RICH LAYTON EMERGES FROM TOUGH TIMES
Rich Layton had endured hearing troubles before, but seven years ago, he was on stage and something felt strange. He was singing his songs and the sound of Layton’s own voice prompted a piercing pain to shoot through his head.
“I thought that was it,” Layton says. “I was convinced I was going deaf. The ringing was so painful, to the point where it almost caused a panic attack. So I shut it all down.”
Shutting it down didn’t come easy. Layton had just released “Tough Town,” and he had to give up promoting the album. Years passed. Two surgical procedures were recommended. Layton chose the less invasive one. For a year and a half he didn’t know if the procedure was successful.
“The only way through this was walking through it,” Layton says. “You have to ask why the universe would give any of us a set of gifts and then say, ‘Sorry, you can’t share that anymore.’ You wonder what the point of it is. I feel really fortunate I could get back.”
Layton, who has three appearances in the Houston area this weekend, returned this year with “Salvation Road,” a new recording that opens with the song “Live to Rock,” which is essentially about his experience returning to his work as a soulful singing, harmonica-blowing frontman.
“I didn’t have a lot of confidence I’d ever get to do this again,” Layton says. “So that’s why that song sounds like a celebration.”
Layton has been based out of Portland, Ore., for nearly 25 years. But he remains a Houston legend for his tenure with Dr. Rockit and the Sisters of Mercy between 1979 and 1985, putting him at the center of a vibrant music scene that included artists like Lyle Lovett and Lucinda Williams, both of whom he has played with over the years.
He actually didn’t leave Houston for music-related reasons. Layton had created demand for his services as a creative director for a communications company. That job took him first to Memphis, briefly back to Houston, and then to Portland, where he has lived for more than two decades.
The title of Layton’s orphaned album has carried over to the name of his current band, a versatile threepiece. Layton and Tough Town found a sweet spot between musical styles. Several of the songs have a hooky, Brill Building quality at their core, fleshed out with different colors: swamp rock, garage rock, blues and soul.
“My concern is that I didn’t want to be pigeonholed as a blues band,” Layton says, “just because there’s a guy out front with a harmonica.”
Instead, “Salvation Road” sounds at home in just about any roots-music format: rock, blues, soul.
“I threw the kitchen sink at this one,” he says. “A guy I know in Alaska told me he could play us on four different radio shows.”
But there’s a fluidity to the record, too. The wide net thrown by Layton and Tough Town doesn’t mean the songs jump from place to place. They bleed into one another, all united by Layton’s sharp storytelling.
“My other brain keeps busy writing scripts and video stuff,” he says. “So I guess I’m just drawn to telling little stories. A friend who hosts a songwriter night here in Portland says my songs are like mini-movies. I guess whether it’s a song or a corporate commercial video, you have to have some sort of hook. Whether you’re a songwriter or a scriptwriter, you got to get them engaged.”