David Rawlings
Encyclopedia
David Todd Rawlings is a professional guitarist
and singer. He is best known as the longtime musical partner of bluegrass
singer-songwriter
Gillian Welch
.
David attended the Berklee College of Music
and studied with guitar professor Lauren Passarelli
.
He is known in his own right as a producer
, having produced Welch and bands such as Old Crow Medicine Show
. He has recently performed under the billing of "Dave Rawlings Machine". He has also contributed to the Bright Eyes album Cassadaga
, the Ryan Adams
album Heartbreaker
(which opens with "Argument with David Rawlings Concerning Morrissey
"), and the Robyn Hitchcock
album Spooked.
Rawlings co-wrote the tracks "To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High)" and "Touch, Feel and Lose", with Ryan Adams
.
David Rawlings achieves his signature guitar sound flatpicking
a small archtop guitar. The 1935 Epiphone
Olympic that has been his primary instrument was a mid-priced guitar for its time, with a carved arched solid sprucewood top, carved arched solid mahogany back and mahogany sides. It sold for about $35 in 1935. The guitar's lower bout measures 13 5/8 inches wide, and it has three piece f-holes.
The Dave Rawlings Machine album A Friend of a Friend was released on November 17, 2009. Rawlings recorded the album in Nashville, and produced it himself. Co-writers and musicians on the album include Welch, members of Old Crow Medicine Show, Bright Eyes, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
.
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and singer. He is best known as the longtime musical partner of bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Gillian Welch
Gillian Welch
Gillian Welch is an American singer-songwriter. She performs with her musical partner, guitarist David Rawlings. Their sparse and dark musical style, which combines elements of Appalachian music, Bluegrass, and Americana, is described by The New Yorker as "at once innovative and obliquely...
.
David attended the Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
and studied with guitar professor Lauren Passarelli
Lauren Passarelli
Lauren "L. Pass." Passarelli is an American musician and educator.She was the first woman to graduate from Berklee College of Music as a guitar performance major in 1982, and she became Berklee's first female guitar instructor in 1984. She was promoted to professor in 2009...
.
He is known in his own right as a producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, having produced Welch and bands such as Old Crow Medicine Show
Old Crow Medicine Show
Old Crow Medicine Show is an old-time string band based in Nashville, Tennessee. Their music has been called bluegrass, Americana, and alt-country, in addition to old-time. Along with original songs, the band performs many pre-World War II blues and folk songs...
. He has recently performed under the billing of "Dave Rawlings Machine". He has also contributed to the Bright Eyes album Cassadaga
Cassadaga (album)
Cassadaga is the seventh studio album by Bright Eyes, released on April 10, 2007. Around 25 to 30 songs were recorded in 2006, with 13 of these appearing on the final track list...
, the Ryan Adams
Ryan Adams
David Ryan Adams is an American alt-country/rock singer-songwriter, from Jacksonville, North Carolina. Initially part of the group Whiskeytown, Adams left the band and released his first solo album Heartbreaker in 2000...
album Heartbreaker
Heartbreaker (Ryan Adams album)
Heartbreaker is the debut studio album by alternative country musician Ryan Adams, released September 5, 2000 on Bloodshot Records. The album was recorded over fourteen days at Woodland Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. It was nominated for the 2001 Shortlist Music Prize...
(which opens with "Argument with David Rawlings Concerning Morrissey
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
"), and the Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn Rowan Hitchcock is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano and bass guitar....
album Spooked.
Rawlings co-wrote the tracks "To Be Young (Is To Be Sad, Is To Be High)" and "Touch, Feel and Lose", with Ryan Adams
Ryan Adams
David Ryan Adams is an American alt-country/rock singer-songwriter, from Jacksonville, North Carolina. Initially part of the group Whiskeytown, Adams left the band and released his first solo album Heartbreaker in 2000...
.
David Rawlings achieves his signature guitar sound flatpicking
Flatpicking
Flatpicking is a technique for playing a guitar using a guitar pick held between two or three fingers to strike the strings...
a small archtop guitar. The 1935 Epiphone
Epiphone
The Epiphone Company is a musical instrument manufacturer founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos. Epiphone was bought by Chicago Musical Instrument Company, which also owned Gibson Guitar Corporation, in 1957. Epiphone was Gibson's main rival in the archtop market...
Olympic that has been his primary instrument was a mid-priced guitar for its time, with a carved arched solid sprucewood top, carved arched solid mahogany back and mahogany sides. It sold for about $35 in 1935. The guitar's lower bout measures 13 5/8 inches wide, and it has three piece f-holes.
