Wisconsin and the Sh*tty Barn, coming up!

Four shows in Wisconsin are right around the corner, and the featured gig is John’s performance at the Sh*tty Barn in Spring Green, WI on Thursday, August 9th at 6pm! Click here for tickets to the show, the room only has about an 80-person capacity.

The other three nights back in the homeland (John’s) feature a private house concert performance in Richfield, outside of Milwaukee, and two nights up on the Lake Michigan coast: Saturday, October 11th at the Courthouse Pub in Manitowoc, and Sunday, October 12th at Paradigm in Sheboygan. For more details, visit the calendar page.

In the meantime, have you seen that “Distance” video yet?

Happy 5th Birthday to Our Love Was Made For Canada!

John’s 2nd album, Our Love Was Made For Canada, was released on July 7th, 2007, making it 5 years old yesterday!  In honor of the date, you can enjoy a digital download of the album for FREE at the online store.

It is set as a pay-what-you-want download, so if you want it for free, just enter “0”.  Physical copies of the album are also available for 50% off ($4.50 plus shipping).  If you want a look back into John’s songwriting past this is a great “bridge” record between his early and late 20’s.  Enjoy!

Southern California Tour This Week

John will be playing four shows in Southern California in the next week, starting off June 14th in San Diego. Check the “Calendar” page for more details on each show. You can catch him at the following dates, times, and venues:

Thursday, June 14th – Lestat’s, San Diego, CA @ 9pm
Saturday, June 16th – Gypsy Den Cafe, Santa Ana, CA @ 8:30pm
Sunday, June 17th – California Traditional Music Society, Encino, CA @ 7pm

* buy tickets for the CTMS show here: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/3561802447
Monday, June 18th – The Cinema Bar, Culver City, CA @ 8pm

Music Video for “Distance” Released

In honor of Old Fashioned having been out for exactly three months… enjoy!

John Statz – Distance from Matt Woods on Vimeo.

Also, a 5-song sampler spanning John’s five full-length albums is available for FREE download from NoiseTrade.  The playlist is as follows:

1. Distance (Old Fashioned)
2. Jackson Hole (Ghost Towns)
3. Best Girl of ’16 (An Evening With John Statz)
4. Song and Dance Man (Our Love Was Made For Canada)
5. Deeply Sunken High (Dusk Came Slow)

 

Press/Praise for Old Fashioned

The Pitch (Kansas City) – Q&A: John Statz on traveling, Bo Ramsey, and his latest, Old Fashioned 

Here in the Middle (South Dakota) – Interview Podcast 

No Depression John Statz – Old Fashioned

“…in a genre that is saturated with similar sounds and styles, Old Fashioned demonstrates that John Statz can stand beside the best and above the rest with his songwriting alone. I should also say that in these early months of 2012 with great releases from some fine folk and Americana artists, John Statz has created an album that equals.” – April Wolfe, No Depression

Cover Lay Down – Mailbox Mayhem, 2012: January releases… 

“And if we’re eager to spread the word, it’s because this album is the best thing we’ve heard so far this year: thick with the ringing tones of the American heartland, graceful in execution and delivery, and perfectly, exquisitely folk, in the same vein as generations of wandering troubadours before him.” – Cover Lay Down

Routes and Branches (Colorado) – January 23, 2012 

“This week’s strongest Colorado debut comes via John Statz, who falls gracefully in line with The Pines and Kelly Pardekooper in pegging Bo Ramsey to produce his Old Fashioned.” – Routes and Branches

Those Who Dig – John Statz – Distance 

“It’s hard to be wholly unique when working in such a time-worn genre as folk but the best new folk artists have learned that creating a singular sound is about subtlety and precision songwriting, not experimentation. You can hear from Old Fashioned’s first single “Distance” that Statz knows what he’s doing.” – Those Who Dig

European Press…

One Chord To Another (Finland) – John Statz – Old Fashioned 

“… a really strong and captivating album.” – One Chord To Another

RootsTime.be (Belgium) – John Statz – Old Fashioned

“… beautiful album from a talented and future promising singer -songwriter.” – RootsTime.be

Wake the Deaf (UK) – John Statz 

“Basically this is Americana at it’s very best.” – Wake the Deaf

AltCountry.nl (Netherlands) – Reviews: John Statz 

“…Americana in its purest form, as supported by acoustic guitar and a cathartic vocals.” – AltCountry.nl

Der Impuls (Germany) – MP3: John Statz

Johnny’s Garden (Netherlands) – John Statz – Old Fashioned 

Das Klienicum (Germany) – Eingestreut (348): John Statz

AltCountryForum (Netherlands) – John Statz – Old Fashioned

 

On the “Old Old Fashioned” (Frightened Rabbit) cover…

Cover Me Songs – John Statz Makes Frightened Rabbit Cover Sound “Old Old Fashioned” 

1146 Miles – John Statz – Old Old Fashioned (Frightened Rabbit Cover)

“It might seem sacrilegious for a Frightened Rabbit fan like myself to declare a cover of one of their songs better than the original but that’s what I’m going to do here. John Statz has stripped the song down to its essence and melded it along with the songs around into an album that captures a nostalgia that the title implies.” – 1146 Miles

New Music Collaborative – John Statz – Old Old Fashioned

John Statz worked magic into “Old Old Fashioned” from Frightened Rabbit’s 2008 album The Midnight Organ Fight and quite possibly made it better than the original.” – New Music Collaborative