Happy Rhodes
Encyclopedia
Happy Rhodes is an American
singer, songwriter
, instrumentalist and electronic music
ian with a four-octave vocal range. She has released 11 albums since 1986.
. Her middle name "Tyler" is after the American actress Mary Tyler Moore
, who was a friend of Rhodes' mother, Susan D. Stamper, while both took dance classes at the New York City Ballet. Rhodes' maternal grandfather Dave Stamper
wrote songs for the Ziegfeld Follies
of 1913 through 1931, as well as composing the music for several other Broadway shows. A family legend claims that Stamper wrote the well-known song "Shine On, Harvest Moon
" in 1903 for Nora Bayes
when he was working as her Vaudeville piano accompanist, but sold the rights and credit to Bayes and her husband Jack Norworth
. Rhodes' parents divorced when she was young. Rhodes has two brothers who are twins.
Rhodes received her first musical instrument, an acoustic guitar
, as a gift from her mother, at age 11. At 14 she was performing original songs in school shows. She left school early at age 16, choosing to obtain a GED
. From age 16 to 18, Rhodes began performing in "Open Mic Nights" at Caffè Lena in Saratoga, New York
. During this period, Rhodes met Pat Tessitore, the owner of a recording studio, Cathedral Sound Studios in Rensselaer
, and became a studio intern to learn recording techniques. Tessitore was impressed with Rhodes' voice and songwriting, and volunteered to record all of the songs she had written to that point.
Tessitore introduced Rhodes to Kevin Bartlett
, a musician who had his own record label, Aural Gratification, and he urged her to gather up all the songs that she had recorded, to be released on cassette. She had enough songs to release three cassettes at the same time in 1986, Rhodes Vol. I, Rhodes Vol. II, and Rearmament. In 1987, she released the cassette of Ecto. Her first CD release was Warpaint, in 1991. The first four albums were only available on hand-dubbed cassettes until they were re-released on CD in 1992. For the CD releases, Rhodes Vol. I was re-named Rhodes I, and Rhodes Vol. II was re-named Rhodes II. Each of the CD re-releases contained bonus tracks not on the original cassettes. Aural Gratification released nine Happy Rhodes albums between 1986 and 1995, including Equipoise and RhodeSongs in 1993, Building The Colossus in 1994 and The Keep in 1995. Rhodes left Aural Gratification in 1998.
Rhodes' 10th album, Many Worlds Are Born Tonight, was released in August 1998 by Samson Music, a label founded by Norm Waitt Jr., brother of Ted Waitt
, co-founder of the Gateway Computer company
. Rhodes was dropped from Samson when the label decided to concentrate on other genres of music and Samson transferred rights to the material back to Rhodes, as well as unsold product.
In 2001 Rhodes recorded an 11th album, called Find Me, which was released October 19, 2007.
Rhodes married musician Bob Muller in 2006 and they currently live on a farm in central upstate New York
.
, Kate Bush
, Queen
, Yes
, David Bowie
, Bach
and Peter Gabriel
as primary influences. Her father owned a large record collection which included Bagpipe
music and Switched-On Bach
, by the then-Walter Carlos
. By age nine, Rhodes could sing along with every note from that album. As a teenager she discovered the music of Queen
and was impressed by their harmonies, which she later emulated on her first few albums. When Rhodes was introduced at age 16 to Kate Bush
's music by an English pen pal, she was impressed by Bush's original writing style, vocal abilities and independence as a female artist.
Rhodes has cited Bach
's Air on a G String as her favorite piece of music.
Many younger artists have cited Rhodes as an influence on their own music and/or outlook, including Noe Venable
, Robert German
, and Lisse Kathe.
, but self-trained her voice to reach the mezzo-soprano
range singing along with Kate Bush
's album "The Kick Inside
" and Wendy Carlos
' album "Switched-On Bach
".
Her high voice can sound very similar to Kate Bush
, and her highest recorded sung vocal phrase is D5, one octave above middle C (C4) in a live performance of the Queen
song "Lily of the Valley".
She has sung higher notes as background vocals, singing nonsense syllables like "ah" and "la". Her highest example of this type of singing is in her song "Runners" from her album Equipoise, where she hits G-Sharp6, two octaves above middle C (C4).
Her low voice can sound similar to Annie Lennox
, and her lowest recorded note is A2, one octave below middle C
, in her song "Charlie" on her album Find Me.
Her songs "When the Rain Came Down" on the album Ecto, and "Winter" on Many Worlds Are Born Tonight exhibit this range.
A2 to G-Sharp6 (aka A-Flat6) gives Rhodes a total range of 4 octaves.
. Rhodes has sold out every show she's performed in Philadelphia when she was the headliner. She has performed several times at the Tin Angel, where she always plays two shows in an evening. Rhodes has also played the Painted Bride Arts Center in 1998, The Middle East Club
in 1995, the Mann Theater (opening for 10,000 Maniacs
) and the University Museum Auditorium, both in 1992. In New York City Rhodes has played the Bottom Line several times, and performed at the El Flamingo Club in 1998. In 1994 Rhodes performed at YesFest, a convention for fans of the band Yes
. She has also performed at the Knitting Factory in New York City as a guest of the band Project Lo.
As a solo artist Rhodes has performed in Philadelphia, New York City
, Cambridge, MA, Troy, NY
, Albany, NY
, Saratoga, NY
, Woodstock, NY, Bearsville, NY
, New Haven, CT
, Danbury, CT
, Maple Shade, NJ
, Denville, NJ
, Bryn Mawr, PA
, Mechanicsburg, PA
, Cleveland, OH
, Toledo, OH
, Kenosha, WI
, Chicago, IL
and Santa Cruz, CA
.
and Chuck Stipak of Danbury, Connecticut
organized a one-day music festival in Danbury to honor Rhodes and the mailing list Ecto, with all proceeds going to charity. The lineup for "Ectofest 1999," held on September 4, 1999, consisted of Rhodes, Rachael Sage
, Sloan Wainwright
, Susan McKeown
and the Mila Drumke Band. Tarr and Stipak repeated the festival the next year and on September 2, 2000 "Ectofest 2000" featured Rhodes, Jessica Weiser, Anne Heaton
, Amy Fairchild, Sloan Wainwright, Merrie Amsterburg
and Susan McKeown.
