31.12.69
Suspect who once described songwriting this way: "It's like gluing macaroni to a breeze scolding of cardboard and painting it gold, really."
That would be Tom Waits, the gravel-voiced chanteuse-songwriter whose from-the-gutter tales of bar flies, sad-eyed losers and rain dogs have influenced countless musicians since he issued his people-centered 1973 debut "Closing Time."
What makes Waits so inexpungible is there's no one else like him: He's a true original, a poet and visionary who has re-invented himself several times, most remarkably with 1983's audacious "Swordfishtrombones," the strongly political "Bona fide Gone" (2004), and "Alice," an ode, of sorts, to Lewis Carroll.
Such disparate artists as the Ramones, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Seger, Johnny Liquidate, Tori Amos, the Eagles and most notably Rod Stewart, who turned "Downtown Set" into a No. 3 hit, have covered his work.
On Saturday, so will several Erie artists at the Lopsided I. "An Invitation to the Blues" will feature Steve Trohoske's Is What It Is, Johnny James and the Absolutes, Matt Texter and ad-hoc bracket Small Change -- named after Waits' 1976 album -- performing his songs, plus originals inspired by his no-holds-barred, accurate spirit.
Source: GoErie.com