by Abigail Norman
Special to the gazette
In a video on is web site, rick Berlin has placed a camera just in front of his face. Rocking forward and back he plays the piano, his hands off-screen, he sings a tribute to the Beat poets - 'those amazing people I never knew who had such an influence on so many of us'. Berlin pays tribute to their rule-breaking, their buzz, their adventures, their spunk and junk, their legacy in gay rights. His breathless intonation of the names is like a cry into darkness, a wail for a lost generation speaking truth to power.
Berlin has been called a 'giant on the Boston music scene,' a 'veteran Boston cabaret-rock maestro'. In 30 years, at least nine bands have risen with him like a phoenix from the flames, flashed bright, crashed and burned, including Orchestra Luna, Berlin Airlift and The Shelley Winters Project. He's played for David Bowie and Frank Zappa, opened for the Talking Heads, shared stages with the B-52s, Patti Smith and Patty LaBelle. In between he's written stories, musicals, screenplays, begun a video documentary, built a multi-faceted web site, sung solo and held down a 16-year gig as a waiter at Doyle's. His reputation as a 'giant' may come as the prize for sheer survival in a town that likes its independent rock rough around the edges.
He's also a subtle poet, with a style that does recall the Beats, like a car rushing downhill on no gas, sharing their compulsion to change society to allow for unbridled love, to pursue ecstasy and insight at life's raw edge.
'The words matter to me,' Berlin said. 'the drama is all in a tiny pin-point.'
Berlin's new solo CD, 'Me & Van Gogh,' just out on the Hi-N-Dry label, is fine collection of his strong, emotionallydriven songs. Chords in a rolling, repetitive rhythm form the skeleton for a body of simply sung lyrics that start in the middle of stories, paying tribute to the poetic romance of sex, drugs, jail, rock 'n' roll, obsession with beauty, proximity to destruction, fierce independence and occasionally a broken heart. His impassioned voice is sometimes plaintive, sometimes harsh.
For Berlin, Van Gogh is an apt touchstone for the disc's title song. 'Anyone who tries to make anything for an audience has a conscious or unconscious dialog with Vincent Van Gogh,' he recently said. 'In Western culture, you're a successful artist if you make someone else a lot of money.' Famously, Van Gogh sold no paintings during his lifetime.
'There's a period for an artist when you might be discouraged that you can't make money from your art. But then after a while you submit to the compulsion.'
Dave Locke, who mastered 'Me & Van Gogh' through his company, JP Masters, reflected that Berlin's rawness has found an apt home in Boston.
'There's a certain flavor to the indie rock scene here. The simpler, more direct, more stripped down, the better.'
For those who know Berlin's music, 'Me & Van Gogh' may recall his earlier CD, 'Live@Jacques', a record and a tribute to the drag bar where Berlin played every Monday night for nine years until 2003. On that disc, the opening and closing cuts are ambient recordings of muffled voices, chairs scraping, redolent of a bar that might feel like home in the early hours of the morning. The solo songs in between, enlivened by being played for an audience, have the same quality of spoken word poetry. 'Me & Van Gogh', produced in a studio, is just slightly more like a man talking aloud inside his head.
Berlin consistently contributes work and energy to gay rights, AIDS action, and, more recently, to the national progressive anti-war organization, MoveOn. HIs energy also contributes to building community close to home.
Jamaica Plain audiences will be charmed by a project-in-progress, 'Jamaica Plain-Spoken', a video documentary made up of interviews with over 50 people who live and work here. 'My theory is that JP is a rare part of the earth, despite gentrification,' Berlin said. 'It's considerate, forgiving, open to all ages, shapes and sizes. Neighbors will invite you to a party if you've just moved in. If we can show the value of this kind of small town, maybe it can perpetuate a virus.'
Berlin's next local performance is planned for May 19th at the Alchemist Lounge, the new incarnation of Triple D's in hyde Square. Details, along with stories, pictures, clips from 'Jamaica Plain-Spoken,' and more, can be found at www.rickberlin.com. ("Used with permission, from the Jamaica Plain Gazette, March 17, 2006" )