Characters live in “Honeydew,” Shawn Mullins’ new CD: a homeless man, an elderly woman shot by police, a traveling salesman. Their stories are told by the 21st-century troubadour.
The singer-songwriter performs two shows Saturday in Shoreline. The early show is sold out.
Melody-oriented Mullins has a degree in music and he served a stint in the Army. His best-known hit is the Grammy-nominated “Lullaby.” The Australian Olympic Team used “Shimmer” as an anthem and the TV show “Dawson’s Creek” showcased his ballads.
The writers and songwriters that Mullins admired most as he learned his craft were character-driven storytellers, too: Kris Kristofferson, Townes van Zandt, John Steinback, beat poets, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie.
Mullins, who writes of hope as well as heartache, has a favorite character on the CD: Homeless Joe.
“He’s a fictitious character built around several homeless musicians that come to mind,” said Mullins, who lives in Atlanta, which has one of the highest homeless populations in the U.S.
“I thought (the song) was something I could do without bringing the homeless into my house, which (wife) Kelly and I used to do. She was a homeless activist; we met doing a benefit,” Mullins said.
“I wanted to paint a different picture of a homeless person to people who don’t come in contact with them the same way I do. I’m more likely to listen to the buskers, homeless or not, and throw a buck in their guitar.”
Songs about the homeless, broken hearts and traveling the road are not new, yet songwriters continue to write them and audiences continue to listen, although not everyone.
“It’s because there’s plenty else to listen to that’s pretty light in comparison,” Mullins said. “My brother and I have had this conversation. He’s career Navy in a high-stress job.
“He doesn’t like to listen to singer-songwriters, partly because he doesn’t agree with (some of the) politics and he doesn’t want to think that much when he’s listening to music.”
Mullins’ words can be wrapped in rock, folk, country or blues.
“I feel comfortable in an Americana thing when I’m telling a story with a bit of country flavor. I also love singing about urban issues with an old R&B (take) … Ray Charles, Otis Redding, James Brown,” Mullins said.
Two standouts are “See That Train” and “The Ballad of Kathryn Johnston.” “Train” includes slapping knees and a Tom Waits-approach to production.
“It’s more of a state-of-mind kind of song. The character is a hobo whose gal just left him … that’s the literal story. But it’s really about the disappearing Americana, the blue-collar world of America.
“I travel through it and see it first hand. Every time a Wal-Mart pops up you lose the old general stores, local record stores … along with real trains,” said Mullins, whose father and grandfather were railroad men.
“The Ballad of Kathryn Johnston” is a tribute to a 92-year-old African-American woman who lived in a rough part of Atlanta. Out of fear, she had purchased a gun to protect herself after other elderly people had been attacked.
The police received a tip of drugs in her house and busted in with a no-knock warrant in 2006. Thinking she was being attacked, she fired one shot but was killed in a hail of 39 bullets, six of which hit her. The police handcuffed her and left her bleeding on the floor while they searched for drugs that never existed. Two officers later pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
“Living in the South, there are still only certain neighborhoods where that type of action goes down. It’s still a real race-divided kind of thing. It’s incredible that we live in the country where that’s still going down.
“I was really moved that she had survived all those decades (and) that’s how it all ends, in her own home. When that happened, things changed for me in my head, but at the same time things stayed the same.
“She deserves a lot more than a song. I just wanted people to pause for a moment of thought.”
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