Randy and The Current Rock the holidays
http://www.currentland.com/Features/FeatureStories/FeatureStory4/tabid/105/Default.aspx
Since you, our loyal readers, have been so, well, loyal, we’re brining Randy Crouch and Flying Horse to a venue near you. Think of it as our yearly gift, a service we love providing every year since we’ve been in circulation. Spread some holiday cheer, holiday beer and share you 1,000 watt smiles with Randy.
12/20 – Max’s Garage, Muskogee (w/ Jim Blair & the Grease Monkeys) – 21 & Up – 9 p.m.
12/22 – Brangus Feed Lot Club,McAlester – All Ages – 9 p.m.
12/28 – Roxie’s Roost, Tahlequah (w/ Elephant Revival Concept) – 21 & Up – 10 p.m.
12/29 – Bartlesville Convention Center (w/ Dustin Pittsley Band, Jimmie Johnson and Ann Janette) – All Ages – 7 p.m.
Established Artist Spotlight - Randy Crouch If one was to go exploring through the deep recesses of the forest surrounding the Oklahoma landmark of Teresita, one might stumble across a very unique and somewhat magical place. It is the home of a sasquatch. The sasquatch's name is Randy. At first, upon approach, one would smell the smooth undertones of a distant woodstove burning in the breeze. Then one might almost trip over a giant percussion section made from varying sizes of hollowed out logs that are difficult to spot under fallen leaves and undergrowth. About this time one might hear music flowing intermittently between the trees. Maybe a guitar or a piano or, if one should be so lucky, a fiddle. Soon after that one would find oneself upon Randy's doorstep, standing before a series of wooden geodesic domes that Randy built amongst the woods. The sasquatch himself would smile and offer up a cold Busch in a can. This is Randyland, the home of Randall P. Crouch and his amazing wife, Liz. Randy the sasquatch lives peacefully and out of the way in those woods. He would make a great hero in a children’s' story, don't you think? "There once was a sasquatch that lived far into the deep, dark woods north of Tahlequah. He lived there with his beautiful wife, a Fender Stratocaster, and a Flying Horse..."
Randy Crouch is one of the burliest, craziest, wisest, nicest, and most talented musicians to ever wear a pair of boots. He is a virtuosic multi-instrumentalist that hails from Texas (but went Okie as soon as he could) and now lives in the land he loves so much. He is well-known for his rowdy, rebellious live performances. Crouch has been witnessed by dance-crazed concert-goers playing his Stratocaster with the top side of his fiddle while holding a flaming $50 bill in the other hand, waving it around to add oxygen to fire. Now that's stickin' it to the man!
Crouch is so well versed in Country and Bluegrass as he is in Rock, he’s often been called the "Jimi Hendrix of the fiddle." Since the mid 1970s this man has been thrilling audiences with his prowess on the fiddle, guitar, piano, pedal steel and the kitchen sink. His first of many solo releases came in 1978 and have become cherished additions to many music lovers' collections. Crouch has appeared on multitudes of other peoples' recordings including folks like South 40, Jason Boland and the Stragglers, Bob Childers, Tom Skinner and many more. The list of people Randy has collaborated with is astounding. There is nary a musician in this part of the country that doesn't want Randy sitting in on any given night. Currently he is touring with his band, Flying Horse, and holding down the fiddle position for the Red Dirt Rangers, a band of Oklahoma legends themselves.
Though he has been around the block more than a few times in his life, Randy never loses his zest for what's still to come. On some summer night a couple of years ago, Randy was sitting next to a young man at Roxie's Roost who was lamenting having turned 30 years old. He turned to Randy and inquired as to whether or not it was all "down hill from here" and if 30 was "the beginning of the end?" Randy turned to the young man and said, "You know what? It all just kind of started for me two weeks ago." Randy has a way with words. His original songwriting is amazing, his lyrics reflecting the land and people that he came from and holds dear in his heart. He is an advocate for nature, friends and family. He is non-violent. He is a peaceful Rocker with no real boundaries to his music. A Randy Crouch show doesn't just skate the edge of what has come before. It stumbles off of it and plummets yelling "Geronimo!" and laughing the whole way down. It is indefinable and unexplainable; sore feet and ankles from dancing being the most convincing evidence that it ever really took place. No, it wasn’t a dream - it wasn’t a spectacular, mind-blowing, life-changing dream.
Luckily for all the inhabitants of Currentland, Randy abides their necessity for his Rock/Country/Rock/Bluegrass/Rock/Red Dirt Rock by playing numerous shows in the area year-round. In the month of December, you can catch a few Randy Crouch and Flying Horse/The Current Reader Appreciation Shows at several venues including Riggs and Co. in Langley, Ok., on Dec. 1, Max’s Garage in Muskogee on Dec. 20, Bahrangas in McAlester on Dec. 22, Roxie’s Roost in Tahlequah on Dec. 28 and at the Bartlesville Community Center in Bartlesville, Ok., on the night of Dec. 29. Crouch and band will also be performing a two-night stand Dec. 13-14, at The Green Door in Fayetteville, Ar.
One to stay plenty busy, Randy will also be accompanying the Red Dirt Rangers for a myriad of holiday-season shows throughout Green Country. Websites that will point you in the right direction include www.randycrouch.net, www.myspace.com/randycrouch, www.reddirtrangers.com, and www.myspace.com/reddirtrangers.
