featured artist - over the rhine

written and submitted by: bill ivester

over the rhine

karin bergquist

linford detweiler, karin bergquist

over the rhine is a paradox of sorts, beautiful words and music from people that were inspired by and named themselves after a tired, worn and violent inner city neighborhood. they have an intensely loyal following, yet until recently, it wasn't out of the norm to see them play to a well attended but less than capacity audience in their own hometown of cincinnati. their home audience may have taken for granted or been slow to recognize what they had, but many others weren't. they may not be a household name, but it is not uncommon to attend a sold-out show in new york, atlanta, massachusetts or new zealand. and at those shows, in casual conversation it is commonplace to strike a chat with someone who may be attending far from their home, like hawaii, colorado, california, texas, new york, florida, toronto, belfast or even katmandu (yes, katmandu). while their cd's can be hard to find through chain & "big box" stores people seek & find their music at independent retailers and via the internet and traditional channels, they have sold well over a quarter of a million albums, with one of them selling more copies in paris (france, not kentucky) than in the state of ohio. they are known for introspective and inspiring songs sung by their beautifully voiced co-founder and singer, karin bergquist, and two of their more recognizable and popular songs in concert are light-hearted songs with their keyboardist and other co-founder, linford detweiler taking the lead on vocals. i could go on…

OtR has gone through many changes and line-ups since the original foursome of mostly college acquaintances; karin bergquist, linford detweiler, ric hordenski, and brian kelly formed the band 20 years ago this fall. at the end of 1996 the band went through major changes, ric and brian moved on and karin and linford emerged as over the rhine, and carried on with the name. since that time they have performed as a duo, trio and with several varying configurations and styles of music. during these years there have been many great players (jack henderson, matt slocum, byron house, devon ashley & brad jones to name a few) joining and supporting karin and linford on stage and on record. the current line-up is primarily a four piece band consisting of karin (vocals, guitar, keyboard), linford (keyboards, guitar, bass, backing vocals), jake bradley (bass, guitar) and mickey grimm (drum kit).

over the rhine: linford detweiler, karin bergquist, mickey grimm, jake bradley

karin and linford were recognized by paste magazine as part of a very exclusive group that they considered "america's 100 greatest living songwriters," an acknowledgement they richly deserve and earned. over the years they have shared the stage with artists the likes of; bob dylan, john prine, cowboy junkies, ani difranco, buddy miller and have played in smokey dive bars, the ryman auditorium and pretty much everything in between, and in couple of weeks they have been invited to play at the legendary "newport folk festival."

they write music from their own lives and life experiences, the results are deeply personal and come from a place of both joy and fear; “the saddest songs are the happiest, the hardest truths are the easiest.”(long lost brother-ohio). their songs are ripe with both spirituality and doubt and they comfort and assure those that are dealing with personal doubts and fears with affirmation, joy and love. "yeah, we’re gonna be alright/you can close your eyes tonight/‘cause we’re gonna be alright" (etcetera whatever-good dog bad dog). their style continues to evolve, they consistently seem to reinvent themselves and remain relevant, fresh yet familiar to their fans.

in order to remain true to their music, their vision and most importantly, themselves... they recently left their label to form their own imprint, "great speckled dog" (named after their great dane, elroy), to ensure that they can make and release music that they want to make, on their own terms. the first release on the label was the well received, "the trumpet child" and their second, the limited edition, "live from nowhere volume 3" will be shipping shortly. a couple of years ago, they were challenged by david foreman, their sound engineer to "go deep...go deep or don't go at all." in my opinion, and that of many others, not only heve they met and exceeded dave's challenge, they have left it in the dust.

i feel blessed to have stumbled on a used copy of their first record, “till we have faces” 17 years ago and again to have wandered into "the wild beet" on a cold winter night where they were playing 12 years ago to hear them live for the first time. in the years since, they have become the soundtrack for my life. they have given me peace, joy, laughter and brought more than a tear or two to my eyes also. their music has helped introduce me to people that have become great, lifelong friends that i have shared bread, wine and my home with on many occasions in the past and look forward to doing so again in the future. i have seen them 126 times since that first night in bloomington 12 years ago, to steal another line from one of their songs, "i need thousands more, at least."

and more importantly than everything said above, they are damn fine people that i am proud to call my friends.

i hope you’ll give them a listen and maybe find some of what i’ve found, if not from them, from someone…

to find out more visit:
overtherhine.com
over the rhine (myspace)
over the rhine (facebook)
*music is posted on the myspace & facebook pages

"i don't wanna waste your time" - flevo festival

"if a song could be president" @ WUTK Radio/knoxville