From Janis Joplin’s Neighbor to Nevada County’s Music Maven: The Paul Kraushaar Story

In the early days of the psychedelic music explosion in Marin County, California, a young Paul Kraushaar was riding his horse past Janis Joplin’s cabin in Lagunitas, completely unaware that rock and roll history was being made right around the corner. It wasn’t until years later that someone pointed out the legendary singer’s place, prompting a revelation: “Oh my gosh. We used to ride our horses by her place all the time.”

Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area’s north end during the height of the psychedelic era, Kraushaar was surrounded by artists and musicians who would shape a generation. The neighborhood buzzed with creative energy, and like so many kids of that time, Kraushaar and his buddies all wanted to be in rock and roll bands. What began as guitar lessons from his stepfather evolved into something far more substantial when he discovered that his school band didn’t have a place for guitarists. At the suggestion of his drummer friend, sixteen-year-old Kraushaar picked up the sticks and learned to read drum charts, a skill that would open unexpected doors.

His first bar gig came at just sixteen, playing in a polka band. The ability to read charts made him valuable to older, more seasoned musicians, and the work kept coming. By the time he turned twenty-one, Kraushaar had spent so much time in bars that he had no desire to be in one anymore. But the music world had already claimed him.

His English teacher at high school, Greg Wolf, had been the piano player for a band called Cousin Cricket. After jamming together on Wolf’s beautiful little Rhodes piano after school, Wolf approached Kraushaar with an opportunity: the band needed a drummer. Would he like to audition? When this total rock and roll kid with big, giant hair showed up to meet these hippies from New York who were considerably older, their reaction was skeptical at best. But they hired him anyway.

The next thing Kraushaar knew, he was playing in a dive bar in Reno, watching people dance all over the bar and go crazy for the music. “Wow, this is kind of fun,” he thought. “Maybe I’ll do this.” That moment marked the beginning of a journey that would span more than four decades and touch every corner of the music industry.

Throughout the following years, Kraushaar juggled three or four bands at a time, eventually landing his first real national road tour with The Association, a band known for mid-sixties pop hits like “Along Comes Mary” and “Cherish.” That half-year tour was followed by his own band, touring Canada and across the continent. During another Pacific tour, when his band fell apart overseas and he returned home, Kraushaar walked into a local club with his stunning model girlfriend—hard not to be noticed—and was immediately approached by the owner asking if he knew someone who could do PA and lighting service.

“Well, I happen to have a garage full of equipment,” Kraushaar replied. The gear from managing his own band was just sitting there making no money. Although he’d never been a sound man before—he’d always hired people for that—his years as a studio session player since the seventies gave him deep knowledge of sound, just not in a live setting. His very first job was mixing for Pacific Brass and Electric, a supergroup featuring members of Cold Blood and Tower of Power. Talk about pressure. But they loved it, and from there, a new chapter opened.

Eventually, Kraushaar landed a position with Steel Breeze, a band with several big hits on RCA Records. Being a musician on salary, getting a weekly paycheck whether he worked or not, was a dream scenario. But as that chapter began to wear, another opportunity emerged: working with Paul Emery at his recording studio, where Emery ran a record label called Bennett House Records focused primarily on folk music.

“I’m going to give you all the big hair bands,” Emery told the young rock and roll kid, still in his twenties. This was the eighties, after all, and all the kids wanted big hair bands. Kraushaar started producing them, putting a couple on Emery’s label, which sparked the idea for his own imprint. Together, they conceived Para-Sight Records as a division of Bennett House, which eventually split off on its own.

The breakthrough came when Kraushaar produced a record for Steel Breeze featuring new singer Bobby Thompson. “Cry Thunder” launched the label like crazy. Armed with that success and a staff writer for Warner Chapel, Tim Riley, Kraushaar started writing prolifically. By the early nineties, he had four bands on Para-Sight Records and secured a distribution deal through a Sony division company in LA.

