Interview mit Chris Paulson

Chris, how long have you been living in Germany?

About 23 years I think….came over in 1987.

Do you like living in Germany?

There are positive and negative aspects of living in Germany, I’ve enjoyed my life here. The Winters are too cold and long for a California boy.

What led you, an American, to settle in Germany?

I met and married a German woman and we have two sons, 19 and 23 years old.

In your poignant song, ‘Time Does Fly’, you describe your childhood. Was it a happy time for you?

Yes, I feel lucky to have grown up when and where I did. It was a small town on the San Francisco Bay called Fremont, there were empty fields and orchards and a population of about 10,000. Now, I think it’s 300,000, completely covered in concrete, tract homes and shopping malls. I used to come home from school and ride my minibike in the fields, gravel pits and drainage ditches that were just at the end of our street.
We could ride for miles between the San Francisco Bay and the Mission San Jose foothills. Later I became a professional motorcycle racer in California… it was a fantastic time.

In, ‘Street Musician’s Blues’, you describe your life as a street musician as hard, especially in the winter. Does that mean you would rather not have chosen this career?

I have no regrets. I feel lucky to have an occupation where I entertain and make people happy. I had two Spinal Surgeries in 2008, after performing in the cold at the Frankfurt Christmas Market in December 2007, sometimes I would play for 10-12 hours a day. I won’t be doing that anymore. Not going out there unless it’s above freezing!

Your songs suggest that you have a set yearly route as a street musician. If so, where do you go?

I usually play in Germany from March-June and then go to France in July and August, then back to Germany until January, but I will be trying different countries this year. Just got back from Spain.

I have the impression that your career as a songwriter has just begun. How come you waited so long?

I actually started writing in the 1980s and already recorded some of my own songs in 1989. In 1996 I recorded a CD with all my own songs, called “Dreamtown”.

As a street musician I usually do some entertaining with cover song sing a longs. The last couple of years, I’ve been singing my own songs more and more and find that works just as well. If I’m on a big loud street festival, I’ll sing more cover songs because the people want to sing along, but I still sing my own stuff.

Do you keep an eye out for new songs for your repertoire? Can you give an example or two of new songs you’ve covered?

Yes, if a song really moves me, I will perform it if I can perform it with conviction.

The latest cover songs in my repertoire are “Pancho and Lefty” from Townes Van Zant, and “Forever Young” from Bob Dylan

What styles of music do you like? Who are your favorite groups currently?

I like all musical styles, with the exception of bad Techno music…it sometimes sounds like hitting your head against the wall repeatedly. I prefer natural instruments but electronic music can also be done well, if it’s made tastefully.

I listen to a lot of songwriters, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Louden Wainwright, Counting Crows, Steve Earl, Townes Van Zandt, Joan Baez, Bill Morissey, Greg Brown… the list goes on forever.

In your touching song, ‘Streets of Frankfurt’, you sing about the lives of tramps. How were you able to describe their lives so realistically?

When I first came to Germany I noticed the people hanging around the Kiosks, drinking beer. When the Berlin wall fell, a lot of people come to the west, there was a whole community living in cars and vans down on the Rhein. I used to sleep in my Van there too sometimes if I was performing on the Frankfurt Zeil the next day.

I was playing a few times a week in Frankfurt back then and there were some people who were living on the streets who would help me, look after my equipment when I went to eat or have a coffee. So, although I never slept on the streets (except once in Berlin in 1988), I have slept in my Van a lot and I did spend a lot of time in that environment, earning my living on the streets.

You singing style and your songs remind me of my favorite musicians, Paul Simon. What do you think of his later solo music (Graceland, Rhythm of the Saints, Capeman, etc.)?

Love it!

Your technique of working the crowd with a basket dangling from the neck of your guitar – was that your own idea or did you copy it from someone else?

It was my idea I think.

Where do you see yourself at this point in your career? Are you becoming more of a studio and concert musician and less of a street musician?

I just keep living from season to season and hope it keeps working so that I have enough to pay the bills. I would like to organise more tour dates and concerts, but I’m too chaotic to organize it all.

The Streets are really difficult now, as it is forbidden to use amplifiers in just about every city in Germany. So basically what I do is illegal, because I don’t perform with out a PA System.

It’s not very inspiring to play when you feel like a hunted man, and always have to look over your shoulder.

What are your hopes for your career?

I love what I do and don’t have any long term goals, it would be nice to do more concerts in cultural centers and Kleinkunst Bühnen where the people come and listen to my songs.

In several of your songs you comment on political and social developments, e.g. in ‘New World Order’. As a native American, what do you think of the present political and social situation in the U.S. ?

Barack Obama’s election has restored some of my faith in the American people, 8 years of George Bush was a nightmare. From my stand point in Europe, The U.S. seems like a strange place, people shooting each other every day, gangs, guns, drugs, and huge gas guzzling cars. I don’t feel alienated when I’m in the U.S. though, I like it there, in California at least, but I’ve gotten used to the slower lifestyle here in Europe, California seems so overcrowded and fast paced.

The song “New World Order” is about how Big Brother is ever more present in our lives, with cameras in the city centers, Swat teams, and the internet, facebook, myspace, the access to your personal information and the ever expanding government control and regulation. 1984 has arrived.

As a street musician, are you eligible for a pension in Germany?

Yes, but it won’t be much, I’ll have to sing until I’m 80. John Lee Hooker did it, I hope can too!

Thanks very much, Chris, for this interview.

To the Homepage of Chris Paulson click here