COTTAGE GROVE – Many longtime rock ’n’ roll fans – particularly here in the Pacific Northwest – would rank the Beatles and Nirvana as two of the greatest – if not the greatest – bands of all time.
They certainly represent two extremely diverse musical styles and two completely different eras of music, as their transcendent sounds helped to define those eras.
It’s that kind of diversity that helps to define Brian Bielanski, whose bio begins like this:
Imagine Nirvana and the Beatles had a kid together who became an acoustic rock singer/songwriter: that’s Bryan Bielanski!
“The Beatles and Nirvana have always been my two favorite bands, but ironically, lately people say I sound like Buddy Holly meets the Violent Femmes,” he said after playing one long set Thursday night at the Axe & Fiddle.
Good thing there wasn’t a pop quiz afterward because Bielanski was mixing his genres at a dizzying pace. “I Wanna Be Sedated” by the Ramones was followed up by Nat King Cole’s “Get Your Kicks On Route 66.” Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” set up “Stacy’s Mom” by Fountains of Wayne and “Hey, Good Lookin’,” by Hank Williams.
Bielanski said he appreciates talented songwriting, regardless of style.
“That’s what inspired me and that’s why I like to play songs from the artists who inspire me,” he said.
He credits his parents for exposing him to so much wonderful music. His father was an aspiring guitar player back in the day, but family life prevented him from ever getting more serious about it.
“Dad passed away last year,” Bielanski said. “I keep a picture of him from 1966 with his guitar. “Bryan’s Super Happy Fun Time II” – my latest release – that’s dedicated to him.”
He grew up in Charlotte, N.C., and still has an address there, but just this year bought some land in New Mexico.
He’s 43, single, and has been touring full-time as a one-man band for the last 10 years. He can’t think of a better way to spend his time.
“I took a break from touring a couple years ago and I was miserable,” Bielanski said. “This is what I need to be doing.”
And he hopes he can keep it going for another 10 years … or who knows, maybe longer.
“Absolutely. It’s not an easy life on the road, but I feel like life off the road is even harder for me,” he said. “It’s challenging, but I like those challenges. It’s worth all the hard work that goes into it.”
His travels have taken him to 19 countries.
“That’s been really exciting, but there are so many more countries left to go, so now that it’s getting safe to travel again, I’m definitely looking forward to getting back to more international traveling,” Bielanski said. “Nothing on the calendar right now, but I have dates through June 23 in the U.S.
“People always seem excited to see an American – abroad they seem very appreciative, especially the European audiences. It was always a great experience.”
His show at the Axe & Fiddle featured two beautiful Beatles tunes – “I’ve Just Seen A Face” and “Nowhere Man,” but there was nothing from his other favorite band, Nirvana.
“Some of the Nirvana songs are kinda depressing,” Bielanski explained. “I still will play some every once in a while – and I usually wait to see if people ask for it. I don’t let it deter me from doing what I want to do too terribly much. It’s called Bryan’s Super Happy Fun Time and I like to play the music that people want to hear.”
They say you can’t please all the people all the time, but Bryan Bielanski does a good job of trying.
