Scott Tuma

Scott Tuma is a musician from Chicago who is best known for his live performances and also for having played guitar in the pioneering alt-country band Souled American. Since his departure from Souled American in the late 1990s Tuma has released numerous solo albums, performed and recorded with Chicago's Boxhead Ensemble, and collaborated with members of the band Zelienople in a project dubbed Good Stuff House.

Tuma's unique guitar work is one of the primary features responsible for Souled American's highly distinct sound, though the band has continued playing without him seeming relatively unfazed by Tuma's departure. His solo work is more in line with ambient music than folk or country, though elements of those and other styles are still present. "Hard Again" and "The River 1 2 3 4" are expansive, gorgeous albums that feature Tuma playing most of the instruments himself - primarily guitar, harmonium, and organ (though he also plays bass, harmonica, and banjo) - though "Hard Again" also includes guest spots from members of Dirty Three, Rachel's, and Boxhead Ensemble.

Discography

• 2001 Hard Again (Atavistic Records)
• 2003 The River 1 2 3 4 (Truckstop Records)
• 2008 Not For Nobody (Digitalis Recordings)
• 2009 Taradiddle With Mike Weis LP (Digitalis Recordings)
• 2010 Peeper/Love Songs Loud and Lonely- Split with Brothers Pus (Bathetic)
• 2010 Dandelion (Digitalis Recordings)
• 2014 "Hard Again / The River 1 2 3 4 (2xLP) (Scissor Tail Editions)
• 2014 'Cracker Where am I?' Cassette' (Bathetic -Dynasty at Ghost Town'
• 2015 Eyrie (Immune)
• 2016 "Ragged Hollow 12" Split w/ Nevada Greene" (Hitt Records)
• 2017 'No Greener Grass' 2xLP ([Dismal Niche])

Featured in Film

• 2010 The Wolf Knife by Laurel Nakadate
• 2015 Felt by Jason Banker
• 2016 Accident Report by Mike Hoolboom

With the Boxhead Ensemble

• 1998 The Last Place to Go (Atavistic Records)
• 2001 Two Brothers (Atavistic Records)
• 2003 Quartets (Atavistic Records)

With Souled American

• 1988 Fe (Rough Trade Records)
• 1988 Flubber (Rough Trade Records)
• 1990 Around the Horn (Rough Trade Records)
• 1992 Sonny (Rough Trade Records)
• 1994 Frozen (Moll Tonträger)
• 1996 Notes Campfire(Moll Tonträger)

With Good Stuff House

• 2006 "Good Stuff House" CD-R (Time-Lag Records)
• 2008 "Endless Bummer" (Root Strata)

Other guest appearances

• 2000 Jack the Dog - "Missa Canibus" (set design, Orchard Records)
• 2002 Bevel - "Where Leaves Block the Sun" (harmonica, Jagjaguwar Records)

References

• Tiny Mix Tapes review of No Greener Grass
• Lost in a Sea of Sound Blog Review of No Greener Grass
• SF Weekly article
• Allmusic entry for Hard Again
• Allmusic entry for The River 1 2 3 4