David Strackany
American singer-songwriter
title: "David Strackany" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1981-births", "american-folk-singers", "living-people", "american-indie-pop-musicians", "artists-from-iowa", "american-folk-guitarists", "american-male-guitarists", "american-male-singer-songwriters", "american-homeless-people", "people-from-elgin,-illinois", "singer-songwriters-from-illinois", "guitarists-from-illinois", "21st-century-american-singer-songwriters", "21st-century-american-guitarists", "21st-century-american-male-singers"] description: "American singer-songwriter" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Strackany" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American singer-songwriter ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | |
| image | Paleo and two zebras.jpg |
| landscape | yes |
| origin | Elgin, Illinois, U.S. |
| years_active | 2004–present |
| genre | Indie |
| Folk | |
| Psychedelic folk | |
| Electro-folk | |
| label | Partisan Records |
| past_member_of | These United States |
| website | |
| :: |
| name = | image = Paleo and two zebras.jpg | caption = | landscape = yes | origin = Elgin, Illinois, U.S. | years_active = 2004–present | genre = Indie Folk Psychedelic folk Electro-folk | label = Partisan Records | past_member_of = These United States | website =
David Andrew Strackany, aka Paleo, is an American singer of folk music who is notable for writing a song every day for 365 days using a "half-size children's guitar" while living out of his car and being essentially homeless.{{cite news |author= Heather Lovejoy |title= Album Review: "A View of the Sky" by Paleo |newspaper= The Florida Times-Union |date= November 23, 2010 |url= http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/403251/heather-lovejoy/2010-11-23/album-review-view-sky-paleo |accessdate= 2011-06-09
Music career
Beginnings
Strackany was born in 1981. He graduated from college but was dissatisfied with service-level jobs and so he decided to become a songwriter.{{cite web |author= Ken Bachor |title= Paleo Interview: SXSW 2010 |publisher= Spinner.com |date= March 7, 2010 |url= http://www.spinner.com/2010/03/07/sxsw-2010-paleo/ |accessdate= 2011-06-09 |archive-date= 2012-09-18 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120918115628/http://www.spinner.com/2010/03/07/sxsw-2010-paleo/ |url-status= dead
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Roystonea-2.jpg" caption="Palm tree; according to Paleo, it looks like an ignited match."] ::
He exchanged his collection of music CDs for a tattoo. In a subsequent interview, he recalled that he thought he could "make a living making music" but wasn't sure how this would happen. He has had a variety of musical influences from pop culture but one in particular that stands out is the musical Jesus Christ Superstar which he describes as a guilty pleasure. He has a creative temperament, and in an interview, described himself as living "inwardly":
He explained after a performance in Syracuse, New York on April 7, 2007, that his half-sized children's guitar was more efficient since it allowed him to play while driving; he named the guitar "Oh! Susanna" after the Stephen Foster song.
Debut
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Paleo_(David_Strackany)_in_2007.jpg" caption="Paleo during the performance in Syracuse, NY on April 7, 2007."] ::
Strackany's initial approach was to record an album, then he learned to book his own performances:
Strackany recorded his debut album Misery, Missouri in early October 2004. The record was largely folk in nature but with more elaborate arrangements and instrumentation, and was self-released. The entire session was executed with one microphone. 1000 copies were pressed independently and it is now out of print, with no published plans to re-release the work, according to a description on his website. He used simple chord progressions which were "uncomplicated sonically" but with lyrics akin to a 17th-century poet, according to one account. He found that his best lyrics often come up in everyday conversation but by putting what he finds in an "unfamiliar context", the words can become very significant. He wrote song, produced his music, booked shows, and traveled around the country while living out of his car.{{cite news |title= Paleo ON TOUR |newspaper= last.fm |date= 2011-06-09 |url= http://www.last.fm/music/Paleo |accessdate= 2011-06-09
Song a Day project
Strackany generated media attention by doing a year-long write-a-song-a-day project.{{cite news |author= Elijah Jensen |title= Strange Days Indeed: David Strackany tracks 365 days, one song at a time |newspaper= Boise Weekly |date= May 7, 2008 |url= http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/strange-days-indeed/Content?oid=936596 |accessdate= 2011-06-09 |archive-date= 2011-06-22 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110622001449/http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/strange-days-indeed/Content?oid=936596 |url-status= dead |author= Deborah Amos |title= Recording a Song a Day, Every Day |publisher= NPR Music |quote= Last Sunday, the singer-songwriter Paleo finished a marathon project. ... |date= April 19, 2007 |url= https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9666926 |accessdate= 2011-06-09
Paleo made rules{{cite news |author= Melissa Stanley |title= Paleo: talk about self-discipline |newspaper= The Deli Magazine |date= April 2007 |url= http://www.thedelimagazine.com/FeatureView.php?artist=paleo |accessdate= 2011-06-09
- The Song Diary would end if he skipped even one day.
