John Kruth wears a lot of hats.As a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist (mandolin, guitar, banjo, and harmonica), he has released seven albums since 1992's Banshee Mandolin, including his latest, Splitsville (2008, Smiling Fez Records). The Star Ledger (Newark, NJ) has called Kruth "a major talent, with an understanding of how to craft a first-class lyric." After listening to Songs From The Windy Attic, Patti Smith, the godmother of punk, told him, "I like your album. You've got a nice voice."
He is also a consummate collaborator, having performed at Carnegie Hall as a soloist for composer John Corigliano, as well as with playwright Sam Shepard, poet Allen Ginsberg, performance artist Laurie Anderson, producer Hal Willner, folksinger John Prine, Violent Femmes, the Meat
Puppets, Elliott Sharp, and formed the Electric Chairmen with members of Camper
Van Beethoven. U. Rajesh, the Carnatic mandolin virtuoso of India, has called John
"a true artist," while jazz guitarist John Scofield hailed his performance as "burnin'."
Kruth's picking once inspired Robert Plant (of Led Zeppelin) to enthuse, "Great
mandolin playing, mate!" And after watching him wow the crowd at a tribute to Neil
Young in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park in 1994, blues/rock guitarist James "Blood"
Ulmer told Kruth, "You're a real entertainer."
Kruth is also a professor of music at Manhattan College, a journalist, a producer of records and musical events, and a poet whenever the inspiration strikes. An author
of six small-press poetry books, Kruth's writing has appeared in the New York Times, Rolling Stone, The Progressive, Sing Out!, Frets, Wax Poetics, Fretboard Journal,
and Signal to Noise.
Kruth's first biography, Bright Moments: The Life and Legacy of Rahsaan Roland
Kirk was published in 2000 by Welcome Rain Books in the U.S. and England, with a
Japanese edition released in 2005 by Kawade Shobo and a French edition from
Swiss publisher Infolio in Spring 2007. The British jazz/experimental music journal
The Wire wrote that Kruth "illuminates Rahsaan Roland Kirk like photographic flash
bulbs." Said David Hajdu, author of Lush Life, the award-winning biography of Billy Strayhorn, "It's swirling with fire, humor, audacity and surprise . . . His research is formidable, his writing is fresh and exciting, and his enthusiasm is irresistible.”
Regarding Kruth's latest book, To Live's To Fly: The Ballad of Townes Van Zandt
(March 2007, Da Capo Press), Anthony DeCurtis, contributing editor of Rolling
Stone, wrote, "In John Kruth, Van Zandt has found a biographer well-suited to his eccentricities and rough edges, a man who understands him and who brings light
into his dark places." Sam Shepard wrote that the book is ". . . A fervent tribute to
a true legend of American songwriting. John Kruth has tracked the back story of
Townes Van Zandt like a manic bloodhound without spoiling the mystery of the
man."
Kruth's curiosity and diversity continually leads him into a variety of intriguing
musical settings, from New York to Nashville, from Morocco to Croatia, from to
Ireland to India as well as England, Spain, Germany and the Navajo Nation.
He lives in New York City.
John Kruth is also a member of EverGreene Music's own TriBeCaStan. Visit their
artist page for more information about this exciting group, their 2009 debut release, Strange Cousin, and their latest album, 5 Star Cave, scheduled for release in
April 2010.
SPLITSVILLESonic Impressions of Croatia
© 2008 Smiling Fez Records
Released August 8, 2008
Album available online at:
Buy hard copies direct from the artist at www.johnkruth.com.