Randy Crouch is a visionary, a revolutionary, a mystic, an icon, and a legend. Years from now the fable will continue as told to the young by the elders. It will be one of their favorite stories. They will love to hear about how "the sasquatch Randy would play his magical guitar and the golden fiddle he won in a contest with the Devil well into the night. The animals of the forest, neighbors from all around, and the ghosts of Jimi Hendrix and Hank Williams would all gather to listen and drink sweet honey mead made in a still Randy had fashioned from the trunk of an old mulberry tree. And they would dance…"
- Chris Becker
Friday, December 21, 2007
Business Contacts & Booking for Randy Crouch:
Sonic Bids Electronic Press Kit
Randy Crouch's Showcase
and you may contact us at www.RandyCrouch.net
Sonic Bids Electronic Press Kit
Randy Crouch's Showcase
and you may contact us at www.RandyCrouch.net
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
the Texas Troubadors Interview with Randy Crouch
An Interview with Randy Crouch
Originally published on the old Texas Troubadours web site
1. Can you give us some background on yourself?
I grew up and moved around West Texas. My dad was a Methodist preacher so we moved to different towns, every few years around Lubbock, and Amarillo. I got involved in music because of my folks, they gave me a good musical background, I had piano lessons, and started playing ukulele and I got a guitar. When I first started playing I didn't really think anything was different between the Beatles music, or Roger Miller's music, and I started playing in bands, and I've been doin' it now since I've been a freshman in high school….it's been about 40 years now. Right now, I live out here in Talequah. Out in the woods in a dome that I kinda designed myself. We've been livin' out here for 20 years without electricity, and we're about to get it I think… we haven't got it yet. I'm going to have to get about eight poles put in… but I've been doin' fine all these years usin' my car battery. I've got a propane refrigerator, and have all the wood I need for heat. But I've started experimenting lately, getting a lot of different acoustical sounds playing slide mandolin, and my upright piano, and using my harp like a synthesizer. I've just always loved to come home to the woods, and rest up. I'm looking forward to getting a better recording studio… I've got one I've been using, and I have a generator I can turn when I want to. I've got some stuff for the new album recorded here at home, and I can't begin to imagine the possibilities if I got a better studio. I'd even like to have a radio station. We're real close to the Illinois River, and a lot of people come float theriver there, and in the valley they can't get any good stations from Tulsa. So, if I ever did it, I'd have a captured audience.
2. Who are some of your biggest musical and life influences?
Jimi Hendrix, I'm still tryin' to play his music, and learn the guitar parts to his stuff. I also got every one of the Beatles albums that came out, and the Stones albums, there for awhile I was so excited when a new album came out, and I'd go get it, and try to learn it, and I just kept doin' that to where I was writing my own music. When I got turned onto bluegrass, at the very first Winfield Festival, I got to see New Grass Revival, and shortly after that I started playing fiddle. I'm not sure how many Winfield Festivals they've had, probably 30 or something like that… that's about how long I've been playin' fiddle. My granddad played fiddle, and he was another great influence on me as well.
3. How much of an influence do you feel that Woody Guthrie has been on Red Dirt artists?
Well, that's one of the things that I feel that we all have in common. When I was learnin' guitar and learnin' to sing, he was always a hero. His songs had a common denominator that everyone understood, and appreciated. We'd play at the Woody Guthrie Festival, and we could feel Woody in all of our music, and the fact that everyone credits him. A lot of people tend to come together for that.
4. How would you define Red Dirt Music?
Well, I don't think I'd be the one who's able to define it, but it seems to have Oklahoma values, you know how Okies are real good at doing everything themselves, maybe a sense of independence about it. It's natural, and honest, and about real life. You know, it's almost like the way Woody approached music. There's one time I remember we played for 202 second graders at 9 o'clock in the morning, over at the Guthrie Festival. And we started singin', "This Land Is You Land," and they knew the words better than I did, and they sang so loud, and so good. Music can really be a positive force in the world, and I hope that's what the music down here is doing.
5. In what ways do you feel that Red Dirt Music has evolved over the years?
You know, there's quite a bit of rock and roll in it. We've had some real good luck, when we were in Colorado, we jammed with three different Grateful Dead type bands, and we did some Dead stuff on the anniversary of Jerry's death. All these guys that were playing in these Dead type bands were really enjoying our style, and what we did. Maybe it's evolved into…. Or maybe it's pulled in more styles, and gained more influences, almost like it's become a versatile sound.
6. What do you feel are the main differences between "Red Dirt" and "Texas Music?"
That's a good question. You can sure hear it, maybe the words. You know, there's a lot of things, that we borrow from each other I believe. Texas influence, and the Oklahoma sound, and I think we contribute some of our sound to Texas too. It seems like Texas has several different sounds, depending on what part of the state you're in too. In West Texas, you can hear sounds like that of the Flatlanders, when you go down to Austin, there's about any kind of music in the world that you could imagine. I've done some recording down there, infact, I think that's where I've done the majority of my recording… I just really like the area down there.
7. Do you feel that Red Dirt music can be carved into different niches based on the artist or band? What niche or element would you say CCR, JB&S, SLOBB, and TGD add to the scene?
I think so. That's well said. I think the Stragglers are startin' to sound like the Rolling Stones, they're really startin' to rock. Each one of those guys definitely puts their own personality into it, and each of those bands has their different crowds. I heard recently that Ragweed was coverin' Big Shot Rich Man too. (It's been covered previously by Boland, and is featured on Boland's latest CD, Live and Lit at Billy Bob's Texas).
8. Can you tell share the stories behind: - Big Shot Rich Man:
That was one of the first songs I wrote when I was playin' in a band called Home Brew. We kinda evolved into a country-rock sound, and we put some swing influence into it. At first, it had more of a folk sound to it, then it started swingin', and rockin', and developed into it's own song. Boland did one whole set of that one song…like a 45 minute version of it (laugh). Gary P. Nunn also did it on his album Border States. It was just one of those songs that I heard being sung in my head, and it just came out from there.
