Reid Genauer

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Reid Genauer is an American singer, songwriter, storyteller and entrepreneur. He’s best known as the lead singer of the bands Strangefolk and Assembly of Dust. and Chief Marketing Officer at Magisto, A.I powered video creation platform.

Early Life and Education

Genauer grew up in Chappaqua, NY.. His mother is an interior designer and his father is a banker. Reid attended Horace Greeley High School, graduating in 1990. He earned a Bachelors of Science degree in Environmental Science and Natural Resource Management at the University of Vermont. After 10 years of touring as a professional musician, Genauer attended The Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell, receiving his MBA in Brand Management, Marketing and Entrepreneurship in 2002..

Career in Music

Early Musical Influences

In a 2011 interview with Glide Magazine, Genauer lists his musical influences as Crosby Stills & Nash, Grateful Dead, The Band, Neil Young, The Beatles, Paul Simon, Robert Hunter and John Lennon..

Songwriting

Genauer was inspired to start writing after reading Shel Silverstein’s “Where the Sidewalk Ends” when he was 9 years old. He was moved by the humor but also the emotional aspect of the book. He started writing Silverstein-type rhymes as a creative outlet, something that he still does to this day. Genauer was also inspired by the Grateful Dead, especially Garcia’s delivery, and also Robert Hunter’s writing. He started writing songs in middle school..

Genauer has been described as a “talented guitarist with a strong, supple voice reminiscent of Jackson Browne’s.” and that the “uplifting storytelling in his songs is truly inspirational . . .” .

In a 2016 Relix article, Bill Nershi from String Cheese Incident speaks about Genauer’s talent for songwriting: “Reid’s a great songwriter. He has a natural approach to a song that is artful, lyrically acrobatic and accessible. He and I have always bonded about the role of song craft in the sea of musical improvisation.”

Genauer’s songwriting has been compared to Robert Hunter, Steely Dan and Neil Young.

Strangefolk

Genauer started college at the University of Vermont in the fall of 1991 and met Jon Trafton, a fellow freshman, at orientation. Genauer is quoted in the article on the meeting: "Somehow we put out markers that said, ‘There is some point of commonality.’ For me I felt some connection with him personally and very shortly after that musically and I can’t exactly say what it was. It was just a chemistry and that chemistry has persisted for all these years.” They first performed together on a patch of grass outside their dorms.. With just two songs - unfinished “Two Boys,” and “Things that Fly,” Reid and Jon started playing weekly open mics in the basement of Slate Hall on UVM’s campus, the same dorm where Phish got their start.

They named their band Strange Folk, because they felt they were literally playing a strange type of folk music, layering in guitar effects and big long jams. The name soon evolved to be one word, Strangefolk. The name was also a nod to The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. During their sophomore year at UVM, Trafton and Genauer began playing a weekly gig at Middle Earth in Burlington, VT - also named after The Hobbit.

In early 1993, Genauer’s friend and dorm mate at UVM, Luke Smith, joined Strangefolk on drums and Trafton’s childhood friend from Maine, Eric Glockler, moved to Burlington to join the band on bass. The 4-piece band began playing out a couple of times each month and the fan base started to grow. Over the next 10 years, Strangefolk built up a large national fanbase, created the annual Garden of Eden festival, released 5 albums and signed with Mammoth Records.

Strangefolk was unique on the jam band circuit because they wrote well-constructed, memorable songs that formed the foundation of their extended jams.

By 2000, Genauer was tired of life permanently on the road and left Strangefolk to pursue a higher degree at Cornell. He had discovered entrepreneurship through Strangefolk, growing the band as a business, and was inspired to pursue it further.

Assembly of Dust

After graduating from Samual Curtis Johnson Graduate School for Management at Cornell in 2002, Genauer wanted to continue a musical life and record an album, so he formed Assembly of Dust from his circle of musical friends.. The new group included members of Groovechild, Percy Hil and Moon Boot Lover

After a series of impromptu performances, they came together to record a solo album titled “Assembly of Dust,” released in 2003. The initial lineup featured Genauer on lead vocals and guitar, Nate Wilson on keyboards and vocals, Adam Terrell on lead guitar and vocals, John Leccese on bass and vocals, and Andy Herrick on drums. The name stuck, and the band quickly developed a national following, along with a reputation for songcraft, musicianship and improvisation. AOD has had 3 top forty singles with Adult alternative stations singles, Man With A Plan from “The Honest Hour,” Telling Sue from “Recollection and The Second Song” (featuring Keller Williams) from Some Assembly Required.

