An Old Timey Good Time

There has been a long line of young artists over the years who draw Bob Dylan comparisons. Just a couple off the top of my head would be Beck or the Conor Oberst of “Bright Eyes.” This isn’t fair to Bob Dylan nor is it fair to the artists compared to him.

Musicians want to form their own identities, not be the next this or the next that.

Folk/soul singer Langhorne Slim is another musician drawing those pesky Dylan references. He will be playing at The Aquarium June 24. So you can find out for yourself if the comparison is justified.

Writers are making the comparison because he lives in New York and is a folk singer of sorts. It’s true that Dylan played in New York in his early days, but the similarities end there.

Langhorne Slim was born Sean Scolnick. He actually took his stage name from the town he grew up in, shockingly named Langhorne, Pennsylvania. He is now based in Brooklyn New York.

His sound seems to come from another century. You can almost picture him playing in a dusty rough small town bar in the early 1900s, with his backing band, War Eagles. A lot of his songs are about broken hearts and women. But his music is defiantly not a downer--there is incredible energy to it. It’s not often I see indie kids dancing, but they were hopping all over the Aquarium when he played here a couple of years ago. He even pulled some people on stage and let them share the mic.

Langhorne Slim has released two LPs. His first was entitled When the Sun Goes Down. The album had a very rough and spontaneous vibe, almost like they decided to jam in a barn one night and just so happened to have some recording equipment.

The latest LP is Langhorne Slim. It sounds slicker and a lot more polished, but still maintains the spontaneous vibe. He has been featured on the Dave Letterman show, and has had his music featured in the motion picture Waitress.

I recently asked Mr. Slim about his time on the road. He told me he loves being on the road. He relates it to being on a long expense-paid trip with the added benefit of playing music (but doesn’t like how long and tiring it can sometimes be).

How did he evolve into the folk/soul singer he is now? He doesn’t like the question. He doesn’t like being labeled, says he just sort of picked up the guitar and started sing.

His aversion to the question got me thinking of Bob Dylan. I am coming to find that musicians do not like their music categorized or being pigeonholed or constantly being compared to others.
Unfortunately that puts them into direct conflict with most music writers. Categorizing and comparing is the easiest way for us.
So is Langhorne Slim the next Bob Dylan? Definitely not. He is Langhorne Slim and the only musician who comes close just happens to be Langhorne Slim. Check him out at The Aquarium.

If You Go

What: Langhorne Slim & War Eagles
Where: Aquarium
When: Tues., June 24, 10 p.m.
Info: 235-5913