- Mexican Holiday:
That's another one of those songs that I wished was true. I haven't had a chance to go down to Mexico and make it come true yet. (laugh) I've been dreamin' about it… but the song is mostly just wishful thinkin.'
9. What are two of the songs you've written that haven't been heard that you're most proud of?
Well, my band is called the Flyin' Horse, because I kinda wrote an opera, a flyin' horse opera… a country rock thing… that's about how the aliens come down to help the cowboys catch the flyin' horses. I guess that would be one that I'm really proud of, and…I don't know. I've got a lot of songs about places in Oklahoma…Wichita Mountains is probably another one of my favorites. I wound up writing that while I was campin' out up there. If I had to pick two, those would be my favorites, then there's the song I wrote during the time we tried to stop the nuclear power plant from goin' into Tulsa, and that one's called The Sun and The Wind, and it's a solar power song.
10. How do you feel about other people's interpretations of your music?
I love it. I love to hear anyone's version of one of my songs. It's quite an honor I think.
11. Why do you think that there's a more prevalent scene in Stillwater, than places like Norman, or Tulsa?
I've always wondered that myself. (laugh) The guys cooperate really well down here. When I started playin' fiddle with Home Brew, we played this place called the Bar Ditch, a famous bar in Stillwater where Alvin Crow used to play, and a lot of Texas bands at the time played there…it was a real cool place, everyone was used to goin' there, and havin' a real good time. After the Bar Ditch, "The Farm" evolved, and there were always parties there, and it just gave everyone a chance to get together.
12. Lately, a lot of Red Dirt artists (IE Cross Canadian Ragweed, Jason Boland, etc) have been finding a tremendous amount of success within the "Texas scene." How do you feel that these groups have helped advance the Red Dirt scene?
It's like you said. They spread the music around. Everywhere they've been, they're troopers, and I think the way they're going they're going to get bigger, and bigger, and bigger. All those guys are versatile, and I look forward to seeing how they develop.
13. Are there any artists and bands in the Red Dirt scene now that you feel are "on the verge" of breaking out and making a name for themselves, and if so, who?
Hopefully I will. (laugh) The people you've been namin', I think I jammed with every one of those guys, except for The Great Divide. There's going to be a folk convention in Nashville, in Feb. and I think a lot of us are going up to that, and I hope something like that will bring the people to us. I'll tell you who I think is real great, and that's Mike West, and he was one of the best banjo players that I've ever seen. He even produced one of Bill Erickson's albums.
14. What kind of impact do you feel that Texas artists have had on the Red Dirt scene and vice versa?
I think it's had quite a bit of an impact, but it's hard to give Texas credit, because Bob Wills went down there… we're all comin' from essentially the same roots. There were people like Doug Sahm, Asleep At The Wheel, but I think it all comes from the way that Bob Wills took all these musicians all over, collected songs, and put them together, and played them for everybody. I know that he's not the only one of course, but I have a hard time figuring out who's getting the real credit here. I know we've got a friendly rivalry going between Texas and Oklahoma..I started out being a Texan, but I hope that I'm an Okie now that I'm living here. You'd have to have had your head under the ground for the past 30 years to not have been influenced by someone in Texas. (laugh)
15. There seems to be this kinship among Red Dirt musicians. How would you describe the relationship that y'all have?
It's like we're friends first I think. From everything I've noticed, everyone's been pullin' for one another for so long, that it just comes natural. We just want what's best for one another. Seeing that tries to make me want to try harder to be a better musician
16. What inspires you to write?
I think it's different subjects… just when an idea hits me. I think the music is out there just wantin' to come out… life can inspire me, the other thing that inspired me was it being Christmas, and I'm in the middle of writin' a song about Jesus bein' a refugee.
17. Religion seems to play a huge role in many of the Red Dirt artists' lives. How big of a part does it play in your life?
Well, with my dad being a Methodist minister, I think that I've had real good exposure to God. I have spiritual values, but I think if you've got a message, and the music is good, it doesn't have to be religious or even life changing to somebody, if the song affects them, it's all good.
18. What are some of the toughest challenges you've faced, both personally, and musically and how have you overcome them?
Probably stayin' on the road, the fact that you don't always get paid, the fact that you really can't live a normal life. If I actually knew how to overcome it, I probably would be rich and famous. (laugh)
19. What do you find pleasure in when you're away from the music?
I like bein' in the woods, I like to be with my friends, fishin', I really don't want to do much besides play music, even when I am relaxing.
20. Where do you see the future of Red Dirt Music going? Hopefully all over the world. I think if we got far enough away, people would enjoy it more. (laugh)
21. How did you get tabbed with the nickname "Wildman?"
Oh…I've been runnin' pretty hard for a long time. I think the most important music comes after the gig, at the party, in someone's livin' room, or in the hotel room you know? I've been known to party a little bit. (laugh) I've also done crazy things on stage
(IE Crouch can play pedal steel guitar with his teeth, and can play fiddle and guitar simultaneously, although he plays the guitar with his feet).
I'm not really all that "wild," I don't think (laugh)… I probably got it more from the old days (laugh), but I can still throw a good party. (laugh)
22. What advice do you have for aspiring musicians and songwriters? Dedicate yourself to the music, and if you can, make a difference in this world.
