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St.
Louis Magazine, October
2002
 At
the Beale On Broadway, Brian Curran is on stage. On his break
he'll come over to watch Oliver Sain (at BB's). "Oliver
is a legend," he says. "He goes to Germany and people
know who Oliver Sain is. We have quite a town of great musicians",
Curran included, according to May.
Curran plays in the "pre-war" blues style-and that's
World War II. He makes his living playing at least six gigs
a week, supplementing that income with guitar lessons.
On a Saturday afternoon at Mike & Mins, he sits down to
talk. With long hair, a Stevie Ray Vaughn hat and an ever-present
cigarette, he tries to explain how a kid who grew up in Oakville,
a South County neighborhood, is now making a living playing
a gritty Mississippi Delta-style guitar.
Curran has played guitar since he was 13. He grew up listening
to whatever his father had on the stereo, but then he heard
some John Lee Hooker, and that was that. Soon he was attending
local jam sessions and hanging out at smoky bars, where the
teenage Curran would play with the city's greats.
He is pleased with the St. Louis scene. "All the musicians
are very supportive of each other," he says, lighting
another cigarette. "Everyone is open to each other's
gigs. It's cool because you get a job that pays not very much,
you hang out, start talking to some cat, and they're like,
'Oh yeah, we just played this place in St. Charles. It's cool,
pays $500, go check it out.' Nobody's hiding their gigs."
At the same time, he doesn't plan to spend his life eking
out a living playing for the door at St. Louis clubs and making
the occasional CD. "I know I'm not only going to be playing
in St. Louis and a few festivals around the Midwest when I'm
30. There's no doubt about it. I want to make St. Louis my
home, but I don't necessarily want to make it my career,"
he says. "I could make a decent living just being here
in St. Louis. But then what's my music for?"
For now, it's for the patrons of Mike & Min's. Curran
excuses himself, pulls an empty chair from the table and turns
off the television. There are seven people in the bar, including
the bartender and the cook. Curran lifts his Gibson guitar
out of the case, and along with his sweet voice plays the
bleating, harsh, raw blues.
During the first set, a family wanders in for lunch, not knowing
they'll get to hear one of St. Louis's rising blues stars
for free. When they walk out an hour later, the dad gives
his little girl a couple of dollars, which she puts in a jar
at Curran's feet. Curran tips his hat, smiles, then beats
a steady rhythm with his boot as he plays a heartfelt "Amazing
Grace."
Excerpt
from "Livin the Blues - read the entire article here!
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