imthewalrus
LOVE THIS MUSIC! Takes me back to so many early influences like The Flying Burritos, Matthew’s Southern Comfort, The JAYHAWKS…etc…Just purchased GARDEN PARTY on cd…COULD I GET THAT AUTOGRAPHED, BEFORE YOU SEND IT?
Garden Party available in a limited quantity of Translucent Blue Vinyl LPs. Trans Blue LP includes a digital download card and a Rose City Band sticker.
Includes digital pre-order of Garden Party.
You get 2 tracks now
(streaming via the free Bandcamp app
and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the
complete album the moment it’s released.
digital album releases April 21, 2023
item ships out on or around April 20, 2023
Purchasable with gift card
$23USDor more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Garden Party available in a compact Disc. Comes with a limited Rose City Band sticker in the Garden Party art style.
Includes digital pre-order of Garden Party.
You get 2 tracks now
(streaming via the free Bandcamp app
and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the
complete album the moment it’s released.
digital album releases April 21, 2023
item ships out on or around April 20, 2023
Purchasable with gift card
$12USDor more
Streaming + Download
Pre-order of Garden Party. You get 2 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.
Purchasable with gift card
releases April 21, 2023
$10USD or more
Limited Glow In The Dark Vinyl LP
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Garden Party in a limited quantity of Glow In The Dark LPs. This version includes a digital download card.
Includes digital pre-order of Garden Party.
You get 2 tracks now
(streaming via the free Bandcamp app
and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the
complete album the moment it’s released.
Gone out to blaze a path
Brought it in and you take it back
Finding a way of our own
Rolled down to see the creek
Reel it in and you take a peek
Throw it out and pray for our soul
> And you sing high in a low song
> Spaced out and chasing rainbows
Down on the losing side
And he weren't afraid to ride
Playin on the side of the road
Gone in the dead of night
Say a prayer and put in a light
'Fore I can pay all I owe
> And you sing high in a low song
> Spaced out and chasing rainbows
Tour ‘round the world and back
Throw it out and you blaze a path
Wanderin' a dream all our own
Inside you’re feeling bleak
And he weren’t afraid to speak
Findin' our way after all
> And you sing high in a low song
> Spaced out and chasing rainbows
Breaking the ice
And so cold in the wake of
Captive of rain and
Sun, wild is the rose
> Feel bad for the break up
> Long on the side of the road
> Feeling the rise
> A slow rolling low
> Wanting to ride and
> Slow burn, lo
But if you want to ride
It's alright
I'm plenty grateful
Feeling of pride and
Faith, all you will know
> Born south in the grapevine
> Warned of the fire in their eye
> Flee with the sun and
> Roll all alone
> Wanted and riding and
> Say so long
Moon on the rise a
Grey fog, moves
Upon it all
Feeling the slide of the
Dream, light in your eyes
> Feel bad for the break up
> Long on the side of the road
> Feeling the rise
> a slow rolling low
> Wanting to ride and a
> Slow burn, lo
3.
Garden Song
4.
Porch Boogie
5.
Saturday's Gone
6.
Mariposa
7.
Moonlight Highway
8.
El Rio
about
Rose City Band’s country psychedelic rock evokes the wide-open spaces of the American west and free spirits who call it home. The project of acclaimed guitarist and vocalist Ripley Johnson, Rose City Band has extended beyond the studio and lives in tandem as a live ensemble featuring some of the finest players in contemporary rock: pedal steel guitarist Barry Walker, keyboardist Paul Hasenberg, bassist Dewey Mahood (aka Plankton Wat) and drummer Dustin Dybvig. Garden Party is a celebration of summer and all it brings: communal gatherings, the respites offered by nature, and an appreciation for even the simplest beauty, from 12-foot sunflowers to a contorted carrot planted in the spring. Freedom, contentment, and joy were the sources for the songs. From the soaring guitar solos, to the driving rhythms, the elegant pedal steel lines to the organ grooves, Garden Party has a live band’s energy captured in exquisite detail.
At its inception Rose City Band focused on what songwriter Johnson calls “porch music”. Recorded largely at Center for Sound, Light, and Color Therapy in Portland and mixed by John McEntire, Garden Party features guest appearances by Moon Duo bandmates John Jeffrey on drums and Sanae Yamada on synths, as well as Rose City Band live performers Hasenberg on keyboards and Walker on pedal steel. With the musicians in his life in mind, Ripley’s porch has opened up for each player to step into. Despite being tracked primarily as a solo endeavor the recordings capture the twists and bends of a fully realized ensemble, and in a nod to bands such as the Grateful Dead it doesn’t stop there. “The songs won’t really be finished until we play them on the road,” says Johnson.
Garden Party’s carefree attitude is layered with subtle turns and melodic gems which push the easygoing spirit towards transcendence. The interplay of Johnson and Walker’s guitars is nothing short of radiant. Opening track “Chasing Rainbows” finds the two casting out lines back and forth, carefully weaving around and through one another before basking into a wash of texture and twang. “Slow Burn” drives Johnson’s signature cosmic sound into the roots of the earth, twisting more grounded phrases and homespun bends around the rollicking rhythm section. Walker’s range as a pedal steel player is on full display throughout with classic licks dancing in tandem with Johnson’s voice. Album centerpiece “Porch Boogie” was written with the live ensemble in mind while Johnson was out on one of his regular walks, with only rhythmic ideas setting the pace for an extended groove that the group could stretch and relax into. The shifts in tone and feel on “Mariposa” and “Moonlight Highway”’s transition into “El Rio” are indicative of the expansive and unexpected directions Rose City Band are able to roam as the players follow one another from tender ballads to folk rambles to loping riffs. The sizzle of “Moonlight Highway” translates the unpredictable and invigorating energy of the band’s road gigs into a song tailor made for dancing, speckled with the gleaming starlight of night drives across the country.
Like all great music, Garden Party taps into the listener's emotional center and takes them to their happy place – their sunny spot. The album is an invitation to recalibrate, a joyous ride where the band’s sounds surround and embrace you. Ripley says it best: “I always like when an album starts in one place, and ends in another.” What a beautiful journey it is.
Paul Hasenberg: Keys on tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Barry Walker: Pedal Steel Guitar on tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 7
Sanae Yamada: Synthesizers on tracks 7 and 8
Mixed by John McEntire at Soma Studios.
Mastered for all formats by Amy Dragon at Telegraph Mastering.
Drums and most keyboards recorded by Ryan Oxford at The Center for Sound, Light and Color Therapy.
Pedal steel recorded by Barry Walker. Synthesizers recorded by Sanae Yamada.
Everything else recorded by Ripley Johnson.
Album Artwork & Design by Andrew McGranahan.
All songs by Ripley Johnson.
Sincerest thanks to everyone who helped make this record happen, especially all of the musicians and engineers; our live rhythm section, Dewey Mahood and Dustin Dybvig; Paul Carlin, manager extraordinaire; Bettina Richards and the Thrill Jockey team; and all of the kind listeners out there. Love you all.
An absolute masterpiece, the supposed final installment of what has been a stellar run of brilliant psychedelia from these Japanese kings.
The melodies alone are worth the price of admission. Charlie Moonbeam
I really liked "Cosmic Cash" a lot but this album is even better. Eight out of twelve tracks are on heavy rotation in my playlists. Papa Jay (Radio Smorgasbord)
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Spare bedroom folk songs from this North Carolina musician that evoke a host of emotions with lovely, tender melodies. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 1, 2021