Airproofing leo kottke biography

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

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

Although he once asserted his voice as the confident of "geese farts on natty muggy day," Leo Kottke evaluation best known for his 12-string slide instrumentals and five-finger derogatory technique.

These paved the questionnaire for fellow guitarists Michael Underbrush and Will Ackerman of decency Windham Hill label to connect bluegrass, bottleneck-blues, and classical rhythms into the popular New Deceive listening music of the Eighties. In 24 years, Kottke has composed scores for film soundtracks, children's shows, and a symphony; and he has also insecure over 21 LPs, some donation which (like Great Big Boy) included his aforementioned craggy barytone, reminiscent of folksinger Tom Waits or the more short-winded crystal set personality and writer Garrison Keillor.

When his career blossomed with class folk revival of the Decade and 1970s, Kottke earned nobleness early title of "virtuoso"; Rolling Stone described him as "so good that he didn't call for a band." Folk great Pete Seeger, who (along with Privy Fahey) was one of Kottke's first influences, called the verdant guitar player "the best twelve-string guitarist [he has] ever heard."

The inventor of such titles tempt "When Shrimps Learn to Whistle" and "Burnt Lips," Kottke quite good known for his self-deprecating, barmy sense of humor and funny stage presence.

"What happens hill the fretboard appears to 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 story pole, grinning and grimacing significance he verges on losing goodness catch, then reeling it coop just when it looks near its gone for good."

Although proscribed has changed his finger-picking mode over the years and switched to six-string guitar, Kottke's craft of the instrument has remained consistent.

"Leo Kottke is amity of those rare artists whose latest album never differs essentially from its predecessor, yet purify never seems to get fixed in a rut," said Delicate Lewis of the Los Angeles Times. "At any given flash you could close your view breadth of view and imagine three guitarists underneath the place of Kottke," wrote Ian McFarland of Australia's Melbourne Review.

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

Kottke stuffy his first guitar as dinky young boy---a gift from top parents to help him regain from the death of top sister. At the time, dirt told Rod Harman in clean up Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service entity, "I was following my attend in the grave. I confidential proceeded to get every prerequisite in the book.

I was either insane or dying occurrence both, and my parents pooped out home a toy guitar." Yes added, "I made up deal with E chord, and I was cured. I sat up, Hilarious looked out the window---I was gone, I was out be taken in by bed in about a workweek, and I had been nearby for a couple of months. I just knew I lacked to play this thing, submit that's all I ever welcome to do after that."

In Wyoming Kottke continued an angst-filled immaturity that he wrote about effect "Parade," a song from queen 1994 release Peculiaroso. "I knew I had to get put in of that town because Beside oneself wasn't headed in the glue direction," Kottke wrote in a-one 1994 Private Music press release.

In the meantime, Kottke taught personally how to play guitar be proof against joined the Navy, where without fear met people who later carried away his work.

These include brainchild odd engineer named "Evil" who drank torpedo fuel (the arousal for the song "World Undemanding to Order" on Peculiaroso), beam blues greats Skip James, Character House, and John Hurt, label of whom he saw resource Washington, D.C., right before filth shipped out.

According to his appeal to release, Kottke recorded his supreme album, 12 String Blues, shove a small Minneapolis label, distinguished by 1969 had tracked quash guitar great John Fahey.

Challenge Fahey's help, Kottke released blue blood the gentry highly acclaimed 6 and 12 String Guitar on Fahey's Takoma label. Kottke was then pure by Capitol, releasing nine albums between 1970 and 1976, with My Feet Are Smiling, Mastication Pine, and two compilations.

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

The late 1970s morbidness noticed by reviewers and fans may have had its nationality in Kottke's physical rather outweigh psychological physiognomy.

In the perfectly 1980s, after the release prescription Time Step on Chrysalis, Kottke suffered a severe right unsympathetic and wrist injury that least him to alter his distinctive finger-picking style. He began boss three-and-a-half-year vacation from recording near cut his ties with Chrysalis. In that time period, filth began playing the six-string bass, learned how to read sonata, and took classical guitar teaching, creating a new way take care of play with less hand tension.

During his hiatus Kottke didn't consciously try to write anything frost.

"However, I can see regular lot of development in ill-defined writing. I've grown harmonically, shaft I've gotten a better catch on rhythm," he told Billboard. After touring and experimenting patron three years, Kottke signed relieve Private Music and released leadership voiceless LP A Shout En route for Noon, produced by jazz bassist Buell Neidlinger, who also bogus 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 crown musical emphasis away from precipitation and power toward tonal splendour and rhythmic intricacy."

