NPR Music

Christopher Denny: 'Heart's On Fire'

Photo by Rett Peek

November 13, 2007 - With a worn but graceful voice, Christopher Denny sings as though he's lived through more than the average 23 year old. The Little Rock, Ark. musician spent some time in Dallas and Chicago, playing sidewalks and bars, while writing powerful songs that recall traditional folk and Americana. But his distinctive and strong voice sets him apart from most singer songwriters.
Denny's album, Age Old Hunger, is a refreshing take on Southern honky-tonk. While his songs express a rural setting, his voice and writing owe much to both Roy Orbison and Jeff Buckley. Denny's band, the Old Soles, supports his vocals with crisp, full-on gospel instrumentation. On the opening bars to "Gypsy into a Carpenter" Denny lures listeners with an incredibly captivating voice, while Marcus Lowe and Chris Atwood soon follow with solid drums and a warm organ tones. "Time" presents a simple melody and sincere lyrics about learning and moving on.
Denny's album, released on 00:02:59 Records, has caught the attention of a few major label executives. He recently met with Columbia Records executive Rick Rubin to talk about his music. But Denny is trying to stay grounded. He tells Little Rock magazine Localist, "You have to be a little skeptical with big labels now, because they're a little desperate."

Localist

Breaking News: Golden Voice meets Golden Ear

Local roots phenomenon Christopher Denny recently sat down with head of Columbia Records, Rick Rubin. Rubin, dubbed "the most important producer of the last twenty years" by MTV, is renowned for his ability to pinpoint untapped potential in an artist's sound. He has produced and made into giants artists from LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys, and Run-DMC, to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Dixie Chicks, and, of course, Johnny Cash. He also recently expressed interest to the New York Times in Arkansas indie superstars The Gossip. Denny's story is a look inside the process of music industry buzz, a process which may prove fortuitous.

After Denny played some summer shows in New York with label mates Mike Ferrio and Matt Mays, an A&R representative from Atlantic Records contacted him about getting together. Denny met with A&R from Atlantic, who after one song pulled in Craig Kallman, the chairman of Atlantic Records, to hear some more. Representatives from Atlantic flew to Little Rock in late August for Denny's record release shows at Whitewater Tavern, and then offered to help Denny get to the CMJ Music Marathon in Manhattan earlier this Fall, where he reportedly made a lot of fans among music industry insiders.

Jason Silberman, Denny's ASCAP representative, later played a stack of albums for Maureen Kenny (A&R for Columbia) which included Age Old Hunger. She was apparently blown away by it and took it to her husband, of Roadrunner Records. His response was, "Oh yeah, Abe Bradshaw's new signing." Bradshaw owns 00:02:59, Denny's current label, and he told Kenny Atlantic was making a move. So Kenny put a copy of the album in the hands of her boss, Rick Rubin, whose simple reaction was, "I like some of the songs, but there's something about that voice. I want to meet this guy."

Denny was flown out to California, during the wildfires, to meet with Rubin. Since Rubin's first request upon taking over Columbia was that he not have an office, Denny would be meeting with him at his house. Denny says Rubin has a very comforting presence, and he was eager to hear about Chris' inspirations. After a little conversation about Neil Young and Johnny Cash, Rubin asked "Do you like Tim Buckley?" and they listened to some rare Tim Buckley recordings he had recently come upon. He also played some Bonnie Prince Billy he thought Chris would like. Rubin then asked if Denny wanted to play a few songs, and he handed him his Gibson. Rubin got into "All Burned Up," slapping his armrest and moving around.

After about an hour of playing and talking (Rubin was reportedly very taken with Chris' sense of humor), Rubin asked if he could hear the (as yet un-released Age Old Hunger addition) EP, which Chris then played for him. He told Chris he definitely wanted to hear more from him in the future, then he said, "Do you wanna hear a song off American VI?" (American VI is the sixth album of Johnny Cash's American Recordings series, produced by Rubin. American V was released posthumously; American VI has not been released, yet.) After two hours of playing, listening, and visiting, Rubin gave Chris a hug and scuttled off to a yoga lesson.

Denny doesn't expect any sort of record deal with Columbia to come out of the meeting, but he does hope to have future contact with Rubin. "My dream is not that he'll sign me, but that he'll be playing my album for other people like he played the Bonnie Prince Billy for me," he says. Denny, however, has already received an offer from Atlantic, and more are on the way. He says he wants to be able to pay his band to play full-time and make a living. "You have to be a little skeptical with big labels now, because they're a little desperate."

He is proceeding cautiously, paying close attention to contractual details and maintaining his own artistic independence. "You know, if I could find somebody with $100,000, I wouldn't need a label, but where are you gonna find that?" he asks, only half-kidding. In the meantime he'll be bouncing between New York and Arkansas, playing four shows in Arkansas between now and Christmas. Look to the Localist for more word on Denny's budding career.