"Brian Rath Pop Music and Bio"
Brian Rath was born in Rochester, NY in 1979. His grandfather was a radio announcer and lived a kind of nomadic lifestyle pursuing job openings across the U.S. with professional sports teams. "I think my grandfather has lived a life worthy of a Hemingway novel. We're the dreamers mucking our way through two industry giants-sports and music. I think the passions of his life will live on through me."
In 1998 Rath left his hometown and began a series of stints at various colleges. Finally, a move to Boston in 2000 led him to a degree in English Literature from Northeastern University. It was in Boston that Rath began playing his first gigs and feverishly writing new songs. "I had this great apartment-well, in some aspects it was great... paying $400 dollars a month to sleep in a room with two other people, on top of a bunkbed, wasn't necessarily a highlight. But the apartment was right in the city, on the corner of a major intersection with cars and sirens all night. The roof access was unbelievable; right in the heart of the city, you could go up there, escape the noise below and start strumming."
Rath started wandering into Cambridge at night to play his latest songs at the famous Club Passim Open Mic, where Bob Dylan and Joan Baez used to perform. A place with lots of history and relevance, it was a perfect habitat for the young musician. "My pursuit of the stage...of an audience, was relentless back then."
A couple of cross country treks landed Brian in Denver for the summer seasons of '99 and '03. "I think the very night I made it into town, I was already browsing local papers, looking for open stages, already scoping out venues to play etc. One open mic I went to was inside a music store after hours. They let everyone use whatever guitars, amps..anything you wanted. They lit up enough lights for a U2 concert, and even got the fog machine going."
Brian spent those summers traveling the midwest, bussing tables, and playing out any chance he had. He returned to Rochester after graduating in 2003 and is currently a manager at the independently owned Boulder Coffee Co. in the South Wedge and has become a familiar face in the local music scene.
A winter trip to NYC in 2005 led to Brian winning a songwriting contest in Greenwich Village. "I went to an open mic one afternoon in the Village at a bar called the Baggot Inn. After my set, the host asked me if I wanted to enter my songs in their contest. Apparently they tape every songwriter who performs throughout the year and select original songs for their "14 Best Singer Songwriters of Greenwich Village" cd compilation. I didn't think much of it at the time. A year later I got an email saying my song "21 Old" was selected.
With radio, internet radio, tv radio, nicer bookings, local press, and sloppy groupies, 2007 is bound to be Brian's best year yet.
Voted one of the "6 Music Acts to Watch in 2006" by Insider Magazine in Rochester, N.Y
Register and Login to rate artists and leave comments.
Sounds like...
Author: David Feldman
Date: 2008-02-06 17:16:48
The music that Brian is writting reminds my of one of my all time favorite inspirations. The songs are very good. Oh by the way... sounds like Harry Nilsson. That's a compliment!
Hey Brian !
Author: R A
Date: 2007-12-02 19:17:41
Great acoustic sound ....and strong vox !
Register First then Create Your Profile Artists SignUp,Create Your Profile and JoinOurCommunity
