ietrich Strause is a man of words. The singer/songwriter owns one of the finer collections of songs on the Cambridge/Somerville pub scene. Strause’s creations come at you first with their simple charm, a lot of which resides in his gentle persona and friendly attitude. It’s hard not to like this kid. But this kid is as mature and tested as any of his local songwriting elders.

Strause is very well spoken. His first gigs were as a trumpet player at biker bars in central Pennsylvania. He was only 15. Growing up, he was always the youngest kid in his grade. He moved to Boston three years ago because there was extra room in the van when he was helping his friend move into law school. He’s worked as a dog-walker and records music for Chinese textbooks. All of this comes out in his own music, which is a comfortable and careful mix of real journeys, clever literary references, and striking imagery. He even has a song based on To Kill a Mockingbird. You can tell he’s grateful for his skills as a songwriter. With two full-length albums in less than three years, he’s certainly embraced it.

In 2008, Strause had just graduated from Oberlin College, a small liberal arts school surrounded by cornfields in Ohio. He landed there after a quick stint in music school before dropping out, and when he finished, he had no idea what to do.

“It’s funny how I ended up in Boston. My best friend needed help moving and I grabbed my uncle's van and trailer. There was extra room so I decided to put my stuff in it. I emailed a friend from college to see if he had a room and somehow he did,” Strause says, laughing. You can feel a level of proud innocence in his voice.

When we talk, he’s hanging out at his parents place in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It’s late on a Monday evening, and he’s throwing darts in the basement. He played a show in nearby Marietta over the weekend and is going to stick around for another day to get his teeth cleaned by his uncle, a dentist. He’s reaping the benefits of staying at the folk’s house. “It’s nice to drink my dad’s liquor and shoot BB guns in the basement.” Every songwriter has his simple pleasures.

Strause made Boston his home despite having never visited before. He started going to the Monday-night open mics at the Lizard Lounge, which are hosted by Tom Bianchi. (Note to musicians looking to get around: This is the best place to get your start. Everyone has a chance on nights like this, but if you have the right ammo, you’ll make a lot of talented friends.) Shortly after, Strause met bassist Jim Larkin and viola player Laurence Scudder. Both are regular members of his current backing band, and two of the most in-demand players in town.

“The first thing I noticed about the music scene in Boston was that original music is truly valued. It wasn’t like that where I grew up.” Strause says. As a teenager, he’d play in soul and R&B bands. A family friend who’d played music for 30 years before becoming a pastor (Strause’s dad is also a pastor) snatched up a young Strause to play trumpet at biker bars after hearing him perform at a holiday party. “That totally ruined my plans to be a pro classical trumpet player, but it drove my passion into songwriting for rock music,” Strause says, laughing again. In the state of Pennsylvania musicians are considered “employees” when playing bars and clubs, a law that allowed Strause to gig out at a young age.

That influence turns up in a lot of his songs, even the gentle ones. There’s always a slight swing and light groove buried beneath the words, and, like a lot of things Strause does, it never hits you over the head. It just adds to the total experience. Strause’s current live band—Larkin, Scudder, drummer Billy Beard (Session Americana), and sometimes guitarist Austin Nevins (Josh Ritter)—fills the sonic canvas with lingering sentiments, serving Strause’s words with warm colors and smooth tones.

”I feel so fortunate to be able to play with the guys I get to play with. I’m always amazed at how well they listen to the tunes, and as a songwriter I’ll sometimes protect myself and just think, ‘This is my craft.’ That’s when I’ll end up sitting in my room and banging my head against the wall. But guys like this listen really well to the meaning of the song and the arc of it. They always propel it forward.”

Strause is a regular at Toad. The seminal Porter Square neighborhood haunt—the best Americana and folk-rock outlet in town—is one of his favorite places to play. “I love that room because it’s such a great community of people who love music and want to hear it. People are primed and predisposed for it. Maybe they’ll chat a bit, but I like that tension. I think it makes me perform better to compete with them and to try to hold their attention … like I have to choose my words carefully to keep people interested,” he says. He’s one of the few artists who can silence a packed house without asking for attention. He commands it out of you, and that’s without having to get in your face. Only certain songsmiths can halt a chatty bar with their words.

Strause’s songs are versatile—personal, too—but universal enough to hook the masses. He paints a vivid picture and stimulates the imagination. He’ll fall back on familiar subjects too: “Jean Louise” is a tale woven with characters from To Kill a Mockingbird. At the time, Strause was struggling to write songs about adolescence and the loss of innocence and the pressures of growing up. By chance, he picked up To Kill a Mocking Bird, a book he hadn’t read since grade school, and it all became very clear. “Like most middle schoolers, I couldn’t really grasp what the book was about, but it all made perfect sense when the book was tied to those real feelings and the song was a perfect way to get them out there,” Strause says. Two versions of “Jean Louise” exist. The one on his first LP, a self-titled effort, is far more stripped down, while the version on his more recent record, Laborsongs and Barkingdogs is a playful shuffle. In both cases, Strause’s tale finds a way to transcend the thick backdrop.

”Like a Rock” is another great example of Strause’s creative mind (see the full lyrics below). Strause takes the tale of David and Goliath and puts himself in the middle, expressing a feeling of not wanting too many responsibilities and an affinity for wanting to just “get in the car and drive into the sunset.” It’s that sort of landscape that’ll enter your mind when listening to a lot of Strause’s songs. There’s a certain level of freedom that comes from thinking this way, much like the feeling you can get from reading On the Road. It’s this type of inspiration, clean and limitless, that makes you want to go out and do something profound, whether it’s for yourself or someone else.

“I really look up to Springsteen and the other standards like Dylan and Paul Simon. Then there’s Willie Nelson and Roger Miller, and of course the contemporary ones like Joe Pug and Josh Ritter,” Strause says. His delivery is soft and playful like Simon, but has biting urgency like Springsteen and Dylan. He also resembles a young, fiery Jeff Tweedy, and on the more space-y, reverb-drenched numbers, a Jim James disciple. “I also love the more off beat singer/songwriters like Jim Croce and this guy out of Cali named Joe Purdy. He’s a folk artist with an edge and is fiercely independent with his own management and record label. It’s inspiring to see an independent artist fighting the good fight.”

We end the call at midnight—late for most people on a Monday, but the start of a very reflective and peaceful time for any singer/songwriter or artist type. Twenty minutes later I get a call from Strause.

“I glaringly forgot to mention John Prine in my influences,” he says, almost as if he wouldn’t have been able to sleep if he didn’t get that out. He also goes on to talk more about his hometown. He even starts to ask questions about me. We resolve to get a beer when he’s back in town. Right then, I realized that I could listen to him tell stories for hours. It makes sense that Strause is making a career with his words.

Dietrich Strause and his band will play MySecretBoston's two-year anniversary party at Church on Friday (February 10). Doors are at 8 p.m. and the show starts at 9 p.m. Discounted tickets are available online. Tickets will be at the door while they last. 21+. Joe Fletcher and the Wrong Reasons, Castle, and Billy Keane will also play.

Like a Rock - by Dietrich Strause

Lyrics

I was counting all my pebbles dreaming of the timber