Robbie Fulks

Robbie Fulks
Background information
Birth name Robert Fulks
Born (1963-03-25) March 25, 1963
York, Pennsylvania
United States
Origin North Carolina
Genres Singer-songwriter
Neo-Traditionalist Country
Alternative country
Bluegrass
Instruments Guitar
Vocals
Banjo
Years active 1986–present
Labels Boondoggle Records
Bloodshot Records
Yep Roc Records
Geffen Records
Associated acts Nora O'Connor
Website robbiefulks.com
Members Chris Scruggs
Jenny Scheinman
Robbie Gjersoe

Robbie Fulks (born March 25, 1963) is an American alternative country singer-songwriter, instrumentalist[1] and long-time Chicago, Illinois resident.[2] He has released 12 albums over a career spanning more than 30 years.[3]

Biography

Early life

Fulks was born in York, Pennsylvania, the son of a school teacher father. He grew up in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina, where he graduated from Carolina Friends School in 1980.[1][4] He has a younger brother named Jubal.[1] Fulks picked up his aunt's banjo when he was six and started playing guitar at 11.[1][4][5]

Family

Fulks has three children, sons Nick, Preston, and Tennessee, and one grandson, Logan.[5][6] His wife is actress Donna Jay Fulks. Fulks' oldest son, Nick Fulks, and father-in-law, Donald Jerousek, were contestants on season 12 of The Amazing Race. They placed third.[7]

Career

New York

In 1980 at the age of 17, Fulks moved to New York City and attended Columbia University, often playing at Gerdes Folk City and other places in the West Village.[4]

Chicago

Fulks moved to Chicago in 1983, and shortly after started teaching at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music.[1] In 1987, he joined The Special Consensus Bluegrass Band, where he showcased his unique guitar flatpicking. In the early 1990s, he performed in the musical Woody Guthrie's American Song.[8]

Meanwhile, he recorded his original compositions. Steve Albini engineered many of his early tracks, and the Chicago punk-country label Bloodshot Records began releasing them in 1993.[4][9][10]

Nashville

While living in Chicago Fulks worked for four years as a country songwriter, mainly for Music Row publisher API.[1]

Fulks' solo debut, Country Love Songs, was released on Bloodshot Records in 1996 to positive reviews. The album was engineered by Steve Albini.[8] The Skeletons, members of whom later formed the band The Morells, played on much of the record.[10] Tom Brumley and Buck Owens are also featured. It was followed by 1997's South Mouth, which cemented Fulks' retro-alternative image.

As fans had grown used to his rough and sparse sound, many were shocked by the release of Fulks' third album, 1998's Let's Kill Saturday Night, on Geffen Records.[11][12] Fulks recorded it during the spring of 1998 in Nashville with producer Rick Will. The record includes performances by Lucinda Williams, Sam Bush, Bill Lloyd, and Al Anderson as well as guitarist Rob Gjersoe (Jimmie Dale Gilmore), bassist Lorne Rall, and drummer Dan Massey.[1]

When Geffen disbanded shortly after the release of the record, Fulks found himself without a label, so he started his own company, Boondoggle Records. He released an album of previously unreleased material called The Very Best of Robbie Fulks. He often licenses his music for distribution by Bloodshot.[1]

Output

I called it Gone Away Backward because it's a phrase from the Bible… I stumbled on the phrase later in the evolution of the record when I was looking around for a title. I think it's a nice piquant phrase that has three good, strong, mellifluous words in it. As far as the backwardness of the record, I think it goes backward in terms of nostalgia for the past – bittersweet nostalgia for the past – as well as the recession having knocked everything backwards for people. In that sense, it's not an album about the past, it's an album about now.

"Interview with Robbie Fulks about 'Gone Away Backward'"
by Kim Ruehl, No Depression Magazine (September 18, 2013)

2001 saw the release of Couples in Trouble, a dark, brooding, and decidedly non-country album, and 13 Hillbilly Giants, a collection of covers of classic country numbers both obscure and well known. Both records were released by Bloodshot Records. Also in 2001, Fulks was an inaugural member of the judging panel for the Independent Music Awards, which supports independent artists.[13]

Fulks would not release another album until 2005. Georgia Hard on Yep Roc Records shows a return to his county roots. The album was notable for its use of long-time Nashville talent like Lloyd Green, Hank Singer, Dennis Crouch, Dallas Wayne.[6]

He gained attention for a novelty single he wrote called "Fountains of Wayne Hotline," in which he imagined the power pop band Fountains of Wayne as having a hotline that struggling songwriters could call for help with their song structure.

In April 2007, Fulks released a 2-CD album Revenge! (also on Yep Roc) of mainly of live concert recordings of older songs, but including some new material. One disc, labeled Standing features a full-band sound, while the second disc, Sitting, consists of Fulks with little or no musical accompaniment. Standing opens with the tongue-in-cheek studio track "We're on the Road", which describes life on tour and simulates a telephone call to Fulks from Yep Roc Records President Glenn Dicker, demanding a new record and denigrating the sales performance of the "path-breaking, not chart-breaking" album Georgia Hard.