Originally published on the old Texas Troubadours web site
1. Can you give us some background on yourself?
I grew up and moved around West Texas. My dad was a Methodist preacher so we moved to different towns, every few years around Lubbock, and Amarillo. I got involved in music because of my folks, they gave me a good musical background, I had piano lessons, and started playing ukulele and I got a guitar. When I first started playing I didn't really think anything was different between the Beatles music, or Roger Miller's music, and I started playing in bands, and I've been doin' it now since I've been a freshman in high school….it's been about 40 years now. Right now, I live out here in Talequah. Out in the woods in a dome that I kinda designed myself. We've been livin' out here for 20 years without electricity, and we're about to get it I think… we haven't got it yet. I'm going to have to get about eight poles put in… but I've been doin' fine all these years usin' my car battery. I've got a propane refrigerator, and have all the wood I need for heat. But I've started experimenting lately, getting a lot of different acoustical sounds playing slide mandolin, and my upright piano, and using my harp like a synthesizer. I've just always loved to come home to the woods, and rest up. I'm looking forward to getting a better recording studio… I've got one I've been using, and I have a generator I can turn when I want to. I've got some stuff for the new album recorded here at home, and I can't begin to imagine the possibilities if I got a better studio. I'd even like to have a radio station. We're real close to the Illinois River, and a lot of people come float theriver there, and in the valley they can't get any good stations from Tulsa. So, if I ever did it, I'd have a captured audience.
2. Who are some of your biggest musical and life influences?
Jimi Hendrix, I'm still tryin' to play his music, and learn the guitar parts to his stuff. I also got every one of the Beatles albums that came out, and the Stones albums, there for awhile I was so excited when a new album came out, and I'd go get it, and try to learn it, and I just kept doin' that to where I was writing my own music. When I got turned onto bluegrass, at the very first Winfield Festival, I got to see New Grass Revival, and shortly after that I started playing fiddle. I'm not sure how many Winfield Festivals they've had, probably 30 or something like that… that's about how long I've been playin' fiddle. My granddad played fiddle, and he was another great influence on me as well.
3. How much of an influence do you feel that Woody Guthrie has been on Red Dirt artists?
Well, that's one of the things that I feel that we all have in common. When I was learnin' guitar and learnin' to sing, he was always a hero. His songs had a common denominator that everyone understood, and appreciated. We'd play at the Woody Guthrie Festival, and we could feel Woody in all of our music, and the fact that everyone credits him. A lot of people tend to come together for that.
4. How would you define Red Dirt Music?
Well, I don't think I'd be the one who's able to define it, but it seems to have Oklahoma values, you know how Okies are real good at doing everything themselves, maybe a sense of independence about it. It's natural, and honest, and about real life. You know, it's almost like the way Woody approached music. There's one time I remember we played for 202 second graders at 9 o'clock in the morning, over at the Guthrie Festival. And we started singin', "This Land Is You Land," and they knew the words better than I did, and they sang so loud, and so good. Music can really be a positive force in the world, and I hope that's what the music down here is doing.
5. In what ways do you feel that Red Dirt Music has evolved over the years?
You know, there's quite a bit of rock and roll in it. We've had some real good luck, when we were in Colorado, we jammed with three different Grateful Dead type bands, and we did some Dead stuff on the anniversary of Jerry's death. All these guys that were playing in these Dead type bands were really enjoying our style, and what we did. Maybe it's evolved into…. Or maybe it's pulled in more styles, and gained more influences, almost like it's become a versatile sound.
6. What do you feel are the main differences between "Red Dirt" and "Texas Music?"
That's a good question. You can sure hear it, maybe the words. You know, there's a lot of things, that we borrow from each other I believe. Texas influence, and the Oklahoma sound, and I think we contribute some of our sound to Texas too. It seems like Texas has several different sounds, depending on what part of the state you're in too. In West Texas, you can hear sounds like that of the Flatlanders, when you go down to Austin, there's about any kind of music in the world that you could imagine. I've done some recording down there, infact, I think that's where I've done the majority of my recording… I just really like the area down there.
7. Do you feel that Red Dirt music can be carved into different niches based on the artist or band? What niche or element would you say CCR, JB&S, SLOBB, and TGD add to the scene?
I think so. That's well said. I think the Stragglers are startin' to sound like the Rolling Stones, they're really startin' to rock. Each one of those guys definitely puts their own personality into it, and each of those bands has their different crowds. I heard recently that Ragweed was coverin' Big Shot Rich Man too. (It's been covered previously by Boland, and is featured on Boland's latest CD, Live and Lit at Billy Bob's Texas).
8. Can you tell share the stories behind: - Big Shot Rich Man:
That was one of the first songs I wrote when I was playin' in a band called Home Brew. We kinda evolved into a country-rock sound, and we put some swing influence into it. At first, it had more of a folk sound to it, then it started swingin', and rockin', and developed into it's own song. Boland did one whole set of that one song…like a 45 minute version of it (laugh). Gary P. Nunn also did it on his album Border States. It was just one of those songs that I heard being sung in my head, and it just came out from there.
- Mexican Holiday:
That's another one of those songs that I wished was true. I haven't had a chance to go down to Mexico and make it come true yet. (laugh) I've been dreamin' about it… but the song is mostly just wishful thinkin.'
9. What are two of the songs you've written that haven't been heard that you're most proud of?
Well, my band is called the Flyin' Horse, because I kinda wrote an opera, a flyin' horse opera… a country rock thing… that's about how the aliens come down to help the cowboys catch the flyin' horses. I guess that would be one that I'm really proud of, and…I don't know. I've got a lot of songs about places in Oklahoma…Wichita Mountains is probably another one of my favorites. I wound up writing that while I was campin' out up there. If I had to pick two, those would be my favorites, then there's the song I wrote during the time we tried to stop the nuclear power plant from goin' into Tulsa, and that one's called The Sun and The Wind, and it's a solar power song.