In 2001, West Coast fans organized "Ectofest West" in Santa Cruz, California
, held on June 9, 2001 at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center. Rhodes flew to California to perform but on the day of the concert she accidentally cut the ring finger on her fret hand while using a Leatherman
tool, and severed the deep flexor tendon, as well as causing nerve damage. She was taken to the hospital where the hand was temporarily treated and bandaged. Rhodes performed 12 songs that evening sans guitar, relying on bandmates Eric Nicholas, Carl Adami and Bob Muller to fill in her parts. Rhodes had surgery on the finger when she returned from California and underwent physical therapy so she could play the guitar again. Ectofest West is the only time Rhodes has performed in front of an audience west of Chicago
. Other performers at the festival were Cyoakha Grace, Jill Tracy
and Veda Hille
. Two Loons for Tea was scheduled to play but the band was stranded in Houston during a hurricane, and was not able to get to Santa Cruz in time. Rhodes was scheduled to play Ectofest 2001 on August 25, 2001 in Danbury, CT but had to bow out because of her injury. Performers at that show were Edie Carey, Mila Drumke, Trina Hamlin
, Jargon Society, Rachael Sage and Molly Zenobia. 2001's show was the last Ectofest until the 2007 Ectofest with Happy Rhodes, Noe Venable
and Casey Desmond
on September 8, 2007, at the Lily Pad in Cambridge, MA. The show sold out 3 weeks in advance, with fans traveling from all over the United States and also Scotland and Germany.
, and The World Cafe. She has received airplay on Morning Becomes Eclectic
from KCRW
in Santa Monica, CA, and WDST
in Woodstock, NY, where Rhodes lived for a time, appearing on the compilation Alternative Woodstock.
Much of the attention Rhodes has received has been via less traditional routes:
, suicide
, death
, ghost
s, monsters and aliens
because they are subjects that interested her. Rhodes has never spoken in-depth about her childhood, but several interviews have indicated that it was unhappy. School was especially difficult and she has talked about being tormented and abused by her peers. Painting and writing music were escapes for her and negative feelings were often translated into lyrics. Rhodes has said in interviews that she suffered from depression at various times in her life, and many fans feel that she is particularly talented in putting her feelings while depressed into words via her lyrics, often identifying closely with them.
(1986
), Rhodes Volume II
(1986
), Rearmament (1986
) and Ecto (1987
) were not conceived and recorded as album releases, but were a gathering together of songs recorded at Cathedral Sound Studios over a number of years. When fellow musician Kevin Bartlett offered to release Rhodes' songs on his cassette-only personal label Aural Gratification, Rhodes culled through the songs she had recorded and ordered them to her satisfaction. Rhodes I and Rhodes II are often considered to be a double album by fans because the songs are similar in theme and instrumentation. The third cassette, Rearmament, uses more electronic instrumentation and often displays the influence of Wendy Carlos
.The fourth cassette, Ecto, contained a greater number of the more recent songs Rhodes had recorded and shows a greater maturity and complexity, foreshadowing the music Rhodes would make in the future.
album Warpaint
was the first result of her collaboration with musician, producer and Aural Gratification record label owner Kevin Bartlett, and the first to feature musicians other than Rhodes. During this period, the two formed a duo named, appropriately enough, "Bartlett/Rhodes". They recorded a number of co-written songs and played a few dates, but the results were not generally considered successful, and they decided to continue on their individual endeavors. 1993
brought Equipoise
an album of new material and RhodeSongs
a compilation of music from Rhodes' first four album, alternative versions and a David Bowie
cover. The cover of the 1994
album Building the Colossus
commented on Rhodes' technically-oriented fan base with an album sub-head of "c:\happy rhodes" and featured Peter Gabriel
collaborators Jerry Marotta
and David Torn
. This exceptionally productive period was capped with the 1995
compilation The Keep, featuring acoustic versions of earlier songs, the traditional Christmas song Oh Holy Night and a medley of songs by the group Yes
.
release Many Worlds Are Born Tonight
. Once the album was complete, she signed with a new label, Samson Music, and was able to tour the northeastern United States with a more elaborate stage show. The song Roy was released as a single and reached #42 on the Billboard
Club Play/Dance Music chart. While sales were far greater than her previous albums, Samson eventually decided to concentrate on their Gold Circle Films
division and dropped Rhodes. The parting was amicable, and the label returned her musical rights, as well as all unsold product.
In 2001 Rhodes recorded a new album, Find Me, but it was not released until 2007, although a limited-edition CD sampler consisting of 8 songs - Fall, Charlie, The Chosen One, Can't Let Go, One And Many, Find Me, Here And Hereafter and She Won't Go was sold at her 2005 concert. The album includes three additional songs - Treehouse, Little Brother and Queen. One additional song, Shutdown, was recorded for the album but is not on the official release.
Musicians on Find Me include guitarist Bon Lozaga and bassist Hansford Rowe of Gongzilla, bassist Carl Adami, guitarists Ted Kumpel and Jon Cather and pianist Rob Schwimmer.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, instrumentalist and electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
ian with a four-octave vocal range. She has released 11 albums since 1986.
Family
Born Kimberley Tyler Rhodes but called "Happy" since infancy, she legally changed her name to Happy Tyler Rhodes at age 16. Through her father, Vernon H. Rhodes Jr., Rhodes is a distant relative of Cecil Rhodes and her first name "Kimberley" is after the Kimberley diamond minesArgyle diamond mine
The Argyle Diamond Mine is a diamond mine located in the East Kimberley region in the remote north of Western Australia. Argyle is the largest diamond producer in the world by volume, although due to the low proportion of gem-quality diamonds, is not the leader by value. It is the only known...
