Admittedly, it's a journey from total obscurity to hipster fame, which is usually a kind of sanctified semi-obscurity anyway, but singer and musician Gary Higgins' story is still an unusual one. Maybe the most astonishing part of it is that Connecticut's homegrown freak-folk revival icon has simply been at it all along. And he's ready for his close-up, if anyone is interested in any of his recent music.

Gary Higgins has been living mainly in the sleepy northwest part of Connecticut, making music, raising a family (his son Graham performs with him now), quietly going about his business, working as a nurse in eastern New York. He spoke with the Advocate about the unusual rebirth of his recording career. It came as some surprise to Higgins and folks in Falls Village then when copies of Red Hash , a record of moody and vaguely psychedelic acoustic songs that Higgins made with his friends over three decades ago, started going for over $200 on rare vinyl auction sites online and über-hip Chicago indie rock label Drag City re-issued the record this summer.

In recent months Higgins has been featured repeatedly in the New York Times and in well-respected British music magazines. Even now Higgins is a little incredulous that his record, of which only about 2,000 vinyl copies were originally pressed, has now taken on a second life. "It's kind of magical that it even took place -- what has appeared to have taken place -- and I definitely don't want to let the opportunity slide by, or to let interest wane."

The story is complicated, only somewhat, by the fact that Higgins recorded Red Hash with a prison sentence for marijuana possession looming over his head (he went on to serve 13 months at the state prison in Somers), and the drug association of the title tends to refocus attention on events that weren't completely rosy. "It was pretty devastating, that whole thing that took place, for our family and friends," he says.

Higgins wasn't entirely enthusiastic about the record's title at the time, and he regrets that it's only increased the slight haze of doobage that shrouds the record, though he concedes that the perceived drug theme may have served to grab some people's attention.

"I was kind of worried that [drugs] would be the focus for a certain group of people, but it just can't be helped. ... There were some drug references, but they were really just coincidental."

Oddly enough, most of the musicians who played with Higgins on the record are still in the area, and many of them have joined Higgins for a few gigs he's lined up to celebrate the record's release. But now they're all grown up with lives, families and day jobs of their own, and the prospect of clearing off a stretch of dates on their calendars in order to do some touring creates some logistical problems. Plus Higgins is still scrambling to find a booking agent to capitalize on the sudden burst of interest.

He played in New York City over the summer and was astonished.

"It was really incredible. People knew the words, clapped and hooted when certain parts took place and were very warm and enthusiastic," says Higgins. "The biggest kick, however, was the age group of the audience; most were under 30. A whole new generation of listeners were appreciating the music. This was very, very satisfying."

Dusting off old songs after 30 years could present a challenge for some musicians, but Higgins said all the time improved the material.

"It has been almost like doing new songs in a way. We ended up revamping and expanding a few of them, which gave them new life and everyone approached it like a fresh project," he wrote in an e-mail. "In a way we knew that fresh ears were listening, so it made it easier and exciting for all involved."

The album, Red Hash , seemed like an unlikely candidate for revival at first. It's a quiet record, with acoustic guitars, reserved singing, a few odd time signatures, strange squishy keyboards and songs that tend to pivot between a few chords. But there's a dark and somber thread woven through. Several songs touch on the subject of madness. It reminds me of Joni Mitchell's Blue and a little of David Crosby's dark drug-addled opus If I Could Only Remember My Name .

Higgins grew up in the northwestern part of the state. He attended the state university in Torrington for a year before heading down to New York City and the thriving folk and bluegrass music scene in Greenwich Village in the mid-1960s. "I decided very quickly that I'd much rather play music than go to school," he says. After playing in a psychedelic rock band in New York called Random Concept with Simeon, another cult legend of the electronic rock duo the Silver Apples, Higgins returned to Connecticut to play more acoustic music.

"I love acoustic guitar -- the kinds of tunes that tend to get written, melodies and everything, it's just a different approach. Quieter. You can go into areas it's not quite as easy to do with electric music. It was kind of going back to my roots, more in instrumentation than in sound."

Higgins is thrilled with the re-release of his 1973 record and with the burst of interest in his old music. The attention has caused him to re-evaluate the past in a way.

"Actually it's given me a little bit more of an appreciation of the past," he says.

But he's been making, writing, playing and recording music the whole time, and he only hopes that all of the attention on the old stuff won't keep the crop of new fans from appreciating what he's been up to for the past 30 years. His timing might be perfect. Higgins isn't the only obscure musician from the 1960s who's been championed by a whole new group of fans in the Internet age. British singer Vashti Bunyan has a similar story. Her first record, Just Another Diamond Day , was made over 30 years ago, and it was finally re-issued on CD last year. She recently released a critically acclaimed record of recent material.

"It's flattering that a younger generation appears to like the music," says Higgins. "That's really satisfying. But, there's lots of stuff that's happened in the last 30 years, and I would like to actually have the same group of people hear that."

Source: Hartford Advocate (CT)
Author: John Adamian
Published: November 10, 2005
Copyright: 2005 New Mass. Media, Inc.
Contact: editor@hartfordadvocate.com
Website: http://www.hartfordadvocate.com/

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Home grown...and home grown music from a home grown guy. Thanks, I liked it and I really enjoyed getting to hear your voice.

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But EJ's cannabis and the cytokines theory is very exciting. Very!

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Amen!

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Plague

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Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW!

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Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW!

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When people, does the madness end?

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With a bird flu pandemic on the horizon, now it's more crucial than ever to knock down the federal restrictions on medical marijuana research.

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