February 18, 2015

#36 Brent Kirby

by Jason D. 'Diesel' Hamad

In our last Burning River Fireside Chat, we spent a lot of time discussing the history of North Coast music scene over the last several decades with one of Cleveland’s longtime musical institutions, G.S. Harper. This time, we spoke with another of the region’s most ubiquitous players, singer/songwriter Brent Kirby. We talked about his newest project, Brent Kirby & His Luck, which debuted that night at the Music Box Supper Club, and we discussed some of his personal history and that of his adopted hometown on the lake, but we also spent a good bit of time looking toward the future.

Perhaps it was because the interview was conducted just a few days before New Year’s and we both had a forward facing outlook, but more importantly, it’s because if anyone in Cleveland knows what the future of North Coast music is going to look like, it’s Brent. Not only is he absolutely ubiquitous on the scene—barely a day goes by when he’s not gigging somewhere, whether it’s as a solo artist or with bands such as His Luck, Hey Mavis, the Jack Fords, the Ohio City Singers, or his Gram Parsons revival the New Soft Shoe—but he is the master of ceremonies of an event that has become a Wednesday night institution to rival the Parkview blues jam, a pre-planned open mic at the Brothers Lounge Wine Bar known as Brent Kirby’s 10x3 (pronounced “ten by three”).

Every week the showcase features ten different musicians or bands each performing three songs, two of which must be originals. It has not only become a venue for brand new artists to get themselves in front of listeners for the first time, but a chance for established artists to let loose and do something different than they might in any other gig, and it’s even become an attraction for out-of-towners who just want a place to play in Cleveland.  It’s a great place to make connections and see what’s next, and Brent gets to experience that every week and play a big part in making it happen. So if anyone knows all of the great things that are going on here, it’s Brent. And with a new solo project, a Jack Fords album, and plans to head into the studio with His Luck, all on the horizon for this year, Brent is a huge part of that future, himself.

“Cleveland isn’t a city; it’s more of a cause,” he says at one point, a sentiment we share here at No Surf, and it’s a cause worth supporting.  So grab a chair, get warm by the fire, and check out one of Cleveland’s biggest boosters and the friendliest face on the North Coast music scene, Brent Kirby.

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