Brinsley Schwarz was both a guitarist who was an important part of the English pub-rock scene of the 1970s, and a band that became a cult favorite. Unfortunately, the group achieved little commercial success and are is now best known for jump-starting the career of Nick Lowe, Schwarz’s friend from before they were bandmates.
The band originally introduced Lowe’s “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding,” later a hit for Elvis Costello; “Play That Fast Thing (One More Time),” from Rockpile’s classic Seconds of Pleasure LP; and Lowe’s own big hit, “Cruel to Be Kind.” After the demise of his cool little outfit, Brinsley Schwarz embarked on a long career with Graham Parker, and now he’s a critically acclaimed solo artist.
Schwarz joins Charlie Ricci to discuss his latest solo LP, influences and career regrets, the possibility of a group reunion, collaborating with Parker – and what’s next:
CHARLIE RICCI: How well has Tangled – your second solo album from 2021 – fared both critically and commercially?
BRINSLEY SCHWARZ: Depends on what criteria you use, I guess. Critically? Well, it was very well received. Nobody hated it and there were some very nice things said. Commercially? That has been a little disappointing. You could say it was not a good time to release it. I try to concentrate on the music and not worry too much about the business, and as my friend [guitarist, songwriter and producer] Terry Britten says, we do this because we love doing it and not to make loads of money.
CHARLIE RICCI: What artists do you follow these days and who are your current favorites and influences?
BRINSLEY SCHWARZ: I still listen to the music I listened to when I was a lot younger – Beatles, the Band, Little Feat, Steely Dan, etc. There’s so much music out there now, I enjoy all sorts and there’s all sorts I don’t enjoy, but I am finding that a lot of music is sometimes having a deep emotional effect. I’m easily brought to tears by a little piece of harmony, orchestral or northern brass band, film music, cellos …
CHARLIE RICCI: What plans do you have for new music in the future?
BRINSLEY SCHWARZ: I have five tracks which are recorded and pretty much done. I’ll probably revisit the vocals and we’ll need to finalize the mix/mastering. Then I have four more tracks which are at various stages of being recorded and one completely new song. I’m hoping to get back into the studio with [co-producer] James [Hallawell] to try to get those 10 songs finished as soon as we can. Then I have four or five more songs I’m working on. So, some release is coming.
I’m aware of the need to get out to play live, but it’s expensive to do and not easy to arrange. COVID is not over, several friends of mine have caught it recently and at least one got it pretty badly. Recently, I played a guest spot with Martin Belmont playing with me at a little club in London, at a Bob Collum gig. It went down very well and we hatched some plans to do a full band gig – but the drummer got COVID!
CHARLIE RICCI: Now, let’s discuss the past. Do you have any regrets that the Brinsley Schwarz band wasn’t a commercial success?
BRINSLEY SCHWARZ: The Brinsleys … for a while, commercial success was not our aim. We eventually felt successful in our terms. You could say that to some extent our success was what we all went on to do, what we’re still doing. When I was 13 I heard a record on the radio, it was a guitar instrumental, straight away I knew that’s what I wanted to do – and I’ve been in love with guitars ever since, learning how to play them, playing them, fixing them, building them, writing songs and making records with them. Still doing it and still happy doing it. That’s good enough for me.
CHARLIE RICCI: Why did members of Brinsley Schwarz insist on naming the band after you?
BRINSLEY SCHWARZ: I’ve no idea. They decided without me. I can only think they must have been out of it!
CHARLIE RICCI: Have you ever thought about having a Brinsley Schwarz reunion? I’m sure you would attract some attention these days.
BRINSLEY SCHWARZ: No, no reunions planned.
CHARLIE RICCI: Tell us about your time with Graham Parker. How rewarding was it playing with him and the Rumour?
BRINSLEY SCHWARZ: Playing with Graham, and being a member of the Rumour, has always been the best. As his song says, it has been a “long emotional ride.” What can I say? I’ve spent the best part of 25 years playing with these guys. It has been great.
CHARLIE RICCI: What is the most rewarding – composing music, recording it or performing live?
BRINSLEY SCHWARZ: I’ve given more than a little thought to your question, a difficult one to answer. So, you would have to say that writing, recording and playing live are all different. They involve different work, experiences and emotions. Writing can be quick and easy, once you’ve started it can just pour out, or it can be slow and take years to finish.
I wrote part of “Game On” [from Tangled] mid-1990s-ish, got stuck and put it aside but then wrote the rest suddenly and quickly 15-odd years later. It was rewarding to have finished something started so long ago but not nearly as rewarding as writing “Crazy World,” a deeply emotional song [also on Tangled] that came out of watching the world in lockdown. It enabled me to express what it was doing to me and, in some way, to cope with it all. But you set your own high bar that is a long, long way below Dylan, Randy Newman, Lennon and McCartney and so many more great songwriters. And if you can write something that’s close to your own high bar and you can be happy with it, then that’s pretty rewarding.
Recording follows on from writing. You can’t help but get ideas, as you write, of guitar parts, harmonies, how it should sound etc. A lot goes into recording: You’re working toward how the song will end up, how everyone will hear it. It can go well or be a struggle, if things don’t go right. “Crazy World” was not working; it had drums, bass, a vocal and guitar, and James was putting some piano down. I suddenly thought, “This is not happening; let’s try just piano” – which we did. That made me sing it differently, and then we added a string quartet, which just made it so completely different but so much better. But you’re making a record, and not all great records are great songs.
Playing live depends on so many things that, despite all the work that goes into getting to that moment when the drummer counts you in, so much is out of your control. Most of the time you can’t hear half of the band, and you’re just playing your part, the one that you know. It can go dreadfully wrong or wonderfully well, sometimes both, but a good gig, when everything sounds great and everyone is on the money? Well, that’s a great feeling.
So all of them are the most rewarding – and doesn’t that make us lucky?
CHARLIE RICCI: Do you have any career regrets?
BRINSLEY SCHWARZ: Yeah, there’s been times when maybe I or we made the wrong choice. I guess turning down a personal invite from Elton John to open for him on his first U.S. tour could have been a mistake, and that may have propelled us on a better commercial path, but then there might not have been Graham Parker and the Rumour!
CHARLIE RICCI: Finally, is there anything you would like to tell your fans?
BRINSLEY SCHWARZ: To my fans, to our fans, a big thank you for all your support over the years. You know we really appreciate it.
