Reunited

Josh Harty and Brooks West met on a cold day in 1999. They were both playing the Roger Maris 61 for ’61 cancer benefit. Outdoors. “We were supposed to each have half-hour sets,” said Harty, “but it was so cold we ended up huddled together in a semicircle trading song for song.”

“We had to sit on our hands between our songs just to be able to play the next song, it was so cold,” added West. “We’re not playing outside anymore,” said Harty, “at least we’ve come that far.”

I first saw the two share the stage in 2001 at the Trentino, a coffee shop across the street from the Fargo Theatre. Harty the tousled bluesman, five o’clock shadow and steel guitar in tow, was fronting the Garden Party, a band which at times consisted of simply drums and bass but could expand to include everything from harmonica to Hammond B3 to congas and bongos.

As a regular at the Trentino as a teenager, I attended every Garden Party show I could and frequently ran the door, taking money and stamping hands. I witnessed a jam session among friends evolve into a packed house every Thursday. In 2001 smoking was still legal and in the smoky confines of the Trentino we had what felt like our own version of a Chicago blues joint.

It was here that I first met Brooks West, the baldheaded troubadour who would play more subdued songs between the Garden Party’s bursts of blues. Where Harty had the raw energy of the blues at his command, West had lyricism and deep insight into the human condition. “Brooks and I were playing shows before I was writing my own songs,” recalled Harty, “he would always make fun of me for that.”

In the formative years of my development as a writer and musician, Harty and West were wellsprings of information for me. Harty’s renditions of classics by Robert Johnson, Bob Dylan and Hank Williams encouraged me to delve into the rich roots of classic country, blues and folk. The painfully clear imagery of West’s songs still informs my writing process to this day.

Although the Trentino was only around for a few short years, it made a distinct impression on everyone who passed through its doors. “Going down to the Trentino was like going down the rabbit hole,” said Harty. “All the weirdos and artists were there, trying to get out of the cold.”

Both Harty and West continue to play regularly. Harty, a resident of Madison, Wis., estimates that he plays over 150 nights a year, either by himself or with his current backing band, “The Josh Harty Band.” He also, in the grand tradition of roadworn musicians, spends much of his time on the road. In 2010 he has plans to travel the East Coast, the Rockies and Southwest, a tour to Alaska and a European tour in April. The European tour is inspired, in part, by the fact that his most recent album, “A Long List of Lies” apparently peaked at #8 on the European folk charts earlier this year.

Brooks West recently made the move from Harrisburg, Pa. to the country and folk mecca of Nashville, but, like Harty, he hits the highway, playing frequently out of town. West has also, for the last two years, been a part of a group of songwriters from around the country who meet at a cabin on the shores of Lake Michigan to turn off the outside world and focus on the craft of songwriting.

“We have our cellphones, but that’s the only link to the outside world. No TV, no internet, we don’t even really listen to music except for the music we make,” he said. “If you wanna listen to music, make it yourself.” 

The group at this point, consists of Brianna Lane from the Twin Cities, Brad Hoshaw from Omaha, Neb. and Jeremiah Nelson from Madison, Wis. “Next year we’re going to try to get Josh (Harty) involved,” said West.

Although West and Harty have left the FM area, they make what they call a “yearly pilgrimage” back, around Christmastime to revisit their Downtown roots.

“We were both living above White Banner Uniforms,” said West. “Josh’s apartment was cheaper, but mine had a fire place, although it only had one tiny window to the outside, sometimes I felt like I was living in a cave.” Harty fondly recalled, “shaking the bums off (his) doorstep,” every time he left the building.

This year Harty and West are returning to Downtown to play at Studio 222, just down the street from their old building. Although they were both planning on returning independently, when West found out Harty was playing on the 19th he promptly changed his plane ticket to get to Fargo earlier. “I figured it would be worth the extra couple bucks to get home earlier—this show will definitely be worth it,” said West.

This Saturday, Brooks West and Josh Harty return to the stage in Downtown Fargo, just like they did 10 years ago. Although it is in a slightly different environment than the smoky confines of the old Trentino and neither Harty nor West can stumble back to the White Banner building after the show, there is a peculiar energy to Downtown for both, an energy that informed and formed their music, one comprised of things taken along and left behind.

“That pawn shop (Mr. Money) got two guitars and an amp,” said Harty. “Had to pay the rent, you know.”

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INFO:

What: Josh Harty, Brooks West and Flatlands
Where: Studio 222
When: Sat, Dec 19, 8 pm, doors open at 7 pm
How much: $10 adv, $12 door
Why: 701.238.0593, 701.478.6898