Skott Freedman performs at North Halsted Market Days ( Addison Stage ) @ 1:30 p.m. and at Gentry on Halsted, ( 773 ) 348-1053 @ 6 p.m. Aug. 9.
Earlier this year, in a review of Some Company ( Violent Yodel Music ) , the third full-length disc by singer/songwriter and piano virtuoso Skott Freedman, I wrote that the album 'is the perfect companion to his previous releases and proof that he is maturing and growing as an artist.' Freedman included a pair of unexpected cover tunes ( 'The Wind' by Cat Stevens and Marc Cohn's 'Walking In Memphis' ) in addition to his trademark piano and vocal numbers, the best of which include 'Tug Of War' and 'Walking Away,' and deal with the difficulty of ending a relationship.
Freedman, who is also renowned as an activist, working to break down myths about bisexuality, is currently residing in Charleston, SC, but he spends a substantial amount of time touring in support of his music or doing speaking engagements on college campuses.
Gregg Shapiro: One of the most surprising aspects of your new album, Some Company, was the presence of two cover tunes—Cat Stevens' 'The Wind' and Marc Cohn's 'Walking In Memphis.' Why did you select those two songs and do you usually include covers versions in your live shows?
Skott Freedman: I do include cover versions. My first show was when I was 16, in New Jersey. I did cover songs because a majority of my material is original and I recognize that there will be new listeners in the crowd and I want to bring them and not completely isolate them. One thing I hate is going to a concert and not knowing any of the music. I usually try to throw in a couple of cover tunes. For this album, these specific tunes, I'm a big fan of Cat Stevens and the song 'The Wind,' which is only a minute and a half long, it's got such an honesty and simplicity, but it's so powerful, which is how I try to hone my style. I don't like to hide things behind symbols and make you dig for the meanings. I want it to be there. My influences, like Cat Stevens and Joni Mitchell, get the simplicity across, but word it in such a way that it has never been worded before. To start the album with 'The Wind' is a great introduction to my music, even though it wasn't my music, but I thought it had similar themes. 'Walking In Memphis' has so much soul.
It was a big song on the radio so I was skeptical about it, but for me it has so much warmth. I started doing it a couple of years ago and people expect it now. Putting it on the album made sense because I've been doing it for five years now.
GS: Some of the original songs on Some Company focus on the end of a relationship. Is it a difficult process to write about that subject or is it more cathartic?
SF: That's a great question. I think it depends on the songwriter. Some songwriters won't write about their relationships. They will write about other relationships because it's too close to home. I always say that every single song I write is true. There's enough drama in everyday life that I don't need to bother with fiction. Whether they are my own stories is a different case. I don't say every song is about me. I'm not that egocentric in my music. A couple of songs on this album, break-up-wise, are about me. The ( break-up ) songs I do write—I do find it very therapeutic. I probably have a whole string of songs that I haven't put on an album that I needed to get out. The ones about the break-up that I put out on my album are the ones that I thought people could identify with. It's easy to look at Some Company and think, 'This guy is so wrapped up in his own life, why should we care?' That's not the point. My life is no more or less difficult than the average person's. I put it out there because I think people can identify with certain aspects. That's something that I always took from music. If I can give that back to a listener, then that's my goal.
GS: You mentioned Joni Mitchell and Cat Stevens and I was wondering how they find their way into your work?
SF: People like Joni Mitchell, I respect her work so much. I don't know how much influence she's had on my music. I consider her more as a singer/songwriter role model. Right now, I'm listening to everything. Nina Simone was a huge part of my listening when I was growing up, so there is that jazz influence. I would listen to punk bands like Green Day or Celtic ( music ) or folk people like Cheryl Wheeler or Christine Lavin, and Li'l Kim to bring in the rap aspect. There are so many different styles that I compare my music to a big soup that you make, where you have all these ingredients and you put them in and when it's done, you can't separate them anymore.
GS: After four discs of mostly solo piano work, do you foresee augmenting future albums with a full band or orchestra?
SF: Absolutely. One of the things that I've wanted to do for quite some time now is to bring strings in. I think a piano and cello duet would be gorgeous. For my next album, which is going to be out next April and will be all covers, I will almost certainly have a full band including strings and trumpet. The next album will be different in two ways. One, it will be all covers as I am taking a break from the songwriting. And two, not to just be piano and vocals. I'm going to take a different direction for a year and then put out another original album the following year.
GS: Do you know what songs are going to be on the covers album?
SF: The way that we are doing it is that I put it out to the mailing list fan base and let them know about it and asking for their input. They have been e-mailing them in and my manager and I will go through them all and in August we are going to put the top 25 online for a vote. For this one, the fans are picking the songs.
GS: In addition to being a singer and songwriter, you are also an activist. You do speaking and performance engagements on college campuses. How did you get started doing that?
SF: I went to Ithaca College in upstate New York. One of the things that I did was start up the LGBT group there. I became president of the group and I identified as gay. What I noticed was that I was still attracted to women. I also noticed that I was trying to hide this because a majority of my friends were gay and lesbian, and I found myself censoring my speech, making sure that they couldn't tell if I was looking at a girl. I quickly realized that the feeling was familiar and that I had gone from one closet in the straight to another closet in the gay community. After doing some soul searching, I came out as bisexual, and the reactions to that were mixed. I started speaking around campus and that led to speaking around the area in upstate New York and before long I got a call from the University of Kansas saying that they wanted to fly me out to speak, not perform. The role I've taken on as a bisexual activist was not what I was initially looking for, but one that I welcome.
GS: Are you also speaking at high schools?
SF: We've had a few contacts from high schools, but the biggest problem for them is that more often than not the funds aren't there. If they are there, the principal will not support it. As soon as I play in the area, I would be happy to do that for free. High schools would be a great place to get to. The problem is that there is going to be a lot of resistance from the parents, who at that point, can still say what their kids can and can't hear in high school.
GS: You've spent some summers in Chicago, and you have also lived in other big cities including Boston, but now you have relocated to South Carolina.
SF: That is true ( laughs )
GS: What has that transition been like for you?
SF: It's been different. I've never lived in the South. I was living in Boston and nothing was clicking right. I'd just graduated and I signed on with an agent who, after four months, didn't get me one show, so I couldn't pay my rent. I decided to skip out on graduate school for Speech Therapy ( my major ) and had a bad break-up after four years. I needed a fresh start. I said, 'It's just too damn cold here ( in Boston ) .' I started looking around. I visited Charleston one weekend, flew down the next month and rented an apartment. That was it. I didn't know anybody down here. I usually just go on impulsive urges and here I am a year and a half later. I love it down here. It's very quiet, peaceful, serene. Right near the ocean. No complaints at all.
