Bruce Kaphan profile picture

Bruce Kaphan

Zen music for dustbowl airports. ~Rolling Stone

About Me

You may have seen my name in album credits for American Music Club, Sheryl Crow, The Black Crowes, R.E.M., John Lee Hooker, Chris Isaak, Francesco De Gregori, Love & Rockets, Red House Painters and many others. Or you may have caught one of the live or television performances of David Byrne’s Feelings tour. Or Jewel’s Saturday Night Live or MTV Unplugged appearances, or one of American Music Club’s many live shows in support of the albums Everclear, Mercury or San Francisco. Maybe you saw the film Masked & Anonymous (staring Bob Dylan and many others…) and heard my underscore. Or perhaps you’ve seen my name in production or engineering credits on a wide variety of independent artists. Or perhaps you’ve read one of the many articles I’ve written for Recording Magazine. Or perhaps you’ve heard a cut from my solo album Slider- Ambient Excursions for Pedal Steel Guitar- following are some excerpts from reviews of this album:


    Kaphan makes Zen music for dustbowl airports. Bewitching instrumentals, sweet dreams of light and flight in which Kaphan's licks ring like prayer bells across an open Texas plain. - Rolling Stone Magazine
    This record is amazing. - Peter Buck (R.E.M.)
    An ambitious and groundbreaking effort… langorous, soulful expressivity. – The San Francisco Bay Guardian
    Kaphan pioneered new territory for the pedal steel in the’90’s with alt-rock cult faves American Music Club (not to mention supporting Chris Isaak, REM, John Lee Hooker, David Byrne and others), where he quickly liberated the instrument from Nashville stereotypes. SLIDER is an extensive rethinking of the pedal steel, with its silvery liquid tone refracted through Kaphan’s harmonic vocabulary, skillful arrangements and wide-ranging stylistic compass. – Backroadsmusic.com
    Like a Ry Cooder soundtrack, Slider not only delivers on atmosphere but actually possesses the ability to put you there. - Leicester Bangs
    Environments and textures that are intimate, stunningly beautiful, and even spiritual. - ARTISTdirect Network

For more in-depth information, please check out my website, www.BruceKaphan.com .

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 5/26/2007
Band Website: brucekaphan.com
Band Members: Bruce Kaphan
Hana & Figgy
Influences: The Beatles changed my whole universe. My interest in Indian music traces directly back to their use of Indian instruments.
Ali Akbar Khan

San Francisco bands turned me on to improvisation, such as:
Quicksilver Messenger Service
Grateful Dead

I was in a band which played aggressive, through-composed fusion. At that time my interests expanded to include more jazz with artists such as:
Pat Metheny
The Dixie Dregs
Freddie Hubbard
McCoy Tyner
Didier Lockwood
Terje Rypdal
Pat Martino

You can purchase Bruce's Slider CD by visiting the following websites:
Bruce Kaphan
Amazon
B 0 B
A Cup of Music
Strange Vibes
In Canada at Bent Music
To purchase the CD directly, please send $17.50 to:
Bruce Kaphan
P.O. Box 2012
Fremont, CA 94536

Bruce performing with Jewel on Saturday Night Live in 1997.
'Who Will Save Your Soul'
Look for Bruce on Pedal Steel up next to the standing Bass.
This performance can be found on
Saturday Night Live: 25 Years of Music DVD Vol. 5.

Add to My Profile | More Videos
Sounds Like: Bruce Kaphan
Record Label: unsigned
Type of Label: None

My Blog

For the Longest Time...

For the longest time, I've had an average of three ongoing production projects at any given time. At this moment I'm down to two, add a little insomnia and hence the time off to write this? Just a co...
Posted by Bruce Kaphan on Sun, 27 May 2007 08:51:00 PST