Junk Music™ with The Junkman™

As a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, a member of the illustrious Louisville Orchestra and Buffalo Philharmonic, and a collaborator with John Cage, percussionist & composer, Donald Knaack, is not the sort of man you’d envision wearing a blue denim workshirt, replete with glittering recycling logo, while pounding out hypnotic rhythms on hubcaps, saw blades, and buckets.

Yet, that’s what Donald Knaack, better known as The Junkman™, does every time he takes the stage. Inspired by the sounds his mechanic father made while working in the garage, The Junkman™ developed his attraction to the sounds of found objects, finding encouragement and direction from his mentor and collaborator, the legendary John Cage. Before long, and long before the green movement even existed, The Junkman™ was playing exclusively on recycled materials, creating music and cutting-edge environmental awareness that transcends all styles and genres. His celebrated concerts and interactive Junkjams® impart timely messages regarding the health of Mother Earth, cultural tolerance, and how our personal behavior affects other people’s personal space and rights.
 

Having adopted Marcel Duchamp’s philosophy that “tools that are no good require more skill,” The Junkman® fuses the avant-garde with head-moving ear-candy and rhythmic muscle to form an irresistible edutainment experience! The Junkman®’s past performances have included Llangollen Eisteddfod, The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Sundance Film Festival, Seoul Drum Festival, Escena Contemporanea, Zagreb Biennale, Summer Series Dubai, Basingstoke (B-Love) Festival, the United Nations COP16 Conference on Climate Change, and concerts with Phish, Eminem, The Black Eyed Peas, and Blink 182, among others.