Jack Erdie

"Erdie's jovial stage banter and strong voice earned him a warm response, while the bluntness of his material took a little getting used to -- almost like you'd asked a friend some simple questions, and the responses happened to rhyme."
-- Aaron Jentzen, Pittsburgh City Paper
"Many [singer-songwriters] are lost in the crowd of folks who have not mastered their musical instruments, their word-smithing or learned from those who have gone before them.
"Jack Erdie stands apart from that crowd. His song-writing transcends the merely personal to stand apart in a place of common experience that will make his songs relevant and meaningful to most listeners."
-- Tampa Blue, FAME (Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange)
"How I could be living in the same city as someone this good without having ever heard or met him? His songs commanded attention, his vocal-range wide and powerful, his rhythms compelling, and his imagery and command of language as sophisticated as anything I'd ever heard.
" Life-changing stuff."
-- Robert A. Wagner, Calliope Folk Music Newsletter
"His political, social or intensely personal messages bristle with a passion that doesn't quite draw blood. Remnants of his theater background surface in his powerful voice, nuanced delivery and compelling stage sense. Remnants of his rural childhood surface in his songs."
-- John Hayes, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"His music is like a transmission on the midnight radio over cultural barriers and national borders. " -- Kiyoshi Fujioka, Japanese playwright
Born in West Virginia. Raised on fear, violence, gospel, Elvis, and Johnny Cash. Brother drowned when he was 13. Traded a pellet gun for his first guitar a few months later. Discovered Dylan, the Beatles. Then got turned on to Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, John Prine, and a bunch of dead blues men. Played solo for twenty-five years, in restaurants and coffee shops. Took an acting detour for twelve years. Woodshedded for three years, crafted songs, strengthened his voice and marketed his tail off. Tail still missing.