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U.P./MARQUETTE MUSICIAN KURT PROND ONE OF 10 REGIONAL FINALISTS IN NATIONAL SONGWRITING COMPETITION
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U.P./MARQUETTE MUSICIAN KURT PROND ONE OF 10
REGIONAL FINALISTS IN NATIONAL SONGWRITING COMPETITION...U.P./MARQUETTE MUSICIAN KURT PROND ONE OF 10
REGIONAL FINALISTS IN NATIONAL SONGWRITING COMPETITION
Online voting ends Sept. 1 at newsong-music.com
MARQUETTE, Mich. – Accolades for Kurt Prond’s second CD release Prone to Wander have culminated in his nomination as a regional finalist in the nationally recognized Mountain Stage NewSong Contest.
Now in its eighth year, The Mountain Stage NewSong Contest is one of North America's premier showcases for performing songwriters across ALL genres of music. The contest is interested in finding, promoting and working with the most talented songwriters who perform their own songs, regardless of style.
An Ishpeming native, Prond’s intimate acoustic folk instrumentals and lyrics come straight from his Upper Peninsula youth and recent concert tour of the Pacific Northwest. Prond currently resides in Marquette, Mich.
His 2008 release Prone To Wander has been hailed as a call to arms for a generation frustrated by the traps inherent in the ‘American dream’. He has been writing about social and environmental themes since the 2006 release of his inaugural CD titled Away With The Stone. Both albums are available on iTunes.
Prond is one of 10 regional finalists who were asked to hold a ‘virtual’ performance for the nation by uploading a video of a song to YouTube. NewSong Contest judges will review each finalist’s footage to select a winner. In addition to the official winner there will be a "People's Choice" award for each region based on popular vote through newsong-music.com.
The Mountain Stage NewSong Contest will then select 12 nationwide finalists to perform in the international contest finals, Oct. 10 in the Charleston (W.Va.) Cultural Center Theater — the home venue of the internationally broadcast Mountain Stage radio and television program. All finalists will attend the Mountain Stage show on Sunday, Oct. 11 in Charleston, W.Va., where one of the contest's five co-winners will be a featured performer of the show. At least one of the five NewSong Contest co-winners will be invited to perform on National Public Radio's Mountain Stage program.
NewSong's partner MOUNTAIN STAGE™ is public television and National Public Radio's venerable live performance music program, produced both on the road and at home and heard worldwide on more than 125 radio stations, Sirius/XM Satellite Radio and the "Voice of America." Now in its 27th year, the show has a long and storied tradition of featuring national and international acts in all styles of music and of launching emerging acts to stardom.
Mountain Stage presents acts ranging from traditional roots, blues and country, to avant-garde rock, world beat, jazz and more. The show's guest list is the most stylistically varied of any national radio or television performance program. It has showcased over two thousand artists since 1983. The short list of those who have made their national debut on the show include the Barenaked Ladies, Ryan Adams, Sheryl Crow, Norah Jones and Alison Krauss.
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If ever there was a fitting title for a first solo album, then Kurt Prond's
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If ever there was a fitting title for a first solo album, then Kurt Prond’s “Prone to Wander” takes ...If ever there was a fitting title for a first solo album, then Kurt Prond’s “Prone to Wander” takes the cake.
The title seems to sum up the 25-year-old musician perfectly. A native of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Prond can fit everything he owns in the back of his car, which is ideal, since he covers quite a bit of territory while he’s on tour.
Musically, the St. Olaf College graduate has drifted, too. In high school, he played trumpet in the school band, sang in Michigan’s All-State choir and taught himself to play guitar. He’s played in a pop-rock band with religious overtones, led Christian worship bands and formed his own bluegrass group.
Still, for the past few years Prond’s message has remained consistent: He’s not satisfied with what American society has to offer.
“The structure that has been set up traps a lot of people,” Prond said. “People end up doing something that they are not passionate about and don’t love. My goal personally is freedom from that.”