AOD has been described by NPR as a “jam band super-group.”

Reid Genauer & Folks - the Band

Reid Genauer & Folks features 24 “Folks”- musicians including members of Strangefolk and Assembly of Dust, and members of Genauer’s extended community of musicians:

Jason Crosby (Phil Lesh & Friends, Susan Tedeschi Band, Robert Randolph)
Dave Diamond
Marc Friedman
Erik Glockler
Jennifer Hartswick
Andy Herrick
Alex Jordan
Alex Koford
Scott Law
Chris Laybourne
Dan "LEBO" Lebowitz
John Leccese
Grahame Lesh
Peter Levin
Aaron Maxwell
Scott Metzger
Ryan Montbleau
Elliott Peck
Brian Rashap
Luke Smith
Adam Terrell
Jon Trafton
Nate Wilson

Music As A Form of Social Activism

Jerry Garcia’s ability to write about deep, philosophical topics and positively influence so many people through his music made a lasting impression on Genauer that drove his musical career and life. Garcia saw his band’s ability to positively influence so many as a social service, and that inspired Genauer to explore the ways that social activism and music can combine to have a strong positive effect on society.

Conspire to Smile: Album and Social Experiment

In January 2018, Genauer launched Conspire to Smile, described by Genauer as “a studio album, social media thought experiment and Kickstarter campaign under the moniker “Conspire to Smile’ with the intent of kickstarting compassion, smiles and communal strength through song.” Genauer’s belief in the power of storytelling motivated him to “break the negative reinforcing loop of social media and shift our collective conversation from paralysis to possibility.”

In an interview in JamBase, Genauer describes the project as “a studio album, social media thought experiment and Kickstarter campaign under the moniker “Conspire to Smile” with the intent of kickstarting compassion, smiles and communal strength through song.”

Conspire to Smile: The Album

The album, Conspire to Smile, is a collection of 12 reworked covers and two original songs, to be released under the band name Reid Genauer & Folks. Contributors include Jason Crosby, Dave Diamond, Marc Friedman, Jennifer Hartswick, Andy Herrick, Alex Jordan, Scott Law, Dan “Lebo” Lebowitz, John Leccese, Grahame Lesh, Aaron Maxwell, Scott Metzger, Ryan Montbleau, Adam Terrell and Nate Wilson.

Track listing:
1. Conspire To Smile - Strangefolk
2. Amplified Messiah - Assembly of Dust
3. Hey Jude - The Beatles
4. Let Love Rule - Lenny Kravitz
5. Love The One You’re With - Stephen Stills
6. I Can See Clearly Now - Johnny Nash
7. People Get Ready - Curtis Mayfield
8. One Love - Bob Marley
9. Not Fade Away - Buddy Holly
10. The Weight - The Band
11. All You Need Is Love - The Beatles
12. What’s Going On - Marvin Gaye
13. This Land is Your Land - Woody Guthrie
14. TBD - to be voted on by fans

Conspire to Smile: The Social Experiment

The social media campaign has the aim “to create a positive news and social feed flow, spreading goodwill and love across the internet.”

Like most, I feel a weight these days that’s almost unbearable. The sensation is disorienting but not unreasonable given all of the funky things at hand. That said, there are a lot of wonderful things in our midst as well. Most of us tend to discount the tasty and trend toward the tragedy. It struck me that we need more balance in our online social lives – a better light to dark ratio in our news feeds.”

Conspire to Smile Kickstarter Campaign

Notable Musicians

Genauer has shared the stage and studio with many notable musicians over the years, including Phil Lesh & Friends, Mike Gordon, Butch Trucks, Derek Trucks, Victor Wooten, Michael Franti, Chuck Garvey, Nile Rodgers, Stanley Jordan, Al Schnier, John Popper, Sam Bush, David Grisman, Keller Williams, Tony Rice, Jerry Douglas, John Scofield, Martin Sexton, Theresa Andersson, Jeff Pevar, Grace Potter, John Scofield, Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, Dickey Betts, Jimmy Herring and many others.

