Jack Rose (guitarist)
Encyclopedia
Jack Rose was an American
guitarist
originally from Virginia
and later based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
. Rose is best known for his solo acoustic guitar work. He was also a member of the noise/drone band Pelt.
and Eclipse Records
labels as well as the band's own Klang imprint. The group toured steadily in the U.S. and referenced the work ethic of the Grateful Dead
in the title of their album Rob's Choice. Notable tourmates included Harry Pussy
, Charalambides
and the Shadow Ring and opened for Sonic Youth
. In Pelt, Rose played a variety of instruments, primarily electric guitar. During the late 90s, Pelt began to play acoustic folk-derived material, and Rose began to perform on acoustic guitar. Byron Coley
wrote a feature on the group for the magazine The Wire, calling them "the Hillbilly Theater of Eternal Music." In late 1999, when Rose was fired from his job at a coffee shop and was able to collect unemployment insurance, he concentrated on acoustic guitar playing and developed rapidly. He first released two CD-Rs, Hung Far Low, Portland, Oregon and Doctor Ragtime, which featured a mix of country blues
and ragtime
. These releases were composed of original and traditional songs, including covers of songs by fingerpicking guitarists John Fahey
and Sam McGee
. His first proper full-length, Red Horse, White Mule, (named after brands of moonshine
mentioned on a best-selling sermon of the late 20s, "The Black Diamond Express Train to Hell" by Rev. A.W. Nix) was released on vinyl
by Eclipse Records in 2002.
's sold-out Golden Apples of the Sun
compilation in 2004.
Rose's first three consecutive releases on Eclipse Records
—Red Horse, White Mule (2002), Opium Musick (2003), and Raag Manifestos (2004)—were met with praise by critics and contemporaries alike. "Finally," said Ben Chasny
of Six Organs of Admittance
, referring to Opium Musick in an interview with Pitchfork
, "somebody has something to say on the acoustic guitar that hasn't been said before."
Raag Manifestos was named one of 2004's "50 Records of the Year" by the UK
avant garde music magazine The Wire
in January 2005, following a feature on him in issue #241. Rose's rise in popularity in the UK during that time coincided with his Peel Session
on May 20, 2004.
In 2005 he released Kensington Blues on Tequila Sunrise records. Featuring ragtime, ragas
, country blues and lap steel, the record earned high marks from Pitchfork and Dusted Magazine. "Kensington Blues is a really hard record to live up to," Rose told Foxy Digitalis in a 2007 interview. He went on to express doubts about some of his other material released around that period of time. "[W]ith everyone putting out so much stuff, I mean you’ve gotta have new product all the time, it's kind of a drag," he continued. "I hate to sound like a total capitalist here... but when you’re on tour you need to have something to sustain you."
His recorded collaborators outside of Pelt were infrequent but include Jason Bill of Charalambides
, Donald Miller of Borbetomagus
, Glenn Jones of Cul de Sac, Ian Nagoski and Keenan Lawler. In 2008, he reunited with Pelt members and other musicians including Micah Blue Smaldone on his album Dr. Ragtime and His Pals.
He released two live LPs on Three Lobed Recordings, I Do Play Rock And Roll (2008) and The Black Dirt Sessions (2009), receiving positive reviews from Brainwashed and Pitchfork. The Wooden Guitar compilation on Locust Music
was issued on vinyl for the first time in 2009 and almost immediately went out of print.
With the exception of his first two CD-R releases, all of his music has been available on vinyl, often in limited editions. His Dr. Ragtime 78, for example, was produced in an edition of only 6 copies, with one selling for $500 as part of a benefit auction on eBay
. Some of his more popular releases such as Kensington Blues have been re-pressed on vinyl in open editions.
Jack Rose and The Black Twig Pickers, his ninth LP, was released in May 2009. An appearance on the 7" compilation Meet the Philly Elite and a tour-only 7" on the Great Pop Supplement followed.
Rose died on the morning of December 5, 2009 from an apparent heart attack
. He was buried at West Laurel Hill Cemetery
in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania
.
