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Cincinnati Enquirer Article
Here's the Cincinnati Enquirer article for those of you without
web-access. For those of you with web access, it's now archived at my
web site chock full o' Over the Rhine history and old stuff at
http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gt5276b/otrhine
Jeff
ENQUIRER WEEKEND - APRIL 30, 1999
Over The Rhine's good years, bad years
Popular band marks decade of ups and downs with
anniversary concert at Bogart's
BY LARRY NAGER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Linford Detweiler wields his razor
blade preparing for tonight's Over The
Rhine 10th anniversary concert at
Bogart's. It's not a bizarre
scarification ritual; he's cutting covers for CDs he has prepared for the
occasion.
Until a few weeks ago, Linford, one of the original members of the band, didn't
realize it has been 10 years since the four musicians got together. One was
his future wife, Karin Bergquist.
The instant, 10-song CD, Amateur Shortwave Radio, reflects those 10 years.
In its gentle, probing manner, Over The Rhine managed to push musical
boundaries just as hard as louder, more obviously "alternative" ensembles.
Linford describes the current state of the band "as a space that Karin and I
create for some wonderful musical interaction, and it's increasingly going to
take different shapes."
Some of those shapes can be heard on Amateur
Shortwave Radio, a rich, fluid portrait of one of the
area's busiest and most popular groups. Most of
the songs were recorded live.
As Over The Rhine looks to the future, let's look at the past 10 years.
Blackbird
The Beatles song is the CD's oldest recording, the
original quartet in November 1990 on WVXU's Nightwaves.
Linford, Karin, guitarist Ric Hordinski and drummer
Brian Kelley formed OTR in 1989 after moving here
from Canton, Ohio, where all but Brian had attended
Malone College.
The men arrived in early 1989, joining a Christian
rock band called Servant for a tour of Australia. That
band's leaders were Owen and Sandy Brock.
Owen, a graphic designer, does the covers and
booklets for OTR's CDs.
Back in Cincinnati, the trio enlisted Karin for their
own band. "I was ready", she recalls. "I was
teaching voice and piano, just spinning my wheels
in this small town."
They immediately recorded "what became the first
half of Till We Have Faces," Linford says. "She
came down and pretty much nailed the vocals that
first weekend."
In a few months OTR had an MCA publishing deal. Tours with Adrian Belew
and Bob Dylan followed. But Linford wasn't satisfied.
"I immediately wanted to make another record, and everybody thought I was
out of my mind. But I had the sense that we just had to keep moving. So we
put out Patience and that got us the I.R.S. deal."
My Love is a Fever
A collaboration by Linford and Ric, the song features the quartet in concert in
Portland, Maine, in September, 1994. The band was at a high point, touring
with major-label support and two albums on I.R.S. (the re-released Patience
and Eve). Their manager was Peter Asher, whose clients included Linda
Ronstadt.
Like a Radio
Another Detweiler/Hordinski collaboration, this one was from OTR's 1995
Emery Theatre Christmas concert.
All was not well. Though I.R.S. had been a
top label in '80s rock (R.E.M., the Go-Gos),
by OTR's tenure, it was in decline. I.R.S.
re-released Till We Have Faces, the first
OTR album, in 1995, but never knew how to
promote the band. The label closed in 1996,
an early casualty of record industry
consolidation.
Linford and Karin were married in the fall.
Brian and Ric quit the band. The quartet's
final show was OTR's 1996 Christmas
concert, which brought bassist Chris
Dahlgren to the lineup.
Not long into 1997, Brian returned on drums.
Mr. Dahlgren went back to jazz and now
plays in the Jazz Mandolin Project. He was
replaced by Mike Georgin (Plow On Boy).
To some, OTR without Ric, a master of tone
and ambience, was like the Beatles without
George Harrison.
But as good as that quartet was, the artistic freedom after its breakup has
been inspiring, Linford says.
"I personally feel that those four people took it as far as we possibly could,
musically," he says. "For me now, it's less about a specific lineup and more
about growing as a writer and just really experimenting."
