Writer Of The Week: Grant Dermody

Harmonica teacher and blues singer-songwriter Grant Dermody had plenty of reasons to sing the blues in the past three years. His wife, parents, and mentor all passed away during that time period. But Dermody’s latest album, Lay Down My Burden, is more of a celebration of life and music than it is a tale of tragedy. We talked to the journeyman musician about the album, and the finicky nature of one of pop music’s most enduring genres.

Have you ever written a song on harmonica?

Yes, “Lay Down My Burden,” the title song on my new CD, started as a harmonica riff, and moved into a full-blown song from there. My first record “Crossing That River” has a couple of songs that started on the harmonica as well. That’s my instrument, so a lot of ideas come from there.

The album is dedicated to your parents, your friend and mentor, and your wife, all of who passed in the last three years. How did this affect the song selection and spirit of the album?

I recorded the album over a two-year period where my mom and my wife were both very ill. Music was a necessary release. This was obviously a time of deep loss and that needed to be addressed, but I didn’t want the record to be a dirge. I am a hopeful person and I wanted the music to speak to and reflect that.

It’s interesting that the tunes sung by master bluesmen John Cephas, John Dee Holeman and Louisiana Red were not chosen by me and they had no knowledge of what the rest of the record was sounding like. Their songs “Hard Time Killing Floor”, “You Don’t have To Go”, and “Where is My Friends”, respectively, fit the album’s theme perfectly.

Take us through some of the songs you wrote on the album.

“Lay Down My Burden,” as I said, started out as a harmonica lick. The words came from there. I wanted it to speak to dealing with hard times, what you choose to carry and what you choose to lay down. It’s got a driving, funky groove that I like and fits the image of being on the water, laying down what you don’t need, and walking on lighter and more free to meet what comes.

“First Light” is about one of the many of my recent Dark Nights of The Soul and finding a positive in there somewhere. The sun will rise again, no matter how dark and lonely and scary the night gets. Because it’s uptempo it adds some irony to things. It would have worked as a slow blues but it’s also about running, so up-tempo worked better.

“Evening Train” started by Del, Orville and I working out a groove we all liked. The song is about being restless and needing to be somewhere else, where one’s mind and heart are more at peace and the surroundings are such that they help you heal. Again, it would work as a slower blues but the uptempo helps with the restless feel, and the need to keep moving no matter what.

On certain songs, you have arrangement credits. How do you decide when to do this?

If my take on the tune is markedly different from the original and/or I change or add lyrics to a traditional tune to better fit my story, I’ll make a note of it being my arrangement on the credits.

With the blues being limited in chord progressions, how do you write a new blues song without lapsing into cliche?

By being honest, singing about what you know; knowing what the cliches are and avoiding them. From there it’s finding the right groove to serve the song and tell the story. Most of the time I know what I want but I’m always open to creative interpretation from the other musicians.

Why is it we can listen to blues song after blues song and not get bored?

The music strikes us at the deepest level. It’s honest, real, and is capable of the entire gamut of human experience and emotion. That is never boring. It is what matters most.

Who’s an underrated lyricist in your opinion?

Eric Bibb writes great lyrics and doesn’t get the credit he deserves I think. His songwriting on his newest recording, Booker’s Guitar, is particularly strong.

What’s a lyric of yours your especially proud of?

“Standing by the oceanside, as it reflects the morning sun (repeat) If I’m wanting what I don’t have, I’ve got to do what I ain’t done” from the song “First Light.”

In blues, the first line is often repeated in the verse. What does this add to the song?

It is a very old tradition, and fits the chord structure, which is an essential part of the form, beautifully. The songs end up not being too wordy and help the writer tell the story simply, but powerfully.

Bob Dylan said nobody could play the blues like Willie McTell. Do you agree?

I think Willie McTell was unique; a master bluesman and musician in every sense.That being indisputably so, nobody played the blues like Howling Wolf either, or Sonny Terry, or Big Mama Thornton, and the list goes on and on. I have been deeply moved and blown away by many musicians, in and out of the blues genre. It all comes down to who grabs you at the deepest level, and inspires you, and where you go from there.

Townes Zan Zandt said there are only two kinds of music: either the blues or zippedeedoodah. What do you think?

I love any kind of music that is honest, well-played and sung, and has soul and backbone. All of this is subjective of course but if it has it all for me, I’m hooked and it has my full attention and respect.

Blues music is stereotypically thought of as sad music about hard times, yet it’s often uplifting. Why is that?

It comes back to what I said earlier about blues being capable of running the entire gamut of human emotion and experience. It can be healing and strengthening during hard times and times of deep loss, but can also be there while you celebrate being alive and all the joy that comes. It provides courage, hope, deep spiritual connection, love and all kinds of other essentials. That cannot help but lift one up.