Savvy locals are familiar with the name Tris McCall, even if they haven’t heard him play. For the past decade, McCall has carved out a niche for himself in Jersey City and the greater metropolitan area.
Three years ago, Jersey City Magazine named him one of the most influential people in the arts scene – a title he wasn’t sure he wanted at the time, but was nonetheless well deserved.
He is perhaps best known for his opinions, which are always passionate and articulate – much like the artist himself. He has written about everything from politics to the cultural scene. But it is his feelings about music and Jersey City politics that have a particular resonance.
“I feel like it is enjoyable and annoying in equal measure – like me.”
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The CD has a baker’s dozen worth of gems. All of the songs were produced and mixed by McCall and Jay Braun. McCall and his band will play at Pianos in Manhattan on Dec. 18 and in upcoming shows in the new year at Maxwell’s in Hoboken and in Jersey City.
Draws from life
This is the fourth album for McCall and his most labor-intensive project to date. The CD was two years in the making and is his most personal album, says McCall. While the project took a lot of work, there is a sense of freedom in the songs that belies any struggle to create. The heart of the album highlights McCall’s growing skills as a musician and engages the listener with catchy riffs and passionate vocals.
“When I first started out, I was a guitar player, and I was never very good at it,” said McCall. “All of these songs were written on piano. It felt like coming home to me.”
With this album, McCall says he made an effort to be more transparent and emotionally available to listeners. The topics range from childhood experiences to more recent experiences.
“I feel like if you know my music, you know you are going to get a wordy album,” he said. “I feel like it is enjoyable and annoying in equal measure – like me.”
Several of the songs on the album like “WFMU” and “The Ballad of Frank Vinieri” paint a vivid portrait of the local scene, something McCall listens for when hearing other musicians play.
The Jersey side
One aspect of Jersey City life that is inescapable is the gravity of living in the shadow of New York and what that means to someone from New Jersey, he said.
“I decided if I was going to mouth off about Jersey City then I should really know it,” he said.
McCall began his own bike tour of the streets of Jersey City to get involved with the town.
“I have now biked on every street in Jersey City and now close to every street in Bayonne,” he said. “My next album is going to be the ‘bicycle album’.”
A return to music
McCall says that it is only recently that he has begun to think of himself as a musician. In the past, he thought of himself as a writer who happened to have a band.
“Many of the songs came from musical ideas,” he said, adding that he usually doesn’t write songs that way. “It was refreshing to return to music.”
In 2006, McCall spent the better part of the year writing a book that has yet to be published. McCall was frustrated by the experience, particularly since he’s the kind of person who does everything himself.
“Which is why I prefer telling my stories through music,” he explains. “I can just hand someone a CD and they can hear it.”
Yet a part of the book can be glimpsed in the song “Sugar Nobody Wants.”
“Even if the book never gets out, at least I have a song about it,” he says.
He says that the album is autobiographical and personal – something he admits was missing in his last album.
“It’s definitely a version of me. I’ve lived in New Jersey all my life. You get a real sense of place on this album,” he said. “It’s emotional. It’s just that I’m moved to write about architecture or political scandal.”
Tris McCall will play at Pianos on Dec. 18 and upcoming shows at Maxwell’s. The album, “Let the Night Fall” is available at iTunes and at www.TrisMcCall.com.