Jack's Valentine
Recorded in July 1997, this jazzy, spoken-word piece (recorded for WVXU's
Audiosyncrasies) is a good example of that experimentation.
Mary's Waltz
More stretching, as Karin and Linford team with the Northern Kentucky
Symphony for this September 1997 performance. It was a time of reinvention
and reassessment, Linford recalls.
"Part of us wanted to pack it in and start fresh," he says. "But by then we
had six records under the name. So we decided that Karin and I would go
forward. It's just kind of evolved into something that's about Karin's voice,
and I'm sort of the mad scientist behind the curtain."
Moth
Anyway
I Will Remember
Recorded in May 1998 at a concert at Mount Echo Park, these feature the
new OTR songwriting team. Karin wrote "Anyway," a song inspired by
meeting her half-sister Rose Bergquist for the first time, but the others are
husband/wife collaborations.
It was a rebuilding year for OTR. A spring Bogart's concert landed them the
opening slot on the Cowboy Junkies summer tour, and they signed with
Junkies manager Peter Leak.
Karin and Linford were added to the Junkies' band, giving them their widest
exposure ever. They played David Letterman's show, Lilith Fair dates and a
triumphant homecoming at the Taft Theatre.
Late last year, Capitol Records funded new demos. They upgraded their home
recording studio, Grey Ghost, from 16 to 24 tracks and took December off to
record.
Circle of Quiet
Recorded in March in Dayton, Ohio, this remake of a song from Patience
features a trio OTR - Karin, Linford and G. Jack Henderson on guitar.
In 1999, OTR has no set format. The band tonight will be roughly the same as
it was at the Taft in September - Linford and Karin, Brian on drums, G. Jack
on guitars, Terri Templeton on backing vocals and session bassist David
LaBruyere, of Atlanta.
Ruby Tuesday
Newly recorded, this Rolling Stone song brings OTR full circle. The original
quartet put this version together for a 1990 homeless benefit at Bogart's. This
isn't exactly a reunion. Karin and Linford recorded vocal and bass tracks at
Grey Ghost; Ric did the rest in his Mersey Beat studio.
ENQUIRER WEEKEND - APRIL 30, 1999
What's ahead for OTR
BY LARRY NAGER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
"I would do the last 10 years over again in a
heartbeat," Over The Rhine's Linford
Detweiler says. "I had an idea that I brought
to the table as a band, and the four of us
took it and had a pretty good ride."
The CD brings closure to OTR's first decade.
A lot has changed since 1989. A major-label deal was once key to national
success. In 1999, there are alternatives, and Linford and his wife, Karin
Bergquist, have some major-label misgivings.
"It's hard for me to get all that excited about recording a record every three
years, dumping a bunch of money into the recording, then giving the record to
the label to sell," says, Linford, sitting in the dining room of the couple's
Victorian house in Norwood. (Grey Ghost, their office/studio, is on the third
floor.) "In the meantime how do I make a living?
He's considering releasing OTR CDs through an independent label/distributor
like Rykodisc.
"We'd make the records we want to make. If the spirit was moving we could
make two or three a year."
He figures it would be 2001 at the earliest before the first OTR CD is released
on Capitol, for instance.
"We might make a really good record, but in the meantime we could double
our catalog (independently)."
They already know their market. OTR has kept in touch with the faithful
through a huge mailing list, their Rhinelander fan club and the Internet. Good
Dog Bad Dog, their first CD after the demise of I.R.S., is the band's
top-selling disc at more than 25,000 copies. A major-label flop, that's an
independent hit.
he couple has a busy spring and summer ahead. Along with Amateur
Shortwave Radio, Linford is releasing a CD of solo piano music. This summer,
they'll spend five weeks touring with Cowboy Junkies.
Whether they go to the majors or stay independent, mostly they want to keep
growing as musicians.
"I'm really looking forward to the next however many years, because (OTR)
has grown into a space which is going to push me a lot to get out there and
find some fresh ideas, get some new blood, just try different things," Linford
says.
"I want to keep things as flexible as possible," Karin agrees. "I just want to
keep my options open. You need to do it to stay healthy. You need to do it to
stay inspired."