17 March 1999
CONTACT: Stew Salowitz, 309-556-3181 or Darcy Greder, 309-556-3815
John Gorka Plays IWU's Blue Moon Coffeehouse March 27 BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- John Gorka, called "the preeminent male singer/songwriter of the 'New Folk Movement'" by Rolling Stone Magazine, will make his first appearance at Illinois Wesleyan's Blue Moon Coffeehouse on Saturday, March 27.
The free concert, which is open to the public, will be at 8 p.m. in the Main Lounge of IWU's Memorial Student Center, 104 E. University St.
Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and flavored coffees and light pastries will be available.
Gorka comes to Bloomington touring in support of his CD, "After Yesterday", released in October 1998 by Red House Records. Known for applying his rich baritone vocals to a wide range of song forms from intimate confessional songs about love and loss to humorous observations about daily life in his neighborhood to poignant commentary on political moods, and exuberant explosions of unmitigated joy, Gorka has come up with a dozen new intriguing twists on the singer/songwriter format.
About John Gorka d "Whether it's playing without amplification before a small group, or before a crowd at the country's largest gathering of folk artists, the Philadelphia Folk Festival, Mr. Gorka mesmerizes. His brand of humor makes listeners laugh from the gut, taking the bitter edge off his biting, poignant song-poems." -- New York Times reviewer Robert P. Gluck
d "What strikes you first about Gorka's music is his voice: a warm, resonant baritone that both demands your attention and rewards it. It is unforced, plaintive, clear....the songs keen along on catchy, straightforward melodies, and while a good many are tales of broken hearts or broken men, they are laced with irony." -- reviewer Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer, on Gorka's album "Land of the Bottom Line"
Gorka has no problem with being labeled a folk singer, a title that was once synonymous with "obscure" and "unfashionable." The guitar-playing baritone is proud of his musical heritage and while he has found himself in the media spotlight with increasing frequency, he remains committed to his long-time fans and his established way of working. "My approach has always been low-key, song-driven, touring-based, slow, steady growth," he said.
Gorka is not interested in trading this formula for a spot on the pop or country charts; he is more interested in building a long career, rather than sparking a brief period of stardom. Because Gorka feels that his sustained success as a musician is dependent on his live performances, he spends over 150 nights on the road each year and continues to play in the small folk clubs where he made his name. Gorka told Billboard Magazine: "Quite honestly, I will sing for anyone who has an interest in my music. But I don't think a little interest from one part of the world will make me reposition my musical direction. Any changes or growth has to happen naturally, otherwise it won't work."
In 1991 Rolling Stone's Eliza Wing called Gorka "the preeminent male singer-songwriter of what's been dubbed the New Folk Movement." The artist later responded to this compliment in a cynical fashion in The Performing Songwriter: "I thought it was a double oxymoron....New/Folk and Folk/Movement. As far as I know, folk music has always been here, never gone away." While folk recordings may now be selling in increased numbers, including Gorka's own, he knows that he and many of his colleagues have been faithful to the genre all along.
Gorka began his career during the late 1970s and early 1980s, when only a handful of small labels were making folk records. He started performing while he was in college at the Bethlehem, Pa., folk club Godfrey Daniels. At first, Gorka tended bar and sang on open-mike nights; later he led the Razzy Dazzy Spasm Band. Moreover, Gorka listened to and carefully studied the performers who headlined there. Eventually he came to know these musicians when he became an opening act.
Singer Nanci Griffith first suggested that Gorka enter a contest to play at the 1984 Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas, where he not only performed, but won the show's New Folk Award. His first big break, the award gave a boost to Gorka's visibility and confidence. Gorka's first album came in 1987 when the small Minnesota label, Red House Records, released "I Know."
The success of the album and praise of fellow artists led to a multi-album deal with Windham Hill Records. Gorka had to convince the company not to re-record "I Know," as suggested by Windham Hill founder Will Ackerman. Gorka said in The Performing Songwriter, "I was ready to turn the deal down, because I felt like I couldn't do this to the people who bought the first album. It may not be the biggest audience in the world, but it's the only one I have." Both parties compromised, resulting in "Land of the Bottom Line" in 1990, which included two "bonus tracks" from the earlier album.
With the increased promotion and distribution power of Windham Hill, Gorka's singing and songwriting abilities reached new ears and attracted increased critical attention. Gorka's next two albums, "Jack's Crows" (1992) and "Temporary Road" (1993), reflected a happier, less introspective man (he explained in interviews that he had fallen in love). "Jack's Crows" was notable for the attention it received by country radio and video programs and "Temporary Road" showed Gorka's capacity for political commentary in songs such as "The Gypsy Life" and "Brown Shirt," which reflected his thoughts, respectively, on the Gulf War and fascism.
"Temporary Road", as well as Gorka's subsequent albums "Out of the Valley" (1994) and "Between Five and Seven" (1996), are also remarkable for their supporting cast of big-name recording artists. The roster includes Griffith, Cliff Eberhardt, Kathy Mattea, Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Leo Kottke, and Peter Ostroushko. Gorka has toured and recorded with an impressive number of folk- country-pop stars that are not only colleagues, but friends. These relationships are part of a nurturing network that helped him start his career and has greatly influenced his on-going work. Gorka has also been an important source of songs for singers Maura O'Connell and Mary Black, who are among some 20 artists who perform covers of his compositions.
A shy, quiet man in person, Gorka has explained that he communicates best through his music, and that he began songwriting to overcome the difficulties he had with the spoken word. "I can organize my thoughts better and present what I really want to say....I get my best ideas waking in the morning or going to sleep. The lines that seem to ring true come then. Whenever I learn something I put it into a song." He has also carefully studied his favorite performers, searching for the secret of a good "stage presence."
John Gorka has concluded that it boils down to being honest, being yourself -- so he has developed a quietly confident, very funny onstage presence. With this approach, Gorka hopes to keep entertaining audiences for a long time.
About The Blue Moon Coffeehouse The Blue Moon Coffeehouse has been bringing free acoustic music concerts to the campus of Illinois Wesleyan and the Bloomington-Normal, Ill., community since 1992. For more information, call the Blue Moon Concert Infoline at (309) 556-3815 and to join the mailing list or send a comment, e-mail address is bluemoon@titan.iwu.edu. Previous Blue Moon Coffeehouse performer have included Ani DiFranco, Carrie Newcomer, IWU graduates Al and Andi Tauber, and the Sons of the Never Wrong.
About Illinois Wesleyan University IWU, founded in 1850, enrolls about 2,000 students in a College of Liberal Arts, College of Fine Arts, and a four-year professional School of Nursing. Since 1994, the following facilities have been added to the IWU campus: a $15 million athletics and recreation center, a $25 million science center, a $6.8 million residence hall, and a $5.1 million Center for Liberal Arts, a facility housing 60 faculty offices, six classrooms, and other facilities for social science, humanities, business and economics, and interdisciplinary studies' faculty. The Carnegie Commission for the Advancement of Teaching rates Illinois Wesleyan a "Baccalaureate I" institution, a classification that places it among 159 highly-selective National Liberal Arts Colleges in the annual U.S. News & World Report rankings. Barron's Profiles of American Colleges, another respected college guide, rated IWU "highly competitive +" in its latest edition.