Bruce Barthol

Who is Bruce Barthol?

Bruce Barthol, is an American bass player.

Born at Alta Bates Hospital, Berkeley, California, he was the original bass player with Country Joe and the Fish through to November 1968. Staying on in England after a European tour eventually led to the formation of Formerly Fat Harry with Gary Peterson and fellow Berkeley native, and one time denizen of the Jabberwock, Phil Greenberg. Upon his return to the Bay Area, Barthol formed Energy Crisis with some ex-members of the Cleanliness and Godliness Skiffle Band before becoming the musical director for the Tony Award winning San Francisco Mime Troupe in 1976. In 2005 and 2006 Barthol joined ex-Country Joe and the Fish members Joe McDonald, David Bennett Cohen and Chicken Hirsch for a number of short tours of the United States and the UK. Retirement from the San Francisco Mime Troupe came in 2009 together with the release with an acclaimed solo album "The Decline and Fall of Everything". He has also written for the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, the Oberlin Dance Company. Barthol is currently playing bass with The Former Members who include Greg Douglass, Roy Blumenfeld and David Bennett Cohen in their line up. He holds an MFA in Musical Theater from New York University.