Joel Kraft is a curious animal that grew up among the rolling hills of Missouri. Climbing trees and walking through tunnels of Brush Creek, his head swam with all kinds of notions he could only just pin down and understand by singing them out loud over and over again. At first he sang them to himself, then into microphones he found at coffee shops and bars around the US. There were other people then, who would listen while sitting, or dance or sometimes sing along.
What were those songs about? I don’t think Joel himself knew all the way. Were they about someone in particular? About an event? His songs are built with impressions, one stacked upon another to arrive at something new, perhaps the same way each letter in our alphabet was once a symbol for a thing or action, but now can be arranged in strings to mean all kinds of different things.
This fascination with language and experience begins every moment of Joel’s performance, which often feels like more like a series of discoveries than a broadcast. He likes people very much (especially singing people), and his favorite part of performing is discovering new moments with them.