Luck In The Valley, Rose's final LP, was released posthumously on February 23, 2010.
In late April 2010, Three Lobed Recordings curated and released the digital compilation Honest Strings: A Tribute To The Life And Work Of Jack Rose, with all proceeds going to Rose's estate.
His final recording, a collaboration called Ragged and Right with D. Charles Speer & The Helix, was released on June 15, 2010 as part of Thrill Jockey
's singles club.
-style lap steel guitar. He often employed open tunings.
He was compared to guitarists on the Takoma
label from the 1960s, including American primitive
guitarist John Fahey, Robbie Basho
and former Vanguard
recording artist and eventual touring partner Peter Walker
.
Rose cited Charley Patton, Blind Blake
, John Fahey
, Robbie Basho
, Zia Mohiuddin Dagar and, in later years, Link Wray
as influences.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
guitarist
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...
originally from Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and later based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. Rose is best known for his solo acoustic guitar work. He was also a member of the noise/drone band Pelt.
Pelt and beyond
In 1993, Jack Rose joined the noise/drone band Pelt with Michael Gangloff and Patrick Best. The trio, sometimes joined by friends including Mikel Dimmick and Jason Bill (also of Charalambides), released more than a dozen albums and a handful of minor releases primarily on the VHF RecordsVHF Records
VHF Records is an American record label, known for their extensive work with several major experimental artists. The label is based in the Washington, DC suburb of Fairfax, Va., and it initially focused on indie and experimental bands from that region...
and Eclipse Records
Eclipse Records
Eclipse Records is an American indie rock record label based in Butler, New Jersey. The label is known for bringing the Cleveland band Mushroomhead to national attention. The current president of the label is Chris Poland.-History:...
labels as well as the band's own Klang imprint. The group toured steadily in the U.S. and referenced the work ethic of the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
in the title of their album Rob's Choice. Notable tourmates included Harry Pussy
Harry Pussy
Harry Pussy was a noise rock band from Miami, active from 1992 to 1997. The main members were Bill Orcutt on guitar and vocals and Adris Hoyos on drums and vocals. Other members included briefly Ian Steinberg on accordion, and later either Mark Feehan or Dan Hosker on second guitar...
, Charalambides
Charalambides
Charalambides is an avant garde musical group originally from Houston, Texas, USA and lately of Austin, Texas. Formed in 1991 by Tom Carter, Christina Carter and Kyle Silfer, they have followed in the footsteps of other Texas psychedelic music artists such as the 13th Floor Elevators, Red Crayola,...
and the Shadow Ring and opened for Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
. In Pelt, Rose played a variety of instruments, primarily electric guitar. During the late 90s, Pelt began to play acoustic folk-derived material, and Rose began to perform on acoustic guitar. Byron Coley
Byron Coley
Byron Coley is an American music critic who wrote prominently for Forced Exposure magazine in the 1980s, starting with their fifth issue until the magazine ceased publication in 1993. Prior to Forced Exposure, he wrote for NY Rocker, Boston Rock, and Take It! magazine. Coley is one of the first...
wrote a feature on the group for the magazine The Wire, calling them "the Hillbilly Theater of Eternal Music." In late 1999, when Rose was fired from his job at a coffee shop and was able to collect unemployment insurance, he concentrated on acoustic guitar playing and developed rapidly. He first released two CD-Rs, Hung Far Low, Portland, Oregon and Doctor Ragtime, which featured a mix of country blues
Country blues
Country blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
and ragtime
Ragtime
Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...
. These releases were composed of original and traditional songs, including covers of songs by fingerpicking guitarists John Fahey
John Fahey (musician)
John Fahey was an American fingerstyle guitarist and composer who pioneered the steel-string acoustic guitar as a solo instrument. His style has been greatly influential and has been described as the foundation of American Primitivism, a term borrowed from painting and referring mainly to the...
and Sam McGee
McGee Brothers
The McGee Brothers were an American old-time performing duo consisting of brothers Sam McGee and Kirk McGee . Sam typically played guitar and Kirk usually played banjo or fiddle, although they were both proficient in multiple string instruments...
