Gerd Krause
(Pronounced Gaird Krau-ze)
The
life of Gerd Krause changed
drastically one day when he was about ten years old. Up to that point
he'd been a relatively “normal” ten year old in Vernon BC, Canada. Falling off
his bicycle. Annoying his parents. Playing hockey badly (even for a ten
year old).
It's probably wrong to blame the neighbors. How could they possibly
have known? They might have thought they were just being nice. Whatever
the motivation, one day they decided to give the young kid next door a
beat up old guitar that wasn't being used anymore. It was a Silvertone.
Practically unplayable and definitely untunable. That didn't stop young
Gerd from becoming obsessed with the thing. He started to spend his
evenings teaching himself how to read and play music. So long to that
last sparkle of hope for an NHL career.
Even at that tender age Gerd realized the folly of his obsession. As he
got older he tried going to college and taking a sensible career path,
but there it always was, sitting in some corner of the room, saying
“play me, play me.” Not the same guitar, but a much nicer one by that
time. Rock & Roll beat out differential equations in the end. So
long to that last sparkle of hope for a sensible career path.
After finally giving up on the idea of ever having a relatively normal
life, Gerd returned to school, this time taking two years of jazz
studies at Malaspina College In Nanaimo (back when it was called that).
Around the same time he started playing classical guitar in some of the
local restaurants, and a few years later started playing with country
bands in the local bars.
In 1994, Gerd relocated to Alberta, and thereafter spent many years
touring western Canada with cover bands, doing solo acoustic shows,
hosting open-mic nights, and generally hanging out in places of
questionable repute.
Gerd's real passion has moved towards acoustic fingerstyle guitar over
the years and the emphasis has shifted back to playing solo, creating a
full sound with just one guitar, one voice, and some foot stomping.
Influenced by jazz, blues, traditional country, bluegrass, and ragtime,
Gerd's original songs cover all of these styles and then some.
Bottleneck blues, Travis-picking, and walking bass swing are all fair
game. This combination of diverse musical styles along with quirky and
sometimes witty lyrics makes for some interesting and unusual songs.
Since 2008 Gerd has been living in the small town of Maple Creek,
Saskatchewan, where he continues to play guitar and also pursue that
ever elusive “normal” life.