Josh Ritter

Infobox musical artist
Name = Josh Ritter


Img_capt = Photo by S. Malmrose
Img_size = 200
Background = solo_singer
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Born = birth date and age|1976|10|21
Moscow, Idaho
Died =
Origin =
Instrument = Acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano
Genre = Folk, Rock
Occupation =
Years_active =
Label = Signature Sounds
V2
Associated_acts =
URL = [http://www.joshritter.com www.joshritter.com]
Current_members =
Past_members =
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Josh Ritter (born October 21, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter.

Biography

Ritter was born in Moscow, Idaho in 1976, to two neuroscientists. At age 18, after hearing a copy of Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan’s “Girl From The North Country” owned by his parents, he attempted to write songs on a lute that his father had built, before abandoning the lute and buying his first guitar at K-Mart.

Ritter began writing songs as a teenager, while still teaching himself to play the guitar. He attended Oberlin College to study neuroscience, but later changed his major to the self-created "American History Through Narrative Folk Music". At the age of 21 Josh recorded his first album "Josh Ritter" at a recording studio on campus. After graduating, Josh moved to Scotland to attend the School of Scottish Folk Studies for six months [http://www.triste.co.uk/jritter.htm Interview with Triste Magazine] ] . Josh then moved back to Idaho for a few months, before moving to Providence, Rhode Island, where he worked temporary jobs and played at open mic nights. During this time, Ritter sold copies of his album. As an early sign of his success to come in Ireland, Ritter found on a trip to Ireland that his album sold particularly well at open mics there. With the money from merchandise sales, Ritter was eventually able to quit his day job and devote himself to music full-time.

A year and a half after recording "Josh Ritter", Ritter recorded his second album "Golden Age of Radio" for $1000 and self-published it. The album was recorded in three different studios: Soundgun in Philadelphia, Electric Cave in New Hampshire, and a friend's basement studio. [http://www.dreamsawake.com/interviews/joshritter/index.htm dreamsawake.com - Interview - Josh Ritter ] ] While promoting "Golden Age of Radio", he met Jim Olsen, head of independent record label Signature Sounds, who offered to remaster and rerelease the album after hearing Ritter play. The song "Me & Jiggs" was subsequently released as a single in Ireland, where Ritter was quickly becoming a word-of-mouth success, first opening for The Frames, then headlining his own shows. Ritter's third record, "Hello Starling", which was produced by Dave Odlum, a former guitarist for the Frames, reached #2 on Irish charts.

His style is in the tradition of folk music and ballads. He is influenced by the lyrics of Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and Leonard Cohen, and the works of Mark Twain.

Ritter appeared at the 2002 Newport Folk Festival, Oxegen 2005, and has headlined with artists such as Joan Baez, who later released her own version of Ritter's song "Wings" on her album "Dark Chords on a Big Guitar". He was signed by an American label, V2 Records, in 2005 and "Hello Starling" was subsequently re-released. He began performing and touring in a crossover duo with the classical violinist Hilary Hahn in 2005.

Ritter's fourth album, 2006's "The Animal Years", and fifth album, 2007's "The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter", each received a warm critical reception. [ [http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/ritterjosh/historicalconquestsofjoshritter?q=josh%20ritter Metacritic page for "The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter"] ] [ [http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/ritterjosh/animalyears Metacritic page for "The Animal Years"] ]

Discography

Albums

*"Josh Ritter" (1999, self-released)
*"Golden Age of Radio" (2000, re-released January 22, 2002)
*"Hello Starling" (September 9, 2003)
*"The Animal Years" (March 20, 2006 in UK, April 11, 2006 in U.S.)
*"In the Dark - Live at Vicar Street" (November 24, 2006, Ireland only)
*"The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter" (August 21, 2007 in U.S., October 1, 2007 in UK)

EPs

*"Me & Jiggs EP" (2002, Ireland only)
*"Come & Find Me EP" (2002)
*"4 Songs Live EP" (February 22, 2005)
*"Good Man EP" (August 18, 2006, Ireland only)
*"Girl in the War EP" (August 29, 2006 on iTunes, November 27 2006 in UK)
*"Live at The Record Exchange EP" (January 30,2007)
*"" (April 19, 2008)

ingles

*"Hello Starling (Snow Is Gone)" (May 31, 2004, UK single)
*"Man Burning" (2004, Ireland promo-only single)
*"Thin Blue Flame" (2005, U.S. promo-only single)
*"Girl in the War" (April 11, 2006)
*"Lillian, Egypt" (May 29, 2006, UK single)
*"Wolves" (July 25, 2006, promo only)
*"Mind's Eye" (October 15, 2007)
*"Right Moves" (December 17, 2007)
*"Empty Hearts" (March 31, 2008)

ee also

*The Cake Sale

External links

* [http://www.joshritter.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.dougrice.net/joshritter.html The Official Josh Ritter Fansite]
* [http://www.fabchannel.com/josh_ritter_concert 2006 concert] in Paradiso at Fabchannel.com
* [http://www.fabchannel.com/josh_ritter_2007_concert 2007 concert] in the Melkweg at Fabchannel.com
* [http://www.archive.org/details/JoshRitter Josh Ritter collection] at the Internet Archive's live music archive
* [http://nantucket.plumtv.com/videos/josh_ritter_performs_plum Josh Ritter performs "To The Dogs or Whoever" on Plum TV]
* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15230712 Interview with and performance by Josh Ritter at NPR]
* [http://inhouseradio.blogspot.com/2006/08/in-house-1690-interview-with-josh.html Audio interview with Josh Ritter at In House Radio]
* [http://www.ilikemusic.com/interviews/Josh_Ritter_interview_2008-4508 2008 interview with Josh Ritter at I Like Music]
* [http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/articlejosh%20ritter%20-%20american%20gothic.htm Interview with Josh Ritter interview at American Gothic]
* [http://iguessimfloating.blogspot.com/2006/04/interview-with-josh-ritter_114452766953790696.html Interview with Josh Ritter at I Guess I'm Floating]
* [http://sovmag.com/2008/04/18/josh-ritter-qa/ 2008 Interview with Josh Ritter at SovMag]
* [http://www.bmoretunes.com/?page_id=196 Interview with Josh Ritter at Bmore Tunes]

References

Persondata
NAME=Josh Ritter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=American musician
DATE OF BIRTH=1976
PLACE OF BIRTH=Moscow, Idaho
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=