Over the Rhine

Over the Rhine is an American, Ohio-based band, the core of which is the husband-and-wife team of pianist/guitarist/bassist Linford Detweiler and vocalist/guitarist Karin Bergquist. The band began as a quartet with guitarist Ric Hordinski and drummer Brian Kelley. Hordinski left the band in December 1996, and Kelley continued to play into 1997 before departing. The original foursome reunited in December 2008 at The Taft Theatre (in Cincinnati) to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the formation of the band, and again in the summer of 2010 at Ric's studio, "the Monastery," to play the album "Good Dog Bad Dog" live, in its entirety.

The band's namesake and place of origin is the Cincinnati, Ohio neighborhood Over-the-Rhine[1]. Karin attended school in Barnesville, Ohio and graduated from Barnesville High School in 1984. She then went to Malone College, located in Canton, Ohio, where she met Linford. Karin and Linford were married in the fall of 1996 in Cincinnati and several years ago relocated to a pre-Civil War farm outside of town.

Over the Rhine is now primarily Bergquist (vocals, acoustic guitar, piano) and Detweiler (keyboards, electric bass, vocals) accompanied by complementary musicians on albums and tours. Over the years, they have toured and recorded in many variations. They have shared the stage with Bob Dylan, John Prine, Adrian Belew, Squeeze, Ani DiFranco, My Morning Jacket, Hem, and toured as "adjunct" members of Cowboy Junkies.

Over the Rhine's album The Long Surrender was released nationally on February 8, 2011 on OtR’s own Great Speckled Dog label. It was recorded in California with Grammy-winning producer Joe Henry, and contains a duet with Lucinda Williams on "Undamned" and two songs co-written with Joe Henry.

History

Formed in the spring of 1989[1], at a time when Detweiler, Hordinski, and Kelley were also touring as part of the final incarnation of Servant,[2] Over the Rhine released independently their first album, Till We Have Faces, in 1991 (named for the C. S. Lewis book of the same title). Paste Magazine granted one of its first five-star reviews to Over the Rhine's 2003 double album Ohio, released on Virgin Records' Back Porch Records label. Over the Rhine's next album, Drunkard's Prayer, was released on March 29, 2005.

A limited edition live album titled Live From Nowhere, Volume 1 was released in April 2006. A second limited edition live album, Live From Nowhere, Volume 2 was released in March 2007, just over a month from Discount Fireworks. The Trumpet Child and the "Live From Nowhere" series have been released on their own independent label, Great Speckled Dog (named after their Great dane, Elroy[1]).

Linford has also recorded and released three solo projects composed of home-recorded acoustic, piano-based music.

In January 2008, Paste Magazine's video podcast interviewed Over the Rhine and featured a live performance (link).