Sig Paulson: Press

LOCAL FAVE PERFORMS ALFRESCO
By Patti Curry
from Salem Monthly, Section Music / Nightlife
Posted on Fri Jun 29, 2007 at 02:40:00 AM PDT

Salem's own "Northwest Renegade Troubadour" will perform this month at the Neighborhood River Concert Series. Sig Paulson and his band, the Jaded Buddhas, will take the stage from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on July 10 at Highland Park.
Paulson's "hippiebilly" fare is formed from the roots of the nation's eclectic musical expressions. His style is a melodic melting pot that blends honky-tonk, rhythm and blues, country-rock and folk.
The 54-year-old musician began playing guitar at age 10, and writing songs at 13. He's a self-taught harmonica player. In high school, Paulson played with a jug band and at local coffee houses in the early `70s. He launched his professional career when he joined the Tingler Band, a country-rock group that traveled the Midwest and Great Plains. When it disbanded in 1979, Paulson headed back to Oregon and, in 1980, formed Sig & the Sahibs, a rhythm-and-blues band that performed original numbers as well as soul and Motown hits.
Paulson began his career as a solo performer in 1985, incorporating increasingly more original material into his shows. He continued working with bands and as a solo artist at venues throughout the Northwest, and focused more on songwriting.
In 2002 Paulson released his first collection -- "Movies & Magazines." In 2004, he was a finalist in the Mary Hill Winery Songwriter's Competition and in July 2005, he released his second solo album, "Tangled in My Roots." Last year, he took second place at the Gig Harbor Folk Festival.
Paulson says the evolution of his craft keeps his work exciting.
"It's just changing all the time. I'm having a lot of fun with it."
He's been a regular at Lefty's and often performs at Boon's Treasury, as well as other McMenamin's venues including the Grand Lodge in Forest Grove and Oregon Hotel in McMinnville.
Paulson's storytelling persona and skillful instrumentation combining acoustic guitar and harmonica distinguish his performances.
"I've got some energy there. It's not all laid-back and sad."
He's performed at the Neighborhood River Concert Series since 1995. He's drawn to the venue -- and not just because it's in his own backyard.
"I love to play outside. I don't know why, but I've always liked playing outside in parks," Paulson said.
He also appreciates the audience. And sure, the fact that it's in Salem is a definite plus.
"This is my hometown. I grew up here and have lots of friends here. I love Salem."

Thursday, April 4th 2002.
Local CD collections expand choices.
Besides playing at local venues, area musicians put their music on CD.
By Angela Yeager
Statesman Journal
Ask any local music fan, and they will tell you there's a dearth of venues to see live music in the mid-valley.
But that doesn't mean that there aren't plenty of local bands creating original music. It just may be that it's only avilable at the local record store. Kit Close, owner of Ranch records in downtown Salem, said he has seen a huge increase in local bands releasing CDs recently. He estimates that he is getting twice as many sent to him than he did just three years ago.
"It's so easy and inexpensive to record now," he said. "Just about any band playing in the local bars now has a CD."

Sig Paulson
Sig Paulson is a bit of a musical legend in Salem.
He's played in the area since the '60s, when he was a fixture in local coffee shops.
Since then, he has continued writing his own songs and building his craft. Paulson names Bob Dylan and Steve Forbert, whom he worked with at a songwriting workshop, as his influences.
About four years ago, Paulson finally took the plunge and started work on his first solo album. "Movies and Magazines" was released in January.
"I write in so many different veins and styles," he said. "that I was worried about it not having cohesive feel," he said. "And I ended up getting the Americana roots thing out of it."
With his acoustic guitar and harmonica in hand, Paulson hired Salem musician Julian Snow to produce the album. Together they selected 12 songs from Paulson's extensive body of work. And though there is everything from a little honky tonk to blues and folk on the album, it all comes together as a collection of Paulson's memories and travels.
So far, he has sold about 130 copies of the album and has playes in Boise, Idaho, and Portland. And he isn't waiting so long this time to head back into the studio: Paulson is hoping to start work on the next album this year.
"I'm feeling really good about having the album," he said. "I'm feeling like I've got more power behind me for going and getting gigs. And people are starting to get to know me better."
Upcoming show:
.8 p.m. April 12, Rock Creek Tavern, 10000 Old Cornelius Pass, Hillsboro; no cover; call: (503) 645-3822.
Where to find the CDs:
.Ranch Records, 170 Liberty St. NE, Salem
.Uptown Music, 5065 River Road N, keizer
.Rosebud and Fish, 524 State St., Salem

According to my understanding, the 53 year old Sig Paulson, is an opponent of the
"Generationspact" (My comment: this appears to be some sort of Belgian
government proposal to put more people to work for a longer time).

Apparently the man from San Jose, California is already busy limiting his
working hours, because only now we see the sequel to his 2001 album "Movies
and Magazines".
But, the good man already has a 35 year career behind him and most people
would be thinking about taking it a bit easier. A long career, that mainly
consisted of country/rock and rhythm & blues bands, but that took a
different course when he came in contact with Stacey Earle & Mark Stuart,
Chris Smither and Steve Forbert.
The whole bunch had been asked to be teachers at a songwriters workshop in
Palmer, Alaska and when Forbert personally took charge of Paulson, the birth
of a "new" singer/songwriter was a fact. With success too, because he
immediately became one of the finalists of the Mary Hill Winery Songwriter's
Competition.
He proves that the fact was no fluke, with 12 self written songs of
which the opener "Hillbilly Mystic"(The hillbilly mystic don’t travel alone, his wife’s a gypsy palm reader plays the saxophone, got a band of disciples called the celestial stars, they only play the big shows no coffee houses or bars.) and the finale "Don't Say Goodbye", (I remember what you said this morning, don’t say goodbye, say see you later.) are the 2 best.

It’s a nice start to 40 minutes of Roots (time) music. With "Hot Tamale" Paulson
digs up a bit of Tex Mex, the sing along "Fish in a Fryin' Pan" invokes a cute
little hillbilly waltz, and the songs "Danger Girl" and "Vaguely Familiar"
(with saxophone by Patrick Lamb) belong in a calypso/swing jazz
cabaret. However, the man's talents are varied and his admiration for Bob Dylan
is evident in the songs "I Don't Think I Wanna Think", "Jaded Buddha", and
"Broken Pride"... mandolin and harmonica included!
But he is no stranger to 'the blues' because in a past life he was
good friends with Canned Heat members Henry Vestine & James Thornebury, and
he does a great job on the rhythm & blues number 'with a message' "Givin 'Em
Hell". (She dig a boogie-woogie baby and she don’t take it slow .With her spiked high heels and her top down low. The boys all think they know her but they don’t know her well Looks like she’s from heaven but she’s givin’ ‘em hell!).

Once you've been involved in this crazy business for this long, you can only survive with a certain sense of humor, and with "Everybody wants to drive my car" ("Everybody wants to finish my sentence, but I don’t really like what they say. // Everybody wants to paint my house, but the colors they choose just scream. // Everybody wants to drive my car, but nobody wants to pay for the gas." obvious.
Sig makes that wonderfully
It's obvious Sig Paulson is not yet ready to retire, and he will keep us supplied with good songs. With "Tangled In My Roots" he has definitely succeeded in that.

François Braeken ( reporter Euro Americana chart )
Rootstime.be e-line magazine Belgium