All Eyes Out For You

Joe Henry to produce new Over The Rhine album!

You know how much I love it when one of my favorite bands hooks up with my favorite producer.

Therefore, it's very exciting news to me that Over The Rhine will begin recording at Joe Henry's South Pasadena studio on May 17.  Even better, the band is funding this recording with donations from fans.  Everything from a $15 CD version to a $100 deluxe edition are available for purchase now.  The $50 and $100 levels will grant you access to downloads of nine demos of songs that will be recorded in a few weeks.  There will be some fundraising shows in June and December as well.

This is a great pairing of artist and producer.  OtR's most recent studio album The Trumpet Child certainly had some sonic similarities to some of JH's own solo work as well as to some of his production work.  This album has surely just shot to the top of my most-anticipated records of (hopefully) 2010.

(Many thanks to Josh Hurst for the heads-up.)

UPDATE:  Linford has much to say about the new record.  Did I mention how excited I am?

Looking ahead: 2010

Well, my year-end list is nearly complete.  There were, as always, some real gems in 2009, but on the whole, I'd say fewer keepers than usual.  2010, on the other hand, looks to be full of promise, primarily on the female singer-songwriter front, which - let's face it - pretty much makes or breaks my music year.

First, comes word that Tift Merritt is in the studio with producer Tucker Martine, who has produced a whole slew of great albums, not the least of which was the 2007 album from Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter.  Speaking of whom, Sykes & Co. should have a new release in 2010 as well.

On Jan. 26, Patty Griffin will release the delayed Downtown Church, produced by Buddy Miller (whose heart problems likely delayed the project).  Allison Moorer will release Crows on Feb. 9.  The album reteams her with producer R.S. Field, who also produced her best record The Duel.  Grace Potter has a new album due in the spring, but unfortunately it appears that the sessions with T-Bone Burnett were scrapped.  I'm extremely interested but also a little worried about the direction of that project.

The Drive-By Truckers supposedly have not one, but two, new albums in the can, and those will presumably be released by ATO Records in the near future.  Spoon unexpectedly announced the release of a new album Transference, due Jan. 26 on Merge.

Sam Phillips will continue to release new work with her self-released digital project The LP, including three more EP's and a full-length album.

What else in 2010?  Might we hear the anticipated reteaming of Alison Krauss and Robert Plant?  Will Gillian Welch follow David Rawlings' 2009 lead and drop a new album after almost seven years of waiting?  Aren't Over The Rhine long overdue for a new studio album?

Over The Rhine - 'Live From Nowhere, Vol 4'; Songbook

 Big, big OTR news!  The fourth installment of the band's annual Live From Nowhere series is available for pre-order.  This two-disc collection docuements their December 19, 2008, concert at the Taft Theater, which focused on Over The Rhine's first decade of music.  If you pre-order the CD (available in August), you'll receive a download link for the digital files immediately.

Also of note, OTR has compiled a songbook for The Trumpet Child, which also features an essay by Linford and some nice photos.  Another must-purchase for any OTR fan!

Over The Rhine @ Warehouse Live (Houston, 5/1/09)

I'm not entirely sure what Texas did right to get Over The Rhine twice in about 15 months, after years of largely being off their touring radar.  For this swing through Houston, OtR graduated from the tiny Mucky Duck to the larger - but still intimate - Warehouse Live Studio.  The crowd was occasionally chatty but also wildy effusive in their adoration for Karin, Linford & Co.  Touring as a five-piece, the band drew heavily from The Trumpet Child and Ohio, with a few selections from their other records.  The highlights for me were definitely the Ohio tracks "B.P.D" and the main set closer "Changes Come," both of which were given dramatic, extended treatments.  Overall, the show felt more wide open that the 2008 show at the Duck.

After seeing OtR live for the first time last year, I came away feeling that they are definitely one of the must-see acts on my list.  This show did nothing but reinforce that opinion.  Simply stunning.

As an FYI to fans, Linford mentioned that they'll start mixing Vol. 4 of their Live From Nowhere series next week.

Over The Rhine coming (back) to Texas!

Gosh, it was just about a year ago that I had the great pleasure of seeing Over The Rhine at The Mucky Duck in Houston.  Now Karin and Linford & Co. are heading back our way for another swing through Texas, this time graduating to a much larger venue at Warehouse Live on May 1.

You can purchase tix directly from OtR's site, sans the exorbitant Ticketmaster fees, for a limited time.

(Thanks so much to Matt for the heads up!)

UPDATE:  OtR will be playing the Studio at Warehouse Live, not the Ballroom.  Which should be a whole lot more intimate and give some folks a place to sit.

Over The Rhine @ The Mucky Duck (Feb. 6, 2008)

I've been going to The Mucky Duck in Houston for, like, a dozen years or so.  I've seen some great acts there, including the likes of Todd Snider, Kelly Willis, Charlie Robison, Bruce Robison, Allison Moorer, Hayes Carll and countless others.  But Wednesday night, I saw the best show I've ever seen there when Over The Rhine squeezed themselves onto the Duck's comically small stage. 

OtR don't often play in Texas - in fact, since I started following the band a few years ago, I don't think they've played a single show in the state.  At one point, I bought a ticket to see them in Chicago but wasn't able to make the trip.  So their winter swing through the Lone Star State (they'll hit Austin's Cactus Cafe Thursday and Friday, and Dallas' House of Blues on Saturday) was a big gold star on my calendar.  And boy, did they not disappoint.  The level of musicianship and chemistry I witnessed was like nothing I've seen in such an intimate setting.  The Duck is sort of equal parts coffee house and pub, and the crowds can often be chatty and annoying.  But Karin Bergquist held the sold-out crowd in the palm of her hand, and the audience returned the love, being neither chatty nor overly stodgy (another common trait among Duck audiences).  They leaned heavily on material from their latest record The Trumpet Child, which perfectly suited the intimate, sit-down club atmosphere.  But the set moved at a brisk pace, never dragging or getting dull.  Special mention should be made of bassist/guitarist Jake Bradley and especially of drummer Mickey Grimm, who was just a monster on the percussion.  And it goes without saying that Linford Detweiler is a master of his keys and shares duties with Karin for the in-between-song banter, which was always fun, cool and interesting.  And of course, Linford shared the lead vocal for "Don't Wait For Tom", the band's most absurdly cool song, which ended the evening on a perfect note.

What more can I say?  Over The Rhine was everything I hoped for in concert and so, so, so much more.  Add them to your list of absolutely-positively-must-see live acts.

Oh, and I was even dorky enough to punch out a setlist:

• I Don't Want To Waste Your Time
• Fever (Peggy Lee cover)
• Suitcase
• Born
• Drunkard's Prayer
• I'm On A Roll
• Nothing Is Innocent Now
• The Trumpet Child
• Who'm I Kidding But Me
• I Want You To Be My Love
• Etcetera Whatever
• Latter Days
• Goodnight Charles
• Ohio (Karin on piano)
• Orphan Girl (Gillian Welch cover)

Encore:

• Hush Now
• If A Song Could Be President
• Don't Wait For Tom