Review Fix Exclusive: John Kruth Talks TriBeCaStan

TriBeCaStan is in the middle of their sound check in a room with dim lighting and long dark curtains that somehow reflect the flickering light from the candles placed on the square tables. The setup is beautiful and cozy, yet different- a perfect compliment to their sound.

All of the band members are casually dressed with either a loose button up or super casual T-shirts, except for one – John Kruth, music journalist, musician, and co-founder of TriBeCaStan. Dressed in a black shirt similar to that of a dashiki, with striped black pants and bold red boots. Kruth certainly has his own sense of personal style.

TriBeCaStan is a “genre-bending jazz and world-music” group, each band member plays several instruments each, that were mostly learned through self-teaching, which include the mandolin, accordion, flute, keyboard, banjo, sitar, the harmonica and various horns including the trumpet and trombone. Although some of their instruments are derived from a plethora of different cultures and countries, Kruth believes that music is a universal language.

“The Angels don’t care where the instrument comes from, as long as you play with love”, he stated. “I saw the power of music when I was a kid. Music played a huge role in Civil Rights… It’s like creating a dialogue or speaking a language.”

The band name itself is a distinctive and unique one, having been created by Jeff Greene, co-founder of TriBeCaStan alongside Kruth.
“That was the brainchild of my partner Jeff Greene, the only member of the band who lives in Tribeca”, said Kruth. “With all of our various influences and unusual instruments, people would ask where our music came from and Jeff answered ‘Tribecastan’.”

With a unique band name such as theirs, and the use of some of the most foreign instruments from around the world, one shouldn’t be shocked when they come across the song titles from Tribecastan’s fourth studio album, “New Songs from the Old Country,” “Corned Beef and Sake,” “Dance of the Terrible Bear” and “Communist Modern” (which Kruth described on stage as their “Eastern daydream”) are just some of the songs from their most recent CD. “The song titles are portraits of people; I’m just a portrait painter.”

Kruth compared the first album to the act of “picking apples” in the way that he and Greene were “feeling their way through it” and mostly experimenting. The second album as a whole, he described as having “gypsy rock elements to it” and the third as being comprised of “world jazz elements.”

This fourth CD, however, is the most musically diverse of theirs to date with a mix of what Kruth says is, “chamber jazz, has a parlor music quality at times, a folk chamber feel, and Arabic classical music”, including the usage of the obo and Portuguese guitar.

“It’s the multicultural aspect of TriBeCaStan… to create union and peace with music, melody and culture”, he continued, “We can write an African folk song on Chinese instruments. You have to be willing to take the risk.”

To further make his point, he quoted Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity. “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Kruth’s method of composing the music is just as unconventional as their musical choices. He refers to it as “an organic process.” “They write it out, I just sit there and say ‘this is how it goes.’”

“The greatest, most important thing of the 20th century was Black Music”, said Kruth about other cultures that inspire the sound of TriBeCaStan. “Louie Armstrong, Jimi Hendrix, Little Richard, Aretha Franklin. How do you get that kind of feeling in the music?!” He’s moved by blues, Moroccan music, country music, and Eastern European folk music. What he says is “leftover stuff from my past life.”

Growing up, Kruth listened to country music, The Beatles, and Rolling Stones and considers his biggest heroes two people who many just might be familiar with – John Lennon and George Harrison. And one would be able to tell with just one conversation with him. “My hope is that the music becomes more human, and will inspire other humans to be more,” he said. “I’d give everything I have for a week of no murder.”

His laid back, “peace and love” attitude seems to transfer over into his creation of the music. The self-described “soul doctor,” when performing on stage, is more concerned about the feeling of the music and band, rather than the audience and their opinion.
“I’m happy that they’re happy, but I’m not necessarily going to change anything to please them.” He simply feels that his job is to “keep the soul aloft.” “Let’s heal this place,” he said. His job as a musician is “to create more harmony.”

With nine CDs under his belt before TriBeCaStan, Kruth has familiarity with being solo and working with a band. “They’re totally different experiences.”

Although he is co-founder of the band, Kruth still remains humble and open to ideas that could expand their scope.
“It’s not about me, it’s about the unification of spirits,” he said. “I love to play with the band. We created a vehicle for people to express themselves through. It’s a vehicle for a tribe.”

He stresses this point as he illustrates it as building “a community for expression.” As for the future of the band, they’re going to continue to make music. “Our goal is to travel all over the world and hopefully continue to draw these influences together.”

One thing is for sure, the music is going to bring that TriBeCaStan sound, style and feel that make people get out of their seats and dance at concerts, stomp their feet, clap their hands, and bop their heads at concerts.

“You are what you eat, and if you really listen, and you’re really engaged, you are what you listen to.”