Reid Genauer (born May 19, 1972) is an American singer, songwriter and musician best known as the singer and guitarist of the bands

Strangefolk Strangefolk is an American rock-oriented jam band originally from Burlington, Vermont. Since forming in 1991, the band has released five studio albums, four live albums and one live concert DVD. The band consists of Jon Trafton (''lead guitar, ...

and

Assembly of Dust Assembly of Dust (also known as AOD) is an American rock band formed in 2002 by Strangefolk frontman and co-founder Reid Genauer. After the breakup of Strangefolk, Genauer decided to record a solo album, and he recruited some friends from Stran ...

. More recently he has recorded and performed under the moniker Reid Genauer & Folks. He has been active as a composer, recording artist, and live performer since the early 1990s, and is known for his story-like lyrical style of

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

Musical career

Genauer, originally from

Chappaqua, New York Chappaqua ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of New Castle, in northern Westchester County, New York, United States. It is approximately north of New York City. The hamlet is served by the Chappaqua station of the Metr ...

, started his music career in college at the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

, where he and guitarist Jon Trafton started Strangefolk as an acoustic duo originally named Strange Folk. Genauer and Trafton added bassit Erik Glockler and drummer Luke Smith to the group and changed the name to Strangefolk. The quartet found grassroots success with self produced albums ''Lore'' and ''Weightless in Water'' and consistent national touring. After 10 years of recording and touring, Reid Genauer left Strangefolk in 2001 and formed a second group called

. The group's first recording was released under Reid Genauer's name as a solo album titled ''Assembly of Dust'' in 2003. Subsequently, he assumed the album title as the band's name and found critical acclaim with live album ''The Honest Hour''. and studio album ''Some Assembly Required''. The latter of these featured a guest musician on each track including

Richie Havens Richard Pierce Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk music, folk, soul music, soul (both of which he frequently cover song, covered), and rhythm and b ...

Béla Fleck Béla Anton Leoš Fleck (born July 10, 1958) is an American banjo player. An acclaimed virtuoso, he is an innovative and technically proficient pioneer and ambassador of the banjo, playing music from bluegrass, jazz, classical, rock and various ...

Mike Gordon Michael Eliot Gordon (born June 3, 1965) is an American bass guitarist and vocalist most recognized as a founding member of the band Phish. In addition to bass, Gordon plays banjo, piano, and guitar. He is a filmmaker ('' Rising Low'', '' Outs ...

Grace Potter Grace Evelyn Potter (born June 20, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She has released five solo albums: ''Red Shoe Rebel'' (2002), ''Original Soul'' (2004), ''Midnight'' (2015), ''Daylight'' (2019), and '' Mother Road'' (2023) ...

Tony Rice David Anthony Rice (June 8, 1951 – December 25, 2020) was an American bluegrass guitarist and singer. He was an influential acoustic guitar player in bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, newgrass and acoustic jazz. He was inducted into the In ...

David Grisman David Jay Grisman (born March 23, 1945) is an American mandolinist. His music combines bluegrass, folk, and jazz in a genre he calls "Dawg music". He founded the record label Acoustic Disc, which issues his recordings and those of other acousti ...

Al Schnier Al Schnier (born January 9, 1968) is a musician most noted for being one of two guitarists for the American jam band Moe. History Schnier was born on January 9, 1968, in Syracuse, New York. He attended New Hartford Central High School in Onei ...

Keller Williams Keller Williams is an American singer, songwriter and musician who combines elements of bluegrass, folk, alternative rock, reggae, electronica/dance, jazz, funk, along with other assorted genres. He is often described as a 'one-man jam-band' ...

Jerry Douglas Gerald Calvin Douglas (born May 28, 1956) is an American Dobro and lap steel guitar player and record producer. He is widely regarded as "perhaps the finest Dobro player in contemporary acoustic music, and certainly the most celebrated and prol ...

and

John Scofield John Scofield (born December 26, 1951) is an American guitarist and composer. His music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention as part of the band of Miles Davis; he ...

. In 2018 Genauer organized a cast of 24 musicians to record his latest studio album, ''Conspire to Smile'', under the moniker Reid Genauer & Folks. The album primarily consists of cover songs whose messages point towards love, positivity and community as a source of solidarity. The songs range from

Lenny Kravitz Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His debut album ''Let Love Rule (Lenny Kravitz album), Let Love Rule'' (1989) was characterized by a blend of Rock music, rock ...

