The musical journey of Geoffrey Rutledge began at age nine in Pontiac,
Michigan, when his older brother bought Geoffrey his first guitar for $5. Eager
to get started, he rode his bike to a local music store and signed up for guitar
lessons. His early influences included Bob Dylan, Buffalo Springfield, and
James Taylor. Geoffrey remembers, "When I was at home I would play the guitar and sing all day."
Hitting the road at 18, Geoffrey has made music professionally from Key
West to San Francisco to Cape Cod, and all points inbetween, ever since. An
insightful, soulful singer/songwriter, Geoffrey's musical influences have ranged
from James Taylor to Sting to Stevie Wonder. A prolific songwriter, Geoffrey
began writing songs at the age of twelve and has continued to write steadily to
this day.
He received the Northern California Songwriters Association's prestigious
"Song of the Year" award, and played the main stage at the Kerrville Folk
Festival for six years running. He's also shared the stage at various venues
with such prominent artists as Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, David Crosby &
Graham Nash, and John Prine (to name just a few) and has worked in the studio
with Russ Kunkel, Leland Sklar, and Dean Parks. He has also opened shows for
John Prine, Little Feat, the Oak Ridge Boys, and Chris Isaac.
Although Geoffrey has always maintained a solo career, he has also worked
in numerous duo and trio configurations. The most notable of these was the
acoustic trio RST. RST (Rutledge, Smith & Tindel) came to life when Geoffrey
Rutledge and Lennox Smith, performing as Two Left Hands, teamed with John Tindel in Key West to become the house band at the famed bar Sloppy Joe's (the favorite haunt of novelist Ernest Hemingway). The chemistry was right and they decided to take the next step and begin writing original songs together.
Upon moving to California, things started going in the right direction for
the band. After spending a year in the studio writing songs and developing their
unique sound, they earned the reputation as the most happening band to hit the
West Coast in years. Chris Jackson, a DJ at KUFX Radio 94.5FM, said "RST is the
best band to come out of the South Bay since the Doobie Brothers."
Russ Kunkel (veteran drummer with James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Stevie
Nicks, and the producer of Jimmy Buffet's Fruitcakes CD) liked what he heard so
much that he personally took RST into the studio and produced their debut CD. In addition to producing and playing drums, Russ brought in some of the best
musicians in the business to help with the sessions, including Leland Sklar
(bassist for James Taylor, Phil Collins, etc.), Dean Parks (guitarist for Steely
Dan), Mark Russo (saxophonist for Yellowjackets and Kenny Loggins), and Sean
Hopper (organist with Huey Lewis and the News).
RST's roots and influences varied, with Rutledge and Tindel growing up in
the Midwest and Smith hailing from the Gulf Coast. All grew up listening to
James Taylor and CSN, but developed audio palettes that included country,
classical, and progressive music. Their self-produced second CD How Do We Get There? showed a return to their acoustic origins, weaving tales of Americana with their trademark three-part harmonies.
Today Geoffrey Rutledge continues to perform solo, write songs, and work on
his solo recording projects. To date he has released two critically acclaimed
solo recordings of original material, Songs and The Big Top. A talented
performer and entertainer, Geoffrey has the ability to capture an audience's
attention with his voice, win their hearts with his lyrics, and gain their
friendship and loyalty with his humor and wit. After attending a Geoffrey
Rutledge performance you not only feel like you've been entertained by a great
performer, you feel as though you have found a new friend.
