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That's Just the Way He Is:
Bruce Hornsby Discusses his Live Shows, Sampling, and More
interview Page 1
Page 2 of interview
Bruce Hornsby is not about gimmicks. He's not about tailoring his music for commercial success, either. This Williamsburg, Virginia-based piano player and singer/songwriter believes in entertaining audiences in as personal a manner as possible. Stripped of pop music's glitzy veneer, Hornsby's songs carry an air of personality and charisma. His songwriting sometimes borders on folk in its content (see "The Way It Is"), while his musical style runs the gamut from bluegrass and jazz to ballads and funky rock. A veteran of the music industry, Bruce Hornsby lives on his passion for performance, an improving musical vocabulary, and a tight band.
The piano player is currently on tour in support of his newest record, Here Come the Noise Makers, released earlier this fall. musictoday recently had the chance to sit down with Hornsby before a recent show.
musictoday.com: How did music fit into your life as a child?
Bruce Hornsby: Well, you know, my grandfather was a musician for a living in Richmond [Virginia]. My parents have tapes of us singing "Hound Dog" by Elvis at age three, so I was always around music. I played guitar as a kid. I played with the local Up with People cast, singing. It's a real kind of square group. It was just a way, at age 12 and 13, of acquiring my first girlfriends. I was Little Brucie Hornsby. But I wasn't serious about it; I was into sports. I got into piano at age 17, got serious about it. I listened to Elton John records and Leon Russell. And then, I ended up getting serious about it. So, music was definitely a big part of our upbringing, but I was more of a jock as a kid. I sort of take that same mentality to the music thing. We always try to…you'll never see us up there playing the songs like on the record. We're always trying to push it.
mt: Did you do marching band or anything like that?
BH: I was in the marching band one time, I marched in one parade: the West Point—I don't know, [laughs]—the West Point Perennial Herbs Festival. I played tenor drum. I needed an extra class, and I took band, so I marched in this parade. It was a blast. I mainly played piano, though. In the end, I picked the wrong instrument. Girls love the guitarists. You gotta really be bringing it on the piano to get attention.
mt: So, you must have had enough of girls?
BH: No, no, no. Playing tenor drum in the marching band was definitely not an act of romance; basketball was. Getting girls was definitely a by-product [of music]; not much of a by-product, frankly. Don't get the impression I was Mr. Love Guy. Although, since we've become known, I've acquired an amazing love life I wish I'd had. A lot of old girlfriends are like, "Oh yeah, I used to go with him." So, I wish I'd had the past that's been attributed to me.
mt: Does anybody call you up and pull the old "Billie Jean" routine?
BH: No, no. Luckily, it hasn't gotten dark like that. I've had a few dark moments. I've had some death threats. I got some strange, strange letters.
mt: Mostly from females?
BH: Actually, yeah. Oddly enough, mostly women. You know, when you get sort of known, or whatever, you become a target, sort of a magnet for the dark side.
mt: At what point did you realize you had become known?
BH: When I was playing Seattle, I was opening for Huey Lewis—either Huey Lewis or John Fogerty, I forget, one of the two—and we were in a hotel lounge, there were a bunch of people dancing. I used to love to do this: I used to go on the dance floor—by myself—and dance in and around people and f**k with them. You know, sort of wind myself in and around them, making crazy faces and strange hand gestures. Someone comes up to me in the middle of all this and says, "Hey, aren't you Bruce Hornsby?" That, and when our first record came out, and "That's Just the Way It Is" hit. It hit in England first, we were popular there first. We were popular in America last.
mt: How do you feel about Tupac's remake of that song?
BH: Oh, I love it. I like the message: it's not a destructive message, it's a positive message. I liked what he did, musically. And I like the checks.
mt: Did he come to you personally to ask?
BH: No, I never heard about this until after he was dead. I got a tape. The original tape that I got is way dirtier than what came out.
mt: I bet.
BH: They edited all the "N" words, and all the "F" words, whatever, "M" words. But, I basically thought they did good work. They don't have to ask my permission for this, because the song's already been recorded, they just basically have to negotiate with you what you think your percentage should be. It's easy for me, it's all my music, so that's 50 percent. "The Way It Is" has been sampled or re-recorded by 5 or 6 hip-hop artists. E40, you ever heard of E40?
mt: Yeah, he's great, the slang lord.
BH: Well, you ever heard his record "Things'll Never Change"? That's "The Way It Is." It was a hit for him. Not as big a hit as Tupac's, but yeah, I like that stuff. I'm proud when people do that. I've got this weird musical life where, on the one hand, Tupac Shakur's using my record, and then I'll play on a Ricky Skaggs bluegrass record. We're covering a lot of bases: I'll play with Pat Metheny, you know, so it's a great musical life in that way; it's broad and I never get bored.
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