John Gorka is still Writing In The Margins

Yesterday, I indulged myself in a guilty pleasure. In fact, my family and my one boy's friend gladly joined in this indulgence! We attended the John Gorka concert in Salt Lake City.

John Gorka, you ask? Who is John Gorka? Shame on you, says I!

Urban folk Singer/songwriter and booming, honey-toned baritone. That's how some may describe John Gorka, but not I. I wouldn't stop there.

If you like smart lyrics, that's John Gorka. If you like clean, crisp acoustic guitar work without overproduced accompaniments, that's Gorka. If you like a touch of intelligent whit hidden loosely between phrases, that's Gorka, too.

I've enjoyed Gorka's music since the early 1990's when I first heard him played on a local alternative music station. The first Gorka song I heard was Prom Night In Pigtown. I was hooked! I've been a fan ever since. I own every album and rarely miss his concert stops in SLC.

He's a master of the urban folk genre. In a clear baritone, he weaves stories of champion boxers, stolen cars, and of trading the maybe for the sure. He weaves tales of ordinary things, made extraordinary by his treatment. Both his music and whit are addictive.

If you're not familiar with Gorka, I'd say he's a cross between Jim Croce, James Taylor, and Jackson Browne. Nah, there's still too much missing. That's still not John Gorka, but it's in the ballpark.

John presented a robust mix of songs from his library of more then 160 songs from his 10 different albums released over his 20-year career. As always, he wooed the audience with new treatment of several old staples. He presented fresh piano renditions of three classic Gorka tunes, two of my personal favorites, among them.

The last four or five times I’ve seen John perform, he has had his Grand Piano with him and shares new, keyboard versions of a handful of his classic songs. It always nice to hear a keyboard rendition of songs originally recorded as guitar pieces. He has a nice hand at the keyboard.

I really enjoyed his concert with my family gathered around me. That's what I like most about Gorka. He's become common ground for my family. We have his music in common. My kids have listened to Gorka from the time they were sleeping in the cradle! Over the years, Gorka's music has become intertwined with family memories. Whether it be family vacations or simple drives with the kids while we talk, Gorka has been playing in the background. In either entertaining the neighborhood kids or just jam'n with my boys, Gorka's music is responsible for some very precious memories in our home.

The last time he played in SLC, I saw something wonderful. Like me, another man had brought his family with him. As Gorka played a tribute to his mother, One Of Your Own, I saw this man begin to gently sob. His son, a lad of about fourteen, placed his arm around his father to comfort him. His wife did likewise. It was truly an emotional moment. Gorka's music can do that to families.

On John's most recent album, Writing in the Margins, I find one of the most heart wrenching songs he's ever presented: Lockkeeper. Although written by the late Stan Rogers, Gorka's rendition is an improvement upon Stan's original. It's the simple conversation between a merchant sailor and a lockkeeper while waiting for the locks to cycle. It's a well-told story about priorities. It's brilliantly presented.

What do others say about John Gorka? Here's an excerpt from an NPR piece on Gorka from October of 2006. "John Gorka's music demonstrates an easy melodic sensibility: Nothing is contrived or overproduced. His work is built around little more than his unmistakable voice and the simple, clean sounds of his guitar."

You can read the article and listen to NPR's interview w/Gorka, here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6256240

If you can only own one John Gorka album, let it be Pure Gorka. It's (more or less) a compilation of his greatest hits while with the Windham Hill record label. My personal favorite album is Land of the Bottom Line. Gorka describes Bottom Line as being from his dark years. I view it as essential Gorka. The raw power of both his music and lyrics from Bottom Line are virtually unrivalled in all of the genre. A bold statement, but I'll stand by it.

On a personal note to John Gorka (just in case he should ever read my blog!), Thanks Much, friend! I appreciate what your music has done for me and my family. You've truly been writing in the margins of our lives for many years. Strong work!

Cheers,
-Mike.

John Gorka's official website
http://johngorka.com/

Read about Gorka on Geocities
http://www.geocities.com/thegypsylife/

Read about Gorka on Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gorka
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pure_John_Gorka

Writing in the Margins reviewed on Twangville
http://twangville.com/348/john-gorka-writing-in-the-margins-reviewed/

Update to My John Huling, "Ancient Canyons" Music Review

Original Post: http://virtualfoxden.blogspot.com/2007/02/ancient-canyons-indian-flute-by-john.html

This is an update to my original post on the music of John Huling. A reader, Steve, has commented that Huling has a blog site and Steve provided a link in his comment.

I expect many of you are like me and may have neither the time nor inclination to read all the comments posted to blog entries. Rather than have you possibly miss that link, I wanted to highlight it here.

In his February 28, 2007 entry, John Huling announced the release of three more albums during 2007.

John Huling's blog link is: http://www.johnhuling.blogspot.com/

Enjoy,
-Mike.