Richmond Fontaine
Encyclopedia
History
Formed in 1994, Richmond Fontaine started touring the Pacific NorthwestPacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
live circuit to support their first three albums released on Cavity Search Records
Cavity Search Records
Cavity Search Records is a record label based in Portland, Oregon formed in 1992 by Christopher Cooper and Denny Swofford. Its roster includes such artists as The Helio Sequence and Pete Krebs, but is most notable for releasing Elliott Smith's debut album, Roman Candle.-Artists:*Atomic 61*Danny...
. Gradually gaining attention in the UK and Europe the band began regularly touring there. Most of the core musicians and producer JD Foster have worked together for a decade, and produced several albums. The band is named after an American expat, "a burned out hippy", that had helped bassist Dave Harding when his car was stuck in the desert in Baja Mexico.
Richmond Fontaine first gained exposure outside the USA through a song that was included on a Vinyl Junkie Records 'Loose' compilation released in the UK. This was followed by the band's self-released fourth album, Winnemucca. The band signed with Decor Records in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
during 2003 with their next two releases proving pivotal to the band's success. Both were made "Albums of the Month" in influential magazine, Uncut
UNCUT (magazine)
Uncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections...
, which named both their fifth album Post to Wire (2004) and sixth The Fitzgerald (2005) "masterpieces". U.S. critics have been generally complimentary but have also cited the band's musical similarity to Uncle Tupelo
Uncle Tupelo
Uncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active between 1987 and 1994. Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn formed the band after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to attend college. The trio recorded three albums for Rockville...
. Like many bands in this genre past and present such as Willard Grant Conspiracy
Willard Grant Conspiracy
Willard Grant Conspiracy is an alt-country band currently based near Palmdale, California, USA.Originally formed by Robert Fisher and Paul Austin in 1995 in Boston, Massachusetts, the band operates as a collective, with vocalist Fisher the only permanent member. Up to thirty other musicians...
, The Gun Club, and Green on Red
Green on Red
Green on Red was an American rock band, formed in the Tucson, Arizona punk scene, but based for most of its career in Los Angeles, California, where it was loosely associated with the Paisley Underground...
, Richmond Fontaine are more popular abroad than in their own country.
Underpinned by lead singer and songwriter, Willy Vlautin
Willy Vlautin
Willy Vlautin is a U.S. author and the lead singer and songwriter of Portland, Oregon band Richmond Fontaine. Born and raised in Reno, Nevada, he has released eight albums since the late nineties with his band while he has written three novels, The Motel Life, Northline and Lean on...
's lyrics, Richmond Fontaine songs often evoke image
Image
An image is an artifact, for example a two-dimensional picture, that has a similar appearance to some subject—usually a physical object or a person.-Characteristics:...
ry of Reno
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, Portland, the Western United States
Western United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
while telling stories in a style that critics have compared to Raymond Carver
Raymond Carver
Raymond Clevie Carver, Jr. was an American short story writer and poet. Carver is considered a major American writer of the late 20th century and also a major force in the revitalization of the short story in the 1980s....
. Musically the group has cited influences such as Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Parsons is best known for his work within the country genre; he also mixed blues, folk, and rock to create what he called "Cosmic American Music"...
, X, Green on Red and Dave Alvin
Dave Alvin
Dave Alvin , is a guitarist, singer and songwriter. He has been one of the leading proponents of 'roots' or 'American' music, bringing together elements of rock-and-roll, blues, rural and tejano music....
.
Vlautin is also a published writer. His first novel, The Motel Life
The Motel Life
The Motel Life is the debut novel by musician and writer Willy Vlautin. It tells the story of two brothers from Reno, Nevada whose lives are thrown into turmoil following a tragic accident. It is currently being made into a movie, starring Emile Hirsch, Stephen Dorff, and Dakota Fanning. It is in...
was published in 2006, followed by Northline in 2008 and Lean on Pete in 2010. Northline included a soundtrack CD by Williy Vlautin and Paul Brainard. The novel was well-reviewed by George Pelecanos
George Pelecanos
George P. Pelecanos is a Greek-American author. Many of his works are in the genre of detective fiction and set primarily in his hometown of Washington, D.C. He is also a film and television producer and a television writer...
. Vlautin has also had stories published in literary journals such as Zembla
Zembla (magazine)
Zembla was a literary and arts magazine published in London for eight issues between 2003 and 2005. The editor was Dan Crowe, publisher Simon Finch and the designer was Vince Frost...
, Cold Drill, Southeast Review, and Chiron Review
Chiron Review
Chiron Review is a literary journal based in St. John, Kansas. It was founded as The Kindred Spirit in February 1982, by Michael Hathaway shortly after graduating high school and taking a job as typesetter at a local daily newspaper. In March, 1989, the title was changed to Chiron Review.Jane...
.
The band's 2007 album, Thirteen Cities, received positive reviews across Europe.
On August 17, 2009 the band released their ninth studio album 'We Used To Think The Freeway Sounded Like A River'. http://www.nme.com/news/richmond-fontaine/45107
In September 2011 the band released their tenth studio album "The High Country".
Current band line-up
- Willy Vlautin: vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, Acoustic & Electric GuitarGuitarThe 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...
s - Dave Harding: Bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, Electric GuitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
s, Vocals - Sean Oldham: drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, VibesVibraphoneThe vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Dan Eccles: GuitarGuitarThe 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...
- Paul Brainard: Pedal Steel, PianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, VibesVibraphoneThe vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
, Acoustic Guitar, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
Discography
- Safety (1996)
- Miles From (1997)
- Lost Son (1999)
- Winnemucca (2002)
- Post to Wire (2004)
- The Fitzgerald (2005)
- Obliteration by Time (2006)
- Thirteen Cities (2007)
- We Used To Think The Freeway Sounded Like A River (2009)
- The High Country (2011) (UK chart peak: #115)
External links
- Richmond Fontaine (official website)
- Richmond Fontaine Myspace Page