Bruce Hornsby, the acclaimed keyboardist is warm and friendly as he talks about his early years. "I was a late bloomer musically," he says, "I was a senior when I got into band...after high school I went to the University of Richmond, Berklee School of Music and then to the University of Miami which had an incredible music department. A lot of musicians whose names you would know have come out of the University of Miami."
   Bruce and his new group the Noisemakers play the Tivoli Theater this Thursday, August 18. "Theaters are the type of venue I like to play the best" says Bruce. This will be his second appearance in the Scenic City, previously he appeared in 1999 at the Riverbend Festival.
   After returning home to Williamsburg, Virginia Bruce paid his dues on the bar and club circuit while sending demo tapes to record companies. In 1980, along with his brother John (Bruce's songwriting partner at the time), he moved to Los Angeles. A long five year's later Bruce and his new band The Range finally got a record deal (with RCA). The result was 1986's The Way It Is which produced three Top 20 hits including the title track. The album stayed on the charts for a year and a half, sold two million copies and at the '86 Grammy awards Hornsby and The Range walked away with the hardware for "Best New Artist."
   As a virtuoso musician, Bruce was in high demand as a guest artist on other people's projects but his distaste for playing music the same way every time eventually wore on him. "It became NOT enjoyable," says Bruce. He began to politely turn down invitations to appear on other people's albums. Even his own subsequent albums all ventured further out into experimentation and expression.
   It was during the early '90's that Bruce began opening for the Grateful Dead, often times sitting in with them for a song or two and vice versa. In July 1990 Brent Mydland, the keyboardist for the Grateful Dead passed away and Bruce became a defacto member of the group for a couple of years. Of Jerry Garcia, who passed away ten years ago last week, Bruce says he loved playing pranks on Jerry, "I'd call him up and pretend to interview him. I'd even call up and impersonate him. He eventually got wise to me though."
   Though his appearance on other artists' projects has waned over the last decade, Bruce did collaborate with Ricky Skaggs on Skaggs Bill Monroe tribute album Big Mon. The pair had such a good experience with that number that they will be pairing up again in the near future for work on another bluegrass album.
   For those who have never been to a Bruce Hornsby concert you can "expect to see a bunch of guys laughing and having fun and talking to the audience." You can also request songs. "Before the show people will put their requests on a piece of paper and leave it on the stage... there will be 50 to a 100 pieces of paper on the stage when we come out" Bruce said.
   But don't come and expect to hear short radio-perfect renditions of his early hits, instead they will likely be long, involved and spontaneous interpretations of those songs. That's just the way it is.

-Wynn Hayden*