10. How do you feel about other people's interpretations of your music?
I love it. I love to hear anyone's version of one of my songs. It's quite an honor I think.
11. Why do you think that there's a more prevalent scene in Stillwater, than places like Norman, or Tulsa?
I've always wondered that myself. (laugh) The guys cooperate really well down here. When I started playin' fiddle with Home Brew, we played this place called the Bar Ditch, a famous bar in Stillwater where Alvin Crow used to play, and a lot of Texas bands at the time played there…it was a real cool place, everyone was used to goin' there, and havin' a real good time. After the Bar Ditch, "The Farm" evolved, and there were always parties there, and it just gave everyone a chance to get together.
12. Lately, a lot of Red Dirt artists (IE Cross Canadian Ragweed, Jason Boland, etc) have been finding a tremendous amount of success within the "Texas scene." How do you feel that these groups have helped advance the Red Dirt scene?
It's like you said. They spread the music around. Everywhere they've been, they're troopers, and I think the way they're going they're going to get bigger, and bigger, and bigger. All those guys are versatile, and I look forward to seeing how they develop.
13. Are there any artists and bands in the Red Dirt scene now that you feel are "on the verge" of breaking out and making a name for themselves, and if so, who?
Hopefully I will. (laugh) The people you've been namin', I think I jammed with every one of those guys, except for The Great Divide. There's going to be a folk convention in Nashville, in Feb. and I think a lot of us are going up to that, and I hope something like that will bring the people to us. I'll tell you who I think is real great, and that's Mike West, and he was one of the best banjo players that I've ever seen. He even produced one of Bill Erickson's albums.
14. What kind of impact do you feel that Texas artists have had on the Red Dirt scene and vice versa?
I think it's had quite a bit of an impact, but it's hard to give Texas credit, because Bob Wills went down there… we're all comin' from essentially the same roots. There were people like Doug Sahm, Asleep At The Wheel, but I think it all comes from the way that Bob Wills took all these musicians all over, collected songs, and put them together, and played them for everybody. I know that he's not the only one of course, but I have a hard time figuring out who's getting the real credit here. I know we've got a friendly rivalry going between Texas and Oklahoma..I started out being a Texan, but I hope that I'm an Okie now that I'm living here. You'd have to have had your head under the ground for the past 30 years to not have been influenced by someone in Texas. (laugh)
15. There seems to be this kinship among Red Dirt musicians. How would you describe the relationship that y'all have?
It's like we're friends first I think. From everything I've noticed, everyone's been pullin' for one another for so long, that it just comes natural. We just want what's best for one another. Seeing that tries to make me want to try harder to be a better musician
16. What inspires you to write?
I think it's different subjects… just when an idea hits me. I think the music is out there just wantin' to come out… life can inspire me, the other thing that inspired me was it being Christmas, and I'm in the middle of writin' a song about Jesus bein' a refugee.
17. Religion seems to play a huge role in many of the Red Dirt artists' lives. How big of a part does it play in your life?
Well, with my dad being a Methodist minister, I think that I've had real good exposure to God. I have spiritual values, but I think if you've got a message, and the music is good, it doesn't have to be religious or even life changing to somebody, if the song affects them, it's all good.
18. What are some of the toughest challenges you've faced, both personally, and musically and how have you overcome them?
Probably stayin' on the road, the fact that you don't always get paid, the fact that you really can't live a normal life. If I actually knew how to overcome it, I probably would be rich and famous. (laugh)
19. What do you find pleasure in when you're away from the music?
I like bein' in the woods, I like to be with my friends, fishin', I really don't want to do much besides play music, even when I am relaxing.
20. Where do you see the future of Red Dirt Music going? Hopefully all over the world. I think if we got far enough away, people would enjoy it more. (laugh)
21. How did you get tabbed with the nickname "Wildman?"
Oh…I've been runnin' pretty hard for a long time. I think the most important music comes after the gig, at the party, in someone's livin' room, or in the hotel room you know? I've been known to party a little bit. (laugh) I've also done crazy things on stage
(IE Crouch can play pedal steel guitar with his teeth, and can play fiddle and guitar simultaneously, although he plays the guitar with his feet).
I'm not really all that "wild," I don't think (laugh)… I probably got it more from the old days (laugh), but I can still throw a good party. (laugh)
22. What advice do you have for aspiring musicians and songwriters? Dedicate yourself to the music, and if you can, make a difference in this world.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Woody Rocked Oklahoma First
For many Oklahoma music fans, it was a weekend of wishing – wishing the annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival in Okemah wasn’t happening on the same weekend as Pryor’s Rocklahoma! But I chose to attend the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival because it pays tribute to our state by recognizing one of its greatest artists and songwriters – and because the funds raised by the festival go toward research to combat Huntington’s Disease, which Guthrie suffered from for many years, eventually dying of the malady.
Woody Guthrie himself called Okemah “one of the singingest, square dancingest, drinkingest, yellingest, preachingest, walkingest, talkingest, laughingest, cryingest, shootingest, fistfightingest, bleedingest, gamblingest, gun-, club- and razor-carryingest” farm, ranch and oil boom towns.” Take that, Ratt and Poison! I love 80’s rock, too, but for me, the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival is a guaranteed blast.
The festival, held July 11-15, supports some of the state’s finest local talents and we always look forward to see our favorites, including Arlo Guthrie (Woody’s son), Folk Uke, Jimmy LaFave, the Burns Sisters, Emily Katz, Likely Stories, Larry Spears, Travis Kidd, Scott Taylor, the Red Dirt Rangers, Don Morris, Tom Skinner, Bob Childers, Dan Duggin, Dean Brown, Terry "Buffalo" Ware, Guy Logsdon, Joel Rafael, Nancy Apple, Rob McNurlin, Barton & Sweeney, Randy Crouch, the Farm Couple, Greg Klyma, and Radoslav Lorkorvic.