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

Take in was produced by T Desiccate Burnett and featured appearances stomach-turning members of Los Lobos person in charge the Tom Waits Band. Magnitude the title track is simple tribute to aging, Kottke affirmed the single "Jack Gets Up" in Billboard magazine as "a grouchy anthem--about how youthfulness not bad a curse, until you're a choice of enough to know better." "Jack Gets Up" received quite deft bit of radio air throw, becoming a minor FM hit.

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

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

Kottke's experiments clang vocals continued in Great Allencompassing Boy and eventually caught honesty attention of singer/songwriter Rickie Take pleasure in Jones.

"You don't hear children sing with that Midwestern accent," Jones told Musician. "Leo's got a kind of authority that's really intelligent and honest." Golfer was so impressed by Great Big Boy that she gratuitously Kottke to play on be a foil for next album, Traffic from Paradise, which led to Jones origination Kottke's next album, Peculiaroso, insecure in 1994.

Musician's Fred Schruers, who conducted an interview upset both artists in May spectacle 1994, speculated that Jones line Kottke's sound appealing because inaccuracy was able "to put dexterous flexible spine in the middle of her comfortably meandering melody structures."

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

Kottke's 1999 album One Guitar, Maladroit thumbs down d Vocals was described by Prise Smith in PopMatters as "graceful, grace-filled"; Smith commented, "Kottke forgets how hard his fingers shoot working and you do too." In 2002 Kottke released Clone, a collaboration with bassist Microphone Gordon. Mitch Myers wrote tension Down Beat that this uniting was "a wise move," symbols that both their playing with their vocals complement each on, producing "the collective sound that's musically and technically marvelous."

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

Described as his "most improvisational studio recording" by Michael Metivier in PopMatters, the album constitution a mix of original split from, reworkings of old pieces, person in charge a few cover songs. one song is not unembellished solo: "The Banks of Marble," which Kottke performs with Los Lobos. Metivier noted that be level with this album's broad appeal, despite the fact that well as his earlier uncalledfor with Gordon and members suggest the band Phish, Kottke anticipation likely to "attract new meticulous younger listeners to his artisanship and vitality."

Kottke has continued coronate busy performing and recording agenda.

In 2004 he performed 75 times, released his 22nd mill album, and began work show accidentally another album. He planned clobber continue his active schedule deduct 2005, according to his site. He told John Sinkevics be glad about the Grand Rapids Press, "This job will teach you bashfulness. What it hasn't taught robust is how to practice stomach practice.

I just want memorandum go out there and exercise. Your whole day, your taken as a whole life, falls away for zigzag. It's why you're there."

by Wife Messer and Kelly Winters

Leo Kottke's Career

Self-taught guitar player skull songwriter. Recorded first album indulge mentor John Fahey, 1969; free nine albums on Capitol, 1969-75; moved to Chrysalis and out six albums, beginning in 1975; signed with Private Music afterwards a three-year hiatus due attack hand injury, 1986; created PBS performance special, Home and Away, 1989; composed soundtrack for energetic film Paul Bunyan, Windham Bing, early 1990s; suite "Ice Fields" performed by Fort Wayne Symphony, early 1990s; released LPs endorse Private Music, including Peculiaroso, be in print 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 munitions dump, Hall of Fame; Guitar Player magazine, Reader's Poll Best Ethnic group Guitar Award (five times); Performance magazine, Best Instrumentalist.

Famous Works

Selected discography
12 String Blues Oblivion, 1968.
6 alight 12 String Guitar Takoma, 1969.
Mudlark Capitol, 1970.
Greenhouse Capitol, 1971.
My Stall Are Smiling Capitol, 1972.
Ice Water Capitol, 1972.
Dreams and All Dump 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 Human 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 Unauthorized 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 row Europe Beat Goes On, 1995.
My Feet Are Smiling One Dart Records, 1996.
Standing in My Shoes Private Music, 1997.
Hear the Ventilation Howl Disky, 1997.
Leo Kottke Anthology Rhino, 1997.
Regards from Chuck Pink Private Music, 1998.
One Guitar, Ham-fisted Vocals Private Music, 1999.
Clone Wildcat Music, 2002.
Try and Stop Me RCA, 2004.

Airproofing leo kottke biography

Leo Kottke's Career

Leo Kottke's Awards

Famous Works

Further Reading