12/20/2000

The Blue, Blue Grass of Home
St. Louis singer/songwriter Gen Obata makes
unassuming but gorgeous music

By Roy Kasten

It's hard to square Gen Obata's music with his
persona. With his wiry frame, heavy helmet of
black hair (nearly imperceptibly flecked
with gray), thick glasses and almost Sephardic
features, Obata looks more like a physicist than a
folk songwriter or flashy flatpicker. But his guitar
playing has the emphatic muscularity of Lester
Flatt and the illuminating melodicism of Doc
Watson, who, like Obata, developed his style on
old fiddle tunes transposed to guitar.

"I wanted to be Bob Dylan or Elvis Presley in
high school," Obata says. "I started writing songs
right away, in 11th or 12th grade, back in '73 or
'74. After I graduated from high school, I started
taking music lessons from Jim Renz, an incredible
flatpicker who taught lessons down at Music
Folk. He taught me straight fiddle tunes. That's all
we did."

Over the years, Obata has managed to capture the
best of the American singer/songwriter tradition
and the best of the country instrumental legacy. He
has played with the Katie Kirkhover Band and
continues to gig monthly, both with Raven Moon
and as a solo act or with Jeff Suits accompanying
him on bass. His voice and flatpicking can also be
heard with one of the area's best bluegrass bands,
Seldom Home, "After high school, I kept playing
guitar and writing songs, and then five or six
years ago I decided this was really important to
me and began playing out more. Four years ago I
started in the Seldom Home bluegrass band. Jeff
Moley, the mandolin player, saw me at an open
mic at Music Folk. He tapped me on the shoulder
afterward and said, "I'm thinking of starting this
bluegrass band. Would you like to play with us?' I
said, "Sure.' He said, "Come over tomorrow and
practice.' Then he said, "Next Saturday we're
gonna enter this bluegrass competition." I said,
"What?' We practiced a few tunes and did the
contest. We lost to a 12-year-old fiddler."

Along with Doc Watson and David Bromberg,
Obata identifies Norman Blake as one of the
forces that pulled him back into music. "Five
years ago, I saw Norman Blake at the Focal Point.
He makes it look so simple, but so much comes
out of his guitar. It doesn't look like he's doing
anything, but there's this incredible sound. He also
writes these beautiful songs" -- as has Obata,
whose compositions have been standouts on the
recent Elbow Grease compilation and whose
forthcoming album (judging from the rough mixes)
will feature at least one certifiable classic. "I
Never Meant to Lose Your Heart" couldn't be
simpler or more evasive or more gorgeous: The
melody -- carried by Janice Reiman's cello, Jeff
Suits' bass and Obata's poignant guitar lines -- is
both familiar and hard to place, and the lyrics are
little more than the repeated plea of the title. The
effect is hypnotic. On St. Louis' hit-or-miss
singer/songwriter scene, Gen Obata may never
have any hits, but his music should not be
overlooked.

©2001 New Times All rights reserved.