Former festival favorites have included Pete Seeger, Peter Yarrow of Peter Paul & Mary, Mary Reynolds, Sara Lee, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Josh White, Jr., Rocky Frisco and "Soup" Dave Thomas. This year, we heard from Joel Rafael's daughter, Jamica Rafael, Tony Lee Thomas, Tim O"Brien, Romi Mayes, Buffalofitz, Lisa Curl, Jed & Kelley and others...
...Later that day at the Brick Street Café stage, fans heard music from Likely Stories, Buffalofitz, Barton & Sweeney, Jamica Rafael, Folk Uke, and Randy Crouch, but the highlight of the day was the down-to-earth folk/western charm of Folk Uke. As talented as their kinfolks, the group includes Wille Nelson's daugther, Amy Nelson, and Woody Guthrie's granddaughters, Cathie and Annie Guthrie... And even muddy, drenched clothes and a filthy face couldn’t stop crowd-pleaser Randy Crouch from bringing down the house. After a fabulous performance, adoring fans surrounded him, showering him with hugs, handshakes, and love-pats on the back.
TulsaToday.com
By Dawn Johnston
Thursday, 26 July 2007
Woody Guthrie himself called Okemah “one of the singingest, square dancingest, drinkingest, yellingest, preachingest, walkingest, talkingest, laughingest, cryingest, shootingest, fistfightingest, bleedingest, gamblingest, gun-, club- and razor-carryingest” farm, ranch and oil boom towns.” Take that, Ratt and Poison! I love 80’s rock, too, but for me, the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival is a guaranteed blast.
The festival, held July 11-15, supports some of the state’s finest local talents and we always look forward to see our favorites, including Arlo Guthrie (Woody’s son), Folk Uke, Jimmy LaFave, the Burns Sisters, Emily Katz, Likely Stories, Larry Spears, Travis Kidd, Scott Taylor, the Red Dirt Rangers, Don Morris, Tom Skinner, Bob Childers, Dan Duggin, Dean Brown, Terry "Buffalo" Ware, Guy Logsdon, Joel Rafael, Nancy Apple, Rob McNurlin, Barton & Sweeney, Randy Crouch, the Farm Couple, Greg Klyma, and Radoslav Lorkorvic.
Former festival favorites have included Pete Seeger, Peter Yarrow of Peter Paul & Mary, Mary Reynolds, Sara Lee, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Josh White, Jr., Rocky Frisco and "Soup" Dave Thomas. This year, we heard from Joel Rafael's daughter, Jamica Rafael, Tony Lee Thomas, Tim O"Brien, Romi Mayes, Buffalofitz, Lisa Curl, Jed & Kelley and others...
...Later that day at the Brick Street Café stage, fans heard music from Likely Stories, Buffalofitz, Barton & Sweeney, Jamica Rafael, Folk Uke, and Randy Crouch, but the highlight of the day was the down-to-earth folk/western charm of Folk Uke. As talented as their kinfolks, the group includes Wille Nelson's daugther, Amy Nelson, and Woody Guthrie's granddaughters, Cathie and Annie Guthrie... And even muddy, drenched clothes and a filthy face couldn’t stop crowd-pleaser Randy Crouch from bringing down the house. After a fabulous performance, adoring fans surrounded him, showering him with hugs, handshakes, and love-pats on the back.
TulsaToday.com
By Dawn Johnston
Thursday, 26 July 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
GREATNESS WEARS A BIG BEARD -by Leif Wright in the Muskogee Phoenix newspaper
Greatness wears a big beard
World's best rock fiddle player also inspires
By Leif M. Wright
MUSKOGEE PHOENIX 7/20
http://okweekend.com/index.cgi?week=07_20_07&cat=home&subCat=topStories&item=1
When you're talking to him, you can't help thinking the world would be a whole lot better if everyone was more like Randy Crouch.
You could be the coolest person in the room or the nerdiest, and you get the feeling that Crouch wouldn't notice either way.
And if anyone has a right to be snooty, it would be him. He is master of more instruments than most people could ever dream of even being good at. He has sat in on more bands than he can remember, and that's not a sign of a bad memory - just of an illustrious career of greatness.
"I once saw him play where he's over a steel guitar and a piano while he's playing fiddle," said Jim Blair, co-owner of Max's Garage and one of Crouch's musical compatriots. "In the middle of the song, he wants to tune up the fiddle, so he hits the A note on the piano with his fiddle bow and tunes the string and keeps on playing."
In pretty standard fashion, the Tahlequah-based Crouch downplays his virtuosity.
"I hate to play keyboards in front of a real keyboard player," he said. "As long as I don't know they're there, I do OK, but if I know they're there, I'll play bad."
Take that with a grain of salt, would you? No one seems to have ever heard Crouch play poorly.
In fact, just about everyone you talk to who has heard him play has nothing but awe to convey.
"I don't know," he says in response to a question about his playing. "I just think any day on this side of the dirt is a good one."
And that pretty much sums up Crouch's attitude and the way he conducts himself.
If he has a chip on his shoulder, Sherlock Holmes might have trouble finding it. No one ever seems to have seen him in a bad mood, his wild hair and long beard always in front of a smile and friendly pair of eyes ready to greet you as if you were a long-lost sibling.
The master of many instruments started out fairly inconspicuously, playing ukelele around his parents' house, moving from instrument to instrument until he ended up with a Fender Stratocaster, and that's when everything clicked.
