Living in the moment

Gregg Cagno spins his thoughts into gentle song tapestries and stories he shares in concert. He will bring his intimate, easy-going style to the Twin Rivers Coffee House April 14.

By: Susan Van Dongen

Gregg Cagno will perform at the Twin Rivers Coffee House April 14.

   EAST WINDSOR — Back from a six-week tour of the Pacific Northwest, singer-songwriter Gregg Cagno says he saw more sunshine in Seattle than he’s seen in New Jersey lately. He’s back East on one of the rainiest days in a whole month.
   "Something’s wrong," says the Clinton-based musician. "It was unbelievably sunny the whole trip, even in traditionally cloudy cities like Vancouver. I’m kind of aching to get back out west."
   Even though he might not be soaking up the rays here, doubtless he’s absorbing experiences and taking notes. He spins his thoughts into gentle song tapestries and stories he shares in concert, like the anecdotes he tells between musical numbers on his latest release Present Moment Days, (Black Potatoe Records). Mr. Cagno will bring his intimate, easy-going style to the Twin Rivers Coffee House April 14.
   The title cut and a handful of other songs on the album were inspired by a summer spent sailing to the Bahamas with his brother Wayne on a 32-foot ketch named "The Present Moment." It was a soothing experience for both brothers.
   Mr. Cagno had made the decision to leave his day job as a graphic artist and pursue music full-time. His brother was also taking some time off before he got married.
   "The timing of that worked out really well," he says. "I was the happy, tanned folkie you see on the cover. I absolutely knew I had made the right decision to leave my nine-to-five. I enjoy the travel and the newness of seeing different places on the road. There’s no way you can do this and have a regular job."
   Leaving a steady paycheck behind might seem like walking a tightrope without a net to less-adventurous types, but Mr. Cagno is confident in his friendship with the folk community.
   "The support here is great," says the 30-year-old Mr. Cagno. "All across the country, it’s grassroots, it’s homegrown. There’s so much more accessibility between the artists and the community. I was especially interested to see that the folk scene out west attracts a younger crowd than it does here. In San Diego and Los Angeles especially, there were people in their 20s coming out to the shows."
   One of the best ways Mr. Cagno has networked within the folk music community is by playing "house concerts," which are, quite literally, small-scale concerts played in private homes.
   "You play for 20 or 30 people in someone’s living room," he says. "Maybe you have a potluck dinner. I did a number of house concerts out West. It’s a nice way to meet the folk community in an area, especially as the ‘new kid in town.’ It’s great for the performer because you might get to do a show on an off-night. Or you’ll do a house concert on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon and you can still play on Saturday night."
   "I actually recorded Present Moment Days at a house concert in Ringwood (N.J.). I had planned on doing a live CD, culling the tracks from live shows. But we just had this one incredible day. The sound quality was great and the show went very well, so we took it from that one performance. I thought it tied in well with the title, too."
   Mr. Cagno can thank sound engineer John Kurgan and Hungry Goat Studios in Ringwood for polishing an already clean recording. He also gives credit to Black Potatoe Records, the independent label in Clinton he shares with a handful of other performers.
   "It’s a nice creative crossover of people," he says. "We all help each other out."
   Mr. Cagno’s family spotted his musical abilities early on, when he would sit at the piano and play songs he had just heard on the radio. Mr. Cagno began to perfect his act as a teenager, playing at Godfrey Daniels, a folk venue in Bethlehem, Pa. He’s also played at The Bottom Line and CB’s Gallery in New York, and has opened for such well-known performers as Pete Seeger, Dar Williams and Marshall Crenshaw.
   There’s a touch of early James Taylor and fellow New Jerseyan John Gorka in his singing, and the late Michael Hedges in his musicianship. Mr. Cagno also names Joni Mitchell as a big influence.
   His songwriting ranges from crafty musings about Michaelangelo ("The View From Here") to a protest song about New Jersey’s boondoggled auto insurance industry ("Dropped"). He manages to execute both with grace and good humor.
   He doesn’t snarl or hit you over the head with a message, just lays on the kind of charm his kindergarten teacher must have recognized when she assessed that he "Played well with others" way back in 1975.
   Mr. Cagno is easy-going about his success, too.
   "I’ve been so busy I haven’t really noticed," he says. "I feel like my career is growing steadily and it’s taking root. What’s really inspirational to me is now that I’ve been through certain places a number of times, I’m starting to see familiar faces coming back for the shows. That’s one of the big rewards for sticking with it.
   "I often think success is a matter of patience," Mr. Cagno says. "It’s a test. You’ll see the rewards eventually if you just have the mettle to keep moving forward."
Gregg Cagno will perform at the Twin Rivers Coffee House, Abington Road, East Windsor, April 14 at 8 p.m. Bernice Lewis opens. Tickets cost $10. For information, call (609) 443-5465. On the Web: www.greggcagno.com.