Joe Rathbone
“Rathbone fits perfectly into that chain of artists (David Mead, Josh Rouse, Neilson Hubbard) with a similarly classic songwriting sensibility, a flexible and melancholy tenor, and beautifully majestic, ethereal roots-pop flourishes,” writes the Nashville Rage.
After catching the ear’s of Starbucks/Hear Music with his 2007 release Under the Scorpio Moon, resulting in their licensing several songs for play in stores nationally, Joe Rathbone is back with Mad July: a 5-song EP that runs from a rememberance of a desert trek (”8 Years Ago”), to the death of a former colleague (”Mary”), to landing in the modern era “half naked in a bistro” (”Mad July”), to realizing “we’re finally where we should have been” (”Moving With You”).
Recorded in the attic loft of musical renegade/producer Josh Fuson and ending up in David Henry’s haven aka True Tone Recording, what happened was madness and love in sound and words. In the summer of 2008, Daniel Dennis, owner of Prime Cut Records in Nashville, teamed up with Joe Rathbone to release his new EP, featuring Steve Bowman’s tribal drumming, David Mead’s soul/choral backing, cardboard box drum loops, 10-watt Gibson amps, a string section, metal ductwork on 2 and 4, and a belief that all these folks you never heard of sound better than the famous ones, the privileged anointed ones. Here’s to friends and Mad July.
Mad July follows 2007’s Under the Scorpio Moon, 2004’s I Can Hear the Windows of Your Heart Breaking and the 2002 debut, Welcome to Your New Life, all 3 of which received very favorable reviews in national media and extensive airplay on AAA radio stations most notably: WFUV in NYC, WXPN in Philadelphia, WNCW in Charlotte, KUT in Austin, WRNR in Maryland, WMNF in Tampa, KXCI in Tucson and XM Satellite Radio’s Café Channel throughout the US and were lauded as an impressive showcase for his songwriting skills. Joe has appeared on The Mountain Stage and tours in the U.S. and U.K. opening for as well as openers for Shawn Colvin, Chuck Prophet, Rock Four, Peter Mulvey, Robbie Fulks, Jeff Lang, Amy Rigby, Greg Trooper, Jim Lauderdale and Ben Weaver. Starbucks/Hear Music licensed “The World” from Under the Scorpio Moon for play in 10,000 + stores nationally in 2008 and Paste Magazine featured “Like Some Angel” from Scorpio Moon on it’s May 2008 CD sampler.
Press Quotes
"Rathbone’s songs mix melodic heartland rock with atmospheric flourishes calling to mind Tom Petty and Joseph Arthur..inventive sonic landscapes.. tender vocals keep the proceedings human and heartfelt" -- Jesse Thompson in Performing Songwriter
“Under the Scorpio Moon” a set that again shows him to be a master pop craftsman. Sometimes buoyant, sometimes dreamy, and often with an undercurrent of melancholy, there’s a classic feel to these 10 melodic tunes as Rathbone consistently finds the sweet spot that links catchiness and heart” -- Nick Cristiano in The Philadelphia Inquirer
"When it comes to pop/rock comparatives, three always get my attention: Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, Tom Petty. Atlanta transplant Joe Rathbone occasionally sounds like an amalgam of the three. His music unites top-shelf hook-a-minute pop songwriting and a pleasing soulful voice." -- No Depression