This column came together in a rather rushed and rapid way. You see, there was supposed to be another singer/songwriter covered this week —Mainer Katie Matzell — but she had to pull out of her Dec. 16th One Longfellow Square gig at the last minute (her story will run in February so watch for it). She works at OLS and put me in touch with Chris Pureka, who will be performing at that venerable venue on the 20th of this month; Matzell contacted Pureka and set up a phone interview with her for me so I could make deadline for this week’s column. Without much time to prep for our chat, I really had to wing it when the day and time came up for my interview with Pureka who was in Nashville when I called.

Q: I’ve been binge-watching videos of you, trying to prepare for our conversation this afternoon and an observation I made was that your singing style reminds me of Tracy Chapman — you know her “Fast Cars” song?
Pureka: Yeah, cool — thanks. I really enjoy Tracy Chapman’s music.

Q: The lyrical impact and integrity of the songs you write, quite frankly, is rather impressive. I must say, it reminds me an awful lot of Joan Armatrading.
Pureka: Amazing, thanks, really. I appreciate that. I do care a lot about the words. I purposely focus on that in the writing process and also in the production process.

Q: Oh, I should ask if you have performed in Maine before.
Pureka: Yeah, quite a bit. I’ve played at One Longfellow probably half-a-dozen times, and before that I used to play a really great place called the North Star Café.

Q: I’ve not heard of that one.
Pureka: And I think that there were a few other places that I’ve played up in Portland. I mean I’ve been touring for about 15 to 20 years, so I’ve been through a lot of places. I’ve even played at Colby College a long time ago, but I’ve been to Portland, Maine, quite a bit. And I live in the other Portland, in Portland, Oregon, and I moved there because I don’t really like cities very much and it wasn’t much of a city when I moved there, but it’s a city now. I miss living in a quieter place, to be honest.

Q: Well, you’d love it here in Sweden. It’s very quiet here, for sure, with no stores or traffic lights.
Pureka: It sounds lovely. I have a friend who is from Calais, Maine.

Q: Well, when I noticed the 203 area code to your telephone number I was expecting to catch you in Connecticut. My father’s family was from New Haven.
Pureka: Oh, Connecticut’s OK. I actually wasn’t born there. Interestingly enough, I was actually born overseas. I was born in Athens, Greece.

Q: Oh, wow.
Pureka: (Chuckle) Yeah, but I spent all my childhood in Connecticut. It doesn’t have as much character as Maine, I would say, but it’s a fine place.

Q: So, you’re on the road touring now, are you solo?
Pureka: No, this is a trio tour. Usually, I try to tour as a duo as much as possible. I have a guitar player (Andy Alseri, also on bass), who has been touring with me for about 10 years. I bring him on most tours that I can, and then on this one I decided to bring a third person (Katie Sawicki on banjo, keys and electric guitar), as well. No drums but they switch instruments a lot and then they both sing harmonies.

Q: Just out of curiosity, what can folks expect at your concert this time around?
Pureka: Well, the trio thing is new to Portland, and there’s three-part harmony, and, in the past, I tended to lean more toward newer material. but we’re actually doing deep cuts and playing songs from my first record all the way through, which I think the fans really like. I put out an EP last year, so we’ll be doing a couple of songs from that, for sure.

Q: I was going to ask you about that EP, now that you mentioned it. I understand that it reflects your thoughts and experiences during the COVID-19 shutdown.
Pureka: During the pandemic times I felt like I wanted to make a change. Normally I make sad music and melancholy stuff. I’m drawn to that; I really like it, and it kind of feeds me. But during the pandemic I felt like I needed to be more hopeful, and that’s what I ended up writing to. I felt that was needed for this time; we didn’t really need more darkness. This album ended up being a little bit more like, well, not upbeat but more hopeful than the other releases. We put on a couple of cover songs that you’ll know, for sure, and a song that I wrote on commission for someone who passed away, which was kind of perfect timing. They didn’t pass away from COVID, but so many people lost people to it, so that felt like a perfect addition to the EP. The title track, “The Longest Year,” is basically about that kind of stuff happening.

Q: Were you personally impacted by that virus?
Pureka: I have not technically tested positive for COVID, but I believe I had it early on.

Q: How so?
Pureka: Oddly enough, my last pre-COVID show was on March 8, 2020, at One Longfellow Square. It was my last show of that tour. I flew home on the 10th and made it before all the flights were cancelled. I was really lucky, honestly, but I think I might have contracted it at some point in my travels because when I was home I lost my sense of smell, but I never got sick so I feel lucky about that.

Q: Is there anything, Chris that you’d like me to pass on to the folks reading this article?
Pureka: Umm, just that I’m looking forward to coming back and having another really great show like the other ones there. We’re hoping for a good turnout there on the 20th.

Lucky Clark, a 2018 “Keeping the Blues Alive” Award winner, has spent more than 50 years writing about good music and the people who make it. He can be reached at luckyc@myfairpoint.net if you have any questions, comments or suggestions.

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