. Her middle name "Tyler" is after the American actress Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...
, who was a friend of Rhodes' mother, Susan D. Stamper, while both took dance classes at the New York City Ballet. Rhodes' maternal grandfather Dave Stamper
Dave Stamper
Dave Stamper was an American songwriter of the Tin Pan Alley and vaudeville eras, a contributor to twenty-one editions of the Ziegfeld Follies, writer for the Fox Film Corporation, and composer of more than one thousand songs, in spite of never learning to read or write traditional music notation...
wrote songs for the Ziegfeld Follies
Ziegfeld Follies
The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
of 1913 through 1931, as well as composing the music for several other Broadway shows. A family legend claims that Stamper wrote the well-known song "Shine On, Harvest Moon
Shine On, Harvest Moon
"Shine On, Harvest Moon" is the name of a popular early-1900s song credited to the married vaudeville team Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth. It was one of a series of moon related Tin Pan Alley songs of the era. The song was debuted by Bayes and Norworth in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1908 to great acclaim...
" in 1903 for Nora Bayes
Nora Bayes
Nora Bayes was a popular American singer, comedienne and actress of the early 20th century.-Early life and career:...
when he was working as her Vaudeville piano accompanist, but sold the rights and credit to Bayes and her husband Jack Norworth
Jack Norworth
Jack Norworth was a U.S. songwriter, singer and vaudeville performer.Norworth is credited as co-writer of a number of Tin Pan Alley hits. He wrote the lyrics of the song "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" in 1908, his most long lasting hit. But it wasn't until 1940 that he actually witnessed a Major...
. Rhodes' parents divorced when she was young. Rhodes has two brothers who are twins.
Musical background
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, as a gift from her mother, at age 11. At 14 she was performing original songs in school shows. She left school early at age 16, choosing to obtain a GED
GED
General Educational Development tests are a group of five subject tests which, when passed, certify that the taker has American or Canadian high school-level academic skills...
. From age 16 to 18, Rhodes began performing in "Open Mic Nights" at Caffè Lena in Saratoga, New York
Saratoga, New York
Saratoga is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 5,141 at the 2000 census. It is also the commonly used, but not official, name for the neighboring and much more populous city, Saratoga Springs. The major village in the town of Saratoga is Schuylerville which is...
. During this period, Rhodes met Pat Tessitore, the owner of a recording studio, Cathedral Sound Studios in Rensselaer
Rensselaer, New York
Rensselaer is a city in Rensselaer County, New York, United States, and is located on the Hudson River directly opposite Albany. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 9,392; in 1920, it was 10,832. The name is from Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the original landowner of the region in New...
, and became a studio intern to learn recording techniques. Tessitore was impressed with Rhodes' voice and songwriting, and volunteered to record all of the songs she had written to that point.
Tessitore introduced Rhodes to Kevin Bartlett
Kevin Bartlett (musician)
Kevin Bartlett is a composer/performer who specializes in complex, multi-layered electronic symphonic compositions influenced by both classical and progressive rock styles. He was born in Albany, New York....
, a musician who had his own record label, Aural Gratification, and he urged her to gather up all the songs that she had recorded, to be released on cassette. She had enough songs to release three cassettes at the same time in 1986, Rhodes Vol. I, Rhodes Vol. II, and Rearmament. In 1987, she released the cassette of Ecto. Her first CD release was Warpaint, in 1991. The first four albums were only available on hand-dubbed cassettes until they were re-released on CD in 1992. For the CD releases, Rhodes Vol. I was re-named Rhodes I, and Rhodes Vol. II was re-named Rhodes II. Each of the CD re-releases contained bonus tracks not on the original cassettes. Aural Gratification released nine Happy Rhodes albums between 1986 and 1995, including Equipoise and RhodeSongs in 1993, Building The Colossus in 1994 and The Keep in 1995. Rhodes left Aural Gratification in 1998.
Rhodes' 10th album, Many Worlds Are Born Tonight, was released in August 1998 by Samson Music, a label founded by Norm Waitt Jr., brother of Ted Waitt
Ted Waitt
Theodore "Ted" Waitt is an American billionaire who was a co-founder of Gateway, Inc.- Biography :Waitt was born and raised in Sioux City, Iowa and attended the University of Iowa. Waitt and Mike Hammond started Gateway 2000 on September 5, 1985 with a $10,000 loan secured by Waitt's grandmother...
, co-founder of the Gateway Computer company
Gateway, Inc.
Gateway Computer Corporation, is a computer hardware company headquartered in Irvine, California, USA which develops, manufactures, supports, and markets a wide range of personal computers, computer monitors, servers, and computer accessories...
. Rhodes was dropped from Samson when the label decided to concentrate on other genres of music and Samson transferred rights to the material back to Rhodes, as well as unsold product.
In 2001 Rhodes recorded an 11th album, called Find Me, which was released October 19, 2007.
Rhodes married musician Bob Muller in 2006 and they currently live on a farm in central upstate New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Influences
Rhodes has cited Wendy CarlosWendy Carlos
Wendy Carlos is an American composer and electronic musician. Carlos first came to notice in the late 1960s with recordings made on the Moog synthesizer, then a relatively new and unknown instrument; most notable were LPs of synthesized Bach and the soundtrack for Stanley Kubrick's film A...
, Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
, Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
, Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
, David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
and Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
as primary influences. Her father owned a large record collection which included Bagpipe
Bagpipes
Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes of many different types come from...
music and Switched-On Bach
Switched-On Bach
-Details:The album consists of pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed on a Moog synthesizer, a modular synthesizer system, one of which can be seen at the back of the room on the album cover. "Switched-On Bach," or "S-OB" as Carlos referred to it, was recorded on a custom-built 8 track recorder...
