Published: Jan. 16, 2016; A3: Spark (Arts/Entertainment)
A rare performance
Three friends with their own acclaimed musical careers will
perform together for one night in Hartford
BY NICHOLAS DETTMANN DA I LY NEWS
Peter Mulvey said he and his two friends — Paul Cebar and
Willy Porter — have been confused with and mistaken for the folksinging trio,
Peter, Paul and Mary.
“We’re nothing like them,” Mulvey said with a laugh.
Instead, they are friends, colleagues, lovers of music and
performers with three widely different backgrounds and experiences that are
portrayed in their musical and song-writing talents that help bring together an
almost one-of-akind experience.
“We’re sort of playing off with each other,” Mulvey said.
“That’s what’s fun on nights like this.”
The trio will get together for a rare performance at 7:30
p.m. Jan. 30 at the Schauer Center, 147 N. Rural St., Hartford.
Each can’t wait for the show.
“I’m excited about it,” Porter said. “I’m a fan of those two
guys — have been for years and years.”
They’ve been friends for more than 20 years. They’ve
collaborated on work, whether it’s song-writing or playing music. And, from
time to time, they’ve performed together.
They’ve traveled seemingly millions of miles either together
or as solo artists for more than 20 years each. They’ve toured locally,
nationally and internationally.
Each does about 100-120 shows per year. In April, Mulvey
will do three shows in Germany.
But every once in a while, they each have a small window of
an opportunity to get together. When that happens, especially under the lights
of the stage, their aesthetically pleasing music and vocals float through the
air and into the ears of anyone who will listen.
The Schauer Center’s show will be one of at least three
booked shows of the three together, with this show being the last one — for
now.
Mulvey has 23 shows booked between Jan. 15 and May 13, while
Porter has 30 between Jan. 15 and April 24. In August, Porter has a 10-day tour
in Ireland.
“I love working with those guys,” Cebar said. “Over the last
10 years, we’ve been writing together in various groupings. We’ve used tunes
we’ve co-written on records. We have a lot of camaraderie.”
Because of their schedules, practicing together is not
typical. But since they’ve worked together for as long as they have, they don’t
need practice. Mulvey said a bulk of the show, if not all of it, is
improvisational. There is no set list, they just let the strums of the guitar
do the work.
Then, if needed, the others join in. They play the tunes
like they had practiced it — one wouldn’t know the difference.
“What’s fun about a show like this is when you have three
veteran performers, the dynamic becomes more fluid,” Mulvey said. “We have to
listen a lot harder than we normally do. We’re making it up as we go along.”
Porter added, “It’s a good show, it’s an unique show. We’ve
all been doing this a long time. There’s a lot of trust and respect for the
other musicians.”
After years of working together or listening to each other
from afar, the idea of them getting together for performances came up about
three years ago. And the first night they did it, they couldn’t believe what
happened — it was like music magic.
“One of the things we realized was it was pretty easy,”
Porter said. “We’ve all been doing this long enough that when something happens
relatively easy, it’s the right way to go.”
“When we play together, there’s all these echoes in our
music,” Cebar said. “It’s exciting.”
Paul Cebar
The first time Cebar heard “Working in the Coal Mine” by Lee
Dorsey in 1966, it struck a different chord for the Milwaukee native.
One of the men behind that song was the late Allen
Toussaint, who died in November, at the age of 77.
“The song structure, the lyric attitude, what’s being said,
these were some things Toussaint was good at,” Cebar said. “He was behind a lot
of wonderful stuff.”
In a career that spanned almost 60 years, Toussaint worked
with Etta James, Bonnie Raitt, Elvis Costello and Paul McCartney.
Cebar learned how to structure a song because of Toussaint.
Toussaint’s other influence on Cebar was Toussaint’s
presence with R& B, soul, funk, blues and jazz, especially in New Orleans.
Cebar estimated he’s made at least 100 trips in his lifetime
to New Orleans. On most of those trips, Cebar was an interpreter, learning what
worked for others and how he could embed it into his still-developing career.
“It was time very well spent,” Cebar said.
“I would consider Paul a musicologist of blues, soul, Cajun,
Cuban, African, all of these things,” Porter said. “They sort of come together
in his writing in his music.
“There’s nobody who phrases the lyrics like him. He has a
very unique way of playing the guitar. It’s wonderful. I love his music.”
Danny Barker, a former jazz and blues musician from New
Orleans who died in 1994, was another influence on Cebar. Barker was a rhythm
guitarist for Cab Calloway.
“He was a wonderful solo performer, very quirky,” Cebar
said.
Cebar learned how to be song writer through Toussaint. He
learned how to be a performer through Barker.
