MUSICIAN GLENN-COPELAND ON STAGE AND ‘HAVING A BLAST’
Beverly Glenn-Copeland refers to himself as a musical monk. In fact, in an interview with Postmedia, he uses the description on a few occasions.
It’s a reference to his work habits, not any particular religious conviction. The 74-year-old trans musician, who will make his Calgary debut on Monday at the King Eddy, has had a habit of sequestering himself from the public while writing music. Up until recently, he rarely played his wide-ranging canon of compositions in concert.
But when re-releases of two of his early albums put the music back in the public sphere, Glenn-Copeland decided it was finally time to put together a band and tour.
“I’ve only tapped into about five per cent of the material I’ve ever written for this concert,” said Glenn-Copeland, during an interview from his home in New Brunswick. “That’s what happens when you don’t do anything but write music for 45 or 50 years.”
Calling it a comeback, though, doesn’t really seem accurate. Glenn-Copeland has never really been all that much of a careerist, nor has he ever sought out the spotlight as a musician and composer.
Besides, he wasn’t completely out of the public eye. Fans of the iconic children’s show Mr. Dressup might remember the recurring character of Beverly, who Glenn-Copeland performed as a female until the show ended in 2002. That was when he came out as a transgendered male.
But his dual lives as a children’s performer and eclectic composer were kept separate. As a children’s performer, he’s an extrovert who loves slapstick comedy and writing and playing music for children. He starred not only in Mr. Dressup, but also on Sesame Street and wrote and performed songs for Shining Time Station.
As a classically trained musician with a three-octave vocal range, he has spent a number of artistically restless decades writing folk, jazz, blues and classical music. He recorded with Bruce Cockburn and Cat Stevens. He scored films. Rita MacNeil and Jackie Richardson are among the artists who recorded his songs. But he rarely felt any desire to perform any of his music on stage.
When asked how long it’s been since he went out on a proper tour, Glenn-Copeland just laughs.
“Do you have a calendar that can go back that far?” he asks.
“I’ve always had an interesting experience with performing. I have never been a person who wanted to perform. When I was a child, I was in a very musical family. My mother was pushing me to sing when people would come over. My father was a brilliant pianist, but he didn’t play for people. He was a master of the classical tradition on piano, but he didn’t play for others. It was for himself, which he did for four, five hours a day after coming home from work. So being on stage wasn’t part of the family thing. But being musical was very much part of the family thing.”
But things changed a few years back when his 1986 cassette-only release Keyboard Fantasies floated back into the spotlight. For a select group of audiophiles, the release was a criminally overlooked and pioneering piece of electronic music, created entirely using a Yamaha DX-7 and Roland TR707 synths and Glenn-Copeland’s supple vocals.
Among the obsessors was a Japanese collector who asked Glenn-Copeland to send him 30 cassettes in December of 2015. They were immediately sold out in Japan, so 30 more were requested. They also sold out. Eventually, he asked Glenn-Copeland to send any remaining copies he may have.
Unbeknownst to him, the Japanese fan was a big wheel in audiophile circles. His interest piqued the interest of people all over the world. There was a snowball effect, and suddenly, this semi-obscure composer was getting offers from record companies around the world to re-release Keyboard Fantasies on vinyl.
In 2017, Canada’s Invisible City Editions put out the record. Six months ago, Glenn-Copeland’s 1970 self-titled folk debut was also re-released.
Forty-eight years ago, it was only available in Europe, despite its impressive pedigree.
Produced by Doug Riley, a.k.a. Dr. Music, it featured no less a talent than Canadian guitar giant Lenny Breau.
It’s all been a bit of a whirlwind for Glenn-Copeland, who admits with trademark modesty that this new chapter in his life was “unexpected.”
Born in Philadelphia, Glenn-Copeland came to Montreal in the early 1960s to study classical music and the German Lieder style of vocals. A few years later, he realized he didn’t want to continue in the Lieder style.
So he bought a guitar and began dabbling in other styles.
He performed sporadically from 1970-80 before disappearing from the live stage. He did one concert in 2002 and disappeared again.
But, last summer, when the release of Keyboard Fantasies put him back in the spotlight, Glenn-- Copeland did a series of shows with the Queer Songbook Orchestra.
Since then, he’s been touring with Indigo Rising, a band made up of musicians Bianca Palmer, Nick Dourado, Kurt Inder and Jeremy Costello that plays Calgary’s King Eddy on Monday.
So what changed? Glenn-Copeland says the enthusiasm from his audience was infectious.
“I’m having a blast, actually,” he said. “I think it’s because I’ve gotten to be myself all these years and felt no push that I had to be out there. Now I’m going out because people are saying, ‘This music really touches me, this is feeding me in some way.’ ”
Being on stage wasn’t part of the family thing. But being musical was very much part of the family thing.