, by the then-Walter Carlos
Wendy Carlos
Wendy Carlos is an American composer and electronic musician. Carlos first came to notice in the late 1960s with recordings made on the Moog synthesizer, then a relatively new and unknown instrument; most notable were LPs of synthesized Bach and the soundtrack for Stanley Kubrick's film A...
. By age nine, Rhodes could sing along with every note from that album. As a teenager she discovered the music of Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
and was impressed by their harmonies, which she later emulated on her first few albums. When Rhodes was introduced at age 16 to Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
's music by an English pen pal, she was impressed by Bush's original writing style, vocal abilities and independence as a female artist.
Rhodes has cited Bach
Bạch
Bạch is a Vietnamese surname. The name is transliterated as Bai in Chinese and Baek, in Korean.Bach is the anglicized variation of the surname Bạch.-Notable people with the surname Bạch:* Bạch Liêu...
's Air on a G String as her favorite piece of music.
Many younger artists have cited Rhodes as an influence on their own music and/or outlook, including Noe Venable
Noe Venable
Noe Venable is an experimental folk/pop singer-songwriter. She has earned a loyal fan base in her native San Francisco, in part through frequently performing in small, intimate venues...
, Robert German
Robert German
Robert German is a United States singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is known for his unique vocal style which has drawn comparisons to such disparate influences as Louis Armstrong, Tori Amos and Tom Waits....
, and Lisse Kathe.
Vocal Range
Rhodes is a natural contraltoContralto
Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
, but self-trained her voice to reach the mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
range singing along with Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
's album "The Kick Inside
The Kick Inside
-Personnel:*Kate Bush: Piano, Composer, Keyboards, Vocals, Background Vocals*Ian Bairnson: Guitar, Vocals, Background Vocals, Bottle*Paddy Bush: Harmonica, Mandolin, Vocals*Barry DeSouza: drums*Stuart Elliott: Drums...
" and Wendy Carlos
Wendy Carlos
Wendy Carlos is an American composer and electronic musician. Carlos first came to notice in the late 1960s with recordings made on the Moog synthesizer, then a relatively new and unknown instrument; most notable were LPs of synthesized Bach and the soundtrack for Stanley Kubrick's film A...
' album "Switched-On Bach
Switched-On Bach
-Details:The album consists of pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed on a Moog synthesizer, a modular synthesizer system, one of which can be seen at the back of the room on the album cover. "Switched-On Bach," or "S-OB" as Carlos referred to it, was recorded on a custom-built 8 track recorder...
".
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
, and her highest recorded sung vocal phrase is D5, one octave above middle C (C4) in a live performance of the Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
song "Lily of the Valley".
She has sung higher notes as background vocals, singing nonsense syllables like "ah" and "la". Her highest example of this type of singing is in her song "Runners" from her album Equipoise, where she hits G-Sharp6, two octaves above middle C (C4).
Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox, OBE , born Ann Lennox, is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving minor success in the late 1970s with The Tourists, with fellow musician David A...
, and her lowest recorded note is A2, one octave below middle C
Middle C
C or Do is the first note of the fixed-Do solfège scale. Its enharmonic is B.-Middle C:Middle C is designated C4 in scientific pitch notation because of the note's position as the fourth C key on a standard 88-key piano keyboard...
, in her song "Charlie" on her album Find Me.
Her songs "When the Rain Came Down" on the album Ecto, and "Winter" on Many Worlds Are Born Tonight exhibit this range.
A2 to G-Sharp6 (aka A-Flat6) gives Rhodes a total range of 4 octaves.
Live performances
Since 1992 Rhodes has only played live 50 times as a headliner. Rhodes has never undertaken a major tour of the United States, and has never played live anywhere outside of the United States. Most of her live shows have been in the northeast of America, primarily Philadelphia, the only city in the United States where she has a following, and New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Rhodes has sold out every show she's performed in Philadelphia when she was the headliner. She has performed several times at the Tin Angel, where she always plays two shows in an evening. Rhodes has also played the Painted Bride Arts Center in 1998, The Middle East Club
The Middle East (nightclub)
The Middle East is a live music venue, bar and restaurant in the Central Square area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Having featured a huge variety of musicians since 1987, the establishment, with its upstairs and downstairs rooms, "is the nexus of metro Boston's rock-club scene for local and touring...
in 1995, the Mann Theater (opening for 10,000 Maniacs
10,000 Maniacs
10,000 Maniacs is a United States-based alternative rock band, which formed in 1981 and continues to be active with various line-ups.-1981–1993:...
) and the University Museum Auditorium, both in 1992. In New York City Rhodes has played the Bottom Line several times, and performed at the El Flamingo Club in 1998. In 1994 Rhodes performed at YesFest, a convention for fans of the band Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
. She has also performed at the Knitting Factory in New York City as a guest of the band Project Lo.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Cambridge, MA, Troy, NY
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...
, Albany, NY
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, Saratoga, NY
Saratoga, New York
Saratoga is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 5,141 at the 2000 census. It is also the commonly used, but not official, name for the neighboring and much more populous city, Saratoga Springs. The major village in the town of Saratoga is Schuylerville which is...
, Woodstock, NY, Bearsville, NY
Bearsville, New York
Bearsville is a hamlet in Ulster County, New York, USA. Bearsville is in the town of Woodstock, New York and is located along New York State Route 212, within Catskill State Park and just to the west of the hamlet of Woodstock. The highest known temperature in Bearsville was 101°F, which...
, New Haven, CT
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, Danbury, CT
Danbury, Connecticut
Danbury is a city in northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It had population at the 2010 census of 80,893. Danbury is the fourth largest city in Fairfield County and is the seventh largest city in Connecticut....
, Maple Shade, NJ
Maple Shade Township, New Jersey
Maple Shade Township is a township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 19,079....
