John Craigie returns to Santa Cruz for a show at Kuumbwa Jazz Center Saturday, Jan. 28.
John Craigie has plenty of stories and song material, partly because the modern-day troubadour is always on tour and has been for the past six years. He doesn’t even keep a home where he pays rent or a mortgage.
“I am literally on the road 100 percent of the year,” Craigie says. “You gotta keep moving. You don’t want to overstay your welcome anywhere.”
This Saturday Craigie, a UCSC alum, is playing his first headlining show in Santa Cruz. Since those early open mic days, Craigie, now 31, has honed a repertoire of serious songs like “So Many Lives” mixed with in with goofier choices like his YouTube classic, “Chuck Norris’ Tears Cure Cancer (Too Bad He Never Cries).”
Craigie’s mix of funny and serious stories is reminiscent of Greg Brown, Arlo Guthrie and Bob Dylan. Some audiences may walk out remembering his quirky song introductions and jokes more than his tunes themselves. It’s his unique delivery, after all, that has drawn comparisons to John Prine, Rambling Jack Elliot and even the late comedian Mitch Hedberg.
“It’s sort of a way of pulling the audience in and saying, ‘I don’t know if this is funny, but I’m going to hope it works,’” says Craigie, who is promoting his new album, October is the Kindest Month.
Craigie talks fast, using trademark cadence and well-timed pauses to give his stories extra punch and keep people coming back for more.
“People ask, ‘Are you worried you’re going to run out of stories?’” Craigie explains. “And I say, ‘As long as I’m still living, the stories are going to keep coming.’”
JOHN CRAIGIE plays Saturday, Jan. 28 at 7pm at Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar Street, Santa Cruz. Tickets $18 adv/$22 door at www.snazzyproductions.com or 831.479.9421.
