Into the groove

Dennis Brennan brings his own grittiness to rock and roll

by Don Flunkinger

Dennis Brennan calls Berlin his hometown, Newton his current home, the school of hard knocks his alma mater, and the world his oyster.

Most 45-year-old rockers are heading for the reunion circuit, but Brennan's career is just taking off. The former frontman for Massachusetts favorites the Martells and Push Push, Brennan saw his second solo album, Iodine in the Wine, released just this year. Last year, his first album, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, received critical acclaim.

His two albums sound like those of a musician in the prime of his life, melodically and lyrically. His sound is dubbed "roots rock," "blue-collar," and even "Americana," a genre invented by WFUV, the Fordham University station, giving Iodine heavy airplay. His voice has been compared to Elvis Costello's, and critics who rave about his gutsy rock-and-roll grooves draw parallels with Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp.

"That's just the worst thing," he says, laughing. "I don't sound anything like those guys. Maybe there's a bit of a stylistic issue because I deal with working-class issues once in a while, but my songs aren't anything like them."

Brennan, who appears at Gilreins on May 2, definitely plays rock-and-roll, spiced with punchy guitar lines, sometimes countrified, sometimes with the swagger of the Rolling Stones; he explores themes such as love, gambling, and atonement. His music can sound gritty in a quiet way on several of Iodine's songs, such as "Lies," when the song's protagonist confronts a cheating lover. The grit's even more apparent in "Youngstown," a rockabilly song inspired by his experience hitchhiking through Ohio after he left his hometown at 18 years old; the tune chugs along hot as a Peterbilt truck on a non-stop cross-country ride.

A big break for Brennan came as lead vocalist for Young Neal and the Vipers, who had just been signed to Atlantic Records. The label gave the gifted guitarist Neal two options: get a new singer or forget the major-label record. The band fired its singer -- also Neal's best friend -- and hired Brennan.

"I thought the lead singer was perfectly fine for the band," says Brennan, who is confident in his opinions and speaks quietly in a matter-of-fact tone. "I thought he sounded great. [Taking over] felt sort of weird, because for me it was just a job."

Eventually, Atlantic decided not to make an album after all. After that, Brennan decided not to make music. "I had been in bands for a long time, and it was time to stop. I didn't think, `Oh dear, I'll never be able to get back into it,' or `I'll never go back,' or `I hate this.' It was a good time, because my kids were at that teenage stage -- always a little scary -- and I wanted to keep an eye on things."

His son Jake and his hardcore band Cast Iron Hike occasionally share an evening's bill with Brennan. A Dennis Brennan show at Gilreins attracts everyone from hardcore fans to adults in their 40s -- "three decades' worth of people," he says. His band feature drummer Billy MacGillivray, bassist Richard Gates, and guitarist Kevin Barry. With Barry currently on tour with singer Paula Cole, Ian Kennedy will fill in on guitar and fiddle on Friday when he appears at Gilreins.

Among the guests who play on the new album is Morphine drummer Billy Conway, who also played on six tracks of Brennan's first album. After several tries in the studio with other players and failing to get the right feel for Iodine's "Mighty Long Time," Brennan called Conway in. After Conway and Brennan laid down the drum and vocal tracks, the final version was built around them.

"It's really odd," Brennan says, "but if you listen to Billy's playing, you can always pick up some odd, strange Latin feel. It's hard to pick up, but it's there. It's strange, because he's from Minnesota and started out playing in polka bands. Yet he's got this thing that no one else has, and it's really, really neat."

Brennan waited decades to find a niche in the world of popular music. Now he's found it. And though the world isn't exactly beating a path to his door yet, his music pops up in new places, including a scene in the Fox TV series Melrose Place a few weeks back; when the cast went to the restaurant Shooters in a recent episode, his song "Brokenhearted I Will Wander" played in the background. After waiting several decades for his music to be heard, Brennan now calmly waits for his career to gain momentum. "I'm happy," he says. "I'm playing. I'm doing what I want to do. I'm not going to change it to fit anything. I'm not complaining. There are a lot of people who never in their life do what they want to do, and I'm lucky."

The Dennis Brennan Band appear at Gilreins next Friday, May 2. Tickets are $5. Call 791-2583.