Artist description Singer-songwriter Dudley Saunders combines Kentucky roots-music with experimental jazz inflections in eerie songs that sound both ancient and futuristic. He weaves Tom Waits-like streetlife poetry alongside backwoods Bible-speak in songs like "Jesus Didn't Love Us Enough", even evoking drug euphoria ("Love In Crystal"), family turmoil ("The Locust") and obsessive homoeroticism ("Love Song for Jeffrey Dahmer"). With his snakey, tight-vibratoed voice and Joni Mitchell-ish guitar technique, he is nearly impossible to ignore - even when his subject matter might shock.

Music Style Alternative Acoustic

Musical Influences Elliot Smith, Patti Smith, Joni Mitchell, Lyle Lovett, Nirvana, Gram Parsons, Gillian Welch, Tom Waits, Rickie Lee Jones, Radiohead, Waylon Jennings

Similar Artists Jeff Buckley, Rickie Lee Jones, Ani Difranco

Artist History Like k.d. lang before him, Dudley Saunders started out as an East Village performance artist, whose work The New York Times said had "a kind of hallucinatory power so forceful that one admires him for surviving it." However, as performance art world began to crumble under the attacks of Senator Jesse Helms, Saunders found himself inspired by Nirvana's success to pour all his energy into the music that previously made up only half of his performance pieces. "I realized," Saunders says, "that Nirvana was evoking a horrifying and deeply upsetting world, but the audience that had trouble with hearing this in other art forms had no trouble listening to it in their music." With that revelation, Saunders turned all his energies into his music, recording his solo album, RESTORE, for Fang in 1996.

Group Members On RESTORE:Dudley Saunders: Acoustic Guitar & Vocals:Chris Cochrane: Producer & Electric GuitarBradley Jones: Bowed Bass (on "Jacob's Ladder")Reuben Radding: BassAndrea Parkins: Accordion & Pump OrganJon Feinberg: DrumsBob Hoffner: Pedal SteelAlex Tobias: Penny Whistle & HarmonicaDina Emerson: Background VocalsY'All: Background Vocals

Instruments Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Bass, Accordion, Pump Organ, Drums, Pedal Steel, Harmonica, Penny Whistle

Albums Solo: RESTORE, 1996, Fang Records; As member of SUCK PRETTY: 3 HEADS, 1996, Knitting Factory Outlet; With Brian Woodbury, ReR QUARTERLY, 1997; Vocals on CHURCH OF BETTY, Fang Records, 1995

Press Reviews "Sheer brilliance! Well-structured and fully realized, 'RESTORE' possesses a truthfulness that simply cannot be overemphasized. 'RESTORE' could be the cusp of a long run that delights critics and outsmarts those who dare try to pigeonhole him." SOUTHERN VOICE (Atlanta)"Disquieting! Saunders speaks for all those silent voices and he does so in eloquent constructions. Call him the Joni Mitchell of the gay music movement. One of the most intelligent offerings of the year." MUSIC CONNECTION"A haunting album that sticks in one's mind and deserves repeated hearings." BALTIMORE ALTERNATIVE"(Starred Review) This is nourishment for the intelligent, introspective adult listener." - BILLBOARD"Eery yet emotionally powerful and graceful post-modern folk songs. Saunders' haunting, tremulous voice possesses a stark, otherworldly quality which beautifully transmits a wide range of emotions, honestly conveying an amazing sense of vulnerability and pain." -- IMPACT (New Orleans)"Achieves a new kind of testament, one to which everyone would be wise to pay attention." OUTLINES (Chicago)

Location Los Angeles, CA - USA

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