It’s a heartfelt theme that Prond delivers without anger or accusation in the sparse but intimate acoustic folk music that comprises “Prone to Wander.” On Friday, March 13, the former Northfield resident will perform a mix of songs from the album and new material at the Lion’s Lair in Buntrock Commons on the St. Olaf College campus.
Prond’s unique brand of folk music is driven by the lyrical content of his songs, and the socially- and environmentally-conscious message therein. But the musician also draws a lot of his inspiration from prominent folk artists like Simon and Garfunkel and Bob Dylan, not to mention his own life experience. A seasonal forest ranger for 9 million acres of wilderness in Montana, Prond has sold many of his possessions in an effort to embrace a less materialistic lifestyle, a topic that Prond approaches with a certain amount of frankness, both in his music and in conversation.
“We need to do what we love to do, otherwise we die inside,” Prond said. “I think that, for me, that message is even more important than the music itself.”
KURT PROND
AGE: 25
HOMETOWN: Ishpeming, Mich.
FIRST INSTRUMENT HE EVER PLAYED: Trumpet
ALBUMS ON HIS PLAYLIST: “I See Things Upside Down” by Derek Webb, “Forever Ago” by Bon Iver, “Why Should the Fire Die” by Nickel Creek.
WHAT MUSIC MEANS TO HIM: “Music expresses what we can’t express with words.”
KURT PROND SPRING TOUR
WHAT: A concert featuring St. Olaf graduate and former Northfield resident Kurt Prond.
WHERE: The Lion’s Lair, in Buntrock Commons on the St. Olaf College campus.
WHEN: 8 p.m. on Friday, March 13. Prond will also perform and answer questions on KYMN Radio show “A Long Way Home,” from 7 to 9 p.m. on Sunday, March 15. The show is hosted by Will Healy.
COST: The concert is free and open to the public.
By David Henke Staff Writer
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Kurt Prond 2x
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Kurt Prond X 2
MATT DRISCOLL: HE'S GOT A PONYTAIL, BUT PROBABLY NO SUBARU >>>
Leave it to a guy ...Kurt Prond X 2
MATT DRISCOLL: HE'S GOT A PONYTAIL, BUT PROBABLY NO SUBARU >>>
Leave it to a guy with a pony tail, an acoustic guitar and (I assume) a large collection of well worn John Denver records to preach the ills of 9 to 5 doldrums, materialistic desires and wearing shoes. OK, OK. I made the shoe wearing part up. To the best of my knowledge, Kurt Prond has nothing against wearing shoes — though he certainly looks and sounds the part of a guy who’d go over well with the co-op shopping, off-the-grid minds I came to know and love while spending time in Olympia. He’s like James Taylor with a Subaru or two Paul Simons stacked on top of one another slowly strumming songs about why it sucks to have a job. OK, OK. I don’t know if Prond has a Subaru, either. But the rest of that was true.
Tonight, Prond will take the stage at the Mandolin Cafe. Tomorrow he'll grace the stage at the New Frontier.
[Mandolin Café, Saturday, Jan. 24, 8 p.m., no cover, 3923 S. 12th St., Tacoma, 253.761.3482]
[The New Frontier Lounge, Sunday, Jan. 25, 9 p.m., 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, 253.572.4020]
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The Wandering Kurt Prond Makes a Stop Locally
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From rainy Oregon Kurt Prond has wandered, through the Northwest he has trekked, playing show a... From rainy Oregon Kurt Prond has wandered, through the Northwest he has trekked, playing show after show; along the way he has seen some amazing little town venues, picked up a fellow musician, and almost lost a tire. Through everything Kurt has retained what it is that keeps his dedication to his music so strong, and that is to remain true and write from the heart.
