Bob Druker

One fine Montana morning, psychiatrist and songwriter Bob Druker crested a highway hilltop to spy a curious sight below. A small train was rolling across a broad green valley, pulling a flatbed car upon which sat a little plane. That image triggered a deep creative urge. “Why would a plane take a train?” was Druker’s thought. “There’s got to be a story here somewhere!” The desire to find and write that story became his passion.

To create the story that emerged as “Rescuing Zintaurus,” Druker would draw from his lifelong interest in fairy tales, his love of animals, and his experience acting in college and community productions. He would distill what he had learned from his patients about experiencing and overcoming trauma. Lastly, he would further his songwriting ability at Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music under Steve Dawson, who was first a teacher and then a collaborator.

Originally from Iowa, now living in Wisconsin, Druker trained as an occupational therapist and worked with children with sensory integration and learning disorders for several years before entering medical school at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He did his psychiatry residency at the University of Wisconsin Hospitals in Madison. He has a 35-year career as a psychiatrist working first in the public, then the private sector. Currently, he works in the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, with a particular interest in substance abuse among those with severe mental illness.

Druker was inspired to write “Rescuing Zintaurus” by both “The Wizard of Oz”, whose structure he borrowed, and by “The Princess Bride”, another story beloved by both children and adults. The love theme was drawn from the love of his own female cat for his own three-legged dog. Her persevering character was inspired by Mattie Ross, the hero of “True Grit.” The idea of mistaken identity in the story is, of course, borrowed from Shakespeare, although flipped on its head to become a mistaken species identity. Shakespeare also provided King Claudius from “Hamlet” as the inspiration for the murderous King Cete.

Druker has created an adventurous tale that is both light-hearted and gripping. It holds for the healing value of truth in the self, and the overriding value of truth in the world at large. “I knew there was a story here somewhere,” says Druker. “I’m satisfied I found it. If it can inspire a child to prevail in the face of a mental health challenge, I will be that much more satisfied!”

A proud member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Druker will donate a portion of “Rescuing Zintaurus” revenues to NAMI.

Chicago Folk / Americana singer / songwriter, Steve Dawson, has been called “one of the most underrated songwriters in American music,” who writes, “graceful, poetic songs akin to a volume of great short stories in their precise, exacting wordplay and soulful heartache.” Dawson has released six albums with his long-time band, Dolly Varden, and six solo albums, including 2021’s “At The Bottom Of A Canyon In The Branches Of A Tree” and 2024’s “Ghosts,” both on Pravda Records. 

Originally from San Diego, California, he spent his teen years in Hailey, Idaho, where he learned guitar and started writing songs. After a few years at the Berklee School of Music in Boston, Dawson moved to Chicago and formed the band, Stump The Host, with his future wife, artist and singer, Diane Christiansen. Dawson also teaches songwriting at the legendary Old Town School of Folk Music and co-wrote a book on songwriting and the creative process with Mark Caro called, “Take It To The Bridge: Unlocking The Great Songs Inside You.”