Rita Hosking
9th Annual Country Album Vox Pop Winner
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Genre: Country
BAND NAME: Rita Hosking
WEB SITE: www.ritahosking.com
ARE YOU SIGNED OR SELF-RELEASED? Self-released
HOMEBASE/COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Northern California, United States
ALBUM NAME: Come Sunrise
ARTISTS ON THIS ALBUM: Rita Hosking, Rich Brotherton, Glenn Fukunaga, Lloyd Maines, Warren Hood, Tom Van Schaik, Danny Barnes, Sean Feder, Marty Muse, Kathy Brotherton, and Marc Gunn.
WHERE WAS THE ALBUM RECORDED? Ace Recording in Austin, Texas USA.
WHICH GENRES BEST DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC? Country, Folk, Americana, and a little Bluegrass-y.
WHAT/ IF ANY UNUSUAL INSTRUMENTS, SONG STRUCTURE/WRITING TECHNIQUE, RECORDING METHOD DID YOU USE? On the song “Hiding Place,” my producer, Rich Brotherton, used an autoharp and hammered dulcimer. That was an unusual and brilliant move. It adds a lot of magic to that track.
WHERE IS YOUR MUSIC AVAILABLE? iTunes, CDBaby, Digstation, Amazon, etc…
DID FANS HELP FUND THIS PROJECT? Fans create income for me, (for which I am very grateful,) so yes, they helped to fund it.
DESCRIBE YOUR AUDIENCE: Cute, intelligent, can be a little scruffy, deep, and they like stories. Sometimes they cry, they give good handshakes, and once in a while they’ve got a dog or two waiting in the car outside.
WHAT MAKES YOUR FANS UNIQUE? They are excellent listeners!
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE PLACES TO PLAY? The Palms Playhouse in Winters, CA! Also I enjoy any good listening room with a great audience, and outdoor music festivals.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST MEMORABLE ACHIEVEMENT TO DATE? Well, I’m still making music. I’ve made three albums and continue to sell them and play live, and that makes me really happy. I was thrilled when I won the Dave Carter Memorial Songwriting Contest, and was a finalist at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival Troubadour contest. But I must say that most of all, it’s when you really move someone in the audience, and they let you know–that is most memorable; to know that people are connecting with your music. It also really feels good when people learn your songs themselves.
WHAT’S IN THE WORKS FOR 2010? Come Sunrise is being released in the United Kingdom now, and my partner and I will be touring there in the summer. We’re looking forward to that! Also, some festivals, and lots of writing, and hopes to make another record soon.
FINISH THIS SENTENCE: THE MUSIC INDUSTRY IS…periodically experiencing the feeling that some bugs have when they’re flipped onto their backs and their little legs are waving around in the air.
WHAT IS YOUR DEFINITION OF SUCCESS? Setting realistic goals and meeting them.
WHAT’S ON YOUR IPOD THAT WOULD SURPRISE YOUR FANS? Let’s see: Talking Heads (and David Byrne), Qawwali Music (like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan), X, lots of different kinds of African music, etc…
NAME SOME ARTISTS YOU ARE CHAMPIONING: My daughters; they are awesome.
ARTIST BIO:
Kitchen tables, springs, loss, miners, mountains, culture clash, trailers, stray dogs, loggers, hope, forest fires�Rita Hosking’s country-folk music is this and more, and always fierce and lovely. Her delivery is, to put it simply, intense. “From the first time I heard Rita sing, her voice gripped me and did not let go,” (Joe Craven.)
That voice, called a “soulful howl from the mountains” (California Bluegrass Association) is calling attention around the country—”What? California girls don’t sing like that!!?” But Rita, called “the real thing” by CA acoustic music fans, will tell you about her upbringing in rural Shasta County, and the old-time band of seasoned mountain characters that took her under their wings. “This California girl comes by her mountain-music sensibility with true authenticity, with original songs deeply rooted in her family’s frontier experience,” (Dan Ruby, FestivalPreview.com.) A descendant of Cornish miners who sang in the mines, Rita grew up with deep regard for folk music and the power of the voice.
Rita’s songs have been lauded for story and sense of place, and her performances praised for capturing the audience. Honors include “Best Country Album” nomination by the 2010 Independent Music Awards, winner of the ’08 Dave Carter Memorial Songwriting Contest at the Sisters Folk Festival, finalist in the ’09 Telluride Troubadour Contest, and others as well. She has played her songs for appreciative listeners at the Strawberry Music Festival, Kate Wolf Music Festival, and many more. “There’s a grit to her songs and sinewy toughness to her voice that weave their own spell,” (Q Magazine.)
Come Sunrise, a collection of 11 original songs and Rita’s third album, was released in June of 2009. Recorded in Austin, Texas with producer and guitarist Rich Brotherton (Robert Earl Keen, Caroline Herring,) Come Sunrise launches Rita onto the international Americana scene with players such as Brotherton himself, Lloyd Maines, Warren Hood, Glenn Fukunaga, and many more. “Superb country-folk from a brilliant singer-songwriter,” (Americana UK.) In addition to her ’07 Silver Stream and ’05 Are You Ready? featuring members of her band “Cousin Jack,” Come Sunrise completes a collection of well received recordings.
Rita performs in variable configurations including solo, duo or trio, and often as a quartet called “Rita Hosking and Cousin Jack,” �Rita on guitar, Sean Feder on banjo, dobro, bass and guitar, Andy Lentz on fiddle, and Bill Dakin on bass and guitar.