That was in the mid- to late 1960s, and the music scene was different in those days, even if the pay, according to Crouch, was just about the same as it is today.
"Back then, I played in Tulsa at the Cain's a lot," he said. "Back when it was really dangerous to go out there. We'd play whiskey bottles, finish them and thrown them into the crowd and hit people on the head with them."
The music was raw, exciting and new. The band Crouch played with in high school played songs by the Wipeouts, Charlie Parker and others. He learned how to play by listening to records, and he saw no difference between Roger Miller and the Beatles.
"It's all good music," he said. "I tried to learn as many songs as I could, and then when Jimi Hendrix came out, I realized you could do so much more with the guitar."
Crouch is hardly alone in that change-of-life moment, but he also makes it sound as if he hasn't influenced an entire generation of musicians himself.
If guitar was his only instrument, he would be regarded as a legend. But Crouch is more known as the best rock and roll fiddle player in the world, a label he would probably reject.
Even so, if fiddle was his only instrument, he would be remembered for being so incredibly good on the instrument that others' jaws literally dropped when they heard him play. But just as you're ready to write his legacy on that instrument, you have to consider his steel guitar playing. And then his keyboard playing. And his slide mandolin. And ... well, just about every instrument he's ever picked up.
But don't let him hear you talking about that, because he'll quickly change the subject.
"Have you heard Harley Hamm?" he asks, speaking of the Muskogee guitarist and singer. "That guy is incredible. I love listening to him!"
That same redirect keeps happening. Have you listened to David Teagarden play drums? Man, that My-Tea Kind is such a good group. Badwater? They're really great. The fact, however, is that, as Blair says, Crouch just seems to make everyone he plays with sound good.
When he plays with other bands such as the Red Dirt Rangers, Crouch plays fiddle or steel guitar. But when his band, which is now semi-retired, plays, he plays guitar.
"That's how I wrote my songs," he said.
That's another thing. His songs. Crouch has a knack for turning a phrase. And his personality can't help but come through.
"I wish I had a car that would run on air," he sings in his song "High as the Price of Gas." "I wish everyone was a zillionaire."
That's a pretty good summary of Crouch's personality, Blair said.
"Let me tell you two things about Randy Crouch. First and most important, he's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet," he said. "Second, he's a musical genius."
And that's an order of importance that many people miss about Crouch until they meet him. Seeing him on stage, you'd figure musical genius would come first. How could anyone be so great on so many instruments without that being their life's primary focus? But in Crouch, you see it's the opposite. His primary focus appears to be just being a good person. The music is just an extension of that. And so is his living arrangement.
"I build domes," he said, as if that was the most common thing in the world. "Well, really it's a pyramid and a dome. It's kind of hard to explain."
That, combined with his mountain man appearance, and it's not difficult to imagine Crouch living off the grid, completely from the land.
"I was just at the Woody Guthrie festival," he says. "Aww, man, it was enlightening. I don't think I'll ever get rid of all the mud, but I think I want to keep some of it around."
And that's really the epitome of what Blair calls a "really low-maintenance guy."
He seems to just enjoy life, and if problems come, he deals with them in style, playing his music with a smile and making just about everyone feel the joy.
"When I first saw him, I was playing with Garth Brooks and opening for New Grass Revival in 1984," Blair said. "We left the show and went into town and saw Randy Crouch, and I was blown away. It was the perfect topping to an already great night. Twenty-three years later, to be able to play with him as much as I do is an extreme pleasure."
The admiration is mutual. Crouch says Blair is someone he likes to brag on.
"When he plays his original songs, I can't quit laughing," Crouch said. "Sometimes it's hard to play because his songs are so funny and I start laughing."
Even with all the success he's had, it seems like he might be just as happy sitting around with old friends at an impromptu jam session.
"It would be nice to just make a backpack guitar and a fiddle and unpack them when you got home," he said. "They'd be a part of your house when you got there. When everyone gets together, you just put together all the pieces and have big old party dome and circle the wagons."
There's something attractive about that concept, something fundamentally removed from the stress and strain of the rat race. Crouch embodies that alternative, appearing like a red dirt hippie who never lost the love of the movement, never lost the wonder of just peering at the world around him and never had any reason to make enemies.
And of course, the music. Music for Crouch is as natural as talking or sitting.
"I have to force myself to go home when I play with him," Blair said. "Because he just won't stop."
And that's a good thing for music.
World's best rock fiddle player also inspires
By Leif M. Wright
MUSKOGEE PHOENIX 7/20
http://okweekend.com/index.cgi?week=07_20_07&cat=home&subCat=topStories&item=1
When you're talking to him, you can't help thinking the world would be a whole lot better if everyone was more like Randy Crouch.
You could be the coolest person in the room or the nerdiest, and you get the feeling that Crouch wouldn't notice either way.
And if anyone has a right to be snooty, it would be him. He is master of more instruments than most people could ever dream of even being good at. He has sat in on more bands than he can remember, and that's not a sign of a bad memory - just of an illustrious career of greatness.
"I once saw him play where he's over a steel guitar and a piano while he's playing fiddle," said Jim Blair, co-owner of Max's Garage and one of Crouch's musical compatriots. "In the middle of the song, he wants to tune up the fiddle, so he hits the A note on the piano with his fiddle bow and tunes the string and keeps on playing."
In pretty standard fashion, the Tahlequah-based Crouch downplays his virtuosity.
"I hate to play keyboards in front of a real keyboard player," he said. "As long as I don't know they're there, I do OK, but if I know they're there, I'll play bad."
Take that with a grain of salt, would you? No one seems to have ever heard Crouch play poorly.
In fact, just about everyone you talk to who has heard him play has nothing but awe to convey.
