David Rawlings

David Rawlings

David Rawlings performing in 2014
Background information
Born North Smithfield, Rhode Island, U.S.
Genres Bluegrass, Americana, folk, old time, neotraditional country, American Primitivism
Occupation(s) Musician
Instruments Vocals, guitar
Associated acts Dave Rawlings Machine, Gillian Welch
Website www.daverawlingsmachine.com
Notable instruments
1935 Epiphone Olympic Guitar

David Todd Rawlings is an American guitarist, singer, and record producer. He is known for his partnership with singer and songwriter Gillian Welch.

Biography

Rawlings attended the Berklee College of Music and studied with Lauren Passarelli. He produced albums by Gillian Welch, Willie Watson and Old Crow Medicine Show. He leads the Dave Rawlings Machine with Gillian Welch, Willie Watson, Paul Kowert, and Brittany Haas. He contributed to the albums Cassadaga by Bright Eyes, Spooked by Robyn Hitchcock, and Heartbreaker by Ryan Adams, with whom he wrote two songs, "To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, Is to Be High)" and "Touch, Feel and Lose".

Recordings

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 as well as members of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Bright Eyes.[1] Rawlings is also best friends with movie producer Douglas Wick.[2] In 2015 Dave Rawlings Machine released a second album, Nashville Obsolete.

Poor David's Almanack (2017)

Poor David's Almanack, released on August 11, 2017 via Acony Records, is the eighth collaborative LP for Rawlings and Welch. In late 2016 Acony issued Boots No 1: The Official Revival Bootleg, a deluxe version of the 1996 Welch album considered a "modern Americana classic".[3] In addition to Welch and Watson, the backup band includes Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show, and Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith of Dawes. The album was recorded with Ken Scott and Matt Andrews at the Rawlings/Welch duo's Woodland Sound Studios in Nashville.[4]

Start to finish, the album is a testament both to his immeasurable talent and to his essential place in the roots and Americana music scene. It's also a chance for a guy otherwise happy to play sideman or stand behind the boards to step out just a touch further into a well-deserved spotlight.[4]
— Brittney McKenna, Rolling Stone

Instrument

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.[5] It sold for about $35 in 1935.[6] The guitar's lower bout measures 13 5/8 inches wide, and it has three piece f-holes.[5]

Rawlings "scavenged" the guitar from a friend's attic and is now hardly seen playing anything else. As he states, "I just picked it up. It was filthy, and it didn't have strings. You could just see the shape of it under the sawdust." Rawlings tuned it and brought it to a recording session for the Welch's first record. "As soon as I heard it through the microphone and through the speakers I was like, 'I love this guitar.'" he says.[7]

Discography

Solo

As guest

With Ryan Adams

With Bright Eyes

With others

References

  1. ↑ Graff, Gary (September 29, 2009). "Dave Rawlings Steps Into Spotlight With 'A Friend Of A Friend'". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  2. ↑ "The Ghostly Ones". The New Yorker. 2004-09-20. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
  3. ↑ "David Rawlings Readies New Album, 'Poor David's Almanack'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  4. 1 2 "Hear David Rawlings' Haunting New Song 'Cumberland Gap'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
  5. 1 2 1934 Epiphone sales catalog
  6. ↑ "Acguitar.com". Acguitar.com. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
  7. ↑ "See Dave Rawlings Talk Vintage Guitars in New Series". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
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