A Conversation with Malcolm Holcombe (continued)

PM: After hearing you play some of these songs live, pretty damn live, the last four or five years, I'm happy to have the lyrics in print. I'm sure I'm not the only person wanting to play some of these songs. You've had some good people cut your songs, right, the last couple of years?

MH: Well, there have been one or two. A couple of women have recorded a couple or three tunes. I'm very grateful, and at the same time, wondering why.

[laughter]

MH: You know how that goes. I don't know if you've ever had any songs cut or if you write songs.

PM: Here and there, yeah.

MH: It's pretty amazing, ain't it?

PM: It is, when somebody cuts your song.

MH: And especially when they sell records--and I mean, when they play it and have bands, and play it in front of a bunch people or something.

PM: Now, I know Maura O'Connell cut some tunes. Who else did? Somebody else did.

MH: Danni Leigh cut "A Far Cry From Here."

PM: Oh, right.

MH: I haven't heard it in a while. But I don't know her or anything about her except that she did sing that song. And they can both sing, which is a plus.

PM: Yeah, right, they both sing like hell. And I know Danni Leigh gets out to Europe and has kind of got something going on out there.

MH: Really?

PM: And Billy Block takes her to Europe in his Western Beat tours and like that.

MH: Boy, Billy Block's a hard working man.

PM: Yeah, he is. He's the schmooze-it-or-lose-it poster child.

MH: Yeah, I'm glad I paid him back that five dollars. And I appreciate him loaning me five dollars, and I'm glad to have paid it back so that I can close that chapter.

PM: [laughs] Yeah, he's a good man. [see our interview with Billy Block]

MH: But I'm glad he's still out there kicking around.

PM: I'm really digging the title cut of your new record, "Another Wisdom." That's a whole different kind of groove.

MH: Yeah, that's--Sam did a real cool job on that tune. Everybody did.

PM: I knew that was Sam that kind of turned it around that cool way, right?

MH: Yeah, oh, man, Sam just is--man, he's a--I was just bragging on him. He was doing some demos back in '90, '91. Sam said, "Hell, Malcolm, everybody wears a white hat on the inside."

PM: Oh, wow.

MH: Sam did say that to me. And I just left well enough alone. I'll just quit bragging on him.

PM: [laughs] Those are some trippy words, brother, on "Another Wisdom." Would you tell us something about writing that song, the where and the how of that?

MH: Well, I--yeah. People that I've known over the years and the way I perceive the trip going on, and kind of reflecting on that, and then the situations and circumstances that dawned on me that I'm trying to understand, situations in life that were going on and the people involved. And sometimes, it takes on a new dimension, you know what I'm saying, again, you know how you just kind of disappear into it, into another world in a tune or something, and try to connect with reality, and try to convey a moment in time and express it to where somebody can sink an eye tooth into it, that it's palatable enough to where they might digest something that really teases their heart a little bit, in a good way, and they can digest it--and me, too.

PM: Yeah.

MH: I try not to take off a bigger bite than I can chew and swallow.

PM: [laughs] When you follow that song with the beautiful lullaby for your stepson, "Sleepy Town," it's almost hard to believe both songs are the same guy.

MH: Oh, yeah?

PM: That just speaks to how wide a bandwidth you got going on.

MH: Like I say, it don't pay to be late for supper. So when food's on the table, you better hurry up there and sit down and say the blessing and be grateful and eat. So whatever is on your plate--I just gotta be a clean plater, I don't like to see nothing go to waste.

PM: They say in Germany--when I was playing there--they say, "Yeah, he's a good fork."

MH: Oh, he's a good fork. I like that. That's a German thing. Makes me think of Dave Olney. He's a powerful songwriter, they love him over there. He says, "Fielen dank." That means "Thank you." I'm quoting Dave Olney telling me how to say thank you in German. Does that sound right, Frank?

PM: Fielen dank, that's right. Yeah, I believe he married him a wonderful German girl.

MH: Yeah, I don't know much about that. I just think he's an important songwriter to me. I mean, he's very important and highly underrated and underestimated. He's one of the few that I can think of that is not paid attention to enough.

PM: I totally agree. [see our review of Dave's most recent record] I mean, he's one of the guys who keeps the bar up real high. Keeps pushing the bar up.

MH: Yes, sir.   continue

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