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BOBBY LONG 

British singer-songwriter Bobby Long emerged from London’s club scene with a reputation for creating memorable songs inhabited by hauntingly poetic lyrics. He relocated to New York in 2009 and has since released three CDs inhabited by powerful original material: A Winter Tale (2011)—an homage to his acoustic roots; Wishbone (2013)—a gritty opus that showcases his sorrow-filled voice and his stellar guitar playing; and the latest, Ode to Thinking, which applies his varied musical influences to a new collection of compelling songs. Long has also published a volume of poetry—Losing My Brotherhood—with a second collection coming later this year.

An extraordinarily prolific songwriter who has at times been compared to his heroes, among them Elliott Smith, Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan, his newly written songs tend to undergo a metamorphosis during their live exposure. “With some songs,” he says,“you have to play them out before you record them because they’re not quite there yet. Playing them about 20 times in the right setting really helps, but you also don’t want to overplay them because by the time you come to record them, you’ve lost whatever it was that excited you about them.”

For his third album, he’s returned to the basics, a guy and a guitar, recalling his heady early days on London’s open mic circuit. In the studio this time around, he teamed with producer/musician Mark Hallman (Carole King, Ani DiFranco) with the songs sturdily built around Long’s vocals and guitar. Hallman played bass guitar, drums, piano and organ on the recording and worked with Bobby to construct the background vocals and harmonies that complement his singularly plaintive voice. The creative process unfolded during a two-week period last fall at Hallman’s Congress House Studios inAustin, Texas.

ODE TO THINKING is a solid collection of 11 original songs that suggest the intimacy of his live shows while the songwriting displays a hard-won maturity in its exploration of a variety of subjects. The title cut, a paean to global apathy and confusion, opens the recording with intricate fingerpicking on the guitar. From there, the album traverses all manners of minefields of the heart (“Cold Hearted Lover of Mine,” “Something Blue,Something Borrowed” and “Treat Me Like a Stranger”) to the outer reaches of nostalgia and memory (“That Little Place I OnceKnew,”“1985”). The lyrics of “I’m Not Going OutTonight” unfold like a movie in three acts, while “Kill Someone” has a story all its own(he tells it during his shows).

Writing and touring are now a way of life. Long headlines his own shows—known for their irreverent, self-deprecating humor in addition to the music—and has supported  major artists including Steve Winwood, Iron & Wine, Rodrigo y Gabriela and Brett Dennen, as well as playing high profile festivals like Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, the Dave Matthews Caravan and Bamboozle.

*****PLEASE CALL TO RESERVE at 920-563-9391 and send a check in advance.