Music: Three's a good crowd for Park City

Soul singer Joan Osbourne, gospel legends The Holmes Brothers and rootsy rocker Paul Thorn don't share the same genre, but they are sharing the same tour bus.

"It's quite loaded," said Sherman Holmes. "We'll certainly get to know each other really well. Whether we'll be friends at the end is another matter."

"We're going to find out who the nice people are and who ain't," Thorn said.

So far, so good, although it's still early. The trio's tour began two weeks ago, and the three musical groups went out together after the first show. Thorn said Osborne, with a drink or two in her, taught the others how to salsa dance.

Osborne, Thorn and Sherman Holmes talked to The Tribune about how their

Oct. 25 tour stop in Park City will decidedly not involve any salsa music.

Joan Osborne » Osborne, 47, despite critically acclaimed solo projects and time spent with The Dead, might forever be known for her 1995 smash hit "One of Us," which was a playful pop song about whether "God was one of us," with the possibilities including a slob or a stranger on a bus.

Osborne doesn't mind if that is what she is known for, as the song's popularity has fueled her career. "I'm grateful to have had that success," she said from the tour bus.

Yet those who only know Osborne from that hit might not realize it's not representative of her range. Osborne's career has spanned musical genres from country to Christmas

jingles, but she always demonstrated soulful, flexible pipes. The strength of her voice led surviving members of The Grateful Dead to invite her to sing with them on tours.

"Little Wild One," her seventh studio album, was released in 2008. The Walt Whitman-influenced album, much of it a meditation on life in New York City, marks a reunion with producers and writers Rob Hyman, Eric Bazilian and Rick Chertoff, whom she hasn't worked with since "One of Us." Hyman and Bazilian are members

of the Philadelphia pop-rock band The Hooters.

After growing up in Kentucky, Osborne has lived in New York City for 22 years. She moved there originally to pursue a documentary-filmmaking degree at New York University, but dropped out to hang out in blues clubs.

"I met [The Holmes Brothers] when I was first discovering the blues scene is New York City," Osborne said. "They were there, encouraging and inspiring, [while I was] a fledging artist."

Osborne has returned the favor, producing two of the trio's albums, including the forthcoming "Feed My Soul."

The Holmes Brothers » The trio are bassist Sherman Holmes, guitarist and pianist Wendell Holmes and drummer Popsy Dixon, who sing the same raucous type of gospel music as Elvis Presley.

The revered musicians have been fixtures on the New York City blues scene for decades, noted for touring with a range of musicians, including Van Morrison, Peter Gabriel, Willie Nelson, Rosanne Cash and Levon Helm. The trio have been working together since they were young boys trying to run away from their Southern home on rafts, Sherman said. "We never got too far," he said with a laugh.

Wendell recently overcame a bout with bladder cancer, and although doctors say his cancer is in remission, the Holmes Brothers gather daily to pray. "We all have deep faith, and things test that faith," Sherman said. "It takes a leap of faith."

Sherman remembered the first time a shy Osborne approached them after a gig 20 years ago. "She looked afraid," he said. Now the highlights of their concerts are when they get to sing together on each other's sets, he said.

Paul Thorn » The title of the 45-year-old's current Americana-influenced album, "A Long Way From Tupelo," might seem like a heavy-handed attempt to draw a connection to Elvis Presley's hometown, but think again. Thorn also proudly claims Tupelo, Miss., as his hometown.

"What better claim of fame is there to be the birthplace of arguably the most famous person who ever lived?" Thorn said with a deep Mississippi accent.

Thorn's father was a Pentecostal preacher, and the musician said he learned his showmanship extolling the glory of rock-and-roll salvation from watching his father work.

A former professional boxer, Thorn was plucked out of a furniture factory by producer Miles Copeland, brother of The Police's Stewart Copeland. Thorn's first concert was opening for Sting in front of 20,000 people. Preaching in front of 20 people was no different from preaching to 20,000, he said.

Since then, Thorn has carved out a niche as a detail-oriented singer-songwriter in the vein of Lucinda Williams and Mark Knopfler, becoming a Southern Renaissance man of sorts. He also claimed to love fried peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches.

As the son of a preacher, he is cognizant of worldly temptations, such as, well, sugar cookie dough, his indulgence the night before he left on tour. But he said he's trying to eat more healthfully while on tour. "If this Earth was a football field, the devil would be ahead in the third quarter," Thorn said.

Battling temptation can be much easier, considering he's touring with The Holmes Brothers.