Joe Crookston "Fall Down as the Rain" "Top-12-Do-It-Yourself Recording"-- Performing Songwriter Magazine Fall 2004 "Go see this man perform".... his audience rapport and playful stage presence is intense, mesmerizing, and refreshingly dynamic. "Oh my heavens! This CD is wonderful. WUMB (Boston) is playing it a great deal. Congratulations on a terrific sounding recording of well written songs." Marilyn Rea Beyer, Music Director WUMB Public Radio Network-Boston "I've watched audiences glued to their seats at the end of Joe's shows simply not wanting the evening to end. There is a spirit in his music that is simultaneously sacred, celebratory and solidly grounded in tradition.......... Go see this man perform, and don't be surprised if you drive home singing his songs with a renewed sense of what's possible." --Seattle Folklore Society Joe Crookston's music and songwriting is deeply rooted in the grand celebration of life, death, ancestry and the interconnectedness of us all. Born and raised in rural Ohio, with Hungarian musical blood in his veins, he inherited his love of music and song from his late mother, an extremely prolific gospel singer/songwriter and accordion polka wizard. His music draws from his rural Ohio roots and exudes a remarkable intergenerational, universal, and timeless quality. His keen musicianship as guitarist, clawhammer banjo player, fiddler, singer and songwriter fuse contemporary and traditional elements, with his crafted "Neruda-esque" writing style. His latest release "Fall Down as the Rain", was chosen by Performing Songwriter Magazine as a 2004 "TOP-12-Do-It-Yourself" independent recording, and two of his songs (including the title track of his latest CD "Fall Down as the Rain") recently won runner-up in the folk category in the prestigious National John Lennon Songwriting Contest. Joe's music continues to fill the airwaves of public radio stations across the US, and his songs have been featured on National Public Radio's All Songs Considered, as well as Syndicated Minnesota Public Radio. He has shared festival stages with the likes of Livingston Taylor, John McCutcheon, Arlo Guthrie, and Tim Reynolds, Claudia Schmidt and many others. "Fall Down as the Rain", was named "Best Folk Recording for March 2004" by Seattle's KBCS radio, and is a beautiful exploration of the cycles of life, death, and the awesomeness of being alive. Sing Out! Magazine - Fall 2004 says.... "His melodies are varied and the harmonies perfectly complimentary. With all the performers out there, an artist has to go beyond good...and Joe does. There isn't a weak cut on this recording." "Joe's songs are powerful, simple, distilled lyrical paintings weaving together cycles of life and decay, cycles of joy and pain, and eventually they thread the needle through all of us..." He is a commanding, charismatic performer. Be glad Joe's one of the good guys, because otherwise, he'd be dangerous. Victory Music Review - "Get this CD, you'll be glad you did"