INTERVIEW BY MICHAEL HOGAN Sitting on a dock in Annapolis, Maryland, looking out at the water is an up and coming singer songwriter from California in the midst of his first nationwide headlining tour. He is Brett Dennen. Back in November, Dennen released his second CD, So Much More. Garnering comparisons to artists as varied as Bob Dylan and Dave Matthews, Dennen has gained a cult following. His inspiring lyrics are gaining acclaim everywhere he goes. In a stark, white walled, office in the Campus Center sits a reporter with a cell phone to his ear. Two very different people, but at the same time very similar. This is what Dennen’s music does: it brings people together. It allows us to see just how alike we really are and that we need to come together in order to implement positive changes in the world around us. It is a message of hope, of love and of unity.   Mass Media: Do you come from a musical family? Brett Dennen: No, I come from an artistic family, but not really musical. I started playing guitar when I was 12 and I took some lessons. I really got into music when I was in college. MM: When did you get your first guitar? BD: When I was 12 I got a 6 string classical guitar from my parents for Christmas. MM: Who are your musical influences? BD: Bob Marley, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Dave Matthews, Marvin Gaye, Ben Harper, Nina Simone, Neil Young, Van Morrison and many others. MM: What is your favorite song of all time? BD: “In My Life” by The Beatles. MM: What is in your CD player right now? BD: Wilco’s “Being There,” Mason Jennings’ “Boneclouds,” Regina Spektor, and Citizen Cope. MM: Would you consider yourself a singer, a songwriter or a musician? BD: I am a songwriter. MM: Give me three adjectives that best describe Brett Dennen’s music. BD: Positive, hopeful and uplifting. MM: Here’s a scenario: you are booking your dream concert, and all possible logistical problems are nonexistent. What two bands or singers, living or dead, do you book? BD: Bob Marley and Sele Abeuti. MM: Some reviewers have made comparisons between your music and some really big names, most notably Bob Dylan. What does this do for you as an up and coming artist? BD: It shows that I am getting noticed for what I do. So it just means that I should keep doing what I am doing. MM: Your first, self-titled, album seemed to explore you as an individual. The new one, So Much More, explores more of a worldview. To what do you attribute this change? BD: I think you need to know yourself before you start to know the world. The first album I was learning about myself. The second explores more of the world around me. MM: Songs like, “Ain’t No Reason,” “There is So Much More” and “The Holidays are Here” seem to be offering some kind of global message. What would you say that message is? BD: That there is something out there bigger than us and we are all connected to it. We’re all connected and have to work together to achieve peace and justice in the world. MM: You are also a visual artist, dabbling in painting and drawing. Do you ever find the two influence each other? BD: Painting usually inspires me to play music. Usually when the well is dry in one I can go to the other. MM: Do you prefer smaller intimate venues with a hundred people or larger venues where you can reach 10,000 people? BD: Both. Large venues allow more people to get the messages, but there is something special about the smaller venues. There are things in each that you can’t get from the other. MM: You’re a California boy, right? What’s your favorite Beach Boys song? BD: Yeah. “Good Vibrations.” MM: Where do you hope to go with your music in the future? BD: I want to keep playing to bigger audiences around the world. I want to inspire positive change and write music people can identify with. I just want to keep getting the music out there. MM: Do you have anything to say to the fans? BD:  To the fans in Boston: We’ve always had a good time in Boston. I’d like to thank the fans that come out and hope they continue to do so. Thank you for allowing the music into their lives, for understanding and letting it sweep them off of their feet. And to thank them for letting it move them and I hope they are getting a lot out of it.