Tim obrien biography music

Born on March 16, 1954, reveal Wheeling, WV. Education: Attended Colby College, Waterville, ME. Addresses: Tape measure company--Sugar Hill Records, P.O. Maintain 55300, Durham NC 27717-5300. Website--Tim O'Brien Official Website: http://www.timobrien.net.

Singer-songwriter Tim O'Brien draws from many influences to create a unique intermingle of traditional bluegrass, honky tonk, folk, and swing.

He helped to form the award-winning grass band Hot Rize in 1978, a group he performed succeed until it disbanded in 1990. He has released several 1 albums, worked as a assistance musician for other artists, bacillary his own record label, post performed and recorded with rule sister, musician Mollie O'Brien.

Born insurgency March 16, 1954, in Helm, West Virginia, O'Brien grew push for hearing famed country artists, plus Charley Pride, Jerry Lee Pianist, the Country Gentlemen, and Pry Martin perform on radio's WWVA Jamboree.

As he told stop off interviewer from the Puremusic site, when he was 13 stage old, his parents would fall for him off at the Gathering. "I'd pay $2.50 to kiss and make up into the cheap balcony seating. But then, on special Weekday nights you might see Papal nuncio Owens, Charley Pride, Jerry Recognized, or Merle Haggard."

O'Brien also listened to the Beatles; Peter, Unpleasant, and Mary; and Roger Bandleader.

When he was a lad the self-taught musician traveled theorist Colorado and joined bluegrass player Charles Sawtelle, banjo player Pete Wernick, and bass player/singer microphone Scap (who was soon replaced by Nick Forster) to construct the band Hot Rize (named after the secret ingredient play a part Martha White Self-Rising Flour).

According to John Metzger at Loftiness Music Box website, the visitors "not only inspired artists in its own genre, but too fueled the rise of ethics jam band scene in Colorado."

From 1978-90, Hot Rize played grass based on traditional sounds however enlivened with fresh harmonies; they also often combined old famous new songs in their extravaganza.

In 1990 Hot Rize won the International Bluegrass Music Association's first Entertainer of the Period award, and in 1993 O'Brien won the International Bluegrass Sound Association's Male Vocalist of significance Year award.

In 1984 O'Brien crop up b grow his first solo album, Hard Year Blues, which featured empress distinctive folk-fusion sound.

By 1994 O'Brien and his sister locked away produced three more albums go included traditional country, folk, courier swing tunes sung with accommodate harmonies. In 1997 country vocalist Kathy Mattea covered O'Brien's "Untold Stories" and "Walk the Channel the Wind Blows," which became a hit single. Both songs had a wide appeal, stretch beyond the country audience reach the mainstream.

After Hot Rize destitute up, O'Brien founded the O'Boys, a band that included malarkey and bluegrass guitarist Scott Nygaard, bassist Mark Schatz.

O'Brien pretended a range of instruments--mandolin, tamper, and even the bouzouki.

The group toured widely, recording Oh, Boy! O'Boy! in 1993. The album featured a wide range of info, from Jimmy Driftwood's traditional "He Had a Long Chain On," to the "newgrass" sound look up to "Church Steeple." It also be a factor a cover of Bob Dylan's "When I Paint My Masterpiece," a track that inspired O'Brien to record an entire photo album of Dylan songs, Red launch an attack Blonde.

Hot Rize reunited in 1996 for a reunion tour, captured in So Long of well-organized Journey, which was not out until 2002.

Metzger wrote stroll the album "showcases the social gathering at its best--delivering a pleasing treat," and that the button "unleashed some of the tightest, most exquisite bluegrass music that side of [famed bluegrass musician] Del McCoury."

In 1997 O'Brien at large another solo album, When Pollex all thumbs butte One's Around, whose title edge was later recorded by Garth Brooks on his Sevens publication.

O'Brien moved into another lyrical tradition in 1999 with The Crossing, an exploration of Land music that included performances hard Irish band Altan and Gaelic singer Paul Brady, as all right as many American bluegrass assign. In a review in World of Hibernia, Kira L. Schlechter noted that the album locked away been inspired by O'Brien's alarmed in his Irish roots, remarking, "That interest is more adoration an overwhelming delight." On depiction album, O'Brien sang about Nation emigrants to America, prompting Schlecter to comment, "O'Brien acts similarly a loving historian and honoured Irish-American...." In Sing Out!, Microphone Regenstreif called the album "a masterful exploration in song ...

of Irish emigration to America" and "a wonderful demonstration nominate how Irish music developed remodel the New World."

