Jon Rauhouse

On Sept 10, 2007, i got to sit in and play 2 songs with Les Paul at the Iridium in New York City and i am still in shock. it was an amazing moment for me. thanks Rachel
Washington Post PERFORMING ARTS Saturday, September 15, 2007; Page C12 Jon Rauhouse
___________________________________ Call Jon Rauhouse the world's greatest steel guitarist or just his nickname, Mr. Orchid Fingers, but one thing about the bespectacled, hunched-over sideman extraordinaire is irrefutable: When he digs into a solo, everything else drops away. That was the overriding thing at Iota Thursday night, where Rauhouse led his band, Sestet, through a loose, high-spirited show that slipped fascinatingly between musical eras. Rauhouse fronted his combo in name, but vocalist Rachel Flotard (of Seattle trio Visqueen) was clearly in control onstage. As well as singing tunes that walked a dewy web from Les Paul and Mary Ford ("Smoke Rings") to the Great American Songbook ("I'll Be Seeing You") to torch ("Harbor Lights"), she kept her band mates on task with the kind of barbs she normally reserves for her other job -- online advice columnist. But without the puffy steel cloud Rauhouse provided, those songs would have been merely pleasant. His fills were transporting, evoking the purest C & W without ever resorting to played-out, "crying" pedal-steel riffery. For all his skill as a ballad arranger and supporter, though, Thursday's hour-long set was tastiest when the band -- and Rauhouse's main instrumental foil, guitarist Tommy Connell -- got riled up. Whether shimmying through a cheeky take on the theme from "Perry Mason," stomping big-band swing on Alvino Ray's "Idaho" or blasting ping-pong cartoon jive on Raymond Scott's "Powerhouse," Rauhouse perched atop each musical wave with remarkable acuity. All enough to demand that he step from the side to the front a little more often. Patrick Foster Washington Post
Billboard, Jaded insider Sept 11, 2007 Rauhouse: A Last Name Built For Easy Blog Headlines
You've probably seen him play with Neko Case in the last six or seven years and, if you're a fan of Bloodshot Records, seen him with any number of other affiliated bands, like the Grievous Angels, Waco Brothers, Sally Timms and Kelly Hogan. And he's always playing the instruments you have no idea how to play. Jon Rauhouse rocked our house^ late last week at Union Pool in Brooklyn, playing just one of those instruments: pedal steel. His tropical-styled songs inspired summer-weathered smiles and a little dancing (or rather, from us, enthusiastic swaying), with the help of one of our favorite singers, Rachel Flotard of Visqueen, who remains unjustly obscure. (Seriously, someone sign Visqueen, please.) The tour, which continues through the end of the month, comes in support of the Arizona-based musician's most recent "Steel Guitar Heart Attack," featuring Tommy Connell. We sat down briefly with Rauhouse after the show. He was smart and had a fantastic laugh. How does one even start to play a instrument like pedal steel? Well, I started with banjo somewhere at the end of the '70s, but I found banjo really limiting. I feel like you could hear them everywhere. I was already decent at guitar and I thought, Why don't I just choose the next most complicated thing to do. I got my first one for $400. Playing pedal steel... the tone and sliding is really fascinating, and you don't have to have a ton going on while playing. You can't categorize its particular sound. You can do a Nashville thing, Western Swing, do jokey, goofy music, Hawaiian... It defies categorization. What else is on your plate right now? I've been listening to a lot of Alvino Rey* big band stuff lately and love that sound and want to use that more in my live shows. I've been starting to work with Neko on some new stuff in L.A. and Chicago and am still working alongside Rachel on a new Visqueen record.Billboard
Oh Sweet Margarita of Cascia, Patron Saint of Lost Causes, we beseech thee! Make the world safe for instrumental music once again! Is there no room for swank little numbers uncluttered by the human voice? Time was when the radio waves were littered with songs that eschewed the crutch of vocals: Tequila, Sleepwalk, Popcorn, Green Onions, The Rumble, Walk-Don’t Run. Hell, even the themes to The Rockford Files and Taxi cracked the pop charts. Why then? Why not now?
Jon Rauhouse, god love ‘em, is not one to give up this quixotic quest so easily. The pedal steel/Hawaiian wizard, who has contributed his alternately swashbuckling and swoony stylings to recordings by—among others-- Calexico, Neko Case, Kelly Hogan, Giant Sand, Sally Timms and the Waco Brothers, lets fly his third CD, Steel Guitar Heart Attack. Hitting all the hotspots and g-spots between Harlingen and Honolulu, Jon and his band (featuring Calexico and Jon’s longtime guitarist/ co-conspirator Tommy Connell) swing, sigh, giggle and charm their way into even those with hearts of tar.
As a concession to the whims of those in need of a human voice every now and again, there are performances by a few of the top notch singers of our day: Neko Case (“East of the Sun”), Kelly Hogan (“Big Iron”), Rachel Flotard of Visqueen (“Harbor Lights”) and Sally Timms (“I’ll Be Seeing You”). These ladies’ll melt the ice in anyone’s punchbowl. Jon even steps to the mic for one (the theme to the Andy Griffith Show “The Fishing Hole”---betcha didn’t know it had lyrics, didya?)
The rest of the album is pure instrumental magic. Woozy, dreamy songs that’ll set your mind to sailing into the sunset, happy hour, or the arms of your Polynesian princess. Beguiling melodies that take us to “Idaho,” the “Hood Canal,” and the “Girls of Pajama Hill” (who hasn’t wanted to go there?) or provide the perfect wordless soundtrack when you want to wet your line or wet your whistle. Everything from country classics to the theme song from Mannix. That’s called versatility, my friends. There’s even a banjo number that shows Jon can play stuff standing up, too (note: we cannot absolutely confirm that he was standing when this was recorded). And with some songs clocking it at a 1:50, Jon can bring it with Ramones-like brevity, but with class.
Why “Heart Attack?” Well, Jon started noticing chest pains when carrying his amp. Seems he had something known as a Widowmaker Lesion and critical blockages in major arteries from his heart. Emergency procedures, angiograms, catheterizations and stents followed. We are happy to report that all is well now; with his heart fixed, he can re-focus on saving the instrumental.
Jon Rauhouse’s Steel Guitar Heart Attack shows us all that you don’t need words, man, you just need a good rhythm while you’ve got the gin in the shaker.
"Even in today's adoration of cross-genre hybridization, there simply isn't anyone who does so well with so much music...The songs are too good, with too many great musicians to laundry list." Dante Dominick Austin Music Magazine
"Words can barely express the simplicity, clarity and beauty behind Jon Rauhouse’s latest affair. Rauhouse exudes a quiet and understated confidence that lets the music speak for itself and become the one and only way you’d want to pass the night while dancing with a cold beer and taking sips from your favorite gal" Jedd Beaudoin Wichita City Paper
"Those of you who associate the pedal steel guitar solely with cry-in-yer-beer country weepers are in for either an unpleasant shock or a delightful surprise. Jon Rauhouse plays pedal steel guitar the way John Zorn plays the saxophone." Andy Whitman Paste Magazine
"Bob Wills meets Glenn Miller meets Esquivel’s space-age, bachelor-pad music as steel guitarist Jon Rauhouse blurs the distinction between hipster retro and post-modern cool" Don McCleese amazon.com