Greg Klaus/Mudville Project

Greg Klaus, singer/songwriter/leader for Tulsa World SPOT Music Award winner and SXSW 2006 showcasing artist, The Mudville Project, is now performing solo-acoustic. New recordings are in the works, so check back for uploads and updates.With the release of their first disc, Portico, The Mudville Project serves up a big helping of twangy roots-rock. Hints of Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy and even some Tom Petty shine through, as well as the ragged growl of Black Crowes, Sticky Fingers-era Stones and Faces. These influences make it apparent the band is connected to rock-n-roll's past, not just the current Americana and alt-country trends.Greg Klaus is the mastermind behind this little musical experiment as the primary songwriter and voice of The Mudville Project. As the original guitarist for Fanzine, Klaus has seen his share of success on the Tulsa music scene. When Fanzine won an Artist of the Year award in 2001 he realized something just wasn't right.For Klaus, winning the award was anticlimactic. "I didnt feel like an artist or that I was being true to myself," he shares. That epiphany was the point at which he decided he needed to get out. For all of the successes, the band and the process had become formulaic and old for him.Joining the band Simon Starbuck helped Klaus get out of the rut he had worked himself into. When Greg was ready to work on the material that would end up as The Mudville Project, he called on Simon Starbuck guitarist Randy Patton, drummer Matt Brantley, and bassist Chuck Martin, who played bass on a number of tracks before stepping away when he re-located to Oklahoma City. Completing the musical equation is Grant Vespasian, whose ties to Klaus go back to being the original bass player for Fanzine.Considering the histories of the players involved, this band might seem like a fairly radical departure from their previous endeavors. If you sit down to discuss the music with them, though, its obvious that its a matter of circling back to their roots and the basis of the music they love.So where is this mysterious Mudville? As Greg explains it, "I grew up in Miami (OK), and we fondly referred to it as 'Mudville.'" The name just seemed to fit the band. "Were going back to where we came from, musically. You can change a lot about yourself, but not where youre from."