's " Let Love Rule" to

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer, songwriter, and composer widely considered to be one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American Left, A ...

's classic folk song "

This Land Is Your Land "This Land Is Your Land" is a song by American folk singer Woody Guthrie. One of the United States' most famous folk songs, its lyrics were written in 1940 in critical response to Irving Berlin's " God Bless America". Its melody is based on a ...

Songwriting and musical style

Genauer began writing poems at the age of 10 after reading

Shel Silverstein Sheldon Allan Silverstein (; September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American writer, cartoonist, songwriter, and musician. Born and raised in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, Silverstein briefly attended university before being drafted into ...

's ''

Where the Sidewalk Ends ''Where the Sidewalk Ends'' is a 1974 children's poetry collection written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein. It was published by Harper and Row Publishers. The book's poems address common childhood concerns and also present fanciful stories ...

''. He started writing songs at 14. Since then he has gone on to write, record, and publish more than 100 songs. His songwriting has drawn comparisons to his early influences, including

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician who was the lead guitarist and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 196 ...

and Robert Hunter of the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

. The Band, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, The Beatles, and Paul Simon.

Author and entrepreneur

Genauer has worked at

Snapple Snapple is a brand of tea and juice drinks which is owned by Keurig Dr Pepper, based in Plano, Texas, United States. The original producer of Snapple, a company that was known as Unadulterated Food Products, was founded in 1972. The brand achieved ...

Fox Mobile Group Freenet AG (formerly freenet.de AG) is a German telecommunications and web content provider. The company was formerly a subsidiary of . In 2004, its EBITDA was 471.5 million euro. In 2007, Freenet.de merged with Mobilcom, a deal which took aroun ...

, and

eMusic eMusic is an Online music store, online music and audiobook store that operates by subscription. In exchange for a monthly subscription eMusic users can download a fixed number of MP3 tracks per month. eMusic was established in 1998, is headquart ...

. He was recruited by

Magisto Magisto provided an online video editing tool (both as a web application and a mobile app) for automated video editing and production. In 2019, the company was acquired by Vimeo for an estimated US$200 million. The Magisto app contained a librar ...

in 2012. In May 2016, Genauer was chosen as one of the "100 Most Influential North American Tech Marketers" by Hot Topics.

Writer

Genauer has published articles on human interest, marketing and the tech industry. He also writes about the importance of storytelling in human culture. Genauer was a contributor for the book "Lessons from the Road: Musicians as Business Leaders" (Oct 17, 2017, Archer Publications).

Children's book author

In 2016, Reid wrote and published Jeffry's Jungle (2016, CreateSpace Independent Publishing), a 24-page children's book for ages 4–10, illustrated by Alan Close. It chronicles the mischief of a young boy and the power of his imagination. The book was inspired by Shel Silverstein's "

" and is written in the spirit of

Dr. Seuss Theodor Seuss Geisel ( ;"Seuss"
'' The Cat in the Hat ''The Cat in the Hat'' is a 1957 children's book written and illustrated by American author Dr. Seuss. The story centers on a tall anthropomorphic cat who wears a red and white-striped top hat and a red bow tie. The Cat shows up at the house ...

.” Genauer has written more than 100 children's poems and plans to publish a series of books in the future.
Reid Genauer Children's Author (NYS Music, Feb 25, 2016)

Personal life

Reid was married once and is the father of three boys.

Discography

With Strangefolk

* ''Strangefolk'' (1994) * ''Lore'' (1995) * ''Weightless in Water'' (1998) * ''Live'' (EP) (2000) * ''A Great Long While'' (2000) * ''Live at the Capitol Theatre Port Chester, NY 12/27/98'' (Live) (2012) * ''Live at the Palladium Worcester MA'' (2018)

Solo

* ''Assembly of Dust'' (2003) * Reid Genauer & Folks, ''Conspire to Smile'' (2018) * Reid Genauer & Folks, ''Extended Release'' (Live) (2020)

With Assembly of Dust

* ''The Honest Hour'' (2004) * ''Recollection'' (2007) * ''Some Assembly Required'' (2009) * ''Found Sound - Live'' (2011) * '' Sun Shot'' (2013) * ''Live from The Oregon Trail'' (2016)

References

External links

Reid Genauer Official Website

Assembly of Dust Official Website

Strangefolk Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Genauer, Reid Living people 1972 births