For those familiar with Tramps and Thieves’ live performances, the transition Scott makes to solo gigs might be a bit of a surprise. Rollicking rocknroll numbers revert back to their original mellow, frequently depressing-but-in-a-good-way forms.
A long-time TnT supporter, it took me a moment to adjust to the stripped down version of some of my favorite anthems. As soon as I became accustomed to the cup of coffee in my hand rather than gin and accepted the quiet atmosphere seemingly not conducive to sing(shout)-a-longs, I was able to take in the music and roll the lyrics around in my head. His songs emerge much more somber away from the levity of Tramps and Thieves.
While “Next Time” when performed with the band might be a rousing tune guaranteed to induce any crowd into yelling the chorus in accompaniment, it is a very different song when Scott enters the words alone. “The next time I decide to leave, you won’t know until I’m gone. No tear-filled goodbyes or heartbreaking so-longs.” Not exactly happy-go-lucky. However, when you add Emmett, Andy, and Ryan from Tramps and a Tempe Rock crowd you get a reason to carouse.
Scott joked that people celebrate his tragedies. All joking aside though, we know folks aren’t celebrating the pain in “Next Time” by toasting and singing. Each person is lamenting the most human of moments, heartache, with all others present… loudly. Tramps and Thieves turns suffering into celebrations.
On his own, Scott’s songs take on a more personal quality. Aside from the songs made familiar to me by Tramps and Thieves, he has a wealth of unreleased tunes available only at solo gigs.
Scott Howard has an easy-going, almost tragically humble air that makes him immediately likeable. Originally from Michigan, Scott moved to Arizona to enter ASU’s graduate program for literature. Ever the fan of the short form however, Howard preferred the open format lyrics allowed for over the more strident structures found in poetry and literature.
Scott had begun recording his solo projects with Mark Kopentis, a music guru known around the Valley, until Mark's unexpected passing in July of 2009. Since then, Scott has been hesitant to take up recording again but this upcoming year approaches with the resolve to start recording his personal stock of songs.
Until you can get your hands on your own Scott Howard album, you can still catch him live and solo around the Valley. The best course of action is to catch Scott with his band as well as on his own. It will be a lesson in the nature of songwriting and presentation as the same song takes on different forms in each incarnation.
We extracted a promise from Scott Howard to have his EP well-underway (or completed) by this time next year. Admittedly, this is not “ethical journalism” in any traditional sense but we don’t care. When next August roles around, we will either be publishing an update on Scott’s solo project or inviting everyone to share their favorite embarrassing Scott story which we will then compile and publish in its place. Good luck, Scott!
