Called “America's local band,” Columbus, Ohio based group aims to make every town home.
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Red Wanting Blue (L-R): Greg Rahm, Dean Anshutz, Mark McCullough, Scott Terry, Eric Hall Jr. Photo: Jason Tanaka Blaney.
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“White Snow” is the latest single from Red Wanting Blue’s new album “From The Vanishing Point”.
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See the video for Red Wanting Blue’s “Audition” featuring fan-submitted footage.
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“If you’re serious, you gotta go to New York or L.A. / ‘Cause people never meet in the middle any more they say. / Catch me, America. / I’m tired of hearing about New York and L.A.” – Red Wanting Blue, “Pour It Out” (from the recently released album From The Vanishing Point)
Columbus, Ohio-based band Red Wanting Blue marked a career milestone this past weekend. Known for relentlessly touring the Midwest and independently building a fervent fan base there, the band sold out the 1350 capacity Cleveland House of Blues in advance of its headlining show at the venue last Saturday. Red Wanting Blue has been performing at the club ever since the release of its Pride: The Cold Lover album in 2004 which defined Red Wanting Blue’s current sound. See photos from Saturday’s performance here.
Led by singer-songwriter Scott Terry, Red Wanting Blue’s story is noted as a textbook case of local boys making good. Terry, the sole constant in the band’s 15-years-and-running career, was clearly emotional as he thanked the audience that has been there from the start and also those who are finding the group now that it has begun to become what some have called “America’s local band.”
Unlike so many of today’s indie rock successes, praised by the media before paying their dues, Terry has been working for moments like this since before Mumford had sons. With songs that passionately represent the heart and heartland, Terry and Red Wanting Blue’s performances are addictive because of their authenticity. It’s a state that tours don’t visit and can only be arrived at with a commitment to never breaking up, even if it means never “blowing up.”
Now-a-days, lots of new bands branded as variants of Americana are crawling the country, but few of them have done much crawling underneath their own touring vehicles. Not so with Terry, whose gutted and customized airport shuttle was featured in the band’s “Where You Wanna Go” video. Sometimes tastemakers don’t notice these indicators of credibility though, only hearing what they want to hear.
And while Red Wanting Blue’s sound is polished, it is the presumptions that go along with that attention to detail (not to mention Terry’s booming voice) that have kept some potential fans at bay. The reality is that Red Wanting Blue is actually the realest deal on four wheels and as its story has grown, the band has finally started to gain support and recognition from urbanite editors and programmers that were once apathetic.
For instance, the Columbus, Ohio NPR-affiliated Triple A radio station WCBE, which previously relegated the band’s music to local rotation, this week added the Red Wanting Blue track “Walking Shoes” (LISTEN) to its regular programming. Similarly, the Program Director of Cleveland’s WJCU, who confessed to prematurely making up her mind about the band (“Not gonna like ‘em, and you can’t make me!”) changed her tune, literally, after seeing Red Wanting Blue in concert saying, “I was hooked. Solid hooked. I haven’t seen an audience respond like that since Mumford and Sons.” WJCU is also now playing the band’s “Walking Shoes” in rotation.
The sentiments of the band’s tune “Pour It Out” notwithstanding, Red Wanting Blue does make regular appearances in NYC and other major cities outside of its stronghold (the west coast is on the band’s wish list for 2012), but it always brings Ohio along. Terry adorns his stage with the trinkets found at local thrift stores, end table lamps and weird strings of lights (owls are a favorite) that you will also find in his living room in Columbus. It’s all part of bringing the feeling of home wherever Red Wanting Blue goes.
That feeling was still written on the faces of the 150 or so people who waited in line past 2:00AM to meet Red Wanting Blue after Saturday night’s show. Terry and the guys signed copies of their new album, took pictures, and did what so few rock bands ever do: enjoyed just hanging out with their fans. Based on a history that few artists stick around long enough to make, this attitude will likely never change. Red Wanting Blue’s latest album From The Vanishing Point is out now.
Scott Terry of Red Wanting Blue is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.
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Red Wanting Blue Live
02/08 Ames, IA @ Mother's Pub
02/09 Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
02/10 Kearney, NE @ Cunningham's Journal
02/11 Kearney, NE @ Cunningham's Journal
02/16 Rochester, NY @ The Bug Jar
02/17 Cambridge, MA @ The Loft
02/18 Asbury Park, NJ @ The Saint
02/19 Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live
02/22 New York, NY @ Rockwood Music Hall
02/23 Vienna, VA @ Jammin' Java
02/24 Murphy, NC @ Murphy's Grill
02/26 Columbia, NC @ New Brookland Tavern
02/27 Atlanta, GA @ Smith's Olde Bar
03/01 Cozumel, Mexico @ The Rock Boat
03/02 Cozumel, Mexico @ The Rock Boat
03/03 Cozumel, Mexico @ The Rock Boat
03/04 Cozumel, Mexico @ The Rock Boat
03/05 Cozumel, Mexico @ The Rock Boat
03/07 Isle of Palms, SC @ The Windjammer
03/08 Greensboro, NC @ The Blind Tiger
03/09 Raleigh, NC @ Pour House Music Hall
03/10 Roanoke, VA @ Awful Arthur's
03/11 Hagerstown, MD @ Break Away 2
05/05 Bloomington, IL @ Castle Theatre
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Red Wanting Blue
From The Vanishing Point
(Fanatic Records – Out Now)
Track Listing:
01. Stay On The Bright Side
04. Playlist
05. Love Remains
06. Cocaine
08. Dinosaur
09. Running of The Bulls
10 Ballad of Nobodies
11. Hope On A Rope
12. Pour It Out
13. My Name Is Death
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Red Wanting Blue Links
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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion
