Representative Albums: "Till We Have Faces", "Eve", "Good Dog Bad Dog: The Home Recordings
Biography
Over the Rhine had already developed a large and intensely loyal following in its native Cincinnati, OH, before they independently released their first two albums, Till We Have Faces (1991) and Patience (1992). Their music, which they aptly dubbed "post-nuclear, pseudo-alternative, folk-tinged art-pop," is difficult to pigeonhole. They have been compared to 10,000 Maniacs, the Innocence Mission, U2, and Shawn Colvin, but the band's personality seems to owe more to their literary influences (which include Dylan Thomas, C.S. Lewis, and T.S. Eliot). They drew attention to their independent albums with their attractively arty CD packaging, and when IRS signed them in 1992, Patience became the first album in the label's history to be re-released with its original indie cover art. But 1994's Eve would end up the only album the band would record on an IRS budget (with the exception of a slightly touched-up re-release of Till We Have Faces in 1995). When the label was bought out in 1996, Over the Rhine escaped from its five-record contract, fearing a loss of artistic autonomy. By the end of the year the band had released two imaginatively sparse acoustic CDs on its own: Good Dog Bad Dog and The Darkest Night of the Year, a melancholy Christmas album. 1996 also saw significant personal changes for all four bandmembers: Over the Rhine's chief songwriters (bassist/pianist Linford Detweiler and classically trained lead singer Karin Bergquist) were married in October. In December, guitarist Ric Hordinski left to devote more time to his own band, Monk, and drummer Brian Kelley followed (before he changed his mind in 1997). The group issued Besides, a fan-club-only compilation of rarities, in early 1997; the official album Amateur Shortwave Radio appeared in 1999. The band's sixth studio effort Films for Radio appeared in early 2001. Two years later, Detweiler and Bergquist returned with Ohio. This double-disc set, which marked Over the Rhine's tenth album overall, reflected the band's Midwestern connections. Following a tumultuous year of heavy touring, the band returned to the studio (Bergquist and Detweiler's living room, to be precise) and recorded their next album, Drunkard's Prayer, which came out in 2005. They released a career retrospective, Discount Fireworks, in February 2007, followed by the all-new Trumpet Child later that summer. ~ Darryl Cater, All Music Guide
This article is about the Ohio-based band. For the Cincinnati neighborhood, see Over-the-Rhine.
Over the Rhine is an Ohio-based band the core of which is the husband-and-wife team of bassist/pianist/guitarist Linford Detweiler and vocalist/guitarist Karin Bergquist. The band originally began as a quartet with guitarist Ric Hordinski and drummer Brian Kelley. Ric left the band in December 1996 and Brian continued to play into 1997 before departing.
Over the Rhine is now primarily Bergquist and Detweiler accompanied by complementary musicians on albums and tours. Along with Karin Bergquist (vocals, acoustic guitar, piano) and Linford Detweiler (keyboards, electric bass, vocals) the line-up consists of; Jake Bradley (upright bass, electric bass, electric guitar), Mickey Grimm (drums) and Kenny Hutson (electric guitar, mandolin, pedal steel, dobro).
The band's namesake and place of origin is the Cincinnati, Ohio neighborhood Over-the-Rhine. Karin attended school in Barnesville, Ohio and graduated from Barnesville High School in 1984. She then went to Malone College, located in Canton, Ohio, where she met Linford. They have both toured and recorded in many shapes and forms. Over the years, the band has shared the stage with a number of musicians, including Bob Dylan, John Prine, Adrian Belew, Squeeze, Ani DiFranco, and toured as "adjunct" members of Cowboy Junkies.
Formed in the spring of 1989, Over the Rhine released independently their first album, Till We Have Faces, in 1991 (named for the C. S. Lewis book of the same title). Paste Magazine granted one of its first five-star reviews to Over the Rhine's 2003 double album Ohio, released on Virgin Records' Back Porch Records label. Over the Rhine's next album, Drunkard's Prayer, was released on March 29, 2005.
A limited edition live album titled Live From Nowhere, Volume 1 was released in April 2006. A second limited edition live album, Live From Nowhere, Volume 2 was released in March 2007, just over a month from Discount Fireworks. Their latest studio creation is the album The Trumpet Child. The Trumpet Child and the "Live From Nowhere" series have been released on their own independent label, "Great Speckled Dog" (named after their Great Dane, Elroy).
Linford has also recorded and released three solo projects composed of home-recorded acoustic, piano-based music.
In January 2008, Paste Magazine's video podcast interviewed Over the Rhine and featured a live performance (link).
