop Listening Room this Thursday January 25th. Doors open at 7 and music will start at 8. There is no cover.