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Portland, United States (1994 – present)
Richmond Fontaine is a four-piece alt country band based in Portland, OR.
The band was formed in 1994 by guitarist / lead vocalist Willy Vlautin and bass player Dave Harding at the Portland Meadows horse race track. Known for Vlautin’s incredibly rich and evocative lyrics, several of Richmond Fontaine’s songs relate to horse racing specifically and gambling generally. This is largely an artifact of Vlautin’s upbringing in Reno, Nevada, a place that is heavily referenced in his lyrics, along with Portland, the U.S. Western states in general and occasionally Mexico. Vlautin is also an acclaimed novelist, having written two respected books, The Motel Life and Northline. As a fiction writer, he is often compared to Raymond Carver and Charles Bukowski while his lyrical style is inspired by the narrative style of Australian artist Paul Kelly. Musically, Richmond Fontaine have cited influences such as Gram Parsons, X (U.S. band), Green on Red and Dave Alvin and they are often regarded as part of the rock alt.country movement that includes bands such as Drive-By Truckers, Slobberbone, Grand Champeen, The Damnations and others.
For reasons of touring patterns and heavy support of the high brow music press in the UK, Richmond Fontaine have been more successful in Europe than the US.
The band was formed in 1994 by guitarist / lead vocalist Willy Vlautin and bass player Dave Harding at the Portland Meadows horse race track. Known for Vlautin’s incredibly rich and evocative lyrics, several of Richmond Fontaine’s songs relate to horse racing specifically and gambling generally. This is largely an artifact of Vlautin’s upbringing in Reno, Nevada, a place that is heavily referenced in his lyrics, along with Portland, the U.S. Western states in general and occasionally Mexico. Vlautin is also an acclaimed novelist, having written two respected books, The Motel Life and Northline. As a fiction writer, he is often compared to Raymond Carver and Charles Bukowski while his lyrical style is inspired by the narrative style of Australian artist Paul Kelly. Musically, Richmond Fontaine have cited influences such as Gram Parsons, X (U.S. band), Green on Red and Dave Alvin and they are often regarded as part of the rock alt.country movement that includes bands such as Drive-By Truckers, Slobberbone, Grand Champeen, The Damnations and others.
For reasons of touring patterns and heavy support of the high brow music press in the UK, Richmond Fontaine have been more successful in Europe than the US.
Shouts:
57 shouts
Top Albums
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Thirteen Cities
Richmond Fontaine
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Post To Wire
Richmond Fontaine Buy- Download Album
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The High Country
Richmond Fontaine Buy- Download Album
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Shoutbox
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theplasticpals wrote:
Hey Willy! Good to see you at Debaser in Stockhol in November... All best!
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ThisManWhisky wrote:
How am I only discovering this band now? Stupid me.
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danieljparsons wrote:
Just discovered them. Love.
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P-M-C-Radio wrote:
Richmond Fontaine were played on Plymouth Music Collective Radio this week, have a listen at http://pmc-radio.tumblr.com/
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fastlane01 wrote:
New album sounds great
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RagingRED wrote:
Underground hip hop?
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scott_sea wrote:
And Australia? Please let it be so.
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SverreBie wrote:
New album "The High Country" to be released in September with subsequent tours in Europe and USA.
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burning-flag wrote:
<3
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RagingRED wrote:
Already want a new album!
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PullDownPants wrote:
I've only just started to listen to these guys but I'm really liking them so far. Only got there latest album so far. Favorite song without a doubt is The Boyfriends.
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helmespc wrote:
Wow, this is good.... surprised I've never heard these guys before...
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Redeyexpress wrote:
Right on! I got on to George Clinton and gang because of my soul bros., pack in the early 70s. Blind Willie taught me the 8 ball shot! Although, those guys would look at me kind of funny when I would play a little Merle Haggard. So I think I know where your coming from...Ah, memories! I just wish my short term was a bit better! - Happy Trails
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scott_sea wrote:
No Perth, Australia shows? That blows chunks!
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likeahurricane1 wrote:
They played a great show in Utrecht. For some vids see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QNIo9HO4vM
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MetalSabe wrote:
Good stuff, like the newest album a lot.
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SpazyB wrote:
You are champions.
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PaulyB52 wrote:
Not that I'm obsessed or anything, but I've seen them live 6 times and have every album, even including Whiskey, Painkillers etc. and don't understand why they are so undiscovered. But then again maybe I'm a bit smug cos I have! As I keep telling them at gigs, they should get a slot on Jools Hollands 'Later' show on the BBC.
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Kacun wrote:
Great show yesterday in Zagreb!!
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mau_1999 wrote:
One of the best albums 2009
Videos
See more
Events
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Mar
8
Richmond Fontaine
The Musician, Leicester, United Kingdom
1 going
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Mar
10
The Jayhawks
The HMV Picture House, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
3 going
1 shout
- Mar 11 The Jayhawks O2 Academy Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
News
The High Country on vinyl
22 Nov 2011 | from www.richmondfontaine.com
Hey, Willy brought back a few LPs of “The High Country” from
our last tour. They are very limited, only 40 I think. Hit the
merch page while they last!
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16 Nov 2011 | from www.richmondfontaine.com -
14 Oct 2011 | from www.richmondfontaine.com -
6 Oct 2011 | from www.richmondfontaine.com
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Recent Activity
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jaseywoo and jenningso added Richmond Fontaine to their libraries. yesterday evening
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wolky8 added Richmond Fontaine to the lineup of HDM SpringBreak-Festival at Haus der Musik. Tuesday afternoon
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johnbunney added Richmond Fontaine to the lineup of Richmond Fontaine at The Duchess. last week
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tvornicakulture added Richmond Fontaine to tvornicakulture’s library. last week
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tvornicakulture added Richmond Fontaine to the lineup of Richmond Fontaine at Tvornica kulture. last week
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Private_Benji added Richmond Fontaine to Private_Benji’s library. last week
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fearofmanc added Richmond Fontaine to the lineup of Richmond Fontaine at The Met. last week
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SickDeathCity and Jigwally added Richmond Fontaine to their libraries. last week
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grimoverlord10 tagged Richmond Fontaine with folk, singer-songwriter, alt-country and one other tag. last month
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grimoverlord10, snrub_guy and Lucky_Slim added Richmond Fontaine to their libraries. last month
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2011
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30 Dec 2011
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23 Dec 2011
| 3 comments
Groups (15)
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29 members
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Postcard From Hell
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More Information
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