In 2009, Fulks self-released a 50-song, alphabetically organized mass of songs via his website, a compilation called 50-Vc. Doberman.[14] Fulks notes that this method, and electronic-only release in general, is not typical of musicians that work in his genre.[15]

In 2010, Fulks released his album Happy: Robbie Fulks Plays the Music of Michael Jackson via Yep Roc Records, in which he covered a group of Jackson's songs as a tribute to the recently deceased musician. He had been working on the record since 2005.[16][17]

In 2013, Fulks released Gone Away Backwards, which was recorded and mixed by Steve Albini. It was released on Bloodshot Records, his first release on that label since 2001's 13 Hillbilly Giants. The album features banjo, mandolin, fiddle, and upright bass.[18] "That's Where I'm From" is a song Fulks cites as being autobiographical.[19] Four songs from 50-Vc. Doberman were the genesis of Gone Away Backwards.[20] The title of the record comes from the book of Isaiah in The Bible.[21]

Gone Away Backwards is an acoustic record that goes back to his roots as a musician, Fulks says.[5] He comments that the stylistic choice was a good fit with the musicians that appear on the recording: Robbie Gjersoe, Jenny Scheinman, and Mike Bubb. They recorded live without using any overdubbing or elaborate production around 25 songs over the course of three days.[22]

In 2014, Fulks joined some members of The Mekons, dubbed "mini-Mekons", on a trip to write and record on the island of Jura in Scotland. The resulting record, Jura, was released in November 2015 and is made up of original songs written on the trip as well as traditional songs.[23]

In April 2016, Fulks released a new record, Upland Stories.[24]

Musical style

Robbie Fulks playing a house concert on December 14, 2013

As a songwriter Fulks is difficult to categorize.[25] Nathan Rabin of A.V. Club says he "has a genius for twisting and subverting country tropes," and "there's more to Fulks than tomfoolery and glibly satirical lyrics."[26] Many of his compositions are silly, funny or spoof songs, such as "Godfrey" ("the sickly, unemployed, amateur children's magician") on the compilation children's album The Bottle Let Me Down, while others are serious country songs.[27]

His music is widely described as either alternative country or folk. Fulks' songwriting often includes humor.[28] Peter Applebome of The New York Times describes his work as "one part artful country, one part artful sendup of country, and one part a little of everything else."[29]

Fulks has an encyclopedic knowledge of country and pop music,[15] and has produced a critically lauded tribute to Johnny Paycheck called Touch My Heart: A Tribute to Johnny Paycheck that was released by Sugar Hill Records in 2004.[30] He considers himself adventurous, and is always willing to try new things and experiment. "Why not push the envelope and see what you are capable of doing rather than recycle the same old ideas over and over again," he said.[5]

His musicianship has been called "impeccable".[31] Jim Fusilli of the Wall Street Journal suggests that "a world in which Fulks isn't a household name is somehow upside down."[32]

Fulks often plays at The Hideout, a bar and club in Chicago, and has done long-term residencies there.[9][33][34] While there, Fulks performs anything from current popular hits to jazz to obscure country masterpieces. He says he rarely performs his own compositions at these shows, preferring to explore other music that has caught his attention at the time.[15]

His live performances feature improvised rearrangements of his original songs, off-the-cuff musical humor, and covers of songs by Michael Jackson, Cher, Shania Twain, The Bangles, among others.

Fulks has co-written with Dallas Wayne, NRBQ's Al Anderson, to name a few.[6]

Fulks has a long-time association with engineer Steve Albini (Big Black, Shellac).[15]

