School of Americana

Published 4:00 am Friday, December 30, 2005

John Bunzow is living out of boxes. After a recent crosstown move, the Portland singer/songwriter has yet to unpack.

The chaos factor goes up when you find out hes a graduate student working toward a masters degree in education. No wonder this guy takes a while to return a call and cant unearth his publicity photos.

Being on the move is nothing new for the 50-year-old Bunzow, an Americana artist who has received critical acclaim for his songwriting chops, a blend of his influences including Tom Waits and Elvis Costello.

Hes lived in Nashville twice. The first time, he lived there for three years after his first college career. His second time was a 10-year stretch that ended last year.

The first six years I was there, it was just great, Bunzow said last week from his new home in the Northwest, speaking about his former one in the Southeast. But the work has been drying up down there for the last four years.

Whether youre an engineer or a picker or a writer, the industrys just really hurting. They dont really let you know that. Its not good press for them, but theyre just not selling CDs. Theres people at the top (who sell), but there used to be people in the middle who could sell gold, but its just kind of the people at the top. Its not spread out like it used to be.

Hence the return to school in his hometown, where his 84-year-old father also lives. Bunzow will teach social studies, he said, adding that he already logged four years as a teacher in Nashvilles inner-city schools.

Since returning to Portland, his extracurricular work has also kept him busy, often at various McMenamins institutions. He hopes that he can return to focused songwriting after he graduates.

Right now, he said, Im just buried. Ive got three hours of homework at night, Im in class all day, and maybe Ill run to a gig, come home, sometimes wake up at 4 (a.m.) so I can get the stuff done before 8 oclock. And yeah, man, at my age, its kind of Whoa.

On Wednesday, Bunzows academic and musical worlds will collide, in a sense, when he performs an acoustic show with harmonica player Bobby Cole at McMenamins Old St. Francis School (see If You Go).

When Bunzow lived in Nashville he maintained his ties to Oregon. His most recent album is 2004s Alive at OConnors, an acoustic work featuring songs written for or about his Portland friends, according to his Web site (www.johnbunzow.com).

The album prior was an electric studio album Darkness and Light, released on Portlands Burnside Records. Both works were recorded in Nashville, using local talent.

Theres an amazing talent pool down there. That was really cool, he said. Thats what I really miss, playing with the pickers down there.

Of late, much of his work has been in the acoustic vein, whether solo or as a duo with the above-mentioned Cole, with whom Bunzow first played 20 years ago.

I play a lot of … gigs where music is not front and center, he said. Its more of a background thing. Its a gig, and its work, and Im lucky to be working, so I kind of take it in stride. Some nights are great, and some nights youre just literally playing to the walls.

Bunzow loves to rock out with a full band, a particularly good way to hold a crowd rapt, or at least curtail the chatter.

It is nice to have some horsepower, Bunzow says. The full band gigs, they seem to be more where people who know the band are coming in.

In a good listening environment, such as Old St. Francis School, the two will play a lot of originals, Bunzow said. But dont be surprised if you hear some new takes on Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan or the oddball cover.

I try to rework them so they sound closer to my style than trying to copy somebody, Bunzow said.