John Kadlecik
John Kadlecik (born June 28, 1969 in Council Bluffs , Iowa ) is an American musician who became known as the singer and guitarist of the band Dark Star Orchestra .
youth
John Kadlecik was born the son of a city manager and an artist. Due to his father's job, the family moved several times, which included a younger sister, so that John Kadlecik grew up in Omaha ( Nebraska ), Cincinnati ( Ohio ) and Davenport ( Iowa ). His parents divorced early, with Kadlecik continuing to move with his father and his mother staying in Cincinnati. In Davenport he started playing the violin at the age of 9, because he was enthusiastic about the violin parts in the soundtrack to Star Wars .
He came into contact with rock 'n' roll in Palatine ( Illinois ), where he went to high school. Since his experiences with the orchestra programs there were rather bad, he was open to new ideas. With his new interest in this music, he taught himself to play the guitar and the mandolin. At that time he played in a few smaller bands and learned the basics of multi-track recorders .
After high school he moved to Harper College and chose "classical guitar music" as his major, which he did not devote much time to, due to playing in bands and living on his own two feet. A friend introduced him to the music of the Grateful Dead . Although the Deads have just released their most successful studio album, In the Dark , it was the older albums Europe '72 and Mars Hotel that really appealed to him. Kadlecik then increased his interest in playing as a musician and left college. In addition to the Grateful Dead, he was interested in guitarists such as Jimmy Page and David Gilmour .
Musician career
After dropping out of college, Kadlecik was active in the Chicago music scene from 1990, with the bands "Hairball Willie" and "Uncle John's Band" (a Grateful Dead cover band) being the better known. With “Hairball Willie” he released his first album called “Just Defying Gravity”, which also received a review in the music magazine Relix.
From 1989 to 1995 he attended 50 Dead concerts, 15 shows by the Jerry Garcia Band and several appearances by Planet Drum and Ratdog , which increased his interest in the Grateful Dead.
In 1997 he founded the tribute band Dark Star Orchestra together with keyboardist Scott Larned with the aim of performing old Grateful Dead live shows and repeating them in full detail. John Kadlecik took over the guitar and vocals from Jerry García .
After the band became known, various guest musicians appeared, including former Grateful Dead musicians such as Phil Lesh , Bob Weir and Bill Kreutzmann . The line-up of the band also changed over time, so Scott Larned died in 2005, who was eventually replaced by Rob Barraco . In total, Kadlecik spent 12 years at DSO with national tours in the USA and several albums and DVDs released.
Outside of DSO, Kadlecik worked with other musicians. Together with Melvin Seals and other musicians, he founded the group "The Mix", for which Robert Hunter could also be supported. In 2004 the only album ("The American Spring") of this short-term group was released.
Kadlecik continued to work with Seals and was involved as a guitarist on his 2005 album "Keepers of the Flame".
In 2009 he left the Dark Star Orchestra. Together with Phil Lesh and Bob Weir he founded the formation “ Furthur ”, with which he recorded several live albums and took part in national festivals. He also played in the "John K Band", which plays regionally around Washington, DC .
Trivia
Kadlecik is married to the musician Katy Gaughan and lives in Washington DC.
Discography
- 1992 Hairball Willie, Just Defying Gravity
- 2004 The Mix, The American Spring
- 2005 Melvin Seals, Keepers of the Flame
- 2005 Dark Star Orchestra, Live at the Fillmore (DVD)
- 2007 Dark Star Orchestra, Dark Star Orchestra at All Good Music Festival 7/12/07
- 2008 Dark Star Orchestra, Ithaca 30 Years Later (DVD)
- from 2009 various live albums with Furthur
literature
- Dean Budnick: Jambands: The Complete Guide to the Players, Music, & Scene. Backbeat Books 2003, ISBN 0879307455
Individual evidence
Web links
- Artist homepage including biography
- MySpace profile
- Twitter account
- Interview on deadheadland.com
- Interview on Dead.net
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kadlecik, John |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American guitarist and singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 28, 1969 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Council Bluffs , Iowa , USA |