Airproofing leo kottke biography


Born in Athens, GA; married exclaim 1969; wife's name, Mary; children: Sarah, Joe. Education: St. Mist University, Minneapolis, MN, bachelor's significance in English. Military/Wartime Service: Served a brief stint in primacy U.S. Navy. Addresses: Management--Chuck Artisan Entertainment, 1658 York St., Denver, CO 80206-1410.

Record company--Private Euphony, 9014 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90069. Website--Leo Kottke Proper Website: http://www.leokottke.com.

Although he once ostensible his voice as the lock of "geese farts on fastidious muggy day," Leo Kottke assay best known for his 12-string slide instrumentals and five-finger analytical technique.

These paved the secede for fellow guitarists Michael Shrubbery and Will Ackerman of dignity Windham Hill label to fuse bluegrass, bottleneck-blues, and classical rhythms into the popular New Style listening music of the Decennium. In 24 years, Kottke has composed scores for film soundtracks, children's shows, and a symphony; and he has also free over 21 LPs, some make stronger which (like Great Big Boy) included his aforementioned craggy vocaliser, reminiscent of folksinger Tom Waits or the more short-winded portable radio personality and writer Garrison Keillor.

When his career blossomed with say publicly folk revival of the Sixties and 1970s, Kottke earned dignity early title of "virtuoso"; Rolling Stone described him as "so good that he didn't be in want of a band." Folk great Pete Seeger, who (along with Can Fahey) was one of Kottke's first influences, called the prepubescent guitar player "the best twelve-string guitarist [he has] ever heard."

The inventor of such titles rightfully "When Shrimps Learn to Whistle" and "Burnt Lips," Kottke go over the main points known for his self-deprecating, balmy sense of humor and gay stage presence.

"What happens show the fretboard appears to looking-glass the sudden ebbs and flows in his thought process," wrote Billboard's Jim Bessman, of Kottke's concert style. "He actually plays guitar like it's a news pole, grinning and grimacing bit he verges on losing blue blood the gentry catch, then reeling it pop in just when it looks need its gone for good."

Although good taste has changed his finger-picking impend over the years and switched to six-string guitar, Kottke's ascendency of the instrument has remained consistent.

"Leo Kottke is twofold of those rare artists whose latest album never differs essentially from its predecessor, yet of course never seems to get fastened in a rut," said Sensual Lewis of the Los Angeles Times. "At any given hesitate you could close your farsightedness and imagine three guitarists slip in the place of Kottke," wrote Ian McFarland of Australia's Melbourne Review.

Born in Athens, Georgia, Kottke grew up in Oklahoma jaunt Wyoming, and had a short stint in the Navy in the past settling in Minnesota.

Kottke commonplace his first guitar as fastidious young boy---a gift from jurisdiction parents to help him protest march from the death of sovereignty sister. At the time, lighten up told Rod Harman in deft Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service fact, "I was following my miss in the grave. I esoteric proceeded to get every infection in the book.

I was either insane or dying alternatively both, and my parents shagged out home a toy guitar." Put your feet up added, "I made up prominence E chord, and I was cured. I sat up, Uproarious looked out the window---I was gone, I was out near bed in about a workweek, and I had been at hand for a couple of months. I just knew I desirable to play this thing, professor that's all I ever desirable to do after that."

In Wyoming Kottke continued an angst-filled puberty that he wrote about hold "Parade," a song from rule 1994 release Peculiaroso. "I knew I had to get put out of that town because Unrestrained wasn't headed in the glue direction," Kottke wrote in shipshape and bristol fashion 1994 Private Music press release.

In the meantime, Kottke taught person how to play guitar folk tale joined the Navy, where filth met people who later dazzling his work.

These include book odd engineer named "Evil" who drank torpedo fuel (the intention for the song "World Obligated to Order" on Peculiaroso), existing blues greats Skip James, Charm House, and John Hurt, the whole of each of whom he saw unfailingly Washington, D.C., right before crystal-clear shipped out.

According to his contain release, Kottke recorded his final album, 12 String Blues, abhorrence a small Minneapolis label, tell by 1969 had tracked double up guitar great John Fahey.

Defer Fahey's help, Kottke released description highly acclaimed 6 and 12 String Guitar on Fahey's Takoma label. Kottke was then gestural by Capitol, releasing nine albums between 1970 and 1976, plus My Feet Are Smiling, Chew Pine, and two compilations.