. His first proper full-length, Red Horse, White Mule, (named after brands of moonshine
Moonshine
Moonshine is an illegally produced distilled beverage...
mentioned on a best-selling sermon of the late 20s, "The Black Diamond Express Train to Hell" by Rev. A.W. Nix) was released on vinyl
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
by Eclipse Records in 2002.
Solo work
Jack Rose was a prolific recording artist in his relatively short solo career, with albums, EPs, and compilation tracks on no fewer than ten record labels. He gained a new level of public exposure upon his inclusion on Devendra BanhartDevendra Banhart
Devendra Obi Banhart is a singer-songwriter and visual artist. Banhart was born in Houston, Texas and was raised by his mother in Venezuela, until he moved to California as a teenager. He began to study at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1998, but dropped out to perform music in Europe, San...
's sold-out Golden Apples of the Sun
The Golden Apples of the Sun (album)
The Golden Apples of the Sun is a limited edition compilation of contemporary folk music curated by musician Devendra Banhart for the art magazine Arthur Magazine. The title comes from a Ray Bradbury short story...
compilation in 2004.
Rose's first three consecutive releases on Eclipse Records
Eclipse Records
Eclipse Records is an American indie rock record label based in Butler, New Jersey. The label is known for bringing the Cleveland band Mushroomhead to national attention. The current president of the label is Chris Poland.-History:...
—Red Horse, White Mule (2002), Opium Musick (2003), and Raag Manifestos (2004)—were met with praise by critics and contemporaries alike. "Finally," said Ben Chasny
Ben Chasny
Ben Chasny is an indie rock and psych folk guitarist. His primary projects are Six Organs of Admittance and Comets on Fire . He made his recording debut in 1996 with his heavy, free rock project Plague Lounge on "The Wicker Image", an LP released conjointly between the New World of Sound and Holy...
of Six Organs of Admittance
Six Organs of Admittance
Six Organs of Admittance is the primary musical project of guitarist Ben Chasny. Chasny's music is largely guitar-based and is often considered new folk, however it includes obvious influences, marked by the use of drones, chimes, and eclectic percussive elements...
, referring to Opium Musick in an interview with Pitchfork
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
, "somebody has something to say on the acoustic guitar that hasn't been said before."
Raag Manifestos was named one of 2004's "50 Records of the Year" by the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
avant garde music magazine The Wire
The Wire (magazine)
The Wire is a British avant garde music magazine, founded in 1982 by jazz promoter Anthony Wood and journalist Chrissie Murray. The magazine initially concentrated on contemporary jazz and improvised music, but branched out in the early 1990s to various types of experimental music...
in January 2005, following a feature on him in issue #241. Rose's rise in popularity in the UK during that time coincided with his Peel Session
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
on May 20, 2004.
In 2005 he released Kensington Blues on Tequila Sunrise records. Featuring ragtime, ragas
Indian classical music
The origins of Indian classical music can be found in the Vedas, which are the oldest scriptures in the Hindu tradition. Indian classical music has also been significantly influenced by, or syncretised with, Indian folk music and Persian music. The Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, describes music...
, country blues and lap steel, the record earned high marks from Pitchfork and Dusted Magazine. "Kensington Blues is a really hard record to live up to," Rose told Foxy Digitalis in a 2007 interview. He went on to express doubts about some of his other material released around that period of time. "[W]ith everyone putting out so much stuff, I mean you’ve gotta have new product all the time, it's kind of a drag," he continued. "I hate to sound like a total capitalist here... but when you’re on tour you need to have something to sustain you."
His recorded collaborators outside of Pelt were infrequent but include Jason Bill of Charalambides
Charalambides
Charalambides is an avant garde musical group originally from Houston, Texas, USA and lately of Austin, Texas. Formed in 1991 by Tom Carter, Christina Carter and Kyle Silfer, they have followed in the footsteps of other Texas psychedelic music artists such as the 13th Floor Elevators, Red Crayola,...