The Dave Rawlings Machine album A Friend of a Friend was released on November 17, 2009. Rawlings recorded the album in Nashville, and produced it himself. Co-writers and musicians on the album include Welch, members of Old Crow Medicine Show, Bright Eyes, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers are an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. They were formed in 1976 by Tom Petty , Mike Campbell , Benmont Tench , , Ron Blair and Stan Lynch...
.
Discography
- Dave Rawlings Machine - A Friend of a Friend (November 2009 · Acony Records)
Album appearances
- Also see Gillian Welch Discography
- Sara WatkinsSara WatkinsSara Ullrika Watkins is an American singer-songwriter and fiddler. Watkins debuted in 1989 as the fiddler of the progressive bluegrass group Nickel Creek, which consisted of herself, her elder brother Sean, and mandolinist Chris Thile. As a band, they are notable for three wide-released albums:...
- Sara WatkinsSara Watkins (album)Sara Watkins is the debut solo album by Sara Watkins. It was released by Nonesuch Records on April 7, 2009. The album reached #13 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers charts.-Track listing:#"All This Time" – 3:18...
(2009 · Nonesuch RecordsNonesuch RecordsNonesuch Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:Nonesuch was founded in 1964 by Jac Holzman to produce "fine records at the same price as a trade paperback", which would be half the price of a normal LP...
) - The Whispertown 2000Whispertown2000The Whispertown 2000 are an indie band from Los Angeles, California. They have toured with several prominent indie artists in the past few years, including Bright Eyes, Maria Taylor, Johnathan Rice, Margot & the Nuclear So and So's, Jenny Lewis, The Breeders and The Elected.-Members:*Morgan Nagler...
- Swim (2008 · Acony Records) - Bright Eyes - Four WindsFour WindsFour Winds is an EP by the indie rock band Bright Eyes, that was released on March 6, 2007. The title track is the first single from their album Cassadaga. The other 5 tracks are exclusive b-sides from the 2006 recording sessions. It is marketed as being "quietly enchanting" and including "a...
(2007 · Saddle Creek) - Bright Eyes - CassadagaCassadaga (album)Cassadaga is the seventh studio album by Bright Eyes, released on April 10, 2007. Around 25 to 30 songs were recorded in 2006, with 13 of these appearing on the final track list...
(2007 · Saddle Creek) - Robyn HitchcockRobyn HitchcockRobyn Rowan Hitchcock is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano and bass guitar....
- Spooked (2004) - Old Crow Medicine ShowOld Crow Medicine ShowOld Crow Medicine Show is an old-time string band based in Nashville, Tennessee. Their music has been called bluegrass, Americana, and alt-country, in addition to old-time. Along with original songs, the band performs many pre-World War II blues and folk songs...
- Old Crow Medicine ShowOld Crow Medicine Show (album)Old Crow Medicine Show, or sometimes known as O.C.M.S., is the 2004 debut full-length release by the acoustic quintet, Old Crow Medicine Show. The songs are roughly an even split of obscure traditional tunes and original compositions by the band members. It includes the band's signature tune,...
(2004) - Ryan AdamsRyan AdamsDavid Ryan Adams is an American alt-country/rock singer-songwriter, from Jacksonville, North Carolina. Initially part of the group Whiskeytown, Adams left the band and released his first solo album Heartbreaker in 2000...
- DemolitionDemolition (Ryan Adams album)-Album:-Singles:-Personnel:* Ryan Adams – Vocals, Guitar, Electric guitar, Harmonica, Bass, Piano, Synth, Drum Machine* Mikael Nord Andersson – Dobro* Bucky Baxter – Pedal Steel Guitar, Background vocals, Guitar...
(2002) - Ryan AdamsRyan AdamsDavid Ryan Adams is an American alt-country/rock singer-songwriter, from Jacksonville, North Carolina. Initially part of the group Whiskeytown, Adams left the band and released his first solo album Heartbreaker in 2000...
- HeartbreakerHeartbreaker (Ryan Adams album)Heartbreaker is the debut studio album by alternative country musician Ryan Adams, released September 5, 2000 on Bloodshot Records. The album was recorded over fourteen days at Woodland Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. It was nominated for the 2001 Shortlist Music Prize...
(2000) - Ani DiFrancoAni DiFrancoAni DiFranco is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, guitarist, poet, and songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums, and is widely considered a feminist icon.-Biography:...
- Swing SetSwing SetSwing Set is an EP by Ani Difranco, released July 11, 2000 on Righteous Babe Records.-Track listing:#"Swing " – 3:57#"Swing " – 6:13#"To the Teeth " – 6:12...
(2000)
External links
- David Rawlings and Gillian Welch NPR Tiny Desk Concert Video
- David Rawlings on PBS NewsHour