Spare sound, pithy lyrics win fans for Chicago's Joe Pug
Even in this digital, tech-obsessed age, a musician can still thrill people with just a voice and an acoustic guitar.
Consider Chicago singer-songwriter Joe Pug. In 2008 he released a seven-song EP titled “Nation of Heat.” The songs were quiet and spare — folk tunes with lyrics both poetic and understated. The 26-year-old Pug wrote and recorded the songs in between his shifts as a carpenter.
When the songs got out, bloggers and critics flipped. Slots at major music festivals like Lollapalooza opened up. So did spots on tours with established acts like Steve Earle and M. Ward.
Suddenly, people were comparing Pug to a certain famous folkie from Minnesota.
“The Bob Dylan stuff is very flattering and complimentary,” Pug said in a phone interview. “I understand why people thought of that at first, though I'm sure most would revise that opinion now. I think the reaction shows, though, the people are still hungry for real music.”
Pug followed up the EP with his debut full-length record, “The Messenger,” which came out last year to strong reviews. He's been touring steadily in support of the album, and he'll take the stage this weekend on Friday, April 29, at Lincoln Hall in Chicago.
“The tour has been going great,” Pug said. “I'm really happy with how things have gone.”
“The Messenger,” which came out on indie label Lightning Rod Records, is both a continuation and an expansion of what Pug did on his EP. The acoustic songs are there, but drums, pedal steel and electric guitar flesh out the sound.
“I think it was just a natural impulse to move things forward,” he said of the broader sonic palette on “The Messenger.”
Pug's lyrics remain as compelling as on the EP, a highlight being the track “Bury Me Far (From My Uniform).” In that song, Pug adopts the voice of a soldier killed in battle, as the soldier looks with bitterness at the people who sent him to war: “I fought their battles in this world, but I will not fight for them in the next.” And then later: “Just bury me far from my uniform, so that God might remember my face.”
“I was nervous about putting that song out there,” Pug said. “I'm a person who hasn't served, and I didn't know how people would take it. In retrospect, I'm glad it's on the record.”
Pug started writing music shortly after leaving the University of North Carolina, where he was studying to be a playwright, and moving to Chicago. He moved here because he'd fallen in love with the city while visiting a friend the previous summer.
“I made a mental note during that visit that I would move back after finishing school,” he said. “But then I was sitting there in North Carolina and thought to myself, ‘if I know what I'm going to do, why put it off a year?' I wasn't particularly happy with my studies, so I decided to do something different.”
He got work as a carpenter to pay the bills, then he started writing songs at night. He drew on a variety of influences, from the aforementioned Dylan to Warren Zevon to Nirvana.
When “Nation of Heat” started to generate some buzz, Pug fanned the flames by offering fans free copies of two-song CDs. Demand for the samplers was huge; according to his website, Pug sent out more than 15,000 CDs to people in all 50 states and 14 countries. (The offer still stands on joepugmusic.com.)
“I'm not married to any particular marketing model or whatever,” he said. “I just want to reach people. Giving away CDs seemed a way to do that, and it seems to have worked. I definitely think my sales have gone up because of it.”
When Pug wraps up the final leg of this tour, he'll begin recording his second full-length record. He doesn't expect to enjoy much down time.
“I look at this as a full-time thing, so I have to keep working,” he said. “Taking it easy is a surefire way to be forgotten.”
<b>Joe Pug (with Strand of Oaks)</b>
<b>When: </b>10 p.m. Friday, April 29
<b>Where: </b>Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, (773) 525-2501, <a href="http://www.lincolnhallchicago.com" target="_blank">lincolnhallchicago.com</a>
<b>Tickets:</b> $14