Kurt stopped at the New Moon Café on the 15th and is making his way back to the Upper Peninsula, where he grew up, on a Northwest tour that happens to be his very first. Starting out in Portland, where He now resides, Kurt headed across the Northern States including Montana, where Matt Tires joined the excursion. Kurt and Matt have known each other for a while and initially met while working for the Forest service in the Big Sky state. The two of them pooled their talent on the café stage for a few songs that gave the audience a little more depth with a variety of sound. Kurt Laughed as he told me how Matt’s music has morphed; “This is some of his older stuff…” Kurt continues on to tell me how Matt has come from playing folk-rock, much like that of Kurt who plays acoustic folk, to a more hardcore genre that borderlines metal. From Montana the two of them made stops in South Dakota, Minnesota and our very own town, here in the dairy capital. “It’s been pretty smooth” says Kurt when commenting on where the trip has taken him. It’s hard to tell that Kurt has only embarked on a single tour; he plays exceedingly well and is clearly comfortable on a foreign stage. Luck has been on Kurt’s side not only in the sense that the trip has been unimpeded, but also for the fact that he tells me that he is presumably going to make money on this trip, something that is rare for a starting musician.
Kurt, as is perceived quickly when listening to his performance, is very serious about what he does and he has an honorable message that reoccurs in many of his songs. Kurt does not follow the beaten path; he does not share in the “American Dream.” “You go to college and then you get a degree and you get a good job to pay off your loans, and you get a mortgage and a family with three kids… I want to do some other things.” Rooting his music in the theme of living a truly personal life, with personal goals and ambitions; Kurt accomplishes not only some well crafted lyricism but a melody that accompanies his words like a glove. The attitude Kurt carries can be traced back to his college years at Saint Olaf outside the Twin Cities. Kurt was pressured to switch his music major to musical education on the basis that occupations in music are too scarce aside from education. After heeding to the words of his peers for a few years it became increasingly evident that His future did not lay in teaching, but rather general music. Trying to make Music his vocation “I guess I’m doing it,” Kurt states. He is doing it and doing it well. Do not be surprised to hear of Kurt again, more than likely in an article or on the cover of some major music magazine. If he can continue the course he has set out upon Kurt definitely has the talent to become a major player in Folk music. His new Album Prone to Wander is testament to that. My hopes are high that not only will Kurt Prond continue his blossoming career as a musician but that he will again return to Oshkosh or in the very least, Wisconsin. I also anticipate a larger audience in the future and encourage anyone who has taken the time to read through this article to explore their own scene of music on a local level. Kurt Prond earns a solid 9 for his acoustic compositions.
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Ode to Kurt Prond
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King of pretending to be drunk, this guy will swerve
his old tan Buick down deserted streets,
hitt...King of pretending to be drunk, this guy will swerve
his old tan Buick down deserted streets,
hitting potholes and narrowly missing the curb.
He’ll lean towards you and grab your shoulder
while the steering wheel whines like Chewbacca
at every turn. “This guy,” he’ll say, voice wavering,
looking at the dashboard, “This guy’s a real ballplayer.”
All this after he throws back Blue Moon and Sam Adams
with the rest. He’ll hog all the stories; he’ll belt out
fables you wouldn’t believe no matter how much you swallow,
tall tales about climbing sheer cliffs, rebuking deer,
and demons who speak Russian. He looks like a prophet,
starts his prayers with “Father,” and laughs himself out of breath.
He finds secret wild asparagus patches and jumps
into trees when he gets restless, or sometimes drives to Montana.
One day he got an itch in his arteries, and now he’s simmering
across the country, being brought to a boil on the mountain
before coming down all aglow. Deadly on guitar,
bicep tensed, fingers glide across the fret board.
Get him behind a piano and he’ll hang you out to dry,
he’ll whip your folds in the breeze, while water drips off.
He sings like he’s melting, like he’s about to break
into tears before the buildup to the climax,
a wall of noise, and breathless, you never want dry eyes.
He’ll pound peace into your chest until you arrive.
Adam Dolezal
