Rising Son

Singer-songwriter ELVIS PERKINS turns personal loss into poetic musical expression

Born with a musical name and into an artistic family, Elvis Perkins almost had to become a music creator. Son of actor Anthony Perkins and photographer/model Berry Berenson, Elvis lost each of his parents to the scourges of our time – AIDS, which killed Anthony Perkins on September 10, 1992, and terrorism -- Berry Berenson was a passenger on one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Elvis Perkins in Dearland is the name of the singer-songwriter's band, and their debut album, Ash Wednesday (XL Recordings), is, in part, an attempt to deal with the great personal losses Perkins has suffered.

Growing up in both New York and Los Angeles, Perkins' introduction to music began in childhood with the piano, moved on to the saxophone and became settled with the guitar after a 12 year-old Elvis studied with Prescott Niles, former bassist for the Knack. Songwriting for Perkins "came pretty fast, putting together my own things -apparently I had some sort of internal musical world that had yet to be reckoned with or activated but pretty soon after, I was able to form a few chords and started writing songs that would be fitting for electric guitar, as well as songs suitable for classical guitar, which we had around the house," he says.

In an artistic family like the Perkins', self-expression was encouraged. "My brother and I made a lot of drawings together with my Dad," Perkins says. "He was constantly playing the piano and singing, and inviting us to join him, which we didn't do as frequently as we might in retrospect, but it was definitely a loose and creative scene in the house." While Anthony Perkins' career as a recording artist is not as well known as his film roles, the actor recorded several albums and singles for Epic and RCA in the 50's and early 60's.

By the time Elvis Perkins enrolled at Brown University, he was committed to music. Though the school had music courses, he was told by the school's administration, "We'd love you to play music, but we don't really love you to be a music major." Instead, Perkins opted not to complete college and devoted himself to music and poetry in various places, from New Mexico to Cape Cod. Perkins' recording career did not get off the ground , however, until his musician/producer friend, Ethan Gold stepped in to help. "I wasn't quite sure how to get it to come together for me, and I owe a lot to Ethan, who produced the record and who found me at a pretty chaotic and scattered time and really did a lot to get me focused and committed to actually do something," Perkins explains.

Half of the songs were written before "the awful day," as Perkins calls 9/11, and half afterward. The lyrics are more impressionistic than direct, with the arrangements and vocal delivery all conveying a powerfully mournful, but not entirely miserable feeling. Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake and the Beatles are among the prevailing influences, along with the sound of old British music halls and Kurt Weill-style cabaret. Many players contributed to the album, adding eclectic touches like musical saw, harmonium, Moog synthesizer and choral singing. Ash Wednesday signals the emergence of a significant new musical voice, a low-key singer with poetic songs and a sweeping musical vision.

— Jim Steinblatt


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