Big City Cat: My Life in Folk-Rock

by Steve Forbert, Therese Boyd (Editor)

As a young man from Meridian, Mississippi, Steve Forbert managed to carve out a niche in New York City’s vibrant club scene, playing now-iconic venues like Gerde’s Folk City and CBGB’s during a time when rootsy rock was fading out and the Ramones, Talking Heads, and other New Wave and punk acts were moving in. That heady period was captured on his first album, Alive on Arrival. “Now or then,” writes Rolling Stone contributing editor David Wild, “you would be hard-pressed to find a debut effort that was simultaneously as fresh and accomplished as Alive on Arrival . . . it was like a great first novel by a young author who somehow managed to split the difference between Mark Twain and J.D. Salinger.” Forbert’s next LP, Jackrabbit Slim, introduced the hit song “Romeo’s Tune” to the world. Since then he’s produced studio albums (17 and counting) full of perceptive, critically acclaimed songs in his eclectic pop-rock-folk Americana style. Keith Urban, Rosanne Cash, and Marty Stuart, among others, have recorded his songs. Forbert’s 2003 tribute to Jimmie Rodgers, Any Old Time, was nominated for a Grammy and he even made a cameo appearance in Cyndi Lauper’s music video for “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.”Big City My Life in Folk-Rock focuses on Forbert’s early NYC days but also covers his career up to the present day. Interspersed with his narrative are interviews with notables such as Danny Fields, Garry Tallent, and John Simon. This insightful and humorous memoir is not simply the tale of a talented survivor, but also a glimpse into a musician's life and the challenges faced—as well as the lessons learned—in a changing industry during the last forty years.

Genres: Music, Biography

266 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2018

Reviews

[Holly Gleason · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you remember Steve Forbert crashing to earth, a charming folkie coming from the den of punk CBGBs as the next new Bob Dylan, or the inescapable pop hit "Romeo's Tune" that took his Southern pop colloquialism and made it charming enough to cut through the Eagles, Bad Co. and Fleetwood Mac, BIG CITY CAT puts you inside the eye of the storm with a willingness to own mistakes, poor choices and bad behavior. Note: this is not a rock & roll tell all of debauchery, but an honest accounting of the warp speeds, disorientation and human foibles that make up careers that sometimes fall apart and sometimes exceed what should happen.
In many ways, Forbert was both. A stripped down rocker from Meridian, Mississippi, who had a gift for innocence channeled into songs, heart on his sleeve without being drippy wide-eyed consideration and enough actual truth in his feelings to be any one of the people listening to ALIVE ON ARRIVAL, JACK RABBIT SLIM or even LITTLE STEVIE ORBIT.
But what makes this book even more exceptional is his sense of detail. Yes, he was in fast rooms, managed by a string of names managers including the Ramones' driving forces Danny Fields and Linda Stein, and allowed to work with some fascinating producers, musicians and other creatives, but it is the choices he makes in how he depicts these people -- and shows his own mental processes in his accounting -- that provide a more porous and absorbing view of how musical careers unfold.
There is the frustration of having your contract suspended, later your A&R person's whims about producer choices keeping your ability to get into the studio in limbo. It plays out as it really happens, the layers of reasons and pile-up of days. He captures the exhaustion of getting past youthful zeal, and keeping up with keeping on the road, even passing on a "Letterman" booking (requiring red-eye overnight travel from France) when the exposure was needed because there was just nothing left in his tank.
It is tempered with inserted commentary from several of the people discussed and typewriter font insertions of Forbert's real time diaries. It is leavened with small-town Southern boy joy over growing up, taking his sons fishing in Nashville creeks and daughter trick-or-treating. He weaves in lyrics, other people's thoughts and the kinds of details that close circles; ultimately closing the book with a serendipitous refrain/reclaim of a story about his early career hijinks that draws a smile.
Making music a career over decades, especially if one shuns the easy nostalgia route, is hard. To be a man of song, one often loses their family (Forbert writes of the end of his marriage with clarity, without indulging in the actual pain of it) and ultimately surrenders to a rhythm outside "normal life." Forbert never makes these truths a sacrifice, just lays out the cards in a way that reveals to all what the life truly is.
If you've ever wondered why some artist you thought was so good didn't make it, read this. If you're thinking about embarking on an indie career, read this. If you want to understand life beyond the supernova stars, read this...
Success is how you measure it. Regrets are how you see it. For Steve Forbert, who delivers a true glimpse into his life, times, success and continued life as an artist, this is as triumphant as ALIVE ON ARRIVAL: something that suggests one doesn't have to be multi-platinum, all over the radio or selling out arenas to have a life of the heart, integrity of one's music or survive bad decisions.
Bravo.

