Wednesday, September 10, 2014

‘Ghost' writer

Marc Ford’s solo spirit shines on his new album


By KAREN LINDELL
Express Staff Writer

Marc Ford, a former Black Crowes guitarist, is now a seasoned solo artist with a new album, “Holy Ghost.” He’s promoting the release on a tour that will stop at the Sun Valley Brewery in Hailey on Friday. Courtesy photo

    “Yes, I used to be in The Black Crowes. Doing other stuff now.”
    The Twitter bio is short and sort of bittersweet for Marc Ford, a solo singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer for many years now. We almost hate to call him the “former lead guitarist for The Black Crowes,” but Ford isn’t too hung up on the description.
    “I’m not trying to lose the label or anything, but there’s other things to talk about,” he said. “It’s not the only thing I’ve done. I don’t mind talking about it — I’m proud of it. But it was a long time ago.”
    “Other stuff” includes his latest solo album, “Holy Ghost,” and U.S. tour in support of the release. Ford, 48, just started the fall tour, and will play at the Sun Valley Brewery in Hailey on Friday, Sept. 12. Ford’s son Elijah, a budding guitarist and songwriter, will open the show and sit in with his dad.
    Elijah Ford, who lives in Austin and is working on a new album with his band, said he learned three things about music from his dad: “To listen. To keep it honest and simple. Distill.”
    The concert will be intimate, in keeping with the acoustic, soul-searching vibe of the new album, but “we’re going to rock out, too,” Marc Ford said, with plenty of plugged-in tunes.
    The musician has a wealth of material to draw from for a set list. Before he became a Crowe in 1992, Ford was in a critically acclaimed blues-rock band, Burning Tree, formed in the late 1980s. Burning Tree opened for The Black Crowes, which promptly snatched up Ford. He played on the band’s albums “The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion,” “Amorica” and “Three Snakes and One Charm.”
    He left the Crowes in 1997 because of drug problems, and after pulling himself together went on to play with artists like Govt. Mule and Ben Harper, and produced work for Ryan Bingham and Phantom Limb. (English soul band Phantom Limb returned the favor by performing with Ford on “Holy Ghost,” which was recorded in Wales and England.)
    Other bands he’s fronted include the Neptune Blues Club and the Sinners.
    Reviewers have called “Holy Ghost” many things: Americana, country, roots, the rock-blues he’s known for, and in a few cases, “unexpected.”
    But Ford doesn’t think the more mellow sound is a stretch for him. “I don’t know that it’s such a different direction,” he said. “It’s a lot like my first solo record (“It’s About Time,” released in 2002). In both situations I was at home a lot with an acoustic guitar, so that’s the mood of the record.”
    “Holy Ghost,” he said, is “a reflection of my life. I just took some time off and stayed at home. It wasn’t fun, so I stopped for a while, and it was good timing, because my daughter was born, and I got to be around for the first part of her life.”
    Ford, who grew up in L.A., now lives in San Clemente, a surf town in Southern California, with his wife, Kirsten, and their 5-year-old daughter.
    Ford doesn’t go into specifics about his sobriety, but said it’s a work in progress.
    “I’m not strung up on the whole list of drugs anymore; I’m more rational,” he said. “Sobriety forces you to look at things you didn’t want to look at before, and why you did it in the first place. I’ve still got a lot of stuff to figure out.”
    It’s tempting to read religion into the title of the album, “Holy Ghost,” and songs like “Call Me Faithful” and “I’m Free.” Ford dismissed such blatant spiritual interpretations.
“It can be religious if you want it to be, and it doesn’t have to be,” he said. “It’s the Holy Ghost — I like the words together. It’s very ambiguous.” The album, he said, is “just love songs.”
    Here are some sample lyrics, from “Dream #26”:
    I once had a problem
    Big as a truck
    I was runnin’ on empty … out of luck
    You came to save me, and took away the key
    You got me home, down on my knees
    “A lot of great music comes from deep pain—and great joy,” Ford said. “I don’t think it matters one way or the other. Just pay attention to which of the two you’re feeling.”


Marc Ford
The singer-songwriter-guitarist will perform at 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12, at the Sun Valley Brewery, 202 N. Main St., Hailey. Admission is $10. For more information, call 788-0805 or visit www.sunvalleybrewery.com. Ford’s website is www.marcfordmusic.com.




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