, Donald Miller of Borbetomagus
Borbetomagus
Borbetomagus are a free improvisation/noise music group. They are cited by critics as pioneers of aggressive improvised noise music.- Biography :...
, Glenn Jones of Cul de Sac, Ian Nagoski and Keenan Lawler. In 2008, he reunited with Pelt members and other musicians including Micah Blue Smaldone on his album Dr. Ragtime and His Pals.
He released two live LPs on Three Lobed Recordings, I Do Play Rock And Roll (2008) and The Black Dirt Sessions (2009), receiving positive reviews from Brainwashed and Pitchfork. The Wooden Guitar compilation on Locust Music
Locust Music
Locust Music is a Chicago-based independent record label founded in 2001....
was issued on vinyl for the first time in 2009 and almost immediately went out of print.
With the exception of his first two CD-R releases, all of his music has been available on vinyl, often in limited editions. His Dr. Ragtime 78, for example, was produced in an edition of only 6 copies, with one selling for $500 as part of a benefit auction on eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
. Some of his more popular releases such as Kensington Blues have been re-pressed on vinyl in open editions.
Jack Rose and The Black Twig Pickers, his ninth LP, was released in May 2009. An appearance on the 7" compilation Meet the Philly Elite and a tour-only 7" on the Great Pop Supplement followed.
Rose died on the morning of December 5, 2009 from an apparent heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
. He was buried at West Laurel Hill Cemetery
West Laurel Hill Cemetery
West Laurel Hill Cemetery is a cemetery located in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the site of many notable burials, and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1992...
in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
Luck In The Valley, Rose's final LP, was released posthumously on February 23, 2010.
In late April 2010, Three Lobed Recordings curated and released the digital compilation Honest Strings: A Tribute To The Life And Work Of Jack Rose, with all proceeds going to Rose's estate.
His final recording, a collaboration called Ragged and Right with D. Charles Speer & The Helix, was released on June 15, 2010 as part of Thrill Jockey
Thrill Jockey
Thrill Jockey Records is an American independent record label established in 1992 in New York City by former Atlantic Records A&R representative Bettina Richards.-History:...
's singles club.
Style
Rose's compositions were mostly for 6-string guitar, 12-string guitar, and WeissenbornWeissenborn
Weissenborn or H. Weissenborn is a brand of lap slide guitar manufactured by Hermann Weissenborn in Los Angeles in the 1920s and 1930s....
-style lap steel guitar. He often employed open tunings.
He was compared to guitarists on the Takoma
Takoma Records
Takoma Records was a small but influential record label founded by John Fahey in the late 1950s.. It was named after Fahey's hometown, the Washington, D.C. suburb of Takoma Park, Maryland.-History:...
label from the 1960s, including American primitive
American Primitivism
American Primitivism, also known as American Primitive Guitar, is the music genre started by John Fahey in the late 1950s. Fahey composed and recorded avant-garde/neo-classical compositions using traditional country blues fingerpicking techniques, which had previously been used primarily to...
guitarist John Fahey, Robbie Basho
Robbie Basho
Robbie Basho was an American composer, guitarist and pianist, and one of the pioneers of the acoustic steel string guitar in America.-Biography:...
and former Vanguard
Vanguard Records
Vanguard Records is a record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. It started as a classical label, but is perhaps best known for its catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s; the Bach Guild was a subsidiary...
recording artist and eventual touring partner Peter Walker
Peter Walker (guitarist)
Peter Walker is an American folk guitarist noted for dextrous instrumental pieces that reference the Indian classical and Spanish flamenco traditions...
.
Rose cited Charley Patton, Blind Blake
Blind Blake
"Blind" Blake was an American blues and ragtime singer and guitarist.-Biography:...
, John Fahey
John Fahey (musician)
John Fahey was an American fingerstyle guitarist and composer who pioneered the steel-string acoustic guitar as a solo instrument. His style has been greatly influential and has been described as the foundation of American Primitivism, a term borrowed from painting and referring mainly to the...