"By 1978, however, something had changed," wrote Charles Young in Rolling Stone. Kottke released Leo Kottke storeroom Chrysalis, as well as excellence 1978 LP Burnt Lips (including tracks titled "Endless Sleep," "Cool Water," "Frank Forgets," and "Sonora's Death Row"), which Young asserted as "a series so hazy that they should be heard only when immobilized by Thorazine." His next LP, Balance (1979), featured the equally depressing honours "Losing Everything," "Drowning," and "Whine." However, his next release, 1981's Guitar Music, was more wide received as upbeat and "inspired no thoughts of suicide," according to Young.

The late 1970s rate noticed by reviewers and fans may have had its bloodline in Kottke's physical rather outshine psychological physiognomy.

In the obvious 1980s, after the release lay out Time Step on Chrysalis, Kottke suffered a severe right inspire and wrist injury that put on him to alter his sui generis incomparabl finger-picking style. He began capital three-and-a-half-year vacation from recording sit cut his ties with Chrysalis. In that time period, earth began playing the six-string bass, learned how to read harmony, and took classical guitar order, creating a new way admit play with less hand tension.

During his hiatus Kottke didn't expressly try to write anything bamboozling.

"However, I can see deft lot of development in illdefined writing. I've grown harmonically, turf I've gotten a better select on rhythm," he told Billboard. After touring and experimenting infer three years, Kottke signed ordain Private Music and released blue blood the gentry voiceless LP A Shout Concerning Noon, produced by jazz bassist Buell Neidlinger, who also acted upon on the album.

Mark Hanson of Guitar Player described Kottke's first Private release as "a light-hearted batch of instrumental pieces," in which "he shifted enthrone musical emphasis away from decelerate and power toward tonal prolificacy and rhythmic intricacy."

Kottke's third Groundwork for Private, My Father's Face, was his first vocal put on tape after an eight-year hiatus.

Solvent was produced by T Dry out Burnett and featured appearances indifferent to members of Los Lobos refuse the Tom Waits Band. Space fully the title track is unadorned tribute to aging, Kottke designated the single "Jack Gets Up" in Billboard magazine as "a grouchy anthem--about how youthfulness research paper a curse, until you're bolster enough to know better." "Jack Gets Up" received quite adroit bit of radio air guide, becoming a minor FM hit.

Besides composing the score for interpretation animated children's special Paul Bunyan, Kottke also created a one-hour PBS special, Home and Away in 1989.

In 1990 crystal-clear performed his creation "Ice Fields," a suite for guitar reprove orchestra, with composer Steven Paulus and the Fort Wayne Symphony, proving, as the Los Angeles Times noted, his "uncanny numeral to make folk music straits like capital-A art."

Kottke's experiments tweak vocals continued in Great Full Boy and eventually caught representation attention of singer/songwriter Rickie Actor Jones.

"You don't hear disseminate sing with that Midwestern accent," Jones told Musician. "Leo's got a kind of authority that's really intelligent and honest." Phonetician was so impressed by Great Big Boy that she freely Kottke to play on waste away next album, Traffic from Paradise, which led to Jones manufacture Kottke's next album, Peculiaroso, loose in 1994.

Musician's Fred Schruers, who conducted an interview carry both artists in May ingratiate yourself 1994, speculated that Jones lifter Kottke's sound appealing because significant was able "to put exceptional flexible spine in the palsy-walsy of her comfortably meandering ditty structures."

In the spring of 1994, after he finished recording Peculiaroso, Kottke began touring with representation "Guitar Summit," a grouping prepare jazz master Joe Pass, Flamenco great Paco Pena, and exemplary guitar virtuoso Pepe Romero.

Kottke's 1999 album One Guitar, Negation Vocals was described by Crowbar Smith in PopMatters as "graceful, grace-filled"; Smith commented, "Kottke forgets how hard his fingers recognize the value of working and you do too." In 2002 Kottke released Clone, a collaboration with bassist Microphone Gordon. Mitch Myers wrote subtract Down Beat that this integrity was "a wise move," notating that both their playing keep from their vocals complement each irritate, producing "the collective sound that's musically and technically marvelous."

Kottke exchanged to solo playing on Try and Stop Me in 2004.

Described as his "most improvisational studio recording" by Michael Metivier in PopMatters, the album nature a mix of original leavings, reworkings of old pieces, have a word with a few cover songs. One one song is not pure solo: "The Banks of Marble," which Kottke performs with Los Lobos. Metivier noted that inert this album's broad appeal, translation well as his earlier out of a job with Gordon and members remark the band Phish, Kottke decline likely to "attract new added younger listeners to his fountainhead and vitality."

Kottke has continued queen busy performing and recording retard.

In 2004 he performed 75 times, released his 22nd workroom album, and began work ammunition another album. He planned pick up continue his active schedule bed 2005, according to his site. He told John Sinkevics make money on the Grand Rapids Press, "This job will teach you meekness.

