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Chrys Weedon<\/strong> | Entertainment Editor<\/span><\/p>\n John Gorka was born into the world of music in a small coffeehouse in Pennsylvania in the 1970s. The coffeehouse, Godfrey Daniels, was a hotspot for musicians and a place that Gorka frequented often, even living in the basement for a time. There at Godfrey Daniels, he met a myriad of musicians who inspired him and he quickly started writing his own music. <\/span><\/p>\n Gorka\u2019s first album, \u201cI Know,\u201d was released in 1987. He released his 14th album on January 19, 2018.<\/span><\/p>\n Gorka visited Western on Jan. 18 as a visiting artist. As part of the Smith\u2019s Fine Arts series, Gorka came to play his music and share the wisdom he has gathered through his years of making music and touring.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOf course, I\u2019ve been influenced by mainstream stuff. But I think of myself as something of an insider, and I have always felt that it was better to really strongly affect a small number of people, than to reach a big number of people only superficially or temporarily,\u201d said Gorka in a story in the Huffington Post by journalist Brian D\u2019Ambrosio.<\/span><\/p>\n Gorka\u2019s songs are strongly characterized by the storytelling element. Each song takes the listener on a journey. Songs like \u201cMennonite Girl\u201d and \u201cEdgar the Party Man\u201d are both examples that show off Gorka\u2019s storytelling abilities. Along with his more structured, storytelling songs, Gorka has multiple pieces that are more funny and lighthearted, like \u201cPeople my Age\u201d and \u201cLike my Watch.\u201d On stage, Gorka is jovial, cracking jokes and telling stories about his travels and his music career.<\/span><\/p>\n Behind the scenes, however, Gorka is shy and subdued. Earlier in the afternoon on Friday, Jan 19, Gorka held a song writing workshop to impart his knowledge of the craft and share his writing techniques. He often deflected attention to his instruments and his songs.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPersonally, I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone,\u201d commented Sage Kiernan-Sherrow, a junior pursuing an English degree with a literature concentration. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat I got out of it was that you have to be comfortable forcing yourself to create even when you don\u2019t want to,\u201d said Kiernan-Sherrow, \u201cand experimenting with your work when you\u2019re stuck.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The songs of John Gorka are clearly products of many different influences, but they all have a strong theme of honesty through each one of them. Each melody, each lyric, feels like a secret memory or poem. Gorka\u2019s music can be found on Spotify and iTunes. His website can be found at johngorka.com<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n