, Robbie Basho
Robbie Basho
Robbie Basho was an American composer, guitarist and pianist, and one of the pioneers of the acoustic steel string guitar in America.-Biography:...
, Zia Mohiuddin Dagar and, in later years, Link Wray
Link Wray
Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr was an American rock and roll guitarist, songwriter and occasional singer....
as influences.
Dr. Ragtime
- Doctor Ragtime CD-R (2002) (Tequila Sunrise), ed. 50
- Dr. Ragtime – "Buckdancer's Choice" b/w "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground" 7" EP (2005) (Sacred Harp Library), ed. 500
- Dr. Ragtime "Alap" b/w "Flirtin' with The Undertaker" 78rpm EP (2005) (Life is Hard), ed. 6
- Dr. Ragtime and His Pals LP (2008) (Tequila Sunrise), an edition of 100 for the Terrastock Festival, containing 4 extra songs from the final LP release, and an alternate cover silk-screened by Brooke Sietinsons of EspersEspersEspers may refer to:*Esper, a term used in science fiction and the field of parapsychology*Esper , a class of people from the Akira manga and film*Espers , a Philadelphia based folk group**Espers , their eponymous debut album...
- Dr. Ragtime and His Pals CD/LP (2008) (Beautiful Happiness/Tequila Sunrise), LP ed. of 1000
Jack Rose
- Hung Far Low, Portland, Oregon CD-R (2001) (self-released/Klang Industries)
- Red Horse, White Mule LP (2002) (Eclipse Records), ed. 500
- Opium Musick LP (2003) (Eclipse Records), ed. 1000
- Raag Manifestos LP (2004) (Eclipse Records), ed. 1000
- Kensington Blues CD/LP (2005) (VHF Records/Tequila Sunrise), ed. 500. Open edition on VHF.
- Untitled I & II 7" EP (2006) (Tequila Sunrise), ed. 500
- Jack Rose CD/LP (2006) (aRCHIVE/Tequila Sunrise), ed. 1000
- Split with Silvester Anfang 7" EP (2007) (Funeral Folk)
- I Do Play Rock and Roll CD/LP (2008) (Three Lobed Recordings), LP ed. 938
- Jack Rose and The Black Twigs 7" EP (2008) (The Great Pop Supplement), ed. 500
- The Black Dirt Sessions LP (2009) (Three Lobed Recordings), LP ed. 2021
- Jack Rose and The Black Twig Pickers LP (2009) (Klang Industries), ed. 1000
- Jack Rose and The Black Twigs 7" EP (2009) (The Great Pop Supplement) ed. 400
- Luck In the Valley CD/LP (2010) (Thrill Jockey) LP ed. 1500
- Ragged and Right With D. Charles Speer & The Helix 12" EP (2010) ed. 500
- 12.11.2009 CD-R (2010) (Unsound Recordings) ed. 230
Compilations
- Klang VII CD-R (1999) (Klang Industries)
- Wooden Guitar CD/LP (2003; 2008) (Locust Music)
- Golden Apples of the Sun CD (2004) (Bastet)
- Imaginational Anthem CD (2005) (Near Mint Records)
- By the Fruits you Shall Know the Roots 3xLP (2005) (Eclipse/Time-Lag)
- Less Self is More Self: Tarantula Hill Benefit 2CD (2006) (Ecstatic Peace!)
- Meet the Philly Elite (with Meg BairdMeg BairdMeg Baird is an American musician originally from New Jersey and currently based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is best known as a founding member and lead female vocalist for the Philadelphia folk rock band Espers. In 2007, Baird released her first solo LP Dear Companion on Drag City...
, Kurt VileKurt VileKurt Vile is a guitarist and singer born in 1980 from the Philadelphia suburb of Lansdowne, Pennsylvania. He was signed by Matador Records as a solo artist in May 2009....
, and US Girls) 7" (Kraak)