HoboEye Music Interview:
Bret Dennen, Oakdale, California

HoboEye: I first heard your music on Austin's KUT program Eklektikos with John Aielli, I think the song was The One Who Loves You the Most. I immediately turned up the volume and listened to make sure I got your name. Your music has this intricate quality to it, a distinct sound that comes off as masterful yet completely natural. Your voice along with your talent as a songwriter and guitar player, has lead several critics to compare you to the legendary singer-songwriters of our time. Beyond stylistic comparisons, people have likened you to much older pop and folk performers who've gained a sense of maturity in their work, musicians who've tapped into an inner-knowing to produce a sense of timelessness in their music. Being in your twenties with only two records out, what's your take on this? Do you enjoy the comparisons or do you find them limiting?

Dennen: I enjoy them because I don't connect with a lot of new music. What I'm trying to do, is what you said exactly. I want to put out a message that anyone from any time can understand. It is a simple message of truth and hope. It isn't about style or whats hip. Those things fade. It's about being meaninful, sincere, and making a difference.

HoboEye: Your voice has been described, among other things, as graceful, inspiring, and fragile. How aware are you of your voice? How much effort goes into intonation?

Dennen: I used to put a lot of effort into singing. I would try to make it sound a certain way. I wanted it to sound like this singer or that singer, but after a while I started to shed what wasn't my natural voice and I began to tap into my true voice. It gets a whole lot easier when you do that.

HoboEye: I'd like to back up a bit and talk about your beginnings as a musician. How did you come to be a performer? Was it in your blood or did you gravitate towards music in a more roundabout way?

Dennen: I have known my way around a guitar for a while. I started tinkering with it when I was twelve or so. But it wasn't until I was in college, and around a lot of music and musicians, that I got the urge to write and sing and perform.

HoboEye: Your latest record, So Much More, has been met with some amazing praise and you've enjoyed opening for John Mayor, Sheryl Crow, and Dave Matthews. How has your recent success changed your craft? How much have you evolved your songwriting process over the years?

Dennen: I don't think it has changed it much at all. If anything it has made me feel more confidant in being myself. That is the best thing anyone can be really. Themselves.

HoboEye: Your last album was produced by Kevin McCormick and features some heavy-hitting musicians, people who've backed up the likes of Tom Petty and Jackson Brown. As the new kid, how was it working with these seasoned professionals in the studio?

Dennen: Every moment was a learning experience. These guys know so much and they all play so effortlessly. It made me learn more about my songs to hear how they played them.

HoboEye: At HoboEye we're interested in the cross-pollination of creative ideas and art forms. Outside of music, what other art endeavors are you interested in? Are there certain artists, writers or filmmakers you've been inspired by?

Dennen: Well, my favorite visual artists are the famous imressionists and modern artists like Van Gogh, Rodin, Picasso. My favorite poets are Rumi, and Neruda. My favorite fillmakers are the Cohen Brothers, and my favorite writers are, Marquez, Alice Walker, and Mark Twain.

Find out more about Brett Dennen >