- Each song had to be recorded before sunrise.
- No songs could be re-recorded.
- 'Sunday Prayer' songs were new lyrics sung with the same melody every Sunday.
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/46_Dick_Cheney_3x4.jpg" caption="VP]] [[Dick Cheney]] after completing his marathon yearlong song-a-day project."] ::
He refused to sleep "until he had completely documented a new song for that day regardless of the circumstances," according to his recollection. The result was an "enormous body of work" with an "outlook of unfettered optimism." It is downloadable in its entirety from his website.{{cite news |title= Paleo |newspaper= Yerbird |quote= Paleo, the musical vehicle of one David Strackany, opens the album with a cautionary hymn of excess. Paleo has even performed a monstrous song-a-day-for-a-year project, downloadable in its entirety at his website. |date= 2011-06-09 |url= http://www.yerbird.com/compilation-artist-gallery/single-gallery/4869883 |accessdate= 2011-06-09 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110928031444/http://www.yerbird.com/compilation-artist-gallery/single-gallery/4869883 |archive-date= 2011-09-28 |url-status= dead |author = Brandon Kim |title = Exclusive Track: Paleo "Holly Would" |publisher = IFC.com (Indie music) |quote = Download this barn stomping good time from Paleo, a songwriter so impressive he even received accolades from Dick Cheney. |date = May 12, 2011 |url = http://www.ifc.com/news/2011/05/exclusive-paleo-holly-would.php |accessdate = 2011-06-09 |url-status = dead |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110806172817/http://www.ifc.com/news/2011/05/exclusive-paleo-holly-would.php |archivedate = August 6, 2011
|title= Exclusive Track: Paleo "Holly Would" |publisher= Internet Movie Database (IMDb) |quote= Vice President Dick Cheney ... wrote to Strackany congratulating him for this great accomplishment... |date= 12 May 2011 |url= https://www.imdb.com/news/ni10546540/ |accessdate= 2011-06-09
Strackany described the project as psychoanalytically transformative in a personal way:
Strackany sees a benefit to creativity in songwriting when there are limits attached. He emphasized that boundaries are a "great way to excite your creativity" and suggested, in an example, that cutting off two of the guitar's six strings could help a writer creatively. He noted that "too much freedom can be every bit the cage."