, Denville, NJ
Denville, New Jersey
Denville is a township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 16,635. Denville is known as the "Hub of Morris County" for its location along major transportation routes at the center of the county...
, Bryn Mawr, PA
Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
Bryn Mawr from Welsh for "big hill") is a census-designated place in Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, just west of Philadelphia along Lancaster Avenue and the border with Delaware County...
, Mechanicsburg, PA
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
Mechanicsburg is a borough in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, USA, eight miles west of Harrisburg. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. Mechanicsburg was settled in 1806 and incorporated as a borough on April 12, 1828...
, Cleveland, OH
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, Toledo, OH
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
, Kenosha, WI
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Kenosha is a city and the county seat of Kenosha County in the State of Wisconsin in United States. With a population of 99,218 as of May 2011, Kenosha is the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Kenosha is also the fourth-largest city on the western shore of Lake Michigan, following Chicago,...
, Chicago, IL
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and Santa Cruz, CA
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
.
Ectofest
In 1999 Meredith Tarr of New HavenNew Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
and Chuck Stipak of Danbury, Connecticut
Danbury, Connecticut
Danbury is a city in northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It had population at the 2010 census of 80,893. Danbury is the fourth largest city in Fairfield County and is the seventh largest city in Connecticut....
organized a one-day music festival in Danbury to honor Rhodes and the mailing list Ecto, with all proceeds going to charity. The lineup for "Ectofest 1999," held on September 4, 1999, consisted of Rhodes, Rachael Sage
Rachael Sage
Rachael Sage is an American singer-songwriter and producer.She has shared stages with Sarah McLachlan, Judy Collins, Marc Cohn, The Animals and Ani DiFranco, and was named one of the Top 100 Independent Artists Of The Past 15 Years by Performing Songwriter magazine...
, Sloan Wainwright
Sloan Wainwright
Sloan Wainwright is an artist and member of the American independent music scene. Her musical style consists of a combination of folk, rock, jazz, and blues, an approach which owes itself to her time writing and performing throughout the Greenwich Village.-Family:Sloan Wainwright is a younger...
, Susan McKeown
Susan McKeown
Susan McKeown is an Irish songwriter, folk singer and producer.-Early years:Susan McKeown was born on February 6, 1967 to John Ryan and Jane Ann McKeown in Terenure, Dublin, Ireland. She was greatly influenced by her mother, an organist and composer who died in 1982...
and the Mila Drumke Band. Tarr and Stipak repeated the festival the next year and on September 2, 2000 "Ectofest 2000" featured Rhodes, Jessica Weiser, Anne Heaton
Anne Heaton
Anne Heaton is an American pop-influenced folk singer/songwriter and pianist from New York City. She majored in liberal studies at the Notre Dame, and grew up in the Chicago suburb of Wilmette. She regularly toured with "Live from New York" on the eastern coast of the United States...
, Amy Fairchild, Sloan Wainwright, Merrie Amsterburg
Merrie Amsterburg
Merrie Amsterburg is a singer-songwriter born in Ludington, Michigan. Her music has folk, rock, and pop influences. She has been compared to Beth Orton, Tori Amos, Aimee Mann, and others...
and Susan McKeown.
In 2001, West Coast fans organized "Ectofest West" in Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
, held on June 9, 2001 at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center. Rhodes flew to California to perform but on the day of the concert she accidentally cut the ring finger on her fret hand while using a Leatherman
Leatherman
Leatherman is the trade name for a line of multi-tools, knives and LED flashlights manufactured and marketed by Leatherman Tool Group of Portland, Oregon, USA.-Company history:Timothy S...
tool, and severed the deep flexor tendon, as well as causing nerve damage. She was taken to the hospital where the hand was temporarily treated and bandaged. Rhodes performed 12 songs that evening sans guitar, relying on bandmates Eric Nicholas, Carl Adami and Bob Muller to fill in her parts. Rhodes had surgery on the finger when she returned from California and underwent physical therapy so she could play the guitar again. Ectofest West is the only time Rhodes has performed in front of an audience west of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. Other performers at the festival were Cyoakha Grace, Jill Tracy
Jill Tracy
Jill Tracy is a singer, pianist, writer, composer, and performance artist based in San Francisco.Known for her dark, evocative, cinematic style, Jill Tracy states that some of her biggest childhood influences were film score composers such as Bernard Herrmann, and classic suspense tales, including...
and Veda Hille
Veda Hille
Veda Hille is a Canadian singer-songwriter.- Biography :Veda Hille was born in 1968 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She started playing piano when she was 6 at her own insistence. Her family moved around a lot, from the city to the country and back again...
. Two Loons for Tea was scheduled to play but the band was stranded in Houston during a hurricane, and was not able to get to Santa Cruz in time. Rhodes was scheduled to play Ectofest 2001 on August 25, 2001 in Danbury, CT but had to bow out because of her injury. Performers at that show were Edie Carey, Mila Drumke, Trina Hamlin
Trina Hamlin
Trina Hamlin is an American folk-rock singer/songwriter from Minneapolis. She studied at the Berklee College of Music, majoring in professional music, after which she moved to New York City and began performing with the band Blue Leaves...
, Jargon Society, Rachael Sage and Molly Zenobia. 2001's show was the last Ectofest until the 2007 Ectofest with Happy Rhodes, Noe Venable
Noe Venable
Noe Venable is an experimental folk/pop singer-songwriter. She has earned a loyal fan base in her native San Francisco, in part through frequently performing in small, intimate venues...
and Casey Desmond
Casey Desmond
Casey Patricia Desmond is an American pop singer-songwriter and musician.- Biography :Desmond was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to parents Bill and Katherine Desmond, two Boston musicians and founders of Bentmen, a local Boston band, and the Sound Museum Music Complex...
on September 8, 2007, at the Lily Pad in Cambridge, MA. The show sold out 3 weeks in advance, with fans traveling from all over the United States and also Scotland and Germany.
