Xavier Rudd

Like Jack Johnson, independent Australian musician Xavier Rudd combines a love of surfing with a love of roots music. Like Ben Harper, he plays Weissenborn lap steel guitars. Utterly unlike both of those musicians, however, he has a unique setup. Rudd is a one-man band who plays surrounded by instruments in a complicated array --- typically, he has three didgeridoos placed in front of him on a stand, a guitar on his lap, a stompbox by his habitually bare feet, and an assortment of drums, banjos, harmonicas, bells, and bass guitar near at hand, or near at foot as the case may be. He takes this setup with him on frequent tours (as well as his surfboards), relying on word of mouth rather than record labels to speak for him. His albums, several of them live recordings, are most often sold at these sold-out gigs. Rudd first learned the circular breathing technique required to play the didgeridoo by practicing on a vacuum cleaner hose. While growing up in Torquay and Bell's Beach in Victoria he also learned guitar, clarinet, and saxophone. He seemed destined to be a musician, but could never focus on just the one instrument, preferring to find ways to combine them together, such as by playing basslines on his guitar while simultaneously finger-picking on the lower strings. All these skills came together when he began busking and traveling. During his travels, Rudd discovered an affinity for Canada, where he has dual citizenship. His wife is also a Canadian he met while she was backpacking through Australia. The first document of his performances, Live in Canada, was recorded there in 2001 and helped spread the word. His first studio album, To Let, followed a year later. 2003 saw another independently released document of his stage performances in Live at the Grid. His next...