"If it's the music of the last frontier you're after, Steve's the guy!" Jim Kloss, Whole Wheat Radio, Talkeetna Alaska.
"To hear Steve's songs is to hear the real Alaska." Doug Geeting, Doug Geeting Aviation, Talkeetna Alaska.
Take a touch of Americana,
A touch of Debussey,
Give a nod to the music of the Orient,
Weave them all together in a poetic tapestry,
And what you get is Steve Durr's Susitna Summer.
"I don't write for 'markets.' I write about where I live, and the people and times I've known these last thirty-seven years in Alaska." - - - Steve Durr
Steve Durr's songwriting career has its roots in 1960's Greenwich Village where he performed in some of the famous clubs of that era such as the Bitter End, The Cafe Wha?, The Cafe Bizarre, The Night Owl, The Gaslight and more.
How he ended up in Alaska before the decade was over is a long story, but fortunately one that is now in print. "The Coldman Cometh" (St Martin's Press, 2004. Also see "Down in Bristol Bay" by Bob Durr, St Martin's, 2001) is the saga of how the Durr family left their secure existence in upstate New york in 1968 for a new life of adventure (and misadventure) in the Alaskan wilderness.
Thirty some years later Steve is a central figure in the Alaskan folk scene. His songs are known for their poetic perception, humorous, as well as soulful insights, and the unique guitar and vocal stylings that he brings to his music. "Susitna Summer" was recorded in his log cabin twelve miles from the nearest road.
During the short Alaskan summer Steve comes down from the hills, so to speak, and sets up camp (as in: a tent) on the banks of the Talkeetna River closer to the tiny village of Talkeetna. This is his base of operations for what he calls his "river gig." Working with the local raft company, Talkeetna River Guides, Steve performs his original Alaskan songs three times a day on the riverbank to the surprise and delight of the people going by. Though the site is not more than a mile from the town, it is still roadless and wild and Steve may be the only musician in the world who has to look out for bears as he takes the stage.
Besides his club gigs and his "river gig," Steve has opened up for, or performed with Arlo Guthrie, Rambling Jack Elliott, John Gorka, Cheryl Wheeler, Doug Geeting, Peter Yarrow, Larry Zarella, Jon Durr, Little Feat, Karen Savoka & Pete Heitzman, Bruce Tetley, Don Paul Way, Bill Morrisey, Bill Staines, Brian Bowers, Johny Cunningham, The Toyes and more.Great memories all winter!
author: Annie Brock
Have enjoyed Susitna Summer and the memories of last summers float trip and Talkeetna all through this beautiful Alaskan winter. Plan to be there again this summer for more great unique Alaskan music!!
Steve is truly an Alaskan resource
author: Tom Lane
Steve's music has been a joy to listen to for decades. Susitna Summer is a classic tale set in Alaska but could be anywhere and about many we know. If you don't start singing these songs you missed the message.Keep up the good work brother!
Great lyrics. Unique arrangments and melodies. Great stuff.
author: Bruce Tetley
Susitna Summer is wonderful collection of personal highs and lows, environmental concerns, animal husbandry, and softball. What more could you ask for? Steve Durr's music is unique in it's melodies, arrangments, and lyrical profundity. I have been inspired by him and his music for nearly 40 years. Great stuff! Keep it coming!
Reviews
Great memories all winter!
author: Annie Brock
Have enjoyed Susitna Summer and the memories of last summers float trip and Talkeetna all through this beautiful Alaskan winter. Plan to be there again this summer for more great unique Alaskan music!!
Steve is truly an Alaskan resource
author: Tom Lane
Steve's music has been a joy to listen to for decades. Susitna Summer is a classic tale set in Alaska but could be anywhere and about many we know. If you don't start singing these songs you missed the message.Keep up the good work brother!
Great lyrics. Unique arrangments and melodies. Great stuff.
author: Bruce Tetley
Susitna Summer is wonderful collection of personal highs and lows, environmental concerns, animal husbandry, and softball. What more could you ask for? Steve Durr's music is unique in it's melodies, arrangments, and lyrical profundity. I have been inspired by him and his music for nearly 40 years. Great stuff! Keep it coming!
Steve Durr's Pancake Breakfast' a Tasty Thrill
“Steve Durr has an instantly classic sound while switching it up and surprising his listeners with something quite new to offer that make your ears perk up, hoping for more.”
“Fantastic lyrics.”
Josh Cole, review in The Frontiersman, Palmer Alaska. August, 2008.
Praise for Slow Boat From Baghdad
“No matter what Steve Durr is singing on Slow Boat From Baghdad his music's essence is his voice. No matter if he's weaving image-filled poetry about lost love or the war or living out of a tent, his voice is what imbues the words with life.
It's the voice of an older person, strong and capable, someone who knows things. Someone seasoned.
To revel in Durr's voice is not to take away from his works' other elements. His penchant fro expression through songwriting and production is one aspect that deserves positive mention too. He sings and plays with such an appropriate feel you hardly need lyrics to know what the song is about.
The title Durr bestowed on his album is a dreary reminder of what Baghdad has become synonymous with for Americans - - especially in context with the seductive jazz number Slow Boat to China that must have inspired it. Two of Durr's tracks are directly anti-war. He deserves applause for that.”
Lillie Dremeaux, review in Anchorage Daily News, January 2006
“His songs carry a tension reminiscent of Bruce Cockburn with the freewheeling observances of Loudon Wainwright lll.
You need not be an old friend with Durr to warm yourself by his fires. If you're hearing his work for the first time, Slow Boat From Baghdad is the kind of disc that will make you say, “Where has this guy's music been all my life?”
Mark Bialczek, Review in Syracuse Post Standard, October 2006
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Sorry so slow in sayin, 'Hey Steve! Thanks for the Add, man!' I yak some with Doug G. via the medium here. A fine feller and a helluva gitfiddle slapper. Also Sjofn and Brook Faulk. Heard that Leif Ericson kid too. Ain't he somethin' for one so young? A renaissance happenin' way up north. Your music has an easy familiarity to it, Steve, like tales around the campfire 'bout folks we all know. Bein' from northern Minnesota, there's a snowy bond you invoke with your lyrical odes, an unspoken kinship provided by the music that moves us most. Thank you for that. Well, it's late. Be well and, please, play another now, my friend...