Miscellaneous live information
- After 2001's Ectofest West, Rhodes did not perform again until April 2003, when she performed at a house concertHouse concertA house concert or home concert is a musical concert or performance art that is presented in someone's home or apartment, or a nearby small private space such as a barn, apartment rec room, lawn, or back yard....
in New Haven with percussionist Bob Muller. Rhodes has also performed at house concerts in Maple Shade, NJ, Toledo, OH and Kenosha, WI.
- Rhodes' most recent solo performance prior to Ectofest '07 was at the Tin Angel in Philadelphia on January 29, 2005, where she sold out two shows in the same evening.
- Rhodes has toured three times as guest keyboardist and vocalist for the Bon Lozaga band Project Lo, in 1997, 1999 and 2000.
- Through the years, Rhodes has performed live with backing musicians Bob Muller, Kevin Bartlett, Bon Lozaga, Carl Adami, Hansford Rowe, Kelly Bird, Martha Waterman, Eric Nicholas, Mark Foster, Ray Jung, Matthew Guarnere, Dave Sepowski, Peter Sheehan, Dean Sharp, Jamie Edwards and Paul Huesman.
- Rhodes has opened for or played on the same bill as 10,000 Maniacs10,000 Maniacs10,000 Maniacs is a United States-based alternative rock band, which formed in 1981 and continues to be active with various line-ups.-1981–1993:...
, Shawn ColvinShawn ColvinShawn Colvin is an American singer-songwriter and musician.-Childhood and early career:Colvin was born in Vermillion, South Dakota. Her formative years were spent in the town of Carbondale, Illinois, where she attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She learned to play guitar at the age...
, Jeffrey Gaines, Pete & Maura KennedyThe Kennedys (band)The Kennedys are an American folk-rock band, consisting of husband and wife Pete and Maura Kennedy. Their first album, River of Fallen Stars, was released under the name "Pete and Maura Kennedy"; they released all subsequent albums as "The Kennedys"...
, Kyle Davis, Barbara Kessler, Willy Porter, and Steve ForbertSteve ForbertSteve Forbert is an American pop music singer-songwriter. He is best known for his song "Romeo's Tune", which reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1980....
, among others.
- Musicians opening for Rhodes include Bon Lozaga, Caryn Lin, Joy Askew, Jen Hess, Ritual Motion, The Nudes, and Richard Johnson.
Fans
In 1991, Rhodes developed a following in Philadelphia through airplay on WXPN-FM. Her song "Feed The Fire" (from her album Warpaint) was said to be one of the station's most requested songs of 1991. Rhodes has received airplay and has been interviewed on radio shows such as the syndicated programs EchoesEchoes (radio program)
Echoes is a daily two-hour music radio program hosted by John Diliberto featuring a soundscape of ambient, space, electronica, and New Age music. The program features in-depth artist interviews and intimate "living room" performances. Interview subjects have included Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel,...
, and The World Cafe. She has received airplay on Morning Becomes Eclectic
Morning Becomes Eclectic
Morning Becomes Eclectic is a three-hour adult album alternative radio program first aired in 1977 and broadcast live every weekday from KCRW in Santa Monica, California. The show's name is a play on the Eugene O'Neill trilogy of plays, Mourning Becomes Electra.The show is hosted by Jason Bentley,...
from KCRW
KCRW
KCRW is a public radio station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, carrying a mix of National Public Radio news, talk radio and freeform music format. The general manager of KCRW is Jennifer Ferro...
in Santa Monica, CA, and WDST
WDST
WDST is a radio station licensed to Woodstock, New York. The station is owned by CHET-5 Broadcasting and broadcasts with 3 kW ERP from a tower in the Town of Kingston.WDST also broadcasts one translator:...
in Woodstock, NY, where Rhodes lived for a time, appearing on the compilation Alternative Woodstock.
Much of the attention Rhodes has received has been via less traditional routes:
- In 1987 Aural Gratification released a sampler tape of Rhodes' music from the album Ecto. In late summer 1988 one of these cassettes was obtained by a programmer for an all-female-artists radio show called Suspended In Gaffa (named after a Kate BushKate BushKate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
song) on KKFI-FM in Kansas City, MO. The programmer's discussion of Rhodes' music during 1989-1991 on the Kate BushKate BushKate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
Usenet newsgroup rec.music.gaffa led to the formation in 1991 of the "Ecto" mailing list, named after Rhodes' 4th album and the song by the same name on the album.
- In 2000, an unknown person mislabeled one of Rhodes' non-album tracks, "When The Rain Came Down" (a bonus track on the CD re-release of Ecto), as being a duet between Kate BushKate BushKate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
and Annie LennoxAnnie LennoxAnnie Lennox, OBE , born Ann Lennox, is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving minor success in the late 1970s with The Tourists, with fellow musician David A...
(who have never worked together), and shared it on the original NapsterNapsterNapster is an online music store and a Best Buy company. It was originally founded as a pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service that emphasized sharing audio files that were typically digitally encoded music as MP3 format files...
file-sharing network.
Ecto (the mailing list)
- Ecto the Internet mailing list was created on June 13, 1991 by Jessica Koeppel Dembski out of Rutgers UniversityRutgers UniversityRutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
. Originally called "Ectoplasm," the mailing list name was changed within a few days. It has operated continuously since its inception, and has from the beginning encouraged discussion of other musicians besides Happy Rhodes, especially female artists. The mailing list changed hands in the mid-1990s to Greg Bossert, then shortly thereafter to Rob Woiccak, who continues to administer the list. Jeff Wasilko hosts the mailing list at his smoe domain, which hosts several other music mailing lists. Among fans, the term "Ecto," used as a genre name, has grown to encompass a number of musicians who do not fit comfortably in other musical genres, such as Kate BushKate BushKate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
, Peter GabrielPeter GabrielPeter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
and Jane Siberry. Rhodes' fans have called themselves "Ectophiles" since almost the beginning of the mailing list, and the name was the inspiration for Tori Amos fans calling themselves "Toriphiles." Ecto remains a busy discussion list, with members discussing Happy Rhodes and much other "Ecto"-philic music.