Collaborations
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Glockenspiel.jpg" caption="The [[glockenspiel]] is one of many instruments that Paleo plays."] ::
Strackany worked with songwriter Jesse Elliott on a Washington, D.C.–based music project entitled These United States.{{cite news |author= Margaret Reges, All Music Guide |title= These United States |newspaper= Billboard Magazine |quote= ... These United States create a musical melting pot ... Born of a collaboration between Jesse Elliott and David Strackany (the man behind Paleo) ... ~ Margaret Reges, All Music Guide |year= 2008 |url= http://www.billboard.com/artist/these-united-states/816566#/artist/these-united-states/816566 |accessdate= 2011-06-09 |author= Stephen M. Deusner |title= These United States: A Picture of the Three of Us at the Gate to the Garden of Eden -- Crimes |newspaper= Pitchfork |quote= ... The first, A Picture of the Three of Us at the Gate to the Garden of Eden, is a collaboration with David Strackany (aka Paleo) ... |date= October 10, 2008 |url= http://www.pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12274-a-picture-of-the-three-of-us-at-the-gate-to-the-garden-of-eden-crimes/ |accessdate= 2011-06-09 |author= Henry Freedland |title= These United States: Crimes |magazine= Paste Magazine |quote= debut-collaborator David Strackany) |date= September 26, 2008 |url= http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2008/09/these-united-states-crimes.html |accessdate= 2011-06-09 |title= These United States: Pop's Particle Accelerator |newspaper= NPR Music: All Things Considered |quote= The Washington, D.C., band These United States ...He originally formed the group with David Strackany — a singer-songwriter who also records under the name Paleo — and they recorded the first album together. ... |date= November 8, 2008 |url= https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96739038 |accessdate= 2011-06-09 |title= These United States: 'First Sight' |newspaper= NPR Music |quote= ... Jesse Elliott leads Washington D.C based band These United States' ... Fellow band mate David Strackany offers skillfully mixed, multi-instrumental support with a range in keys, drums, accordion, bass and vibraphone. |date= March 20, 2008 |url= https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88681586 |accessdate= 2011-06-09 |author= Tony Sclafani |title= Subject: David Strackany -- These United States' A Picture of the Three of Us at the Gate to the Garden of Eden |newspaper= Village Voice |quote= ... These United States offer melodic and amusing ideas ... balanced by the psychedelic arrangements of producer David Strackany, who chimes in with vibes, glockenspiel, mandolin, and lots of off-kilter keyboards. |date= March 11, 2008 |url= http://www.villagevoice.com/2008-03-11/music/small-reviews-3/ |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080804154926/http://www.villagevoice.com/2008-03-11/music/small-reviews-3/ |url-status= dead |archive-date= August 4, 2008 |accessdate= 2011-06-09
Elliott described Strackany as a songwriter who has "stared almost directly at the human soul."
Solo career
In 2007, Strackany did soundtrack work on the feature film In Search of a Midnight Kiss. In 2009, he won a record deal with Brooklyn-based Partisan Records. He once described making music as a vice. He continues to tour extensively.
According to one account, Strackany repeated his song-a-day project in 2010. In 2011, he is no longer technically "homeless", but when he is not touring, he lives in Iowa City; a second source suggests he lives in Davenport, Iowa.
Strackany repeated his songdiary feat in 2018.
Music reviews
- NPR music critic Deborah Amos suggested that Paleo's year-long one-a-day songwriting project took a "toll on his psyche", shifting back and forth between hope and despair.
- Boise Weekly critic Elijah Jensen wrote that Strackany "explores interiors of the human mind, the dissolution of love, the value of success and does so poetically with such entrancing use of metaphor."
- Daytrotter's Sean Moeller described him as a Poet Laureate in 2007.
Discography
- Misery, Missouri (2005)
- The Song Diary (2006–2007)
- *Pedestrian Crossing * (Recorded 2006 and released 2009)
- A New Day (2010 Cassette tape)
- A View Of The Sky, Partisan Records (2010)
- Fruit of the Spirit, 2011, Partisan Records{{cite news |title= Film At 11: Paleo |newspaper= Magnet Magazine |quote= On June 21, Paleo is following up 2010′s A View Of The Sky with Fruit Of The Spirit (Partisan). ... But we'd expect nothing but quick work from Strackany, who in 2006 wrote a song a day for 365 days in a row.... |date= April 25, 2011 |url= http://www.magnetmagazine.com/2011/04/25/film-at-11-paleo/ |accessdate= 2011-06-09
- Bloodletter (2014)
References
References
- "A BEAUTIFUL CON". American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
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