Randy Crouch is often called the "World's Greatest rock n roll Fiddler," but his vast talents exceed even that superlative description. Randy Crouch is one of the pioneers of the Red Dirt movement of Alternative Country and his influence extends deep into Oklahoma music of all types, including Folk, Bluegrass, Blues & JamBands.
While he may be currently best known for his distinctive fiddle playing, he also plays electric, acoustic & pedal steel guitars, dobros, piano & keyboards, banjo & mandolin. Beyond his outstanding and unique musicianship , Randy is also a souful singer and sought after songwriter. His songs have been covered by artist like Gary P. Nunn, the Zen Okies, South 40, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Tom Skinner, the Burtschi Brothers, and Jason Boland and the Stragglers & Vince Herman. Besides fronting his own band, Flying Horse, and being a member of the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival and Marble Falls Festival house bands, Randy also plays regularly with the Red Dirt Rangers and has sat in with almost every other Texas or Red Dirt band currently playing. His musical presence has a way of making everyone he plays with sound better. Randy's music is innovative and creative. Impossible to categorize, his unique sound has been referred to as "Hillbilly Hendrix," "Cherokee County Flint Rock," "Oklahoma Protest Music," and the "Future of Rock and Roll." His songs and music appeal to toddlers and seniors, cowboys and bikers, hippies and suits, and everyone in between. As diverse as his fans, the commonality of his music resides in the heartfelt sincerity that is Randy Crouch.
As one of the early founders of Red Dirt, Randy was first packing bars like Cain's Ballroom more than 20 years ago during the later years of a more famous Oklahoma genre called "The Tulsa Sound." Recently some music followers may know Randy as a member of the Red Dirt Rangers, and many others have discovered Randy through his association with ever newer Red Dirt acts like Jason Boland & the Stragglers, Cross Canadian Ragweed, South 40 and Badwater.
For many other fans seeing Randy Crouch was a annual feature of visits to the unauthorized stages & pickin' parties after LandRush at Winfield a/k/a the Walnut Valley Bluegrass Festival. And as a member of the Woody Guthrie Free Folk Festival house band Randy has helped keep alive the spirit of Woody Guthrie, the original Red Dirt musician. Other fans have come to know Randy's music through "Jam bands" like My-Tea Kind or the Vince Herman Trio.
However they find him, for many it is as a fiddler that Randy has become famous. Yet Crouch is above all, a remarkable songwriter and lyricist. And his multi-instrumental talent extends to guitars of all types,including pedal steel and Dobro. Randy is also adept at Bass, Banjo, and Mandolin, as well as Piano and Keyboards of all types. He's even been known to pick up the Trombone. Randy's awe inspiring live shows are eye popping experiences... Playing multipe instruments at once & in strange configurations is not uncommon for Crouch. Randy's skill is such that he is known to rub one instrument upon another... Such as rubbing his fiddle upon his guitar or the guitar upon his pedal steel. The resulting feedback harmony is reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix or early Grateful Dead, but it's also uniquely Randy Crouch. What distinguishes Crouch most of all is the distinctive tone of his playing. Whatever the genre, whatever the instrument, Randy Crouch owns the music and makes it his. All the genre hopping thwarts any attempt at labeling the Crouch sound. Any blues fan will recognize serious blues chops when they experience Crouch's slide guitar-work on Randy Crouch blues songs like "Ain't No Justice." But then when he's off playing pedal steel jazz for the next tune it's hard to categorize Randy' music as anything but just that Randy Crouch music.