- Rhodes thanks the "Ectophiles" in the liner notes of the CD re-releases of Rhodes I, Rhodes II, Rearmament, Ecto, Many Worlds Are Born Tonight and Find Me.
- Rhodes and the mailing list Ecto were the inspiration for the creation of The Ectophiles' Guide to Good Music, a collection of music reviews by Ectophiles created in 1998 by poet and author Neile Graham.
- A fan magazine, Terra Incognita (aka Rhodeways), was published by Sharon Nichols from 1994 to 2000. Copies are still available from her web site.
Dark Lyrics
Listeners who delve into Rhodes' lyrics are often surprised to realize how dark they are, especially in her earlier albums. Rhodes often wrote songs about depressionClinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
, suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
, death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
, ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
s, monsters and aliens
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
because they are subjects that interested her. Rhodes has never spoken in-depth about her childhood, but several interviews have indicated that it was unhappy. School was especially difficult and she has talked about being tormented and abused by her peers. Painting and writing music were escapes for her and negative feelings were often translated into lyrics. Rhodes has said in interviews that she suffered from depression at various times in her life, and many fans feel that she is particularly talented in putting her feelings while depressed into words via her lyrics, often identifying closely with them.
Discography
Rhodes has released four studio albums and six compilation albums in her 20+ year career.1983 - 1987
Her first four albums, Rhodes Volume IRhodes Volume I
-Overview:Her first four albums were not conceived and recorded as album releases, but were a gathering together of songs recorded at Cathedral Sound Studios from 1984 to 1986...
(1986
1986 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1986.-January-June:*January 23 – The first induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame takes place...
), Rhodes Volume II
Rhodes Volume II
-Overview:Her first four albums were not conceived and recorded as album releases, but were a gathering together of songs recorded at Cathedral Sound Studios from 1984 to 1986...
(1986
1986 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1986.-January-June:*January 23 – The first induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame takes place...
), Rearmament (1986
1986 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1986.-January-June:*January 23 – The first induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame takes place...
) and Ecto (1987
1987 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1987.See also:Record labels established in 1987-January-February:*January 3 – Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
) were not conceived and recorded as album releases, but were a gathering together of songs recorded at Cathedral Sound Studios over a number of years. When fellow musician Kevin Bartlett offered to release Rhodes' songs on his cassette-only personal label Aural Gratification, Rhodes culled through the songs she had recorded and ordered them to her satisfaction. Rhodes I and Rhodes II are often considered to be a double album by fans because the songs are similar in theme and instrumentation. The third cassette, Rearmament, uses more electronic instrumentation and often displays the influence of Wendy Carlos
Wendy Carlos
Wendy Carlos is an American composer and electronic musician. Carlos first came to notice in the late 1960s with recordings made on the Moog synthesizer, then a relatively new and unknown instrument; most notable were LPs of synthesized Bach and the soundtrack for Stanley Kubrick's film A...
.The fourth cassette, Ecto, contained a greater number of the more recent songs Rhodes had recorded and shows a greater maturity and complexity, foreshadowing the music Rhodes would make in the future.
1991 - 1995
Rhodes' first four albums were co-produced by Pat Tessitore and Rhodes, the 19911991 in music
See also:* 1991 in music Record labels established in 1991-Summary:The year 1991 is the year that grunge music made its popular breakthrough. Nirvana's Nevermind, led by the surprise hit single "Smells Like Teen Spirit", becomes the most popular U.S. album of the year...
album Warpaint
Warpaint (Happy Rhodes album)
Warpaint is the fifth album by American singer-songwriter Happy Rhodes, released in 1991. It the first of Rhodes' albums to feature musicians other than herself.-Track listing:#"Waking Up" – 4:06#"Feed The Fire" – 4:33#"Murder" – 4:55...
was the first result of her collaboration with musician, producer and Aural Gratification record label owner Kevin Bartlett, and the first to feature musicians other than Rhodes. During this period, the two formed a duo named, appropriately enough, "Bartlett/Rhodes". They recorded a number of co-written songs and played a few dates, but the results were not generally considered successful, and they decided to continue on their individual endeavors. 1993
1993 in music
This is a summary of significant events in music in 1993.-January–February:*January 8 – The U.S. Postal Service issues an Elvis Presley stamp. The design was voted on in February 1992....
brought Equipoise
Equipoise (album)
Equipoise is the sixth album by American singer-songwriter Happy Rhodes, released in 1993.-Track listing:#"Runners" – 6:00#"He Will Come" – 4:08#"The Flight" – 4:52#"Out Like A Lamb" – 6:48#"Save Our Souls" – 6:16#"Closer" – 5:05...
an album of new material and RhodeSongs
Rhodesongs
-Overview:A collection of quieter songs from Rhodes' first 6 albums, with an emphasis on the first 4. It also included acoustic versions of earlier songs and a cover of David Bowie's "Ashes To Ashes," as well as the Acoustic Tribute Version of the song "Feed The Fire," a song originally written to...
a compilation of music from Rhodes' first four album, alternative versions and a David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
cover. The cover of the 1994
1994 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1994.-January–February:*January 25 – Alice in Chains release their Jar of Flies album which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the first ever EP to do so....
album Building the Colossus
Building the Colossus
Building The Colossus is the eighth album by American singer-songwriter Happy Rhodes.-Track listing:All music, lyrics, voices, instruments and arrangements - Happy Rhodes # "Hold Me" - 4:40...
commented on Rhodes' technically-oriented fan base with an album sub-head of "c:\happy rhodes" and featured Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
collaborators Jerry Marotta
Jerry Marotta
Jerry Marotta is a drummer currently residing in Woodstock, New York. He is the brother of Rick Marotta, who is also a well-known drummer and composer....
and David Torn
David Torn
David Torn is an American composer and guitarist.He is known for the organic blending/manipulation of electronic and acoustic instruments and performance techniques that have an atmospheric or textural quality and effect, along with a particular harmonic richness...
