“Musically confident and emotionally vulnerable. His lyrics are refreshing and pleasantly unusual.”
BILLBOARD
 
“Exploring charged-up power pop, alternative country, classical and sacred music structures, new wave, and other experimental instrumentation within an acoustic rock framework, Rundman has garnered much acclaim, and for good reason.”
SILICON VALLEY METRO
 
“Do we really need another singer/songwriter who rambles on about life, love, politics, and the pursuit of happiness? When he is as melodically crafty and lyrically sharp as Jonathan Rundman, the answer is an enthusiastic ‘yes!’”
THE ROCKET, Seattle
 
Youth Encounter alum Jonathan Rundman has just released a new CD, Public Library. Jonathan kindly took some time recently to answer a few questions about his latest release, his artistic style and life as a new Dad. Read the full interview here (and don’t forget to check out his website, www.jonathanrundman.com).
 
Congratulations on the new CD! What were the most fun and challenging aspects about making this album?
 
The most fun thing about making the new album Public Library was working with my producer Walter Salas-Humara and his band The Silos. Walter is one of my musical heroes, and I’ve been a fan of The Silos since I was in high school. In fact, when I was touring with Youth Encounter on the North Central Captive Free team back in 1989-90, The Silos released their major-label debut album on RCA, and I remember buying that album (on cassette!) at a record store called Ernie November’s in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I listened to The Silos throughout that year, so to make an album with them was a total thrill. They’re fantastic instrumentalists, and they brought a lot of energy and dazzling musicianship to my songs.

There were some challenging aspects to the recording, but most of that was handled by my engineer John Simshauser, who is also a Youth Encounter alum. John toured on the East Coast team when I was on the North Central team 14 years ago (we were both right out of high school), and we have been friends and musical collaborators ever since. So John’s job was to do all the technical and computer dirty work so I could concentrate on the songs. He’s a genius, and he’s certainly responsible for how well the album turned out.

This is your seventh solo album (including a recording with artist Beki Hemingway and your live album). How has your style evolved since your first recording, “28 Days in the Yellow Room”?

Most of the evolution has taken place because of technology. When I recorded my first album back in 1992 I recorded it alone with a cassette 4-track recorder, one microphone, a bass, a guitar, and a drum machine that I bought from Youth Encounter...it was the drum machine that my first team used to perform with during concerts! The early recordings were very lo-fi and home-made. This latest album was recorded digitally with fancy computers and really good microphones, and mixed in New York City by an engineer who works on huge major-label releases. So that’s the big difference.


As far as my style of music, I don’t think that’s changed too much. I’ve always written fairly simple rock & roll songs based around acoustic guitar and harmonica, because that’s how I usually perform when I’m touring solo. My lyrics are pretty much the same, too...observational comments about romance, geography, travel, and everyday minutia, laced with Lutheran cultural references.

Congratulations also on becoming a new Dad! In what ways has fatherhood changed your perspective as an artist?

My son Paavo was born back in January, right as my new album was being mixed, so the songs on Public Library are sort of my last musical statements before Fatherhood. I haven’t written many new songs since his birth, so I’m not sure how my creative output will be affected by being a Dad. However, since Paavo’s arrival I’ve been aware that I’m no longer at the bottom of the generational ladder (with parents and grandparents above me). Now I’m a parent, in the middle of the ladder, with Paavo’s generation below me, and that has made me more interested in documenting and preserving a family heritage and history for Paavo’s generation. I’m trying to do that musically as well, so that’s why the album is called Public Library...I’m collecting and archiving my experiences as a young adult so that the next generation can have a record (a historical record AND a musical record!) that they can access in the future.

Where can we catch you live again in the future?

I’ll be playing shows with my trio at rock clubs around the Midwest this Fall. I’m also looking forward to performing at the ELCA Youth Ministry Network Extravaganza in Anaheim, CA in February of 2005. I also have some Lutheran College and Synod gatherings to play at in this coming school year.
 
 
For information about other recordings, live performances, how to book Jonathan, and more go to www.jonathanrundman.com.