Michael Hedges talks to Anil Prasad about

Communication

Orderly lines of apples, carrots, pea pods and other organic produce fill the tables. Gleaming bottles of spring water reflect the dim yellow lights while the enticing aroma of fresh-squeezed juice fills the air. "Fresh enzymes man, gotta have 'em!" declares the proprietor of this travelling health food stand with a lilting, southern drawl.

The backstage area of Toronto's Danforth Music Hall is the stand's home for the evening. Its owner is decked out in swirling, psychedelic sweatpants and a bright-yellow tank-top. and his frizzy mane of shoulder-length hair is tied back in a pony-tail.

He's in the middle of whipping up an "apple and greens" cocktail for his sole client: himself. He quaffs it down and quietly begins closing down shop, for within minutes this California- based veggie connoisseur otherwise known as Michael Hedges will serve up a refreshment of another kind. Its ingredients include quirky, witty songs and eclectic acoustic guitar stylings seasoned with flute and keyboards. It's a spicy musical cocktail hundreds of assembled Torontonians eagerly wait to savor.

Slapping and tapping, strumming and snapping, Hedges hits the stage and entrances the crowd with his one-of-a-kind fingerstyle guitar technique. It's an astonishingly original approach which incorporates alternate tunings, harmonics and thwacking the guitar and its strings with his fingers, palms and knuckles. The result is an avant-pop-folk sound which occasionally integrates neo-classical elements. He's christened his genre "heavy mental."

That Hedges often manages to play such intricate guitar pieces while singing, dancing and spinning around barefoot makes his performances even more remarkable. On his last couple of tours, he's also unearthed his previously-unseen keyboard and flute talents to round out his already diverse performances.

"My previous record, Taproot [1990], was very textural. There were some flutes, keyboards and electric guitar there. So, Road to Return doesn't seem like a departure to me, it seems like an evolution," Hedges explained. "I wanted to do some real arranging for my songs. I was getting a little bit tired of playing acoustic guitar alone."

...But some long-time fans are less than thrilled with Hedges' new direction. During his last tour, he put away his guitar several times in favor of performing new songs like Road to Return's title track and "Guardian's Trust" solely on keyboards. Muted applause often greeted the tunes -- a stark contrast to the frenzied cheering and ovations that follow his pyrotechnic guitar pieces. Surprisingly, Hedges doesn't mind.

"I'm not interested in any fan who puts technique over content. To me, my new keyboard tunes have a very deep meaning and they don't demand applause," he said. "I'm after communication, not applause. So, sure I'll lose some of my fans, but I would rather lose them than keep away the ones who are after the deeper meaning."

..."It could be a mid-life crisis, but I don't care," he said, breaking into hyena-like laughter. "I don't think so though. I've always wanted to ride a motorcycle and now I feel I can -- my Dad didn't let me have one. I think it's all about focus. You gotta focus on the road when you're riding." He paused for a moment while carefully considering his next thought.

"If I had a mid-life crisis, I'm sure getting out of it. A mid- life crisis can be good. It gives you an opportunity to deal with the things which have held you back from becoming self- actualized. So if that's what I'm having, I'm gonna embrace it rather than freak-out.

"I've been thinking about questions like `What does this all mean?' and `Why am I here?' I suppose you can think about lookin' good. I saw a country video which was nothing but close-ups of some guy's face. He's saying to himself `I look so good!' " hollered Hedges in a deep, mock-cowboy accent. "How much fun is that gonna be for that guy when he gets old? What's gonna happen when he hits his mid-life crisis? What's invested that he can grab hold of?"

The full interview is in Dirty Linen #57.