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After fifteen years as the leader and electrifying violinist of The Sundogs, fiddler/composer
Tom Rigney steps out on his own with a hot new band, Flambeau.
The repertoire is original, eclectic, passionate, and filled with a musical and
emotional intensity that will come as no surprise to followers of Rigney’s
career.
Tom Rigney has been a part of the San Francisco Bay Area roots music scene
for over twenty-five years. The son of baseball great, Bill Rigney, Tom is a
native of the Bay Area. His musical career began after he finished his graduate
studies at Harvard University, where he received a Masters degree in Fine Arts.
Tom first rose to prominence in the music scene as the leader/fiddler of the
legendary Bluegrass/Western Swing band, Back in the Saddle. He won a Bammie
award in 1981 for the band’s debut recording. He also wrote their hit
song, “Time and Again”, which rode the country music charts in the
Bay Area for many weeks, no small achievement for an independent release.
After the demise of Back in the Saddle, Tom joined Queen Ida’s Bon Temps
Zydeco Band and toured the world with the Queen in 1983 and 1984. It was at
this time that he developed a love of South Louisiana dance music (Cajun, zydeco,
and New Orleans second line grooves). These styles formed a major ingredient
in the sound of his next band, The Sundogs. Teaming with songwriter Joe Paquin
and slide guitarist T.J. Politzer, Tom and The Sundogs performed and recorded
together for fifteen years. They released seven CD’s (and even an LP!),
including two on the Rounder label. Their last recording, “Dancing Room
Only”, spent eight weeks on the Americana Radio charts nationally. They
toured extensively across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, performing at numerous
major festivals and concerts and at more dances and nightclubs than anyone cares
to remember. Their sound was a scorching blend of Cajun, blues, and roots Rock
and Roll--original Americana music that struck a nerve with audiences all over
the globe.
And now, with the broadening and deepening of his composing skills, and the
refinement of his virtuoso technique on the violin, Tom
Rigney steps out as the focal point of the new band, and as
the creator of all its music. The strong Cajun/zydeco influence is still present,
as are the irresistible dance grooves that have been his specialty for twenty
years. But there is also a deepening of the emotional range of his music and
a concentration on creating moving and memorable melodies in a wide range of
styles--he has literally become a “singer” on the violin. The music
bursts with the energy of the bayou one minute, turns passionate with a gypsy
tune the next; it can raise the roof with a Celtic reel and then touch the heart
with a beautiful waltz; it can drive deep into the heart of the Blues or evoke
echoes of Eastern Europe or the coast of Spain.
In 1998, Tom released the critically-acclaimed “Chasing the Devil”
on the Parhelion label. In 1999, with his new band, Flambeau,
he released “Red Boots and Rice”. The year 2000 saw the long-awaited
re-release of his first solo album, “Rigo”. In May, 2002, Tom released
"Metamorphosis", an all-instrumental disc featuring ten new compositions
as well as Tom's memorable arrangement of Kate Wolf's haunting "Brother
Warrior". "Metamorphosis" is Tom's most ambitious and stylistically
diverse CD yet. And in July, 2003, the new Flambeau
CD, "Happy to be Here", hit the street. Unquestionably
the party album of the summer, "Happy to be Here" is filled with infectious
grooves, hot playing from all the members of Flambeau,
and a level of energy and intensity only surpassed by their live show.
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