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Press Release!!!
ROUNDER RECORDS TO RELEASE PETER ROWAN AND TONY RICE'S YOU WERE THERE FOR ME, SEPTEMBER 28 FIRST FULL-FLEDGED RECORDING COLLABORATION; Cambridge, MA - On September 28, Rounder Records will release You Were There For Me - the first full-fledged recording collaboration between Peter Rowan and Tony Rice, two of the most influential musicians in American music. Rowan, whose career has spanned from SeaTrain to Old & In the Way to numerous solo and ensemble projects with Don Edwards and others, is a soulful singer and a poignant songwriter. Rice, a veteran of the David Grisman Quintet, the Tony Rice Unit, the Bluegrass Album Band, the Rice Brothers and Rice, Rice, Hillman and Pedersen, is an unparalleled guitarist. Produced and arranged by Peter Rowan and co-produced by Tony Rice, You Were There For Me is a collaboration in every sense of the word, featuring Rowan's sublime vocals on ten of his original compositions, and acoustic guitar virtuoso Rice's remarkable instrumental work which evokes, frames and enhances the emotions of each song. With laudatory liner notes provided by celebrated music critic Robert Oermann, You Were There For Me opens with the achingly heartfelt, instrumentally spare title track, followed by the robust blues and deftly-played guitar of "Tin Roof Shack." "Shirt Off My Back" is the ideal vehicle for the interplay between Rowan's voice and the "voice" of Rice's guitar: the two complement each other perfectly. On "Cowboys and Indians" the instrumental support is essential to the tempo and structure of the song. Both musicians shine impressively on "Ahmed the Beggar Boy," while on "Angel Island" Rowan and Rice, once again, echo each other's phrasing flawlessly. Rowan's broken-hearted vocal on "Ain't That Just Like You" is matched by the pain in the notes of Rice's guitar, and the musicians trade off on lovely jazz-inflected solos. "Old Sante Fe" features Rowan's lilting, melodic lead vocal and Latin-flavored guitar by Rice, who graces the instrumental break with precision and delicacy. The set closes with Rowan's ode to freedom, "Wild Mustang," showcasing striking Native American vocalizations by Rowan, with Rice's Spanish guitar inflections underscoring the lyric and his wide-open solo the audio equivalent of freedom itself. You Were There For Me is enhanced by the guest artist support of the following outstanding musicians: Billy Bright on mandolin and mandola and Bryn Bright on double bass and harmony vocals (both longtime accompanists on both Rowan and Rice's live dates), Tony Garnier (Bob Dylan) on double bass, Larry Atamanuik (Alison Krauss + Union Station) on percussion, and Robert Emery (baritone harmony vocal on "Old Santa Fe"). Grammy-award
winner and five-time Grammy nominee, Peter Rowan was born in Massachusetts
to a musical family. He began his professional career playing guitar,
singing lead vocals and co-writing as a member of the Bluegrass Boys,
led by the founding father of bluegrass, Bill Monroe. After his departure
as Monroe's guitarist and lead vocalist, Rowan formed folk-rock band Earth
Opera with David Grisman, recording two successful albums for Elektra
Records and subsequently joining Richard Greene in jazz-rock fusion group
SeaTrain. In the early '70s, Rowan, David Grisman, Jerry Garcia, Vassar
Clements and John Kahn formed a bluegrass band christened Old & In
the Way. He embarked on a well-received solo career in the late '70s,
releasing such diverse and critically acclaimed albums as Dustbowl Children
and Bluegrass Boy, as well as much-admired collaborations with ace Dobro
player Jerry Douglas, Flaco Jimenez, and his brothers Christopher and
Lorin Rowan. Rowan's songs have also been recorded by hit country artists
and featured in motion pictures. His recent projects include a recording
at Jamaica's famed Tuff Gong Studios with an imposing array of hardcore
reggae and bluegrass musicians, and select performances touring as Peter
Rowan and Crucial Reggae, featuring members of both the Burning Spear
and Peter Tosh bands. Arguably the finest flat-picking guitarist of all time, Virginia-born and California-raised Tony Rice is revered as perhaps the single most important bluegrass guitarist alive. Introduced to the genre by his musician father, he joined the seminal band Bluegrass Alliance and later played in J.D. Crowe's New South, one of the best, most progressive and commercially successful bluegrass bands of all time. Rice left to join the David Grisman Quintet, working on original material that blended jazz, bluegrass and classical styles. He then embarked on a highly respected and successful solo career that included a part-time venture in bluegrass supergroup, The Bluegrass Album Band. With his signature subtle touch, beautiful tone, amazing speed and imaginative phrasing, Rice has inspired guitarists far and wide for decades, as both a peerless lead player and the quintessential rhythm player. His inventive syncopation encompasses many acoustic music genres in addition to bluegrass, including jazz, blues, classical, folk, and swing, as is evident in his numerous solo and collaborative recordings. Twice nominated for a Grammy Award, he won for Best Country Instrumental Performance in 1986 as a member of New South. In 2003, Rounder Records released Tony Rice's 58957: The Bluegrass Guitar Collection. Guitar World Acoustic gave the collection 4 stars stating "Remarkable guitar, remarkable guitarist; it's a combination that can't be beat." Recently, Rice has revived the illustrious Tony Rice Unit to craft the non-traditional, jazz-tinged "spacegrass" with which he is identified. The Tony Rice Unit is currently playing dates throughout the country. Beginning August 13, The Peter Rowan and Tony Rice Quartet will perform in support of You Were There For Me, which also includes Bryn Bright on stand up acoustic bass and Billy Bright on mandolin. August September October November December
### For more information, please contact Lauren Calista at 617.218.4483,
or email lcalista@rounder.com.
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