Like Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones used to say, all Marc Berger wants to do is make people tap their feet.
A Brooklyn native who’s opened for the likes of Bob Dylan, Berger will be at the Crandall Public Library in Glens Falls Thursday at 7 p.m., offering up his personal brand of folksy rock music.
“In his biography, Richards said, ‘We’re not a loud band; we play rock ‘n’ roll music that makes you tap your feet,’ ” said Berger, who will be accompanied by three other musicians.
Marc Berger in Concert
WHERE: Crandall Public Library, 251 Glen St., Glens Falls
WHEN: 7-8:30 p.m. Thursday
HOW MUCH: Free
MORE INFO: 792-6508, www.crandalllibrary.org
“I have long hair. I’m not going to deny that I’m a rock ‘n’ roller, but what I play I call American roots music. It’s folk music rolled with the blues and some rock and that creates a kind of hybrid. I like to say we’re an acoustic band on testosterone.”
Berger splits his time between Ithaca and New York City these days, at least when he’s not on the road. He spends a lot of time out West, which has become a big part of his music.
The region is well represented in his music, much of the way The Band paid homage to the South with its music, according to Berger.
“They created this allusion of the lost South, and most of them were from Canada, and that’s kind of served as a model for me. I use the West the same way they used the South.”
Berger began writing songs when he was in law school. He’s happy to say he did graduate and pass the bar exam, but his career took a different route.
“I’m a bit of a late bloomer,” he said. “I always thought I was going to be a lawyer, especially because the first song I wrote was terrible. But then I kept at it and started thinking some of them are pretty good. Being a lawyer wasn’t a bad idea.
“But if I hadn’t tried music there would have been this nagging feeling. But it worked out very well. I immediately signed a publishing deal and started getting some advances for my writing.”
Berger’s career was given a boost when he met Richie Havens in Manhattan in the early 1980s.
“We had this serendipitous encounter in the West Village; we became friendly, and he started singing one of my songs,” remembered Berger. “That got me a lot of attention.”
The song, “The Last One,” is a familiar tune for Havens’ fans as it became a staple at his concerts before he died in 2013. Berger’s most recent album is called “Ride,” made up of 10 songs that reflect his romantic connection to the American West and, according to his website, “explore the value of its myths to contemporary culture.”
“My next record is going to be called ‘Folk,’ and it’s going to be a genre-busting look at that term,” said Berger. “It’s going to be a thematic record the same way ‘Ride’ was.”
Joining Berger on that album will be Tony Garnier, a former bass player with Dylan.
Reach Gazette reporter Bill Buell at 395-3190 or [email protected].
Categories: Entertainment
