By Daniel Brockman-Boston Phoenix

MIXED EMOTIONS “You know what they say. ‘Life is a comedy for those who think and a tragedy for those who feel.’ I guess I want both.”

At some point or another, the greatest artists are pegged as oddballs, weirdos, freaks. Being a great artist does mean going out on a limb. Over time, and often without knowing it, an artist will create something greater than just himself — an understanding of the world made from the bric-a-brac of his mind combined with the collective energies of both his supporters and his detractors. UK post-punk legend Robyn Hitchcock (who comes to the Coolidge Corner Theatre on Tuesday) has done all that — and in more than three decades of continuous experimentation, he’s fashioned a new reality for those who fall under the intricate spell of his beguiling music.

“Of course, it depends how you define reality,” says Hitchcock, on the phone from his office in London. The slightest mention of the fractured world within his songs sets him off on a fascinating flight of fancy. “I mean, reality is the ultimate collection of improbabilities, sat on a chair opposite you, you know? Reality is shaking hands with the impossible, which is what we do every day. Reality is a membrane of the banal spread over the inconceivable: we think that we are getting up every morning and going to work, or we follow these patterns of how we live — when all the while, this extraordinary mechanism is lurching and buckling beneath our feet. We all live on the edge of an apocalypse, because we all die, you know? People tend to have this rather tame concept of what reality is.”

Since the late ’70s, first with his punk-era group the Soft Boys, and then later during his ongoing solo career, Hitchcock has been chipping away at that tame concept. His songs operate as psychic Trojan horses, as lyrical mind bombs packaged in sweet and lilting pop bonbons, exploding in your mind after they slip slyly through your ear membranes. Whether indulging his early lyrical obsession with insects and fishes or his later bent for disturbing verbal ruminations on death, Armageddon, and political buffoonery, Hitchcock has always snuck his own singular surrealism into his gorgeous tuneage.

That tuneage has taken many forms, from the prickly new wave of his ’80s trio the Egyptians to the more lush vegetation on which his songs tread softly when he plays with the Venus 3 (R.E.M.’s Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey and Ministry/Revolting Cocks drummer Bill Rieflin), as he does on his newest long-player, this spring’s playful and breezy Propellor Time (Sartorial). Recorded at various sessions over the past four years with a cast of guests who include John Paul Jones, Johnny Marr, and Nick Lowe, the album finds Hitchcock toning down the direct creepiness of some of his older work, with cascading arrangements guiding his slyly hypnotizing vocals to melodic nirvanas. But no matter what form his music takes, even when minimized to just a man and his acoustic guitar (as will be the case when he graces the Iron Horse stage this Wednesday, June 9th in Northampton), his mastery of surreal states always finds a way to bob to the surface.

Martin Sexton does not weep for the record industry. In fact, the current environment, where live performance is tantamount to a sustainable career, is what he’s been waiting for.

Sexton has always charted his own course, beginning with 1992’s In The Journey. The cassette of self-produced demo recordings eventually sold 20,000 copies – most of them from the sidewalks and hometown shows where the Syracuse, N.Y., native could often be found performing.

A contract with Atlantic resulted in a pair of well-received albums but the singer/songwriter realized he needed to follow his own star. So he left the label and started his own imprint.

Sexton’s website bears a quote from John Mayer proclaiming him “the best live performer I’ve ever seen.”

“I love being on the road,” Sexton told Pollstar. “I’ve been doing it a long time and I’m still lovin’ it. I’ve gone from singing in the subways to the House of Blues to the great festivals we’re on this year like [New Orleans] Jazz Fest and Bonnaroo.”

As for the implosion of the major label system, Sexton believes that’s actually a plus for artists.

“It’s an incredible time to be independent,” he explained. “There are so many avenues open now that weren’t open even a decade ago – everything from social media sites to satellite radio.

“The vehicles that used to be the make-or-break avenues like radio, mainstream press and MTV are no longer as relevant. There are so many other options available to get music to people.”

As it turns out, one of the people who bought a copy of In The Journey – and still has it – is Red Light Management’s Chris Tetzeli, who started working with Sexton.

“It was brilliant,” Tetzeli told Pollstar. “I bought it because of a write-up in a magazine. I literally sent the check in with an order form and got the cassette in the mail. I’ve always been a fan of his and that continues to this day.”

That incredible sense of loyalty to Sexton, particularly when it comes to his live performances, runs deep.

“I enjoy this unusual base,” the singer said. “It’s definitely unique. Someone once asked me, ‘What’s the demographic of your audience?’ And I couldn’t answer them because it’s not 20-somethings or hippies or young urban professionals or housewives. It’s everyone.

“If you look at my audience from the stage, they’re everywhere from 15 to 55 or 60 or 70 – or, in some cases, older. They’re black and white and gay and straight and Republican and Democrat. It’s really cool, because when I sing about things, I’m not preaching to the choir. And when they sing in harmony with me, they’re not necessarily singing with like-minded people.

“I feel like I’m in a really cool position to bring people together who might not otherwise be.”

Sexton knows his audiences get his message and that they’re there because of his songs. But they still surprise him.

“I was in Nashville the other night and it was like I hired a 500-person choir to sing these three parts with me,” he explained. “It was beautiful. And that’s in a town that’s kind of famous for being jaded. You know, ‘We’ve seen everything. Show us what you can do.’ But they were out there singing in three-part harmony.”