"I don't know," he says in response to a question about his playing. "I just think any day on this side of the dirt is a good one."
And that pretty much sums up Crouch's attitude and the way he conducts himself.
If he has a chip on his shoulder, Sherlock Holmes might have trouble finding it. No one ever seems to have seen him in a bad mood, his wild hair and long beard always in front of a smile and friendly pair of eyes ready to greet you as if you were a long-lost sibling.
The master of many instruments started out fairly inconspicuously, playing ukelele around his parents' house, moving from instrument to instrument until he ended up with a Fender Stratocaster, and that's when everything clicked.
That was in the mid- to late 1960s, and the music scene was different in those days, even if the pay, according to Crouch, was just about the same as it is today.
"Back then, I played in Tulsa at the Cain's a lot," he said. "Back when it was really dangerous to go out there. We'd play whiskey bottles, finish them and thrown them into the crowd and hit people on the head with them."
The music was raw, exciting and new. The band Crouch played with in high school played songs by the Wipeouts, Charlie Parker and others. He learned how to play by listening to records, and he saw no difference between Roger Miller and the Beatles.
"It's all good music," he said. "I tried to learn as many songs as I could, and then when Jimi Hendrix came out, I realized you could do so much more with the guitar."
Crouch is hardly alone in that change-of-life moment, but he also makes it sound as if he hasn't influenced an entire generation of musicians himself.
If guitar was his only instrument, he would be regarded as a legend. But Crouch is more known as the best rock and roll fiddle player in the world, a label he would probably reject.
Even so, if fiddle was his only instrument, he would be remembered for being so incredibly good on the instrument that others' jaws literally dropped when they heard him play. But just as you're ready to write his legacy on that instrument, you have to consider his steel guitar playing. And then his keyboard playing. And his slide mandolin. And ... well, just about every instrument he's ever picked up.
But don't let him hear you talking about that, because he'll quickly change the subject.
"Have you heard Harley Hamm?" he asks, speaking of the Muskogee guitarist and singer. "That guy is incredible. I love listening to him!"
That same redirect keeps happening. Have you listened to David Teagarden play drums? Man, that My-Tea Kind is such a good group. Badwater? They're really great. The fact, however, is that, as Blair says, Crouch just seems to make everyone he plays with sound good.
When he plays with other bands such as the Red Dirt Rangers, Crouch plays fiddle or steel guitar. But when his band, which is now semi-retired, plays, he plays guitar.
"That's how I wrote my songs," he said.
That's another thing. His songs. Crouch has a knack for turning a phrase. And his personality can't help but come through.
"I wish I had a car that would run on air," he sings in his song "High as the Price of Gas." "I wish everyone was a zillionaire."
That's a pretty good summary of Crouch's personality, Blair said.
"Let me tell you two things about Randy Crouch. First and most important, he's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet," he said. "Second, he's a musical genius."
And that's an order of importance that many people miss about Crouch until they meet him. Seeing him on stage, you'd figure musical genius would come first. How could anyone be so great on so many instruments without that being their life's primary focus? But in Crouch, you see it's the opposite. His primary focus appears to be just being a good person. The music is just an extension of that. And so is his living arrangement.
"I build domes," he said, as if that was the most common thing in the world. "Well, really it's a pyramid and a dome. It's kind of hard to explain."
That, combined with his mountain man appearance, and it's not difficult to imagine Crouch living off the grid, completely from the land.
"I was just at the Woody Guthrie festival," he says. "Aww, man, it was enlightening. I don't think I'll ever get rid of all the mud, but I think I want to keep some of it around."
And that's really the epitome of what Blair calls a "really low-maintenance guy."
He seems to just enjoy life, and if problems come, he deals with them in style, playing his music with a smile and making just about everyone feel the joy.
"When I first saw him, I was playing with Garth Brooks and opening for New Grass Revival in 1984," Blair said. "We left the show and went into town and saw Randy Crouch, and I was blown away. It was the perfect topping to an already great night. Twenty-three years later, to be able to play with him as much as I do is an extreme pleasure."
The admiration is mutual. Crouch says Blair is someone he likes to brag on.
"When he plays his original songs, I can't quit laughing," Crouch said. "Sometimes it's hard to play because his songs are so funny and I start laughing."
Even with all the success he's had, it seems like he might be just as happy sitting around with old friends at an impromptu jam session.
"It would be nice to just make a backpack guitar and a fiddle and unpack them when you got home," he said. "They'd be a part of your house when you got there. When everyone gets together, you just put together all the pieces and have big old party dome and circle the wagons."
There's something attractive about that concept, something fundamentally removed from the stress and strain of the rat race. Crouch embodies that alternative, appearing like a red dirt hippie who never lost the love of the movement, never lost the wonder of just peering at the world around him and never had any reason to make enemies.
And of course, the music. Music for Crouch is as natural as talking or sitting.
"I have to force myself to go home when I play with him," Blair said. "Because he just won't stop."
And that's a good thing for music.
Monday, July 2, 2007
Songs for the Illinois River reviewed in THE CURRENT July 2007
SONGS FOR THE ILLINOIS RIVER
www.songsfortheillinoisriver.com
"There are two good reasons to buy this album. The first is that it's a very listenable collection of local artists from Currentland. The second is that every CD sold will help preserve our beloved Illinois River.... Another highlight is Randy Crouch's "On the Illinois", a floaty, rolling rendition of one of his best tunes. He is joined on this recording by the girls from My-Tea Kind."
-Professor Cletus, THE CURRENT July 2007 Northeast Oklahoma's Alternative Source for News and Entertainment Vol4No7p36 www.currentland.com
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