Red Wanting Blue

Red Wanting Blue

Red Wanting Blue is an Americana rock and roll band that formed in Athens, Ohio in 1996. The band has since made Columbus, Ohio their home base. Red Wanting Blue consists of founding member Scott Terry, Mark McCullough, Greg Rahm, Dean Anshutz and Eric Hall. RWB is known as one of the hardest working rock bands in America.

Red Wanting Blue is a band that logs many miles touring the nation. Upon forming in 1995, Red Wanting Blue has "since grown to be one of the most successful indie bands in the Midwestern United States". The band has released eight full length albums, the most successful being the 2008 release of These Magnificent Miles. In 2006 the band released The Warehouse Sessions, which was their first live album/DVD.

On April 20, 2010 the band announced that after years of going it solo, Red Wanting Blue would be signing a three album record contract with Fanatic Records (EMI/Caroline) of New York City in their monthly newsletter. [1]

History

Early Years (1996-1999)

Scott Terry and Michael Epp met at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. They recruited Ryan Eisert and Jerrod Myers to form Red Wanting Blue in the fall of 1995. In 1996 Red Wanting Blue released their first full length album titled Velveteen. The band started performing live in Athens, Ohio and the surrounding areas. Two years later they went on to release The Image Trigger. College friend Rodney Hambel played the sax, congas, and synthesizer on this album. To celebrate the release of The Image Trigger the band held a release party at the Mecca in Columbus, Ohio.

Model Citizen (2000-2001)

Model Citizen is RWB's third studio release and arguably their breakthrough album. It is the first album with bassist, Mark McCullough and drummer, Jonah Dolan. Red Wanting Blue held a release party for Model Citizen at the Newport Music Hall in Columbus, Ohio on April 28, 2000. After the release of Model Citizen, Red Wanting Blue started gaining media attention for their rapidly growing grassroots following. In 2002 the band repackaged Model Citizen with the addition of a newer version of "Hello" from Velveteen and a live recording of "Pretty" from The Image Trigger that was recorded at Peabody's Down Under in Cleveland, Ohio. The newly repackaged album would be titled Model Citizen+.

Sirens (2001-2002)

Sirens is Red Wanting Blue's fourth studio release. The band would eventually dedicate Sirens to those lives lost during the September 11 attacks. Sirens debuted at #1 on Aware Records online store - Awarestore.com. Red Wanting Blue toured to support Sirens by headlining venues in OH, PA, NY, TN, IN, IL, and MI.

Souvenirs of City Life (2002-2003)

Souvenirs of City Life is the bands fifth studio release. On October 30, 2002 the band appeared live on CD101, out of Columbus, Ohio. After the interview, they performed an acoustic version of the song "Someone Save Us". In July 2003 drummer Jonah Dolan parts ways with the band and Red Wanting Blue would eventually find Mark Stepro. Souvenirs of City Life also debuted at #1 on Awarestore. Red Wanting Blue toured to support the record by continuing to circuit the midwest and northeast. The Sprite Liquid Mix Tour gave them the opportunity to play alongside national recording artists and longtime friends O.A.R. as well as The Roots, Robert Randolph and N.E.R.D. RWB also played with 311 during this time period.

Pride: The Cold Lover (2004-2006)

The critically acclaimed release of Pride: The Cold Lover is Red Wanting Blue's sixth studio effort. Ted Comerford produced the album at Low Watt Recording Studios in Raleigh, North Carolina. They held a release party at their hometown venue, Newport Music Hall in Columbus, Ohio on October 22, 2004. At this time RWB picked up an additional member, guitarist and keyboardist Greg Rahm. In October 2005, Brian Epp, leaves the band. The split is considered amicable. John Kengla steps in as lead guitar player. RWB independently set out on a large tour stretching from New York to California and completed that tour with a packed show at the House of Blues in Cleveland, Ohio. Around this time period it was brought to the bands attention that hundreds of fans across the US tattooed Red Wanting Blue's symbol (an angel/devil sign - penned by Terry in 1995) on their bodies. Honored, the band thanked those fans in the liner notes of this album. Shortly after, drummer Mark Stepro is replaced by Eddie Davis. Four songs from this album found themselves on XM Satellite's Unsigned Radio. During this time RWB was featured as an unsigned band to watch on Demodiaries.com, as well as on Kings of A&R and Hits Magazine.

