Milwaukee singer-songwriter Peter Mulvey has worked with a lot of musicians during his two-plus decades in the music business. But perhaps none is better-known than Ani DiFranco, with whom Mulvey has shared many concert bills.
But DiFranco’s influence is more than a simple musical friendship on Mulvey’s latest album, his 17th. She is the producer of the 13-song album. Are You Listening? was created and recorded in her home studio in New Orleans.
With so many albums and songs to Mulvey's name, these days he views his craft as more of a fine appreciation. "I've been at this so long...each little thing is its own little arc. Like a song has it's opening line, and an album has its opening song, and a show has its opening moments, and a tour has its opening show."
Mulvey is also thinking about how his songs reflect upon himself. "It hit me all at once - they're like leaves," he explains. "Any given leaf is beautiful in spring, is beautiful as a bud, is beautiful rotted in February. Are there too many leaves? Nah. Do we have to see every leaf in order to be moved by one leaf? No."
As he continues to play and tour, his view on his purpose as a musician is clear and simple: "Just be a tree. Just make your yearly crop of leaves and let them drop."
Peter Mulvey will play a show with the Sista Strings on Saturday night at the Colectivo Back Room on Prospect.