From the liner notes, John Kruth on his latest album, Splitsville:
"This is my ninth album and the first with a theme. All of the songs on Splitsville were either inspired by or written during my many travels to Croatia since 2003. The basic tracks were cut at Tetrapak Studios by Ivica 'Pipo' Covic in Split, Croatia with Vinko Dodovic on akordian and Zlatko Bodaric on guitar in the summer of '06. Then I
brought the files home and a cast of illustrious musicians, including Jonathan Segel
and Victor Krummenacher of Camper Van Beethoven, spruced up the tracks, along
with maestro Matt Darriau of the Klezmatics. Jonathan also added some luminous
violin later on when he got back to San Francisco. A trip to Milwaukee in the winter of
2007 produced a few more gems with Jeff Hamilton, Paul Kneevers (who also
engineered and co-produced the tracks as well), John Sparrow, Josh Tovar and Lodi
Capri all playin' their hearts out.
"'Darko's Waltz' was inspired by my sweetheart Marilyn's cousin Darko's face as he recounted the experience of defending his hometown of Sibinek from the Serbian onslaught in the early nineties. I was so moved by his story I began to write a song
about it but no words would come, just this old world melody.
"Usually somebody says something or I'll read something somewhere that inspires
me and the next thing I know I'm writing another song. With 'Beyond the Mountains,'
it was the first time the process ever happened in reverse. I was in Istria, sitting
beside a sparkling turquoise swimming pool on a hot summer day, strumming my
mandolin when the opening line of 'Beyond the Mountains' popped into my head and
I wrote the rest of the song right then and there. About a week later I was down in
Split, talking with the director of the mandolin school when I said something to him
about the wide diversity of Croatian music. He replied that the mountains often act
as cultural dividers. 'Behind the mountains there are strange people that play
strange music and have different customs,' he said. I nearly fell off my chair again.
"'Anchovies' was inspired by the sad-eyed lady of the ribarnica (fish market) selling a
small plate of anchovies with a far-away look in her eyes. I saw her every morning on
my way to the café for my morning cup. I hope one day Marianne Faithful with her
singular voice will do this one justice.
"Although Croatia is a country of many operators it's not always easy getting anything done. Hence 'Manana Land.'
"Wherever I went in Hrvatska I noticed the omnipresent image of Saint George, atop
his noble steed, striking a bold pose with his lance drawn, about to slay the dragon.
But I never actually saw a picture of him where he finished the damn beast off. The
'Song of the Old Saints' attempts to answer 'why we're in this mess today.'
"'You can go to Hungary, Italy or Greece but you're never gonna find a love that
deep.' A bit of rock 'n' roll for my 'Brac Girl.'
"The first time I heard the saying ‘Bog Je Rekao Laku Noc’—‘God Said Goodnight’—I flipped. Although the lyrics are filled with images of New York decadence, the
sentiment is timeless and worldwide and never would have come into being without
the dry wit of the Croatian people. Was Josip (Marshall Tito) good or bad? 'It depends upon who you ask.'
"'Leaves' is a country waltz inspired by a classical pianist that I know who is in love
with Franz Liszt.
"'Yellow Ellen' was inspired by Darko's daughter, Jelana, who has caught the eye of
many a passer-by in the village of Sibinek. I had recently met Donovan at Heathrow
Airport and between the gentle rhythm of the rocking boats, trying to pronounce
Jelana's name correctly and having made the acquaintance of the cool cat who once cooed 'Mellow Yellow,' 'Yellow Ellen' was born.
"'Tin's Tango' is for the Tin Supreme—Tin Ujević, poet laureate of Croatia. I wrote it
on the plane home from the 'old country' and recorded it in my kitchen one fall
afternoon with my friends Jonathan and Victor from Camper Van Beethoven and
clarinetist Matt Darriau of the Klezmatics.
"The jovial graphic artist Pavo Majic of Naranca Gallery in Split told me about the adventures of the avant-garde artist Pave Dulcic and his defiant act of painting the
square in front of the Diocletian Palace red in January of 1968. Protests raged in the streets from Chicago to Paris to Prague that year. Thus a proletariat rocker was in
order. This 'Ballad' was recorded with a funky green Framus guitar and the crunchiest
amp I've ever heard.
