When musicians ask what you want to talk about during an interview, you usually have two choices: Their latest album or their coming tour.
When Billy Bragg asks, the field is wide open. Sure, the 51-year-old British folk-punk vet has a CD to plug — last year’s Mr. Love and Justice, his 12th solo album and one of his more personal efforts.
And this week he embarked on his latest cross-Canada road trip, a two-week trek. After playing in Toronto on Tuesday, he performs Wednesday at Bronson Centre in Ottawa, Saturday in Vancouver, Monday in Victoria, Tuesday at Winspear Centre in Edmonton, Wednesday at Jack Singer Concert hall in Calgary, and Saturday, Nov. 28 at Burton Cummings Theatre in Winnipeg.
Before hitting the road, the politically minded activist had more on his plate — and on his mind — than tunes and tour dates. He’s a member of the Featured Artists Coalition, a British organization of prominent musicians trying to address the file-sharing problems plaguing the industry. He recently launched the website a2f2a.com to talk with fans on the issue. He’s the organizer of Jail Guitar Doors, a campaign to supply inmates with musical instruments. He’s an author and playwright.
And on top of that, he’s ready, willing and able to expound intelligently, insightfully — and at length — on anything from Basque separatism to the British National Party. Here are a few slices of his wit and wisdom:
On the Featured Artists Coalition and his a2f2a website:
“We formed because we feel the agenda on digitization of music is being set by the music industry. Artists and fans aren’t getting much of a look in. And we question whether an industry that seeks to prosecute our fans — and cut people off the Internet if they’re sharing files for no profit — is really doing the best for the future of music. So we thought it was a good idea to begin a dialogue with those people who are sharing those files for no profit, to let them hear the voice of the artist as opposed to the industry and their lawyers. We also want to explore whether it’s possible to create a new business model based around a direct artist-to-fan relationship.
Obviously the industry’s not interested in that, so it’s going to be left to artists to talk to fans about what they do, how they consume music, what they want and what they’re prepared to do to support artists. I think that’s a worthwhile thing to try.”
On the decline of the CD:
“It’s a shame, really, because I like record shops. I used to spend a lot of time hanging about in record shops. But there’s no point in me crying about it. They’re not going to open record shops again to make an old punk like me happy. That’s gone. And the sooner we understand there’s an upside to that — the fact that instead of me having to get a record into every shop, I can find fans on the Internet — the better.”
On the personal nature of Mr. Love and Justice:
“I think it was because I spent the previous two years writing a book called The Progressive Patriot, which was a huge polemical outpouring and took up all my time and concentration. As soon as I delivered the manuscript, it was literally as if a dam had broken and love songs started coming. In fact, it happened in Toronto. I was doing a soundcheck at the Opera House and a love song just came to me. I sang the tune and melody without the actual lyrics. A stage hand said, ‘That’s a beautiful song, did you write that?’ I said, ‘Yeah, just now!’ After that, three or four more love songs came to me, and I just went with that.”
On touring:
“It’s my day job. It’s still my main source of income. I can’t not work. And I haven’t done a big tour since the spring, so I’m coming over to Canada. But it takes me a couple of days to get my Canadian head on, and put on a show that reflects the place I’m playing and what’s going on there, instead of just acting like some English geezer who doesn’t know where he is. It’s important for me that people in the audience understand that I know I’m not in America.”
darryl.sterdan@sunmedia.ca
