John Houx

Back to Antifolk.net


Bio

Bio John Houx showed up in Manhattan like he showed up everywhere else, a directionless snow-covered stranger. Since hearing about Sidewalk Cafe in his first twelve hours on the island, he's hardly strayed more than a block from its door, except when the girl was really worth it. "I grew up on th west coast, cattle ranches in th hills n redwoods on th ocean. Learned guitar when I found one in a walnut barn. Worked a hundred jobs — fence builder, longshoreman, landscape gardener, sign painter, organic juice sample guy, forest park tour guide. Studied printmaking for a little. Always liked travelin, never liked plannin. One day I woke up an bought a suitcase t come t New York n play music. An to read a lotta books."

Press:
"Houx is what Dylan would be today if he'd retained his youth." - Urban Folk
"If Langhorne Slim has a fire in his belly, then John eats at the same lunch counter... This is that dreaded four-letter word, folk, that's still alive and revelatory." - Phoning It In, WMBR 88.1 Cambridge (phoningitin.net)

Why He's So Antifolk?

"Cause I hold 'folk' as th ideal, an Pete Seeger says folk is 'homemade-type music, played mainly by ear, arising out of older traditions but with a meaning for today.' Well that clearly defines today's Antifolk. Huggabroomstik is tomorrow's American folk music."