In 2009, AOD recorded Some Assembly Required, collaborating with the following musicians:
1. "All That I Am Now" featuring Richie Havens
2. "Pedal Down" featuring Gabbard Brothers
3. "Cold Coffee" featuring David Grisman
4. "Arc of the Sun" featuring Mike Gordon
5. "Second Song" featuring Keller Williams
6. "Light Blue Lover" featuring Grace Potter and Tony Rice
7. "Edges" featuring Bela Fleck
8. "Leadbelly" featuring Jerry Douglas
9. "Borrowed Feet" featuring John Scofield
10. "Revelry" featuring Martin Sexton and Tony Rice
11. "Straight" featuring Theresa Andersson
12. "High Brow" featuring Al Schnier
13. "You Lay The Dust" featuring Jeff Pevar

Notable Venues & Performances

Genauer has played scores of important venues with Strangefolk and AOD including Carnegie Hall, Nokia Theatre, Bowery Ballroom, Joe’s Pub, Crystal Ballroom, The American Music Hall, The Fillmore, Irving Plaza, The Bluebird, The Boulder Theater, The Vic Theater, The Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, The Fox Theater (Boulder) and Capitol Theatre (Port Chester, NY). They’ve also played a lot of the larger US music festivals including Bonnaroo, Langerado, 10,000 Lakes, Wakarusa, All Good Music Festival, Merlefest, Gathering of the Vibes, Newport Folk Festival Summer Camp, High Sierra Music Festival, Newport Folk Festival and Woodstock 99.

In February of 2006, AOD performed “Trouble Child” with Sonya Kitchell at Carnegie Hall as part of the Joni Mitchell Tribute concert.

In September of 2006, Genauer sang the National Anthem at Shea Stadium.

In 2008, Genauer was part of the documentary, A Call to Action, a film that captures the story of how a motivated group of musicians and fans created HeadCount, a grassroots non-partisan, not-for-profit voter registration organization.

Genauer backed Dickie Betts at the Jammys, held at Madison Square Garden, for Blue Sky & Ramblin Man. Reid also played Take Me to the River with all members of Talking Heads (sans David Byrne) at the Jammys. He has opened for David Crosby, Dave Matthews Band, Bob Weir and The Who.

Entrepreneurship and Career in Tech Marketing

Genauer’s talent for storytelling, deep creativity and collaborative experiences in the music industry have made him uniquely valuable in tech marketing. After graduation from Cornell in 2002, Genauer launched his career at Snapple, then worked his way to Fox Mobile Group and eMusic. He was recruited by Magisto in 2012, in their quest for a “marketing guru seeped in creativity to run their U.S. operations.”

Genauer states in an interview with MarTech Advisor that he has “always had a passion for the intersection of technology and creativity.”

In his article, “Why Some of Silicon Valley’s Tech Titans are Actual Rock Stars,” (Entrepreneur, Jun 23, 2017), Genauer states, “At their core, both music and coding are examples of mathematical languages that, once mastered, yield amazingly creative forms of personal expression.”

In May 2016, Reid was chosen as one of the “100 Most Influential North American Tech Marketers” by Hot Topics

Storyteller

Storytelling is a central theme in all of Genauer’s work. In an interview with JamBase, he states:

“Storytelling is the basic building block of our culture and humanity . . .Tribes, economies, co-ops, clubs, sculptures, social posts and of course songs all represent classes of story. Social media is literally a form of socializing and storytelling through the creation of media.”

In his article, “The Story of Data Driven Storytelling”, (Towards Data Science, Jun 12, 2017), Genauer discusses the biological connection between humans and storytelling: "There is a biochemical reason we love stories. It’s the mode of communication our brains’ biologically prefer. When presented with dry data and numbers without context, the brain hears Charlie Brown’s teacher’s mushmouth. When a good story is told, the brain comes alive and alight with emotion. Storytelling literally has a chemical effect on the brain that wakes it up in order to ingest, digest and store information. Enthralled in a good story, we see ourselves as the central character in that story. We make the tale our own. The scientific nomenclature for this is “neural coupling”. We also build an emotional bond with the storyteller that scientists call mirroring. As opposed to unpackaged data, stories are “juicy” - they awaken many parts of the brain, which is referred to as cortex activity.Lastly as a result of all of this activity, we get a shot of dopamine which makes us feel good. In short, stories are the best way to deliver complex information (data) to the human brain. They capture us and make us feel good. The best artists, salesmen, teachers, politicians, business leaders and data scientists have one thing in common — they are all fantastic storytellers. They help us live their message."

