by Marcella Ortega
Daily Lobo
Stephen Perry wrote a song about Jesus, and his life has never been the same.
"I had always done serious songs before then," he said. "Not many of my songs have that kind of straight-up humor, but I try to incorporate playfulness most of the time."
Perry, a creative writing instructor at the Camino Nuevo Correctional Center in Albuquerque, is a regular performer at Blue Dragon CafÇ's open-mic night. Every Wednesday, Perry performs comedic songs like, "I'm in Love With a Human (And She's in Love With Jesus)." He said the song, which he wrote about an ex-girlfriend, got him in trouble a few times in Norristown, Pa., where he grew up.
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"I played it at a cafe in my hometown," he said. "These three large men from a metal-alternative band approached me in the parking lot and basically told me I was going to hell."
Perry moved to Albuquerque in November after joining Americorps VISTA, an organization of local, state and national service programs that sends people across the country to help in areas such as health, public safety and education.
Through Americorps, Perry was placed in Cedar Tree Inc., an organization founded by poet and author Jimmy Santiago Baca in 2005 that promotes prison literacy in New Mexico.
"I took a class my senior year that was about systems of punishment in America," he said. "It's an area of politics that is really ignored. I think we really overpunish prisoners. It's more about retribution than correction. Education is the most effective way to reduce recidivism. It's just an issue that grabs me."
Perry said he's happy that Cedar Tree gave him the chance to work in the penal system.
"It's great," he said. "I like it a lot. They have fascinating stories. Some of them are awful. It's really amazing to hear their stories, and I feel lucky to help them cope with things through writing."
Perry said he took his guitar to class one day.
"I was afraid to play ('I'm in Love a Human (And She's in Love With Jesus)') because a lot of them are religious, and they write about it," he said. "But they all laughed."
Perry graduated in May from Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y., with a degree in philosophy. After he graduated, Perry joined Hands On New Orleans, a volunteer organization dedicated to the recovery of the Gulf Coast.
"Most of what they (Hands On New Orleans) do is gut houses and house people who gut houses," he said. "I stayed in this church, and we had all these double bunk beds pressed against each other. It was pretty cool."
While he was in New Orleans, he also worked for the Broadmoor Improvement Association.
"Broadmoor was a neighborhood in New Orleans," he said. "After the flood, they were thinking of turning it into a park. Needless to say, the residents weren't happy about it. I went down with other Bard students to collect data about how many people had returned to the area to give people a better idea about how things were, so they could see what they wanted to do with the neighborhood."
Perry said his experience in New Orleans inspired his song "Poydras to Plan B." The song uses the crashing of bicycles as a metaphor for romance.
"Poydras was a street I was living on in New Orleans, and Plan B was a bike co-op you could go to anytime, fix up a bike for yourself and take it for really cheap," he said.
Perry said he has 12 original songs that he plays on a regular basis.
"I try to keep them raw, so they're kind of messy," he said. "I don't think I have a ton of technical talent on the guitar, but I guess that's not the most important thing."
Perry said he has been recording his songs at a friend's apartment, but he's not sure if he will make an album.
"I've tried recording a billion ways but never get a product I'm content with," he said. "I guess we'll see how the quality
turns out."
Open-mic night
Blue Dragon CafÇ
1517 Girard Blvd. N.E.
Wednesday
7 p.m.
Free
Visit MySpace.com/
shutthehellupstephenperry to listen to Perry's songs.