"Every summer Marilyn and I make a pilgrimage to Brac, to visit her father's ancestral homeland. We have a favorite corner of the isle where we like to relax and swim,
where the Adriatic is particularly magical, warm and salty. Marilyn calls it 'the emerald bathtub.' It's a bit of a hot, dusty hike to get there but it makes it all the more
worthwhile. Over the last five years none of the cars that go whizzing by (mostly with Czech, Hungarian and Italian license plates) have ever stopped to ask if we'd like a
lift. One hot July afternoon, an old bald guy with a jutting jaw behind the wheel of a Volkswagen Beetle did just that. 'The Lone Croatian General' was soon telling us his
story. We went for a delightful swim and then I wrote this song. A couple hours later I grabbed my banjo and went looking for him where he sat outside the hotel to play him
his song, but he was gone.
"'Sonya (Sonja)' is dedicated to the lovely wife of the great Croatian sculptor Dusan Dzamonja.
"While at a museum in Zagreb I saw an unusual figurine of the 'Raven-Headed
Hunter,' undoubtedly some mascot for a hunting club, but my take on the supernatural
crow/man aiming his rifle was that he out for revenge on those who killed his friends
and relatives for sport. (Dig that Jew's harp solo by Jeff Greene!)
"In the city square in Zagreb they sell some hellacious homebrew that will make your
head spin. 'The Rakia Song' was inspired by such purveyors of moonshine. On New
Year's Eve they hole up in little wood shacks, determined to party with no regard for
the weather."
—John Kruth
Visit the artist's website at www.johnkruth.com to browse the rest of John's extensive catalog of releases, including Eva Destruction (2006), Songs From The Windy Attic (2005), Everywhere You've Never Been (2000), Last Year Was A Great Day (1997), The Cherry Electric (1995-2000), and Banshee Mandolin (1992).
JANUARY 15, 2010
TriBeCaStan featured on Mondomix Music
TriBeCaStan's Strange Cousin is featured as this week's Discovery from the
Americas on Mondomix Music.com, a National Geographic-affiliated world music
site based in Paris. Read the full article here.
JANUARY 11, 2010
TriBeCaStan to release new album 5 Star Cave in April 2010
TriBeCaStan's latest effort, 5 Star Cave, is set to release on April 13, 2010. Like the previous album Strange Cousin, this collection of songs sees Greene and Kruth continuing their relentless quest to re-imagine the folk music of the world, with an
all-star cast of musicians including veteran jazz trombonist Steve Turre, Blood
Sweat and Tears founder Al Kooper, jazz tabla player Badal Roy, Samantha
Parton of the Be Good Tanyas, Kenny Margolis of Cracker, bass player Mike
DuClos, violinist Charlie Burnham, Sufi percussionist Ibrahim Gonzalez, drummer/percussionist Todd Isler, vocalist Dean Bowman, gypsy guitarist Hara
Garacci, and champion cimbalom player Gordana Evacic.
Read the press release for 5 Star Cave at Rock Paper Scissors.
Stay tuned for more information about this exciting release.
JANUARY 1, 2010
TriBeCaStan :: Live on WBAI 99.5 FM NYC
In case you were sleeping through it all, which I hope you had enough good sense
to, here is our "shamanic alarm clock" wake up call for the New Year, in all it's ragged glory. We talked, played a couple “strange” instruments, and previewed songs from our soon-to-be released second album, 5 Star Cave.
New Year’s Day WBAI 99.5 FM at 7am
Jeff Greene—Jew's harp nyckleharpa, and Chinese flute
John Kruth—mandolin, penny whistle, and Andalusian shepherd flutes
Ibrahim Gonzalez—halo
AUGUST 2009
Strange Cousin Reviewed in Huffington Post
Ian Merkel of Modiba, a social-activist international music company based in New York City, wrote a wonderful article, “TriBeCaStan In Manhattan Unleashes Uzbek Lutes, Pakistani Taxi Horns, And Six Foot Shepherd's Pipes,” for the Huffington Post.
