Details of Jon’s tour only / limited new disc “Hawaiian Guitar Expedition” are up on the discography page.
You’ll only be able to get the disc at shows Jon is performing at and Bloodshot, Stinkweds, Scratch Records.
Full press release –
You may know Jon Rauhouse as the string section (okay, make that the pedal steel guitar–and-banjo section) behind Neko Case. Or maybe you’ve heard his dynamic duo of solo records on Bloodshot, where some of alt-country’s finest vocalists accompany the virtuoso on classic tunes from the last 70 or so years of popular music. Then there’s always the chance you saw him playing alongside Sally Timms, Kelly Hogan, Calexico, Giant Sand, the Mekons and countless others at various venues across the nation. It’s becoming apparent: if you sing and have any amount of musical taste, you’ll probably want Jon Rauhouse backing you up on guitar. Which begs the question: does this guy ever slow down? The answer is apparently not.
“Hawaiian Guitar Expedition” is what happens when Rauhouse decides to take a “vacation.” Shirking the aforementioned responsibilities, holed up in a tiny cabin on the Northwest corner of Washington State and goofing off with some music pals, the guitar maestro puts a proverbial grass skirt around a half-dozen new instrumentals. From the John Fahey-goes-to-a-luau inspired “Dusty Canal” to the introspective “Jen’s Tenor,” to the otherworldly “Sweet for Hawaiian Guitar & Saw,” this is music-making at its finest. Rauhouse flavors the rest of this disc with some of his best-loved tracks from his solo recordings. The result? Pure instrumental bliss. No, not the John Tesh/Zamfir kind, the good, pass-me-a-mai-tai kind.
Of course, man cannot live off self-produced, limited edition, Hawaiian guitar records alone. So look for Jon on the road again with Neko Case, coming to a village near you. And when you see him, be sure to say “aloha,” which means either “hello,” “goodbye,” or “I think that new record of your’s is great” in Hawaiian. Truth be told, any of the above would be true.
– Jason Verlinde
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