Tin Pan man: Leon Redbone shrouds life in mystery, history

Move over Austin Powers. The real International Man of Mystery is Leon Redbone.

His musical talent is no mystery, but just about everything else about the man is.

Various Web sites say he was born the day the stock market crashed in 1929 or Aug. 26, 1949, either in Toronto or Bombay.

“Everything sounds pretty accurate to me, if you put it all together,” Redbone says in his trademark mumble, via phone from an office somewhere in Pennsylvania. He won't say where.

How has he managed to mask his personal life so well while living in the showbiz realm?

“I've just tried to avoid it,” he says. “Maybe I've started out with the right foot or the wrong foot. I don't know exactly.”

His private life remains just that, but his public persona will be in full view Wednesday night, Oct. 7, on the Englert stage in downtown Iowa City. It's a sure bet he'll be hunched over his guitar, his face hidden beneath his trademark Panama hat, dark glasses and thick mustache.

He's been to hell and back in a career that's spanned at least 30 years.

“I was in Hell, Norway,” he deadpans. “They had the blues festival in Hell there, but it turned out to be not so bad. I can say that, all right.”

He's made his mark singing and playing hits from the early 20th century, a time of great change, which he says gave songwriters the kind of sentiment that inspires great songs.

He also plays harmonica and tosses in a few jokes and shadow puppets that help create a vaudeville feel with his Tin Pan Alley mix of ragtime, blues and jazz. Wednesday's show may or may not take that shape.

“It's pretty much an on-the-moment kind of evening,” he says. “Everything is dictated by the day itself, rather than a formulated performance. I haven't quite figured out how to go about doing that. I believe we will have a piano,” so the evening may resemble the concerts that have attracted a sort of cult following for the enigmatic performer.

He's not really sure who comes to his shows. He may have reeled in older fans with stints on “Saturday Night Live” in the '70s, while younger ones may know him from “Elf,” the 2003 holiday hit movie where he played the snowman and sang “Baby It's Cold Outside” with Zooey Deschanel at the end. Even younger ones may recognize him from “Sesame Street” or “Between the Lions” on PBS.

“I started taking pictures of the audience a number of years ago. I still do occasionally,” he says. “I haven't scrutinized the photographs - plus I play all kinds of places - to find any consistency. They're always well-behaved audiences. Nothing is thrown, no fruit or vegetables at the end of the show.”

He spends time on the concert trail each year - he's just not sure how much time.

“I don't have any idea,” he says. “I always thought I didn't do too many (concerts). I look at (the tour schedule) sometimes and wonder if that's true or not. I haven't been doing anything the past two months. I'm supposed to be doing something, but I haven't gotten around to it.”

What does he hope audiences take away from seeing his shows?

“Hopefully not the chairs,” he says. “I hope it's entertainment, but I can't really guarantee anything. I can only do as well as the audience wants me to do. There's some communication between the artist and audience that's distorted by sound, but there is that connection between the audience and performer that makes it easier for the performer to do what he thinks he can do and hope for the best. There's no science behind this - there are too many variables, so the result is a plus/minus effect.”

FAST TAKE

What: Leon Redbone in concert

When: 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 7

Where: Englert Theatre, 221 E. Washington St., Iowa City

Tickets: $27 advance, $32 day of show, through the Englert Box Office, (319) 688-2653, or www.iowatix.com

Information: www.englert.org or www.leonredbone.com/menu_frame.html