Troast of Lake Geneva takes his music to the people

Bob Dylan might have talked about bringing it all back home, but Lake Geneva singer and songwriter Jon Troast put that idea into practice and recently spent 100 days playing 100 gigs in living rooms across America. The breath-taking (literally) tour was in support of Troast's great "Living Room" CD, his fourth.

Now, that's taking your music to the people.

Those in-home gigs were a perfect way to promote his intimate music. His mix of folky and funky is melodic and gripping. Troast's vocals are often compared to those of David Gray and he earns comparisons to everyone from John Mayer to Ben Kweller to James Taylor to Cat Stevens.

While those all make some sense, to hear Troast is to recognize that he's his own man with his own style. Among his fans, Troast can count radio man Garrison Keillor.

Luckily, that style involves never taking himself too seriously. Troast is ready to try anything to get you to listen to his music. Currently, he's living off CD and digital download revenues alone and gigging for free.

We caught up with him on the road, where he responded via e-mail from a truck stop in Florida, somewhere between Lutz and Melbourne.

OnMilwaukee.com: You are the king of great promotional ideas, but ones that can betough on you. For example 100 living room gigs in 100 days. Tell us a bit about that and how it went?

Jon Troast: Well, it went great! From March 20 to June 27 of '09 I toured the country from California to Maine, playing in living rooms and sleeping on couches every night. The basic goal was just to finish it. With only one flat tire, and no major obstacles, it went as smoothly as it could have. I wasn't sure what I'd feel like by the end, but honestly, No. 97, 98, etc. were still a lot of fun. Because each one was unique, it kept it interesting for me.

OMC: Do you have any living room gig horror stories?

JT: Thankfully, nothing too traumatic personally. I've actually played a couple outdoor "living room" concerts, and those can be a little more exciting -- a car accident, a rogue gang of geese, a neighbor with a lawnmower, etc. but never where I felt in danger. Depending on the group, things can be a little awkward -- (like) people staring at you while you eat your dinner -- but as long as you go in ready to adapt, it works out fine.

OMC: That jaunt, of course, tied in with your "Living Room" CD. How has the response been to the record?

JT: Great! It has a bit more of a "living room" feel compared to some of my other CDs. For many people, the living room concert concept is new. The songs on the CD pull from my experiences and provide a bit of a soundtrack for their concert experience.

OMC: Now you're about halfway through your plan to gig for free for the first six months of the year, living solely on CD and digital music sales for income. Is that working out about how you expected?

JT: Sure. (Laughs) I didn't quite know what to expect. I'm probably making about as much as I was before, maybe a little less. But the dollar total wasn't the motivation for doing it. I wanted the music to have more significance for people and strengthen the link between buying music and supporting artists. It's been cool to see that kind of support!

OMC: Do you have another plan like this on the horizon?

JT: In 2011, I'm going to do a kitchen concert tour. Playing every concert in the time it takes to bake an apple pie. When the pie is done, the concert's over. I'm calling it the "Don't Burn the Troast Tour"... actually, I haven't thought that far ahead. I'm open to ideas, though!

OMC: A new record -- coming soon or are you still too busy touring to record these days?

JT: I'll be touring through the end of June. After that, I'm planning a move down to Nashville to plug into the music scene down there. I've got plenty of new songs, I'm just trying to figure out when to invest in another project.

OMC: When are you next in Milwaukee?

JT: Good question. I've been so busy booking living room concerts I haven't done many other public shows. Any leads?