"Welcome to TriBeCaStan, a country without borders tucked away in a corner of downtown Manhattan.
"Trying to describe TriBeCaStan's music or relegating it to a genre would be incredibly difficult, and, as the artists would contend, futile. Greene commonly describes it as intergalactic, but not so much in the Sun Ra extraterrestrial kind of way. This music is really about the cross-fertilization of musical idioms that Kruth and Greene have been exposed to in their travels, and the ways in which these idioms allow them to express
the diversity that surrounds them in their very own New York. Some have asked why
they play 'peasant music in an affluent zip code,' and their music has responded with
the idea that homogeny is neither representative for our present nor characteristic of a progressive future."
Read the full article HERE.
NOVEMBER 2008
TriBeCaStan to Release Strange Cousin
EverGreene Music is proud to announce the upcoming release of TriBeCaStan's first album, Strange Cousin. In addition to regulars Jeff Greene and John Kruth playing dozens of instruments between them, the album features a stellar cast of performers, including Ween bassist Dave Dreiwitz, Matt Darriau of the Klezmatics, Moroccan percussionist Brahim Fribgane, alt-country star Jolie Holland, and jazz trombonist Steve Turre.Album available online January 24, 2009 at:
Visit TriBeCaStan's artist page for more album information.
Follow John Kruth and view photos and other exclusive content at these websites:
Artist Website :: www.johnkruth.com
"Full of strange beauty . . . within a couple of tracks of this delicately swirling music,
it started to exercise a strangely narcotic power. These songs of saints, giants and
forlorn anchovy sellers are framed with backing that finds room for accordeon,
bamboo flute and some bluesy harmonica. Far more convincing than any of the
Balkans-meets-indie projects that have been hyped up in recent years."
—Jamie Renton, fRoots Magazine UK (May 1, 2009)
"John Kruth is turning into a major talent. Kruth’s humor is sly . . . [with] an
understanding of how to craft a first-class lyric, offering a character study with all
of Paul Simon’s scalpel-sharp focus and twice Simon’s wit."
—The Star Ledger (Newark, New Jersey)
"His music is truly singular. It’s fun. It’s like Shel Silverstein colliding head-on with a Kalahari Bushman barn dance."
—The Valley Advocate
"A one-man hootenanny trailblazing new genres. Kruth shows us just how hard a
mandolin can rock. A fascinating argument for the mandolin as a prime tool of rock
and roll."
—The Milwaukee Journal
"Kruth picks mandolin as well as anybody on the planet. He’s also an engaging front
man, playing everything from folked-up funk to blitzkrieg bluegrass."
—The Isthmus (Madison, WI)
"Kruth is Loudon Wainwright shoved in a blender with Allen Ginsberg and a mad
scientist."
—Folk Roots (UK)
"The Madman of the Mandolin."
—San Francisco Weekly
"A freewheeling sort given to playful humor. A colorful inventive songwriter."
—Boston Phoenix
"Mandolin player John Kruth is banjo ace Bela Fleck’s counterpart, taking the
mandolin in new musical directions."
—San Antonio Express
"John Kruth is impossible to peg—his omnivorous approach yields a wealth of riches, ranging from Mid-Eastern jams to Waits-like blues ballads to squirrelly jazz/pop ditties."
—Dallas Morning News
"Great mandolin playing!"
—Robert Plant
"The Pete Townshend of the mandolin."
—Luka Bloom
"A real entertainer!"
—James “Blood” Ulmer (June 2004)
"Burnin’!"
—John Scofield (May 2004)
"John Kruth makes great albums."
—Adrian Belew
"The best damn mandolin player around today!"
—Yank Rachell
"The Swiss Army knife of Rock and Roll."
—Chris Kirkwood, Meat Puppets
"The cat daddy of eternal hipness."
—Beatle Bob (St. Louis)
