Luke Faust (born 1936) is an American folk musician, best known as a member of
the Insect Trust.
Career
In the early 1960s, Faust often played at
The Gaslight Cafe
The Gaslight Cafe was a coffeehouse in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York. Also called The Village Gaslight, it opened in 1958 and became a venue for folk music and other musical acts. Al Aronowitz. . Retrieved June 25, 2 ...
in
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, performing with a wide array of instruments including banjo, fiddle, harmonica, and jug.
There, he became acquainted with fellow folk revival musicians
Dave Van Ronk, Jerry Rasmussen, and
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
.
During this time, Faust briefly joined
Peter Stampfel
Peter Stampfel (born October 29, 1938, in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin) is an American Violin, fiddle player, old-time musician, and singer-songwriter.
History
Stampfel is best known as a member of the The Holy Modal Rounders, Holy Modal Rounders, a ...
and
Steve Weber
Steven P. Weber (June 22, 1943 – February 7, 2020) was an American folk singer-songwriter and guitarist.
Weber is best known as member of the The Holy Modal Rounders, Holy Modal Rounders, a psychedelic folk band that he founded with Pete ...
of
the Holy Modal Rounders
The Holy Modal Rounders was an American folk music group, originally the duo of Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber, who formed in 1963 on the Lower East Side of New York City. Although they achieved only limited commercial and critical success in ...
on the jug.
Faust moved to
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken ( ; ) is a City (New Jersey), city in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the ...
in 1963. There, he became a founding member of the Hoboken-based band
The Insect Trust circa 1966. He was the band's banjo, fiddle, and harmonica player. Later in the 1990s, he went on to form The Jug Jam, an improvisational jug band with Perry Robinson, Lou Grassi, and Wayne Lopes. Faust also played with 90 proof – a band with Steve James.
Faust is currently performing with The Carolina Jug Stompers playing rags, blues and breakdowns in the old-time jug – stringband style. Faust's contributions to music has been described in
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
's book, ''
Chronicles: Volume One'', where Dylan recalled Faust as "someone closer in temperament to me,"
and
Dave Van Ronk's compilation album, ''
The Mayor of MacDougal Street''.
Discography
With
The Insect Trust
* 1969 ''The Insect Trust''
* 1970 ''Hoboken Saturday Night''
With
Dave Van Ronk
* 2000 ''Dealin' With The Devil''
With The Carolina Jug Stompers
* 2005 ''Rooster on a Limb''
#. "Money Never Runs Out"
#. "Maybelle Rag"
#. "Going to Germany"
#. "Bum Bum Blues"
#. "New Orleans Wiggle"/"
Somebody Stole My Gal
"Somebody Stole My Gal" is a popular song from 1918, written by Leo Wood. In 1924, Ted Weems & his Orchestra had a five-week run at number one with his million-selling version. Its Pee Wee Hunt and his orchestra version is also known in Japan, par ...
"
#. "Gin Done Done It"
#. "Under the Chicken Tree"
#. "Lonely One in This Town"
#. "Cotton Picker’s Rag"
#. "Central Georgia Blues"
#. "Rooster on a Limb"
#. "Please Baby"
#. "Podunk Toddle"
#. "K.C. Moan"
#. "Georgia Pines"
#. "Busted"
#. "Carolina Shout"/"House Rent Rag"
References
Bibliography
* La Gorce, Tammy.: "Throwing Rock Snobs a Bone", ''The New York Times'', December 18, 2005. Section 14NJ; Column 4; New Jersey Weekly Desk; Music; p. 14.
* "POP/JAZZ; STAMPFEL'S BOTTLE CAPS: A MERRY MIX OF MUSIC" by Robert Palmer. ''The New York Times'', May 16, 1986, Late City Final Edition.
External links
The Insect Trust
{{DEFAULTSORT:Faust, Luke
1936 births
Living people
American banjoists
Musicians from Hoboken, New Jersey
Musicians from New York City
American folk singers
The Insect Trust members
The Holy Modal Rounders members