Fargo concert preview in the High Plains Reader!
I'm writing from Minot, North Dakota, where I'm playing for the Western North Dakota Synod youth gathering. I've got a wonderful band along with me on this trip, bringing the ROCK: Nate Houge on electric guitar, mandolin, and lap steel; Justin Rimbo on bass; and Graham Peterson on drums!
On Saturday we'll be playing a show at the Nestor Tavern in Fargo, and the local weekly entertainment paper the High Plains Reader has written a concert preview for our show.
Click here to read the article in context. Text is below:
JONATHAN RUNDMAN: AN UNCOMMON SINGER/SONGWRITER
by Janie Franz
When: Saturday October 25, 10 pm
Where: The Nestor, Fargo
How Much: $3
Info: 701.232.2485
On Saturday we'll be playing a show at the Nestor Tavern in Fargo, and the local weekly entertainment paper the High Plains Reader has written a concert preview for our show.
Click here to read the article in context. Text is below:
JONATHAN RUNDMAN: AN UNCOMMON SINGER/SONGWRITER
by Janie Franz
When Jonathan Rundman opens for the Fargo band Go Steve Jones and the Michigan group The Green Room on Saturday, area music lovers will be treated to an evening of great music.
It is extremely unusual to place a singer/songwriter in front of two rockers, but Rundman is definitely the musician to tease an audience and whip them up for these two lyric-driven bands.
It is extremely unusual to place a singer/songwriter in front of two rockers, but Rundman is definitely the musician to tease an audience and whip them up for these two lyric-driven bands.
Rundman has been around for nearly two decades, offering up gentle ballads, tongue-in-cheek commentaries on society, alt-rock tunes, and many very funny songs.
But he isn’t a satirist or a comedian. Nor is he an angst-ridden folkie or a grunge pop artist. He is all that, but so much more.
But he isn’t a satirist or a comedian. Nor is he an angst-ridden folkie or a grunge pop artist. He is all that, but so much more.
His recent CD, “Insomniaccomplishments,” on Salt Lady Records captures the broad spectrum of Rundman’s subject matter and his musical tastes.
Originally from Ishpeming, Mich., Rundman absorbed music from his Finnish community and everywhere he could find a recording or a radio.
He began a touring career immediately after graduating from high school, quickly making a name for himself.
He moved to the Pacific Northwest and soaked up the rich garage scene there.
Eventually, he ended up in Chicago and began collaborating with Midwestern musicians, becoming well known as a prolific alt-folkie songwriter with a string of independent CDs following in his wake.
Last year, his “20 Songs From the 20th Century” included early demos, rough tapes, and pre-production album recordings.
Today, he is thriving in Minneapolis and receiving a lot of attention, garnering rave reviews in Billboard, the New York Times, Performing Songwriter, and Paste.
In fact this year, a song included in a Paste CD Sampler, “Front Row At the Fashion Show,” was licensed by Starbuck’s for airplay in 10,000 locations around the world.
In fact this year, a song included in a Paste CD Sampler, “Front Row At the Fashion Show,” was licensed by Starbuck’s for airplay in 10,000 locations around the world.
Rundman’s 2004 album, “Public Library,” is worth mentioning, not only for the quality of those eleven songs, but because of the merits of one cut. “Smart Girls,” the initial track on that album, is a refreshing look at romance. This is one song every young lad and lass should listen to.
Rundman sings: “Listen to me boys and learn important things......when you look for love, look for intellect....smart girls know the human heart/cause love is science, love is art/you’ll do well if you take my advice/fall in love with a smart girl.”
This is the kind of advice we need in this world (and coming from a guy) to remind us that the pretty faces of Barbies or Sarah Palins may not always be the best choices.
The eighteen songs on “Insomniaccomplishments” are equally stirring. Each is in a different genre as Rundman uses all of his musical influences to tell the story he needs to tell.
His alt folk-rock “Dialysis Carpool” takes on the environment, and “I Saw Greenland” uses a grunge tone to underscore a tune about his experience of beauty.
In contrast, the deceptively simple country tune “Little Bible” takes on Bible-thumpers as Rundman sings: “I love the lover not the love letter/I drive down the highway not the map/I dance to the music not the radio.”
In contrast, the deceptively simple country tune “Little Bible” takes on Bible-thumpers as Rundman sings: “I love the lover not the love letter/I drive down the highway not the map/I dance to the music not the radio.”
Jonathan Rundman is definitely a singer-songwriter to watch. His gift of intelligent lyrics and wide musical styles marks his work as nothing less than brilliant.
Go see Jonathan Rundman Friday, even if you aren’t into the other two bands. You’ll be very glad you did.
Go see Jonathan Rundman Friday, even if you aren’t into the other two bands. You’ll be very glad you did.
If You Go
What: Jonathan Rundman (opening for Go Steve Jones and The Green Room)When: Saturday October 25, 10 pm
Where: The Nestor, Fargo
How Much: $3
Info: 701.232.2485
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