2004’s Pride: The Cold Lover was another notable indie success, also debuting at #1 on Awarestore and landing several songs on the CBS/VH1 program, “Love Monkey” as well as the CW hit show “Life is Wild.”

The Warehouse Sessions (2006-2008)

The Warehouse Sessions is a live album/DVD recorded in the bands warehouse and studio space in front of 100 adoring fans. Tickets to this intimate event sold out in under two minutes. The Warehouse Sessions debuted at #1 on Awarestore.com in its first week of pre-sale". It was partly pushed out to help bridge the gap between Pride: The Cold Lover and 2008's These Magnificent Miles. This album/DVD featured early acoustic versions of fan favorites "You Are My Las Vegas" and "Finger in the Air" from These Magnificent Miles. At this time Red Wanting Blue was named one of the best independent bands in the country by Alternative Addiction. Red Wanting Blue's live cult following continued to grow as the band filled venues across the midwest that signed bands struggled to fill. Their following in major cities like New York City and Chicago rapidly grew during this time period as well.

These Magnificent Miles (2008-2010)

The band enlisted producer Jamie Candiloro (Ryan Adams, REM, Willie Nelson) for These Magnificent Miles. Both Candiloro and the band received rave reviews across the board for this body of work. Scott Terry is quoted as saying that this album was inspired by the circus life of a band on the road. The band settled into an Americana rock ‘n’ roll vibe utilizing more melodic sounds than that of their prior work. This is Red Wanting Blue's eighth album and "it is undeniably one of the better albums released this year." In 2008 Ken Davenport (a New York City based producer) began filming Red Wanting Blue for a documentary about "one of the top unsigned rock bands in the country" and their travels. The documentary titled "Never Enough" captures the making of These Magnificent Miles and the band touring the country in support of that album. The film does not have a completion date yet. In September 2009, Eddie Davis parted ways with Red Wanting Blue. Dean Anshutz replaced Eddie as RWB's new drummer.

The National Re-Release of "These Magnificent Miles" (2010 - Present)

After signing with Fanatic Records (EMI/Caroline) in April 2010, These Magnificent Miles was re-released nationally on July 27, 2010. Fanatic also issued a deluxe double-LP edition of These Magnificent Miles with full-color LP sleeves in a gatefold jacket featuring the art of John Terry (Scott Terry's brother). The album and deluxe LP can be found nationally at Best Buy, Target, Barnes & Noble and many other record stores across the country. These Magnificent Miles can also be found online at redwantingblue.bigcartel.com. As of September 2010, the single "Where You Wanna Go" can be heard on radio stations across the country and continues to gain new radio adds every week. An eccentric music video has been released for the song "Where You Wanna Go" featuring the band finding themselves trapped in an Alice in Wonderland type setting. The video can be viewed at http://vimeo.com/14511494

Reviews

"Do yourself a favor; forget about what’s going on in the corporate boardroom of some major label... And the next time that someone tells you that rock n’ roll is dead, point them toward Columbus, Ohio, and Red Wanting Blue."

"Red Wanting Blue brings nothing but energy and flat out great shows to the stage. Their live performances are all the proof you'll need to become a member of their ever-growing fan base."

"Every now and then you see a band that reminds you just how crappy radio has become. You'll be listening to the singer on stage and you'll wonder why you haven't heard of them before. Each song sounds better than anything played on your favorite station that day... Red Wanting Blue is one of those kinds of bands."

"Red Wanting Blue's passion and energy delineates a powerful live feel. Scott Terry's powered, full, meaty voice often seems to echo in the background of RWB's delicate melodies. When you can hear a band's live potential on an album, they've definitely achieved an important goal,and RWB does this with ease.”

Discography

Title	Released
Velveteen	September 6, 1996
The Image Trigger	April 4, 1998
Model Citizen	April 3, 2000
Sirens	November 16, 2001
Souvenirs of City Life	February 8, 2003
Pride: the Cold Lover	October 19, 2004
The Warehouse Sessions	December 12, 2006
These Magnificent Miles	August 21, 2008
These Magnificent Miles (re-release)	July 27, 2010

External links

• Red Wanting Blue Official Site
• Red Wanting Blue Store
• Official Message Boards for R.W.B.