John Bunzow
Click to visit visit Johns webpage. Portland,
Oregon native John Bunzow has been called one of the finest roots writer/musician
on the current music scene. Producer Pete Anderson (Dwight Yoakam, Meat
Puppets, Steve Forbert) said he is "…without doubt the best artist I've
heard in recent times." Chicago Tribune columnist Jack Hurst cites
Bunzow with mixing "the rootsy with the revolutionary" Bunzow's
new CD, Darkness and Light on Sideburn Records, was recorded
live in a friend's basement studio. "I was itching to get back to my
roots music," Bunzow says, "That's the vibe I wanted - all one-take
vocal and guitar parts - just as they came down live. Just like we do out in
the clubs." The result is an eleven song guitar-driven alternative roots
revival. (Co-produced by John Bunzow and Brian Willis, mixed by Ray Kennedy) John
started playing professionally while attending the University of Oregon at
Eugene, and following college; he spent 15 years playing clubs throughout the
northwest United States. In the process, his fusion of roots rock and blues
garnered an extensive fan following. "I loved all styles of music while
I was growing up." Bunzow says, "I listed to a lot of blues and
R&B, a lot of rock, Dylan and the Beatles. So I ended up playing
everything from country rock to reggae." The end result is that Bunzow's
eclectic music is a melting pot of influences ranging from Dylan to Elvis
Costello to Merle Haggard and Tom Waits. As a guitarist he admired Albert
King, Michael Bloomfield, Carlos Santana and country superpicker Jerry Reed. During
his developmental years Bunzow performed at the solo singer/songwriter
venues, band projects and even a country music tour of truck stops and county
fairs. The artist also found himself bouncing around various music scenes:
San Francisco, Seattle, and LA; but it was Nashville where he found the
songwriter Mecca. "I found myself fortunate to work in venues where
original material was appreciated." He says, "My focus was always
as a songwriter and that is what brought me to Nashville - twice." His
second Nashville sojourn resulted in a songwriting deal with EMI and a
recording contract with Liberty Records. His critically acclaimed 1996 Pete
Anderson-produced debut CD, Stories of the Years, was released
to press and radio, along with a single and video. Unfortunately, just at the
time the single was climbing the charts, the label folded, ultimately
becoming Capitol Nashville. And while the CD was never released to the
public, music journalists had heard enough to proclaim him one the brightest
new talents on music's horizon. Bunzow is stoic about the unforeseen development.
"That's showbiz" he laughs. "It was disappointing at the time,
but it caused me to re-focus. Music by its very nature is progressive. It
takes you where you need to go and I found myself heading in a new
direction." Following
the Liberty Records label break down, Bunzow divided his time between playing
guitar for Decca alternative artist Chris Knight, MCA's Allison Moorer,
writing for Famous Music (cuts by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, artist Jack
Ingram, produced by Steve Earle/Ray Kennedy, and a song included in a major
motion picture) and touring in Europe and the Northwest club circuit. Darkness
and Light is the result of his odyssey. "I feel lucky to have
always made a living as a musician. I love to play." Click
the album cover to listen to song samples from, purchase a copy of and learn
more about Darkness and Light. |