Trivia

Discography

Solo records

Contributions, collaborations

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Margasak, Peter (January 12, 2001). "Robbie Fulks: Country Without Borders". CMT News: Country Music Hall of Fame's Journal of Country Music. Country Music Television, Inc. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  2. ↑ Bellware, Kim (September 6, 2013). "Robbie Fulks Talks Dinner Guests, Baseball Bullies And Making Country Music As A City-Dweller". Huffington Post Chicago. TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Robbie Fulks – Web Cut" (video). Last Call with Carson Daly. NBCUniversal. December 2013. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Brown, Shannon (June 24, 2012). "A Chat with Robbie Fulks: Country's Kingpin of Clever". Outlaw Magazine. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Robbie Fulks" (TV interview). WTTW Chicago Tonight. January 9, 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 Goodman, Frank (July 2005). "A Conversation with Robbie Fulks" (PDF). PureMusic.com. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  7. ↑ Pang, Kevin (January 10, 2008). "Amazing relatives: Locals on 'Race' related to alt-country's Fulks". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  8. 1 2 Huey, Steve. "Robbie Fulks – Biography". All Music. All Media Network, LLC. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  9. 1 2 Gendron, Bob (July 1, 2011). "Fulks honest, unpredictable". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  10. 1 2 Ray, Linda (September–October 1997). "The Long Way Around – Feature: Robbie Fulks". No Depression Magazine (11). Archived from the original on June 6, 2013. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  11. ↑ Walker, Jesse (May 2000). "Soundbite: Music Man". Reason.com. Reason Foundation. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  12. ↑ Strauss, Neil (December 21, 1998). "A Major Merger Shakes Up the World of Rock". The New York Times. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Past Judges for the Independent Music Awards". Independent Music Awards. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  14. ↑ Ratliff, Ben (March 4, 2009). "Playlist: Expansive Pop, Hypnotic Jazz, Surprising Metal". The New York Times. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 Margasak, Peter (January 6, 2014). "Artist on Artist: Robbie Fulks talks to Steve Albini". Chicago Reader. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  16. ↑ Guarino, Mark (May 28, 2010). "Robbie Fulks Reinterprets Michael Jackson's Music in New Album, "Happy"". Chicago Magazine. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  17. ↑ Fontenot, Elvis (April 8, 2010). "Robbie Fulks – "Happy"". No Depression. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  18. ↑ McGovern, Kyle (August 20, 2013). "Stream Robbie Fulks' Small-Town Folk Epic 'Gone Away Backward':Newest full-length from 50-year-old tunesmith arrives August 27" (audio stream). Spin magazine. Spin Music, a division of SpinMedia. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  19. ↑ Ruehl, Kim (September 18, 2013). "Interview with Robbie Fulks about 'Gone Away Backward'". No Depression Magazine. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  20. ↑ Mateer, Chris (December 4, 2013). "Robbie Fulks Spins His Tale Of "Gone Away Backward" (Interview)". No Depression. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  21. ↑ "Isaiah: Isa.1". Bible, King James Version. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  22. ↑ "Robbie Fulks on World Cafe". WXPN. NPR. January 21, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  23. ↑ Moss, Marissa R. (November 5, 2015). "Hear Robbie Fulks and Cowpunkers the Mekons' Wild 'Beaten and Broken'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
  24. ↑ Odenkirk, Bob (March 9, 2016). "The First Bob Odenkirk Interview Quiz Challenge Show: Robbie Fulks". Funny or Die. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  25. ↑ Tucker, Ken (September 19, 2013). "Robbie Fulks: Exhilarating And Bitter On 'Gone Away Backward'". NPR (Fresh Air). National Public Radio. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  26. ↑ Rabin, Nathan (June 29, 2010). "Week 37: Robbie Fulks, The Alternative". AV Club. The Onion. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  27. ↑ "Godfrey, the sickly unemployed amateur children's magician". MemeFirst. January 13, 2006. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  28. ↑ Varriano, Jackie (December 13, 2013). "Alt country is funny for Fulks: The longtime musician finally got some recognition with a hard jab at Nashville". The Register Guard (Eugene, OR). Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  29. ↑ Applebome, Peter (October 15, 2000). "MUSIC; It's Off the Map, but It's His Country, Right or Wrong". The New York Times. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  30. ↑ "Tributes rarely get better than this, a country music masterpiece.". Billboard. August 21, 2004. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  31. ↑ Pareles, Jon (October 5, 1998). "POP REVIEW; Heartbreak and Wordplay". The New York Times. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  32. ↑ Fusilli, Jim (August 27, 2013). "Robbie Fulks Goes Back to His Acoustic Roots". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  33. ↑ Loerzel, Robert (February 9, 2010). "Robbie Fulks at the Hideout". Underground Bee. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  34. ↑ Margasak, Peter (May 16, 2013). "Robbie Fulks revisits a scorned gem by Bob Dylan". Chicago Reader. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  35. ↑ "Drew Carey's Midlife Crisis: His Bizarre Behavior Revealed!". National Enquirer. American Media Inc. March 9, 2012. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  36. ↑ Eakin, Marah (March 15, 2012). "The National Enquirer says liking Robbie Fulks shows Drew Carey's crazy". AV Club Chicago. The Onion. Archived from the original on April 18, 2012. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  37. ↑ Fulks, Robbie (March 9, 2012). "i am proof drew carey is bonkers!" (blog). RobbieFulks.com. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  38. ↑ "Tina Fey Robbie Fulks Shoutout: '30 Rock' Star Tells America To 'Buy Everything' By Chicago Musician". Huffington Post Chicago. TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. January 18, 2013. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  39. ↑ "Mike-Shell Presents – More Super Hits of the Seventies!". Michael Shelley (website). Retrieved February 5, 2014. 2014 WFMU Fund Raising Premium CD
  40. ↑ "Mekons & Robbie Fulks: Jura". Record Store Day. Retrieved November 21, 2015.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/9/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.