Genauer’s current work in the Tech field also centers around storytelling as CMO at Magisto, which produces an automatic video editing service. In an interview with VentureBeat, Genauer states: “What we’re seeing is a big shift in the way people are producing personal content with tools that make storytelling easier,” said Magisto chief marketing officer Reid Genauer in an interview with VentureBeat.

Writer

Genauer has published articles on human interest, marketing and the tech industry. He also writes about the importance of storytelling in human culture.

In “Why Some of Silicon Valley’s Tech Titans are Actual Rock Stars” (Entrepreneur, June 23, 2017), Genauer focuses on the common ground between music performance and the tech industry, citing similarities such as passion, creativity and high risk tolerance.

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 Jeffery’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 “Where the Sidewalk Ends” and is written in the spirit of Dr. Seuss's “The Cat In The Hat.”

The book is described as the story of “a young boy who turns up the thermostat while his mother is off running errands and a jungle sprouts in the midst of his living room.

“Reading through the book, the rhyming story builds in a Jumanji like way, compounding the jungle that grows through his house with each creature that appears while the temperature increases. The excitement and suspense of the book is perfect for reading to kids and allows their imaginations to take the story to another level.”

Bill Nershi from String Cheese Incident spoke about Genauer’s book: “Writing a children’s book is a natural extension of what he does best. Not surprisingly his book comes off as mischievous and fun loving as he is.”

Genauer wrote the book as a way to share his storytelling with a larger audience. “Over the years I have privately written hundreds of little rhymes. I have three little boys under the age of 9 and I read to them at bedtime from my collection. It’s become a cool way for me to connect with them. One of their favorites is called 'Jeffery's Jungle.' So as part of my continued journey to greet the world through creativity, I thought I would share “Jeffery's Jungle” with a larger audience and see what people make of it.”

Genauer has written more than 100 children’s poems and plans to publish a series of books in the future.

Interviews

Genauer has been extensively interviewed over the years on various topics from his bands to his career in the Tech industry (see Interviews). He has also interviewed a long list of musicians and other notables on his own website, reidgenauer.com.

Personal Life

Reid is married and the father of three boys.

Discography

Reid Genauer
· Reid Genauer & Folks, “Conspire To Smile” (2018)
· Reid Genauer, “We Are All Fables” (2018)
Strangefolk
· Strangefolk (also referred to as "Demo") (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)
Assembly of Dust
· The Assembly of Dust — Relix Records (2003)
· The Honest Hour (live) — Hybrid Recordings (2004)
· Some Assembly Required - Missing Piece/Rock Ridge Music (2009)
· Found Sound (Live) (2011)
· Sun Shot (2013)
· Live from The Oregon Trail (Live) (2016)

External Links

Reid Genauer

Official Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Soundcloud
Youtube
All Music Guide
Entrepreneur.com
Crunchbase
LinkedIn
Angel

Assembly of Dust

Official Website
Archive.org (Live Shows)
All Music Guide
Spotify
iTunes
Youtube
Pandora
SoundCloud

Strangefolk

Official Website
Strangefolk Archive.org (Live Shows)
All Music Guide
Spotify
iTunes
Pandora