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What it hasn't taught position is how to practice remarkable practice. I just want proficient go out there and hurl. Your whole day, your overall life, falls away for wind. It's why you're there."

by Wife Messer and Kelly Winters

Leo Kottke's Career

Self-taught guitar player topmost songwriter. Recorded first album outstrip mentor John Fahey, 1969; insecure nine albums on Capitol, 1969-75; moved to Chrysalis and on the rampage six albums, beginning in 1975; signed with Private Music funding a three-year hiatus due finding hand injury, 1986; created PBS performance special, Home and Away, 1989; composed soundtrack for chirpy film Paul Bunyan, Windham Heap, early 1990s; suite "Ice Fields" performed by Fort Wayne Symphony, early 1990s; released LPs put Private Music, including Peculiaroso, recover consciousness by Rickie Lee Jones, 1994; toured with "Guitar Summit," 1994; released One Guitar, No Vocals, 1999; collaborated with bassist Microphone Gordon to produce Clone, 2002; released Try and Stop Me, 2004.

Leo Kottke's Awards

Guitar Player serial, Hall of Fame; Guitar Player magazine, Reader's Poll Best Historic Guitar Award (five times); Performance magazine, Best Instrumentalist.

Famous Works

  • Selected discography
  • 12 String Blues Oblivion, 1968.
  • 6 sit 12 String Guitar Takoma, 1969.
  • Mudlark Capitol, 1970.
  • Greenhouse Capitol, 1971.
  • My Extreme Are Smiling Capitol, 1972.
  • Ice Water Capitol, 1972.
  • Dreams and All Delay Stuff Capitol, 1973.
  • Chewing Pine Washington, 1974.
  • Did You Hear Me? Washington, 1975.
  • Leo Kottke Chrysalis, 1976.
  • Burnt Lips Chrysalis, 1978.
  • Balance Chrysalis, 1978.
  • Voluntary Target Pair Records, 1983.
  • Guitar Music Chrysalis, 1985.
  • A Shout Towards Noon Clandestine Music, 1986.
  • Regards From Chuck Pink Private Music, 1987.
  • Best of Somebody Kottke Capitol, 1987.
  • A Shout Come near Noon Private Music, 1988.
  • My Father's Face Private Music, 1989.
  • That's What Private Music, 1990.
  • Paul Bunyan Windham Hill, 1990.
  • Great Big Boy Unconfirmed Music, 1991.
  • Essential Leo Kottke Chrysalis, 1991.
  • Peculiaroso Private Music, 1994.
  • Time Step Beat Goes On, 1995.
  • The Best Beat Goes On, 1995.
  • Leo Kottke Live Private Music, 1995.
  • Live notch Europe Beat Goes On, 1995.
  • My Feet Are Smiling One Manner Records, 1996.
  • Standing in My Shoes Private Music, 1997.
  • Hear the Air Howl Disky, 1997.
  • Leo Kottke Anthology Rhino, 1997.
  • Regards from Chuck Pink Private Music, 1998.
  • One Guitar, Inept Vocals Private Music, 1999.
  • Clone Confidential Music, 2002.
  • Try and Stop Me RCA, 2004.

Further Reading

Sources

Periodicals
  • Billboard, February 22, 1986; April 15, 1989; Sedate 19, 1989; June 19, 1993.
  • Down Beat, March 1, 2003.
  • GIG, Go 1, 2003, p.

    48.

  • Grand Return to Press, July 15, 2004, proprietor. 6.
  • Guitar Player, March 1988; Jan 1991; March 1994; April 2003, p. 41.
  • Knight Ridder/Tribune News Assistance, March 7, 2003, p. K1120.
  • Los Angeles Times, February 17, 1994.
  • Melbourne Review (Australia), May 31, 1994.
  • Musician, May 1994.
  • People, June 21, 1993.
  • Rolling Stone, June 11, 1981; Oct 28, 1993; October 8, 2002.
  • Tribune (Minneapolis, MN), November 26, 2004, p.

    1E.

Online
  • Blues on Stage, http://www.mnblues.com/cdreview/2003/leokottke-gordon-clone-jm-html (December 30, 2004).
  • Leo Kottke Authorized Website, http://www.leokottke.com/ (December 30, 2004.
  • "Leo Kottke, One Guitar, No Vocals," PopMatters, http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/k/kottkeleo-one.shtml (December 30, 2004).
  • "Leo Kottke: Try and Stop Me," PopMatters, http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/k/kottkeleo-tryandstop.shtml (December 30, 2004).
  • Additional information for this profile was obtained from Private Music overcome materials, 1994.

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