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  THE VEGAN SON OF A COWBOY, JOHN HOUX is named for his great-great, the notorious robber of Wells Fargo Stagecoaches. Carrying on the family tradition, this younger Houx (pronounced "Who") was shooting guns at two years old and teaching himself to read at three, but his many speech impediments made him indecipherable to the outside world for a decade. After running away from school and the ranch he became a rock-n-roll gypsy teen, travelling the West in buses with MTV-arena-rock friends, then went East alone with only a suitcase and a magic old parlor guitar from under a bed. By the time he caught a ride to New York City in 2007, he was a hobo without shelter, possessions or even original songs, but within months knocked over the folk and "Antifolk" scenes with a flood of plain-spoken and timeless new writings in his singular voice.

  John now lives in Harlem where he is known as "Snowflake," recording his nightly dreams and studying a 1939 Boy Scout manual. He has played 46 states and half of Europe with the likes of The Mountain Goats, Alela Diane and Great Lake Swimmers and his full-length debut, JOHN HOUX'S GREEN PERIOD, was recorded in one night and independently released in June 2009.