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

Music is a big part of my life, and my collection is filled with obsessions and impulses. Steve Forbert is the artist I have listened to the most and the most consistently. Through every stage of my life the media flowed from record to cassette to CD to minidisc to iPod and back to vinyl, Steves music has always mean there with me. A voice in the middle of the night to settle my soul. The Norman Rockwell of song. And not just the cutesy Norman, but the one who captures and challenges the being of Americans. The American in Me, is a Rockwell with its bearing of the ways of debt in plain view and as a cautionary tale in seemingly simple verbage, and this happens again and again. What are Steves songs about? Who are the people who inhabit them? Us. Every day us. Not political us, or work us, but after working day us. On a long drive alone us. Look away from the mirror us. Regular words strung together beautifully. I have everything Steve has released and I treasure them all. He is not Hank or Jimmie or Bruce or Buddy but he is informed by all of them.

The book is wonderful. Steve is weird like all of us, flawed like all of us and that comes through clearly in the book. But like all of us he is capable of being devil and angel. Unlike all of us he has written some of Americas greatest songs. He is a national treasure on par with Seeger Gershwin and Taylor.

My only disagreement is the use of the word "mistakes" in career. All necessary steps that led to the midlife masterpieces from streets to Rocking Horse. We never needed Alive on Arrival 2, more than we needed Born to Run 2. It's all just a dream.

Great book. Great artist.

[Ray Banks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read great life in music so much I didn't know about this great 'troupedore'

[Mike Sennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable memoir for fans of Steve Forbert, but probably not for others. The primary focus is Forbert's first few years in NYC after arriving from Mississippi. I think the book could have been improved if Forbert had provided a little more detail and structure in his recounting of this time. Forbert is pretty honest about his mistakes and faults - even including somewhat critical quotes from from former managers or associates. As I read through this book, I went back and re-listened to some of the old Forbert LPs in my collection - some good music that I had forgotten about! (Although his first two records had stayed in the listening rotation over the years ...)

[Patressa Kearns · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steve Forbert has always been true to his music, never a slave to fame or celebrity. He has a unique sound and style, and he's never compromised that. His memoir is a fun read and lets us in on the folk-rock-pop music circuit's charms and uglies. I'm glad to hear Forbert is holding his own out there in smaller-venue concert land. I have long enjoyed his music and wish him many more years of making such fine music. I enjoyed 'Big City Cat" book immensely.

[John Lyman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This guy definitely made his career and success as he wanted it. Pretty bold move to shun the spotlight he earned with a smash hit. Glad I’ve seen him play and had the chance to talk to him. It’s great that he’s overcome his drinking problem. He mentioned this book when I saw him 3-4 years ago, glad he finally got it out.

[Deb Marra-Yurek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for a singer/songwriter that I have loved and followed for about 40 years. Picked up his book at a recent/2019 local concert of his that I attended in Bethlehem, PA. It is very informative and is well written. It is very interesting and easy to read. It follows his life in a nice order....no big jumping around in time-lines.

[Calvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty fascinating read about a musician who made it "Big" enough to not have to have another job and make a living as a musician. But not one big enough to really ever be mainstream expect for a year or so around 1980.

[Scott C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a fan and attend concerts when Steve is nearby. The book was illuminating as to both his motivations and his experiences.

[Colin Cochran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably not enjoyable if you’re not a fan of Steve Forbert