BOB WALKENHORST - "The Beginner"
When a great rock n' roll band comes to an end, where does the music go? Bob Walkenhorst, lead singer and songwriter of The Rainmakers, answers that question on his first solo CD, "The Beginner."
"I didn't want to make a record where I set out to prove that I could single-handedly make up for the absence of The Rainmakers. Instead, I wanted this to be a discovery of what I truly sounded like without them."
The thirteen songs on "The Beginner," finds Walkenhorst paring down his signature elemental song arrangements to a skeletal acoustic guitar, bass, and drums, most often played by his one-man-band. Harmonica is the lead instrument of choice, with the notable exception of a honking sax solo on "Jan Vermeer," a Chuck Berry-style rocker about the great Dutch painter, and a lead guitar solo on the "J-Walkers", a retro-rocker about the first band Walkenhorst ever heard. Vocal harmonies appear on only one song, "Just Leaving." From the sparse instrumentation to the early 60's style extreme stereo production, the overall sound of "The Beginner" is as much about what has NOT been recorded, as it is about what you do hear.
The humor and irony that have been the trademarks of Walkenhorst's songwriting in The Rainmakers are abundant on "The Beginner." However, rather than being applied to social and political subjects, Walkenhorst's new songs are about more universal themes of love, work, patriotism, age, and escape. The dense opinionated word avalanche of his Rainmakers songs has been refined and reduced to choice phrases, delivered with a stronger sense of melody.
Like Cameron Crowe's "Almost Famous," "The Beginner" is Bob Walkenhorst's love letter to rock n' roll. Echoes of garage bands learning Beatles songs, lonely boys in rooms with acoustic guitars, two minute blasts of youth copming from a blown car-radio speaker, are caught in an over-the-shoulder backwards glance at, not only where he has been, but where he is coming from. On "The Beginner," Bob Walkenhorst revisits the reasons why he loved music in the first place, and discovers that rock n' roll is always ready with another chance to start again.
THE RAINMAKERS - Biography
Missouri has long boasted of being the home of two of America's greatest artists, Mark Twain and Chuck Berry. However, it wasn't until The Rainmakers thundered into the national music spotlight in 1986, had anyone combined the guitar power of Berry with the social wit of Twain to form a unique brand of Missouri rock n' roll.
Originally formed in 1983 as the 3 piece bar band "Steve, Bob, & Rich", these Kansas City rockers became an instant favorite throughout the Midwest. Soon fans stood in line to see this trio they described as "energetic", "intense", but most importantly "fun". Within months of finishing their first independent release, "Steve, Bob, & Rich" had signed a multi-album contract with Polygram, added a member, and changed their name to The Rainmakers.
Heralded as "America's Great Next Band" by Newsday, The Rainmakers were drenched in critical acclaim. Feature articles in Newsweek, Rolling Stone, CMJ, USA Today and others poured in singing the praises of this hard working band breathing new life into the rock format.
Critics particularly enjoyed the unique writing style of lead vocalst Bob Walkenhorst, whose talent for choosing unusual and sometimes controversial subjects provided an eye opening perspective of life - sprinkled with sarcastic humor. The Rainmakers received notoriety for their songs' lyrical content, including Music Connection's award for - Lyric line of the year: "The generation that would change the world is still looking for its car keys", and in the unlikely source of author Stephen King, who twice quoted lyrics from Rainmakers songs in his best seller "The Tommyknockers", and again in his 1991 novel "Gerald's Game".
Success did not stop at the U.S. borders, as European support for the band grew with each new release. "Let My People Go-Go" gave the Rainmakers their first Top-20 single on the British charts, as critics abroad sang the band's praises, with feature articles in New Musical Express, Kerrang, Rock Power, etc. Frequently, The Rainmakers could be spotted on European television with live appearances on "Top Of The Pops," "The Tube," and MTV Europe.
European concert dates grew in number each year, with The Rainmakers often enjoying headline status on festival bills. Their reputation as an electrifying concert act eventually led to the recording of a live album at a sold-out show in Oslo, Norway.
In 1990, after 4 albums, 5 videos, 500,000+ records sold, and countless concert dates, The Rainmakers put band business on hold to allow time for their personal lives. In 1994, the band returned to the studio to record "Flirting With The Universe" - which was certified GOLD in Norway within 2 months of release.
Overwhelmed by the response to "Flirting...", The Rainmakers returned to the studio again to record, "Skin". As with previous releases, Walkenhorst proved that no subject matter was too controversial choosing to take aim at pornography and its societal impact, via his unique perspectives - a Rainmakers trademark.
"Skin" was followed by Bob Walkenhorst's debut solo release entitled, "The Beginner."
Check out the artist's website:
http://www.rainmakers.comTrack List:
1. Life Can Turn (Video Included / Enhanced CD)
2. Call A Wrecker (Video Included / Enhanced CD)
3. She Don't Love Me
4. Broken Down
5. Stolen The Moon
6. Jan Vermeer
7. Just Another Joe
8. The Day We Hung Up The Flag
9. Just Leaving
10. Punching Bag
11. Proof
12. J-Walkers
13. The Beginner
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