Press: Music-Related Articles and Interviews

• Strangefolk Known by Young and Old Folk. (LA Times, Sep 28, 1998)
• A Guitarist Who Tells Stories in Songs (New York Times, May 25, 2003)
• ‘Hick Funk’ from Assembly of Dust (NPR, Jul 13, 2005)
• Interview: Reid Genauer on Vimeo (In The Band, Oct 14, 2008)
• Interview with Reid Genauer from Assembly of Dust (Cincy Groove, Jul 15, 2009)
• Interview: Assembly of Dust’s Reid Genauer (Headcount, Jul 23, 2009)
• Reid Genauer Works The Assembly Line (Dean Budnick, Jambands.com, Oct 10, 2009)
• Interview with Reid Genauer, Assembly of Dust (LA Music Blog, Oct 21, 2009)
• HT Interview: Reid Genauer on Reuniting with Strangefolk (Glide Magazine, Mar 28, 2012)
• “Stout Hearted:” Reid Genauer’s Return to Strangefolk (Relix, Mar 30, 2012)
• A Conversation with Reid Genauer (Music Marauders, Jan 12, 2013)
• SMI Radio Xtra: Reid Genauer from Assembly of Dust (Seattlemusicinsider, Mar 14, 2013)
• A-Sides with Jon Chattman: Jamming with Assembly of Dust (Huffpost, May 22, 2013)
• Assembly of Dust Interview (Live Music Daily, Nov 21, 2014)
• Easy Answers: Reid Genauer of Strangefolk/Assembly of Dust Talks Grateful Dead (Glide Magazine, Jul 1, 2015)
• Covering Many Topics with Reid Genauer of Assembly of Dust (NYCMUSIC, Nov 24, 2015)
• “Face-Melting folk Rock:” A Conversation with Reid Genauer (nodepression, May 2, 2016)
• Gone West: Reid Genauer Discusses A New Scene, Lineup Changes (JamBase, May 15, 2016)
• Reid Genauer - Interview by 98.9 WCLZ (WCLZ, Nov 18,2016)
• A conversation with Assembly of Dust (Massachusetts Daily Collegian, Feb 24, 2018

Press: Entrepreneurial Articles and Interviews

• Pulse of the Alley - Reid Genauer, Chief Marketing officer of Magisto (Alleywatch, Apr 2013)
• Interview with Reid Genauer, CMO, Magisto (Digital Hollywood, Spring 2013)
• With 10M users, Magisto’s automatic movie maker app commands the ad potential of a cable TV show (VentureBeat, Sep 19, 2013) Archived July 29, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
• Finding the Overlap Between Your Creative Passions and Your Career (FastCompany, Sep 24, 2014, Fastcompany.com)
• Partner Marketing: Proven Tactics for Startups (Brightideas.co Dec 1, 2014)
• No Small Task: 4 Strategies For Marketers To Reach Millennials (CMO.com by Adobe, Aug 17, 2016)
• Millennials Drive Tectonic Shift In Video and Marketing (MarTech Advisor, Aug 25, 2016)
• The Batman of Tech - CMO by day, rockstar by night (USA Today, Sept 24, 2016) - includes podcast interview on “Talking Tech”
• Millennial Marketers Disrupt Balance of Marketing Power (Chief Marketer, Nov 24, 2016)
• Building Blocks: Reid Genauer, CMO at Magisto Talks Marketing Tech (martechadvisor.com, Oct 19 2016)
• Defining A Marketing Landscape Driven By Millennials (Chief Marketer, Dec 20, 2016)
• Video Marketing Mythology Meets ROI Math (LinkedIn, Jun 1, 2017)

Press: Conspire to Smile Articles and Interviews

• Reid Genauer & Folks “Conspire to Smile” (Grateful Web, Jan 16, 2018)
• Reid Genauer Details Collaborative Album ‘Conspire To Smile’ & Shares Title Track Featuring Strangefolk (Jambase, Jan 16, 2018)
• EXCLUSIVE: Reid Genauer Talks New ‘Conspire to Smile’ Album (liveforlivemusic, Feb 6, 2018)
• Reid Genauer of Strangefolk and Assembly of Dust discusses his new Kickstarter project ‘Conspire to Smile’ (Jambands, Feb 7, 2018)

Press: Children’s Book Articles and Interviews

• Reid Genauer Writes Children’s Book (Relix, Feb 25, 2016)
• Reid Genauer Publishes First Children’s Book ‘Jeffery’s Jungle’ (JamBase, Feb 25,2016)
• Reid Genauer, Children’s Author (NYS Music, Feb 25, 2016)

Interviews by Reid Genauer

• Your Lore Chapter 2: Scott Rogowsky (Host of HQ Trivia) - Reid Genauer (reidgenauer.com, Mar 12, 2018)

References

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