. This exceptionally productive period was capped with the 1995
1995 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1995.- January–February :*January 18 – Jerry Garcia crashes his rented BMW into a guard rail near Mill Valley, California, USA, but is not injured in the accident....
compilation The Keep, featuring acoustic versions of earlier songs, the traditional Christmas song Oh Holy Night and a medley of songs by the group Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
.
1996 - present
After having entertained a number of traditional record company offers, and rejecting them due to an unwillingness to give up rights to her music, Rhodes assumed production and engineering duties on the 19981998 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1998.-Events:*January 28 – "Weird Al" Yankovic gets LASIK surgery to cure his myopia...
release Many Worlds Are Born Tonight
Many Worlds Are Born Tonight
Many Worlds Are Born Tonight is the tenth album by American singer-songwriter Happy Rhodes.-Overview:Rhodes' first album on a larger independent label , leading to the All-Music Guide reviewer mistakenly describing this as her debut album."Roy " is the only Happy Rhodes track to have ever charted...
. Once the album was complete, she signed with a new label, Samson Music, and was able to tour the northeastern United States with a more elaborate stage show. The song Roy was released as a single and reached #42 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Club Play/Dance Music chart. While sales were far greater than her previous albums, Samson eventually decided to concentrate on their Gold Circle Films
Gold Circle Films
Gold Circle Films is an American independent film production company, mainly focusing on horror and romance films, founded in 2000. Titles released by Gold Circle include White Noise, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, The Wedding Date, and The Man From Elysian Fields.-Films:*Double Whammy *The Man From...
division and dropped Rhodes. The parting was amicable, and the label returned her musical rights, as well as all unsold product.
In 2001 Rhodes recorded a new album, Find Me, but it was not released until 2007, although a limited-edition CD sampler consisting of 8 songs - Fall, Charlie, The Chosen One, Can't Let Go, One And Many, Find Me, Here And Hereafter and She Won't Go was sold at her 2005 concert. The album includes three additional songs - Treehouse, Little Brother and Queen. One additional song, Shutdown, was recorded for the album but is not on the official release.
Musicians on Find Me include guitarist Bon Lozaga and bassist Hansford Rowe of Gongzilla, bassist Carl Adami, guitarists Ted Kumpel and Jon Cather and pianist Rob Schwimmer.
Collaborations
- Kevin BartlettKevin Bartlett (musician)Kevin Bartlett is a composer/performer who specializes in complex, multi-layered electronic symphonic compositions influenced by both classical and progressive rock styles. He was born in Albany, New York....
: the duo Bartlett/Rhodes (19871987 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1987.See also:Record labels established in 1987-January-February:*January 3 – Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
-19891989 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1989.-Events:*January 14 – Paul McCartney releases Снова в СССР exclusively in the USSR...
)- Bartlett/Rhodes demo recording (never publicly released)
- SamiteSamite (musician)Samite is the stage name for African musician Samite Mulondo. Originally from Uganda, Samite now lives in Ithaca, New York. He plays the flute and kalimba, a type of thumb piano....
-
- Atmospheric backing vocals on "Stars To Share" from Samite's 19991999 in music-Events:*January 7**After eight years of marriage, Rod Stewart and supermodel wife Rachel Hunter announce their separation.**Paul McCartney attends the first of his stepdaughter Heather's first housewares collection in Georgia....
album Stars To Share.
- Atmospheric backing vocals on "Stars To Share" from Samite's 1999
- William AckermanWilliam AckermanWilliam Ackerman is a Grammy winning guitarist and composer of acoustic-based instrumental music. He founded and ran for many years the influential New Age record label Windham Hill Records.- Career :...
-
- Lead vocals on "Before We Left All This Behind" from Ackerman's 20012001 in musicSee also:* 2001 in music Record labels established in 2001-Events:*January 1**Comeback of Guns N' Roses in House of Blues**Hum disbands.*January 17 – Bass player Jason Newsted leaves Metallica after 14 years with the band....
album Hearing Voices.
- Lead vocals on "Before We Left All This Behind" from Ackerman's 2001
- Jeff OsterJeff OsterJeff Oster is an American brass instrument player who has recorded flugelhorn or trumpet with artists such as William Ackerman, founder of Windham Hill Records...
-
- Atmospheric vocalizations on the instrumental songs "Haleakala," "Behind The Veil," "As I Live And Breathe, "Final Approach," "Matt's Mood" from Oster's 20052005 in music-Events:*During the year 2005, 12 rock music albums scored number 1 in the USA. This was the first time even ten albums have scored number 1 since 1996.-January:...
album Released.
- Atmospheric vocalizations on the instrumental songs "Haleakala," "Behind The Veil," "As I Live And Breathe, "Final Approach," "Matt's Mood" from Oster's 2005
External links
- Auntie Social Music - Official Happy Rhodes web site
- Happy Rhodes MySpace page - a fan page, but authorized by Happy Rhodes
- Vickie's Place for Happy Rhodes Song Samples - authorized by Happy Rhodes
- Vickie's Place for Happy Rhodes Rarities - authorized by Happy Rhodes
- Ecto Home Page - Happy Rhodes' lyrics - authorized by Happy Rhodes
- Rhodeshows - A fan site listing Happy's live shows
- List of live concert clips on YouTube
- List of Subtitled/Closed Captioned concert clips on Google Video
- Ectophiles' Guide to Happy Rhodes
- Terra Incognita - a fan site
- Ectophiles' Guide to Good Music