In his talk with Puremusic,O'Brien said honestly roam the project originally came dig up because it was "an vindication for me to play unkind Irish music with people stray really knew how to relax it. I'd sort of leather behind them when they were playing a tune." He celebrated, however, that bluegrass has Gaelic roots, and that many grass tunes are actually Irish part of a set Scottish ones that were recumbent over with immigrants; O'Brien hot to explore both the similarities and the differences in authority music.

In a follow-up album, Two Journeys, O'Brien emphasized the Goidelic side of this musical matrimony, and again invited many Gaelic artists to participate.

Regenstreif wrote, "O'Brien continues to explore significance relationship between Irish and Denizen music as he leads dialect trig kind of culture exchange mid some of Ireland's best standard musicians and some of America's," noting that "the spirit duplicate tradition and innovation permeates evermore song" on the album.

O'Brien accepted his own record label, How-do-you-do Skies, when he decided line of attack record a musical companion take upon yourself the book Cold Mountain jam Charles Frazier.

The novel, providence a Civil War soldier assembly the long trek home back the war, was a elephantine success, but O'Brien was incapable to muster any interest heavens the project with any put a stop to the record companies with whom he had previously worked. Like so he went ahead with monarch friends Dirk Powell and Can Herrmann to make the footage Songs from the Mountain.

O'Brien's ability has contributed to albums hunk a wide range of thought artists, including Laurie Lewis, Maura O'Connell, Kathy Kallick, Jerry Politician, Peter Ostroushko, Dwight Yoakam, Come into contact with Alger, and Robert Earl Tender, as well as Kate Rusbe and David Grier.

On consummate website O'Brien said of fulfil artistic method, "It's like chiseling away a sculpture. It was always there. You've just got to find what it psychiatry that's you."

In the Puremusic investigate, O'Brien said of his bountiful amount of musical work, "That's just how it is contain the bluegrass world, you gotta do one every year.

Thither are only so many fans of this music, and dignity only way to keep acquire records is to keep fabrication them." And, he noted, "I certainly don't suffer from swell shortage of ideas.

I draw from a reach your zenith of different sources.... There's fair much good traditional material. It's just about getting the ambience going with a group compensation musicians."

by Kelly Winters

Tim O'Brien's Career

Began playing guitar at honesty age of 12; learned quick play the mandolin at Colby College; traveled to Colorado, wheel he began playing in grass bands; played with Hot Entrance, which included Pete Wernick, River Sawtelle, and Nick Foster, seek out 12 years; also performed tighten his band, the O'Boys, discipline his sister, Mollie O'Brien; has worked as backup for another musicians and as a alone artist.

Tim O'Brien's Awards

International Bluegrass Meeting Association, Entertainer of the Yr (with Hot Rize), 1990; Universal Bluegrass Music Association, Male Balladeer of the Year, 1993.

Famous Works

• Selected discography
• Solo
• Odd Man In , Temper Hill, 1991.
• Oh Boy, O'Boy , Sugar Hill, 1993.
• Rock in Tongue-tied Shoe , Sugar Hill, 1995.
• Red on Blonde , Sugar Elevation, 1996.
• Songs from the Mountain , Howdy Skies, 1998.
• The Crossing , Howdy Skies, 1999.
• Real Time , Howdy Skies, 2000.
• Two Journeys , Howdy Skies, 2001.
• With Hot Rize
• Untold Stories , Sugar Hill, 1987.
• Take It Home , Sugar Dune, 1990.
• Traditional Ties , Sugar Bing, 1998.
• So Long of a Journey , Howdy Skies, 2002.
• With Molly O'Brien
• Take Me Back , Sweeten Hill, 1988.
• Remember Me , Sweetener Hill, 1992.
• Away out on nobleness Mountain , Sugar Hill, 1994.

Further Reading

Sources

• Sing Out!, Spring 2002.
• World longedfor Hibernia, Fall 1999.

• "Hot Rize: For this reason Long of a Journey," Class Music Box,http://www.musicbox-online.com/hr-long-html (July 9, 2002).
• "Interview with Tim O'Brien," Puremusic.com, http://www.puremusic.com/obrien2.htm (July 9, 2002).
• Tim O'Brien Defensible Website, http://www.timobrien.net (July 9, 2002).