Brian Driscoll

ASCAPLUS Award recipient Brian Driscoll is a musician of two minds: on one hand, he is the guitar-toting singer/songwriter whose songs are both thought-provoking and radio-friendly; on the other hand, he is an award-winning contemporary classical composer whose works for choir and various chamber ensembles have been published and performed around the world. At the intersection of these two paths is a talented songwriter with a DIY attitude who is humble yet passionate about his craft and about making new music in any genre.

Given Driscoll's "two minds", one might be curious to know exactly what's on Brian's iPod at any given time.

"My iPod is always on shuffle!", says Driscoll between laughs, "So you can usually find some Barenaked Ladies, definitely Dave Matthews Band, some Nine Inch Nails, 50 Cent, James Taylor, Rancid, Less Than Jake, Panic! At The Disco, Jay-Z, Beastie Boys, Richard Shindell, and Dar Williams... and that's just a few of them. You should see my CD collection." Asked if he had any of his own material on his iPod, Brian responded "Well, for a while around this past Christmas I had 'What Christmas Brings' on my iPod, but I've since taken it off."

We wondered why such an eclectic mix of music did not include any of his own. "I just don't want to be THAT guy, you know? Don't get me wrong, I love my own music, but I'm not in love with it - or with myself - to the point where I have to have MY music on MY iPod. If I really want to hear it that badly I'll pick up my guitar and play it."

We figured that for someone who doesn't have his own music on his mp3 player he must not have a favorite song of his own.

"Actually, I have two favorites."

We were shocked.

"'History' is definitely one of them, because it's such a personal song for me. It's like my autobiography - my whole life in four and a half minutes! Wow, that sounds kind of sad when I say that. Still, it's one of my favorites because it's me at my most vulnerable - basically saying 'Look, I know I've had a screwed up life, but I think I'm okay with it. I just hope it doesn't sabotage my future'. My other favorite is "Sonata No. 1 for Piano" - I still think it's one of the best pieces of music I've ever written, and Sal (Mallimo) really brought it to life. I don't know if I'll ever write anything that good again."

For his sake, we hope he does. Otherwise he's just another singer/songwriter/guitarist/classical composer... and aren't they just so common these days?