John Gorka

John Gorka (born 1958, Edison, New Jersey) [Henkle, Doug, [http://www.folklib.net/index/discog/birth2days.shtml "FolkLib Index"] ] is a contemporary American folk musician. In 1991, "Rolling Stone" magazine called him "the preeminent male singer-songwriter of what's been dubbed the New Folk Movement." [Wing, Eliza, "Rolling Stone", August 8, 1991, p. 17]

Biography

Gorka received his first guitar as a Christmas gift, though Gorka alleges that his older brother stole it from him shortly thereafter. He eventually learned, instead, to play the banjo, and began performing in a folk music group at his church.

Gorka attended Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and joined the Razzy Dazzy Spasm Band which would also include guitarist Richard Shindell. He later began performing solo at the Godfrey Daniels coffee house as the opening act for various musicians who toured there. These included Nanci Griffith, Bill Morrissey, Claudia Schmidt and Jack Hardy.

In 1984, Gorka took first place at the Kerrville Folk Festival. Since then he has toured with artists such as Suzanne Vega, Shawn Colvin, Michael Manring, Christine Lavin, Dave Van Ronk, Cliff Eberhardt, David Massengill, Frank Christian and Lucy Kaplansky. As of 2005 he was residing in the St. Croix Valley area near Saint Paul, Minnesota.

In 2008 John Gorka decided to go to Europe again. After 14 years he will play four times in the Netherlands in october 2008.

Discography

Studio albums

*"I Know" (Red House Records, 1987)
*"Land of the Bottom Line" (Windham Hill/High Street, 1990)
*"Jack's Crows" (Windham Hill/High Street, 1991)
*"Temporary Road" (Windham Hill/High Street, 1992)
*"Out of the Valley" (Windham Hill/High Street, 1994)
*"Between Five and Seven" (Windham Hill/High Street, 1996)
*"After Yesterday" (Red House Records, 1998)
*"The Company You Keep" (Red House Records, 2001)
*"Old Futures Gone" (Red House Records, 2003)
*"Writing in the Margins" (Red House Records, 2006)

="Best of" albums=

*"Pure John Gorka" (Windham Hill, 2006)

=EPs=

*"Motor Folkin'" (Windham Hill/High Street, 1994)

DVD

*"The Gypsy Life" (AIX Records, 2007)

On various artists compilations

* See various issues of "Fast Folk Musical Magazine" for early recordings.
* "I Saw a Stranger with Your Hair" on "" (Windham Hill, 1989)
* "Christmas Bells", on "A Winter's Solstice, Vol. III" (Windham Hill, 1990)
* "Bracero" on "" (Sliced Bread, 1998)

References

External links

* [http://www.johngorka.com Official Website]
* [http://www.aixrecords.com AIX Records Website]
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:rxk9ikp6bbc9 John Gorka] on Allmusic
* [http://home.hetnet.nl/~f2hjhmvanvliet156/home.html John Gorka videosite] a kind of John Gorka multi media site.
* [http://www.geocities.com/thegypsylife/moregoodnoise.html "More good noise"] a detailed discography/fan site.