Photo by Philip Laubner
I Wasn’t Built For A Life Like This
On the evening of September 25th, program director Megan Hamilton introduced singer-songwriter Caleb Stine to a full house at the Creative Alliance. The room swelled with the kind of feeling you get when you see a good friend after a long absence. Caleb was there to share his latest record, I Wasn’t Built for a Life Like This.
Caleb’s been a welcome contributor to the Creative Alliance for several years, producing Carter Family and Townes Van Zandt tributes. His fourth annual jamboree, Round the Mountain: Acoustic Roots, will happen November 13th. He told me earlier in the day that he felt the Patterson Theater was ideal for a solo performer, but I know that it’s not just a matter of size or acoustics that led him to choose the Creative Alliance. It’s the energy that comes from being there, being accountable – for an idea, a place, a city – and honoring it. The room felt warm with adoration. If you boiled it down to its essence, it felt like we were all honoring someone whos honored us with his craft and devotion; it felt like a thank-you.
Caleb stood on the stage of the Creative Alliance, no Brakemen (his usual backing band), just his guitar and his voice. It’s hard to stand on your own without a band to share and deflect the energy, but he made it easier with his natural humor and sincerity.
He played the first of the night’s two sets alone, running one by one through the tracks from I Wasn’t Built for a Life Like This. The solo performance wasn’t at all lacking without electric guitars, tom-toms or double bass. The songs from the new album are full and rhythmically varied enough to hold interest, and although it sounded easy to us, Caleb told me, “For an album that’s just 10 live takes of songs, we were in the studio for a year; we tried a lot of different things, and really sat and talked about the songs, subtly rearranged them until they worked.” By “we,” Caleb means producer Nick Sjostrom, who’s produced his last three records, including this one. Caleb said, “When I first brought the idea to Nick, I was talking about early Dylan records, just the sound on those records: it’s that fresh, it’s just him and a guitar, but I didnt want it to be nostalgic at all, I wanted it to be on its own terms.”
The Big Photo
At the end of the show Caleb was called back for an encore. He said hed play more, but only if all the performers from the evening joined him, and he also insisted that they abandon the stage. As most of the performers sat on the edge of the stage, Caleb walked through the audience and we all sang a lively version of I’ll Fly Away. It was a moving and communal way to end the evening. Earlier on Caleb shared the stage with each performer individually.
Photo and story by Philip Laubner.
Caleb Stine at The Creative Alliance
Photo by Philip Laubner
First up was ellen cherry, who sang her beautiful sea chantey, 1912, Violet Swims, But the Ship Sinks, and shared guitar-playing and harmonies with Caleb. The feeling of the song, its sadness, still haunts me. ellen cherry seems unassuming, laid-back; she even likes her name spelled in lowercase letters. That’s why it surprised me when I asked Caleb about her. He said, “ellen cherry is a Miss America with the adventurous soul of Amelia Earhart and the penchant for history of Winston Churchill. Shes got a buttery, honest voice.” I asked if he was quoting someone and he said, “Nope, my words about ellen, for better or worse.” I’d say better, as she’s an amazing talent. Caleb is set to produce ellen’s next record in January.
Photo and story by Philip Laubner.
Photo by Philip Laubner
Arty Hill splits his time between his home base in Maryland and honky tonks in Texas. Caleb is reverential when talking about him. He told me, “He’s the sheriff, judge and the executioner, three in one: a badass singer, writer and performer.” In a night full of highlights, Arty and Caleb’s two songs were my favorite combo. For me, the first song, Caleb’s Devil, has it all: great concept, lyric and melody. It’s airtight.
To answer Caleb, Arty chose Montgomery On My Mind. Caleb said, “Arty is the best country music writer in Maryland.” During the song I saw more than one person in tears. If “Montgomery on My Mind” hasn’t won awards, it should.
Photo and story by Philip Laubner.
Photo by Philip Laubner
Kenny Liner took the stage and raised a toast to Caleb; you could feel his admiration and warmth. Kenny is a crack mandolin player and another incredible writer. His band, The Bridge, is a roots-influenced jam band that shares a booking agent with The Avett Brothers. The Bridge performed at every major festival this past summer including Bonaroo, and Steve Berlin of Los Lobos produced their newest, soon to be released CD. At the release, Kenny joked about how nerve-wracking it is to trade new songs with such a talented writer but also said he felt relieved since he knew Caleb liked the first song they played, Kenny’s Born Ramblin.
Photo and story by Philip Laubner.
Photo by Philip Laubner
Rapper Salem Heggins followed Kenny and joked about not having an instrument, saying, “I was going to bring a triangle.” Caleb and Saleem were brought together by Sam Sessa of Baltimore’s WTMD radio station. Sams idea was to have musicians from two distinctly different genres work together. The two musicians hit it off immediately, even writing part of the song Baltimore the first time they got together. This chemistry resulted in the 2008 album Outgrown These Walls, and much like I Wasnt Built for a Life Like This, it’s an honest, stripped-down album: just two voices and a guitar. The quirky combo seems unlikely, but it works. When Saleem left the stage and the cheers faded, Caleb joked, “I guess that’s what happens when you bring a boy from Colorado to Baltimore.”
Photo and story by Philip Laubner.
Photo by Philip Laubner
The final performer of the evening was Nick Sjostrom, the producer of Caleb’s new abum. He claimed he wasnt a songwriter, but his The Changing Of The Seasons, a lilting, Beatlesque, minor-key ballad, has a beauty and fragility that makes me think otherwise. Nick then took the piano, sitting on the bench and listening to Caleb strum and play the rambling Coyote, a travel tune that leads the listener out west and then back again to Dizzy Issies in Baltimore. Halfway through the song, Nick was accompanying Caleb on piano, smiling and laughing as Caleb wove a humorous tale from the trip into the piece.
Photo and story by Philip Laubner.
Photo by Philip Laubner
I Wasn’t Built for a Life Like This is a stripped-down bare-bones departure from Caleb’s 2009 release, Eyes So Strong and Clean, in which the Baltimore songwriter explored rhythm, lush harmonies and his earlier musical influences, the Beach Boys and the sounds of the British Invasion.
Photo and story by Philip Laubner.
Photo by Philip Laubner
After the show, Caleb, Kenny, Arty, dobro player Dave Hadley and several others went to The Laughing Pint. Within minutes the guitars came out and we were all singing Townes Van Zandt and Buck Owens songs. It felt good to be in a neighborhood bar that encouraged impromptu performance, where people were enjoying the music and even knew the words. Once again, it was a great way to end the evening.
At least, I thought it was the end of the evening.
Photo and story by Philip Laubner.
Photo by Philip Laubner
After The Laughing Pint closed, we all went down the street to a private home and the music continued for hours, one musician calling a song and then another, the joy still there, the energy, and all of the wonderful music. It was the kind of night with genuine people that makes Baltimore an amazing place to live.
Photo and story by Philip Laubner.