And Sexton has a message for bands that think success can only be found by playing major markets.

“Sometimes you’ll be in an off-market town on an off night – it’s not House of Blues in Boston it’s, say, Little Rock on a Monday – and those shows turn out to be the greatest musical experiences,” he said. “Because you just don’t give a shit and you go out there and incredible stuff happens. You break into ‘Helter Skelter’ and you didn’t even rehearse it with the band. You just wail it out and the audience freaks and it becomes a great musical experience. That’s been happening a lot on this tour.”

Tetzeli said he’s thrilled to be able to add the muscle of Red Light to Sexton’s arsenal.

“We got him to Jazz Fest for the first time and we got him to Bonnaroo and he’s doing shows with Dave Matthews Band,” he explained. “He’s incredibly worthy of all of these opportunities and it’s exciting to be able to provide them for him.”

While Sexton’s current path will definitely carry him further into the mainstream, where things like radio hits and massive iTunes sales live, don’t expect him to change too much.

“My career is primarily tour-driven,” the singer explained. “I’m not reliant on things like Top 40 radio. I enjoy great support from independent sources like public and college radio. Although, on this record, we’ve actually been getting some good traction from commercial AAA radio.”

And even though a lot of people in the music business paint a bleak picture of the future, Sexton believes it’s just the universe righting itself.

“I would hope the days when some pop star can have a hit but suck live – and still have an incredible career – are gone.”

– Jim Otey/Pollstar

See You On The Moon was recorded to 2-inch analog tape in North Carolina with Tift’s longtime band at Overdub Lane Studio. Tucker Matine, who produced, recorded and mixed this record, immediately felt like family to Tift and her band.  They agreed wholeheartedly on the visceral powers of field recordings, flea markets, night caps and living by gut check. The recording headed west to finish up in Seattle at Avast Recording Company.  They took Thanksgiving Day off before mixing in Portland Oregon at Tucker’s Flora Studio. When asked about influences on this record, Tift’s answer would include her move to New York City, three band members losing grandmothers in three weeks, the purchase of a 1968 high strung guitar, a fascination with directness, a longing for greater openness in music and personal disposition, and a general boredom with any kind of angst.

Says Tift, “I put a note on the wall beside the desk where I was writing this record.  Direct, is what it read.  This album is a parcel of letters stowed in my pocket all along.  Ghosts came to visit this record like compasses we were unaware of pointing us in the right direction. We wanted to make something elemental: open space, grit, real strength. Direct. Two people talking honestly. We kept to ourselves in the studio like this was what we had been practicing for all along, loosely, inevitably, a wide net of openness, a pencil shaved with focus.  We drank some beers.  We made soup.  We wore roller skates.  We told the truth. We didn’t want to talk about this record.  We just wanted to play it.”

Tift  Merritt amd special guest Americana mainstay Richard Buckner play the Iron Horse in Northampton on Friday, June 18th at 7PM.

Crooked Still releases their most excellent 4th album Some Strange Country new week. Here’s a great video for the single Half Of What We Know. You can catch the band live this Saturday night May 15th at Memorial Hall in Shelburne Falls. Tickets are available at www.signaturesounds.com

I think it’s fair to say that we at the River are mostly on Team Conan, but we’re still psyched to learn that Elizabeth Mitchell (of Ida, and now an amazing family musician who will be playing at our Meltdown event in just a couple of weeks) will be performing with Ziggy Marley on the Tonight Show on Monday, March 15!

To tide you over until the Meltdown, you can see her (without Ziggy or Leno) here:

We’re got just under a month until the Meltdown takes place — Saturday, March 27, 10 am to 4 pm at JFK, all free!  Between now and then, I’ll try to post some stuff from the musicians and authors we’ll have at the event.  Today, the amazing Grace Lin, who just won a Newbery Honor!

We’ve got an annual family music and book festival — The River’s Family Music Meltdown and Book Bash.  It’s just over a month away, on March 27, at JFK Middle School, from 10 to 4.  I figured I’d start posting some videos from the amazing family musicians and kids’ book authors we have coming.  First up, local hero Mister G from a Halloween show at Impish:

The event features, along with over a dozen bands on three stages and a bunch of readings from amazing authors, local vendors, activities (bounce houses! hula hoops!), and much more.  And it’s all free.

Here’s where you can find more information about Preservation the album I played for Bloodlines today.

I’ve never played three songs from the same album for Bloodlines but this makes it all worthwhile. The best in New Orleans live jazz teamed up with some pretty impressive musicians, singers, songwriters, whistlers.

These two should go out on the road together.

Today’s BloodLines begins at the taproot of Roy Orbison who became known as the Caruso of Rock. His operatic four-octave range was unhead of in the early sixties. I kicked it off with 1960’s Only the Lonely.

Then we hand it off to his 1980s inhertior of that sweeping vocal range and powerful dramatic punch, Chris Isaak. Here’s a recent concert performance of his “Only the Lonely.” He still looks like he could roll around on a beach naked with a fashion model.

And at the end of the root we have British singer-songwriter and former knuckle boxer, Findlay Brown with his new song Love Will Find You. (If you haven’t joined the Riverlution yet, do so this week and you win his new album Will Find You.)