The timing coincided perfectly with the emergence of Triple A radio—Adult Alternative Album—a format that fit Kraushaar’s roster perfectly. Despite losing the head of their AAA division and having to do everything themselves, the label grew even bigger. In the late nineties, Kraushaar dove into alternative rock bands, including Legs on Earth featuring drummer Zach Hill, who would become highly influential. Today, original pressings of “Lasers and Saviors” fetch hundreds of dollars from collectors. The Steel Breeze record goes for one to two hundred dollars. When a collector contacted Kraushaar recently looking for copies, he had to decline: “I got a couple.”

The label garnered serious recognition. Steel Breeze received a Grammy nomination as an independent artist. A series of Shay Dillon records earned super big accolades. Kraushaar’s client roster grew to include everything from classical composers—he studied composition, music theory, and counterpoint in college, so he could read charts and understand what they needed—to hip hop acts, including working with Snoop Dogg’s cousin Creep Dog, with beats made by Snoop’s Dog Pound production.

Then the industry shifted. Streaming arrived, and the traditional record company model evaporated. Around 2010, Kraushaar paused label operations and focused on production work for others. But his deep background and status as a multi-instrumentalist kept him relevant and in demand across genres.

Recently, Kraushaar fired Para-Sight Records back up, but with a different approach. Rather than just functioning as a traditional label, Para-Sight now operates as a comprehensive service, helping artists produce themselves. In today’s do-it-yourself world, Kraushaar recognized that very few people have become proficient in handling all the different aspects of creating, releasing, and promoting music. It really takes a team effort, and after decades running a record label, he has assembled exactly that.

Now, Para-Sight Records offers fully encompassed video, audio, and promotional services for local and regional artists looking to promote original music and create original product that can get out to the world successfully. Through PSR Recording Studio in Grass Valley, Kraushaar provides everything from production to video creation, leveraging relationships built over forty years in the industry.

On Friday, January 30, 2026, all of this comes full circle at the Nevada Theatre in Nevada City, California, as part of the Paul Emery Music Nevada City Live series. Para-Sight Records presents a sampler showcase featuring three acts Kraushaar has recently produced, all with new singles, streaming releases, and even vinyl in the works. There will be a commemorative CD sampler available at the show.

Peter Wilson opens the evening, featuring songs from his upcoming Para-Sight release “PeterWilsonWorld.” The award-winning singer-songwriter-guitarist will be joined by legendary guitarist John Girton from Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks. Norman Collins and the Tumblers from San Francisco follow, performing from the album Kraushaar reinvented with them—music that’s now garnering upwards of 150,000 streams worldwide.

The headliner brings it all home: Cousin Cricket, the band Kraushaar joined at age sixteen or seventeen. The lineup includes the original Crickets—Western Swing Hall of Fame inductees Ken Miele, Doug Cohen, and Kraushaar himself—along with guitarist Bob Woods, vocalists Christi Colombo and Heidi Grass, and featured artist Joe Ybarra on pedal steel from Sacramento. They’ll perform classic Cousin Cricket songs from earlier records alongside new singles Kraushaar has written and produced with the band.

The concert represents more than just a showcase of recent productions. It’s a celebration of forty years of creative commitment to music, artists, and listeners’ enjoyment. In an era of AI and over-produced corporate content, Kraushaar and Para-Sight Records champion grassroots music made by real people playing real instruments—following in the tradition of Bill Graham by bringing a multi-act lineup of varied genres to intimate venues.

From delivering newspapers to band members in Marin County, to producing Grammy-nominated records, to mentoring the next generation of artists through comprehensive production services, Paul Kraushaar’s journey embodies the evolution of independent music itself. And on January 30th at the Nevada Theatre, that journey takes another bow.

Tickets are available now at PaulEmeryMusic.com, with general admission at twenty dollars and reserved seating at thirty. As Kraushaar says with characteristic warmth: “We hope to see you there.”