Mel Brown turns the lights down. Most musicians fight to be in front. If they have achieved success, they fight to be heard when they don't have their instrument in their hands. And there are those who thrive on doing recordings.

Mel Brown is not like most musicians. "I don't care to be any bigger than I am," he says. "I don't want to be so rich that I can't play anymore. I don't want to be so famous that I can't go anywhere in public."

Brown is lucky enough to have the liberty to say that because, he feels, he has nothing left to accomplish. Throughout his illustrious career, the incredibly-talented Brown has played with artists such as John Lee Hooker, Bobby "Blue" Bland, and Willy Nelson and has played on television shows, such as the "Doris Day Show." (Brown noted, "We'd be here all day if I told you everybody I've played with.")

Brown came to Kitchener in 1988 from Austin, Texas, backing up Angela Strehli at the 4th-annual blues picnic held at the original Hoodoo Lounge (ironically where Pop The Gator is now located). People have always considered it a mystery as to why he decided to move here ("That's the most asked question," mutters Brown) but he can't really explain it either.

"I can't give a reason as to why I liked it here. It was like a calling of the gods, I guess you could say. I dont' wanna say it's the greatest city in the world or nothin'...but it's spiritually motivated."

Glen Smith, owner of Pop The Gator, made the necessary arrangements to get Brown to come up to Kitchener and, since then, Brown has become synonymous with the successful nightclub, hosting a blues jam every Wednesday night with his band the Homewreckers.

Yet Brown still has difficulty coming to grips with fan adulation. "It's a trip, he says. "I never considered myself a 'big star.'"

"It's hard to have a private life. You go to places and everybody knows you, though you don't know them. One time, I went to the Concordia Club for Oktoberfest...that was a nightmare, man! I couldn't sit nowhere without ten people coming up to me. It's just crazy...If you spit on the sidewalk, they have to write about it."

Brown knows, however, that his fans mean no harm. "I'm basically an even-headed man. Everybody interprets you different. I don't get upset with people...nothing really bothers me. I talk with just about everybody...It's just hard to remember the names, though".

K-W audiences know Mel Brown primarily as a frontman, but he says he has no qualms about being a sideman. Regarding his 11-year tenure with Bobby Bland, he says, "I didn't feel restricted, sheltered or held in (as a back-up musician). It's not a big thing for me being the frontman. People may think it bothers me 'cause once you play lead, you don't want to back-up anyone. But I never thought about it.

In 1989, Brown released an album with his former band The Silent Partners. I asked him about a similar project with The Homewreckers.

"We did a live thing last year that didn't materialize. We'll probably do a studio (recording) later this year." Brown pauses for a moment. "Recording isn't a big thing with me, really". His attitude is understandable. As Homwrecker bassist Leo Valvassori once said, "(Blues) goes through better live".

When Brown was asked what he would do if he didn't play music, he bluntly responded, "Probably drop dead!"

"I could never say what I'd do. I don't remember when I didn't play music. I started out when I was three years old".

How does Mel Brown like to be remembered?

"I never thought about that...That's a good question. If my music could touch somebody's heart and bring you closer to love, then that would be it. People need to take time to think about what love is and how they can insert their love into life. Then, they wouldn't be so quick to judge and be so easily programmed to hate".

Perhaps, then, if everyone could hear Mel Brown play, it would make the world a much nicer place to live in.