“His persona and way of selling a song was very low-key,
offhand, but also a very sly sense of humor,” Cebar said.
Cebar’s first recorded album was in 1981 with “Get A Move
On” as a member of The R& B Cadets.
The group’s second album, “Top Happy,” was released in 1986.
The group disbanded shortly after that. Cebar started his own group — The
Milwaukeeans — in the 1990s and they released their first album, “That Unhinged
Thing” in 1993.
Today, Cebar’s band is Paul Cebar and Tomorrow Sound. The
latest album, “Fine Rude Thing” was released in 2014.
Peter Mulvey
Mulvey, a native of Milwaukee, doesn’t remember much from
when he was 7 years old.
One thing he does know is he was singing since at least that
age — maybe earlier.
“Music is everything to me,” Mulvey, 46, said. “I was
singing before I could remember. I was playing guitar when I was 7 years old. I
don’t remember being 7 years old.”
However old he was, music — acoustics and vocals — was on
the Americana and folk singer’s mind.
“When I was in college, I was playing a couple nights a
week,” Mulvey said. “I remember playing in a four-piece band making $75. That’s
when it clicked. I’ve never looked back.”
His career spans almost 30 years.
Mulvey self-released a demo tape, “Rabbit Talk,” in 1992.
Porter said Mulvey is a “great poet; a great wordsmith.”
“He’s a very good guitar player,” Porter added. “Many people
revere his guitar playing and I’m one of them.”
“Peter’s got a real, narrative stance,” Cebar said. “It’s
very thoughtful, quirky, expressive and a lot of humor. But there’s a real kind
of casual thinking man’s approach that I really admire. He’s a great catalyst.
He wears his heart on his sleeve as far as his tunes.”
MOJO Magazine in the United Kingdom once wrote Mulvey is
“singularly gifted.”
It’s not hard to get lost with the gentle strokes of a
guitar. And he’s still working at it, 20 albums later, including “Silver
Ladder” in 2014.
“I feel like I’m beginning to come of age,” Mulvey said.
“I’m more dedicated about writing now.”
He also released two DVDs in 2004 — “On The Way” and
“Signature Sounds 10th Anniversary Collection.”
“I’m searching for the poetic,” Mulvey said. “I’m searching
for the beautiful and the entertaining and the engaging. ... That’s what I’m
after.”
Willy Porter
A native of Mequon, Porter, 51, has had an up-and- down
career.
It started with his debut album, “The Trees Have Soul,” in
1990. Then in 1994 with the release of his second album, “Dog-Eared Dream,”
Porter’s popularity was on the up stroke. The success of the album landed him
as an opening act for Tori Amos, Rickie Lee Jones and The Cranberries. In 1995,
he signed with BMG/Private Music.
“Up to that point, it had been very good,” Porter said of
his rapidly rising career. “I had some good success.”
The next two-plus years were a turning point for the rock,
blues and jazz musician as BMG stopped Private Music, just as Porter was ready
to release an album.
“I was thrown into limbo for two years, which was very
frustrating,” he said. “I couldn’t capitalize on my momentum.”
In 1998, he signed with San Francisco-based label Six
Degrees, where he released three albums, starting with “Falling Forward” in
1999.
That album was produced by three-time Grammy Award winner
Neil Dorfsman, who also produced the Grammy-winning albums for Sting’s “Nothing
Like The Sun” in 1987 and Bruce Hornsby’s “Scenes from the Southside” in 1988.
Dorfsman also won a Grammy for best engineer for Dire Straits’ “Brothers in
Arms” album in 1985 and was nominated for Dire Straits’ “Love Over Gold” in
1982.
“It was fantastic,” Porter said of working with Dorfsman.
“He remains a great friend.”
Porter’s career was back up again.
“It was artistic validation having gone through a major
label letdown and have Neil say you’re songs are great,” Porter said. “It gave
me a greater renewed sense of purpose. That was the starting point, you could
say.”
Dorfsman has also worked with Bruce Springsteen, McCartney,
Kiss, Bob Marley, Bob Dylan, Barbara Streisand and Tina Turner.
“A very inspirational guy,” Porter said.
Since then, Porter has released seven albums, with some help
along the way here and there from Mulvey and Cebar, whether it’s song-writing
or recording.
Porter’s latest album, “Human Kindness,” was released in 2015.
The Washington Post once wrote Porter “is a dazzling
acoustic guitarist with a moody baritone.”
The Boston Globe once wrote, “An acoustic picker with the
Olympian speed of Leo Kottke bolstered by rootsy vocals and twisting, offbeat
lyrics that evoked John Hiatt.”
“He’s a tremendous guitar player,” Mulvey said.
