John Trubee, Sonoma County’s quirkiest guitarist, keeps creating

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Stories about John Trubee, a Santa Rosa guitarist and composer, almost always begin in the same place: a crude little song called “Blind Man’s Penis.”

Trubee wrote it as a teenager after spotting an ad in a supermarket tabloid promising to record original songs at a Nashville studio. He sent it in, someone else recorded it, and the result was a short, absurd ditty that, through the mysterious alchemy of oddball radio, became a minor cult hit.

“It’s what I’m most famous for, even though it’s a vulgar tune,” Trubee said. “It became sort of an underground hit.”

Since then, Trubee has written and recorded dozens of songs, with a repertoire that now leans toward guitar instrumentals – some his own, others his takes on the Beatles, Motown, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga and other well-known artists.

On Nov. 16, he will perform some of those pieces at the HopMonk Tavern in Sebastopol. But his old song about the anatomy of a sightless man won’t be part of the set.

“I don’t do any of the whacky, profane stuff I sometimes put on my records,” he said.

A lifetime of music

Now 68, Trubee recently retired from a long string of day jobs – driver, clerk, whatever paid the bills. None involved music.

“I would settle for these menial jobs because the only thing that excites me is making music,” he explained. “My parents were upper-middle-class, and they were not happy.”

Across the decades, he’s recorded more than a dozen albums, financing each himself to retain copyright and avoid conflict with band members or outside parties, he said.

“It’s also due to my ferocious temperamental disposition of near-absolute independence,” he explained. “In my many attempts to launch projects in life, I was too often told ‘no’ or ignored.”

Trubee performs regularly around Sonoma County, often for free, sometimes outdoors with just his guitar.

“I am happy to play anywhere, anytime. Regardless,” he said.

From Princeton to Sonoma County

A native of Princeton, New Jersey, Trubee studied at the Berklee School of Music in Boston before making his way west. He has lived in Sonoma County since 1992.

His latest release, “Best of Trubee Records,” is a vinyl retrospective – a sort of greatest hits collection, though the songs aren’t widely known. It spans decades and closes, fittingly, with “Blind Man’s Penis.” Other tracks include “The World Has Gone Insane Today” and “Malt Salt for Walt.”

Before that came “Satan Killed Me Today,” a CD that combines two unfinished albums recorded at Prairie Sun Studios in Cotati: The Deserts of Eternity (2022) and Satan Killed Me Today (2004–2005).

“Both albums are unfinished because I ran out of money,” he said. “Many tracks are simply rough mixes. I released them anyway.”

Most of his recordings are credited to John Trubee and The Ugly Janitors of America, a name he applies to whoever happens to be playing with him at the time. Over the years, roughly 30 or 40 musicians have passed through his orbit. One frequent collaborator is Laurie Amat, a vocalist from Providence, Rhode Island, who also has worked with the avant-garde San Francisco group, the Residents.

Trubee himself rarely sings.

“I’m not a singer,” he said. “I play guitar. I do write all the music and lyrics. I don’t like to collaborate.”

The drive to create

Trubee has no illusions about fame or fortune.

“Often working two jobs, and financing all my musical works from my own meager income, I should not kick myself too hard for failing to generate a larger output,” he said.

Still, the urge to create persists.

“I have a pressing sense of my mortality, prodding me to get my music out into the world ASAP,” he said. “I have more music to create, but no means to pay for recording studio time now.”

In the meantime, he keeps playing. Wherever, whenever. Regardless.