Split Lip Rayfield

Amazon.com
Split Lip Rayfield play a souped-up blend of bluegrass, old-time, and cow punk, and they flat tear it up. Their motto is speed and more speed, a goal that demands a measure of dexterity from this east Kansas trio on banjo, acoustic guitar, and "Stitchgiver" (a jimmy-rigged pickup gas tank with Weedwhacker string). While most songs begin with nearly the same manic guitar run, the differences quickly emerge, as do their Austin inspirations: "Combine," about a good ol' boy looking to find a new gal, sounds like Bad Livers; "Outlaw," a bank robber's boast, could be the Meat Purveyors. Like too much insurgent country, this occasionally leans to the winking side, but Rayfield's fierce picking will still "kick your ass from here to Mexico." --David Cantwell

Product Description:
SLR, with their banjo, acoustic guitar, and stand-up bass attack have been wowing the folks around the Wichita and Lawrence area for years. This 3-piece acoustic outfit somehow manages to sound like an earthquake, with its lightning quick playing (but quality is NOT substituted for speed) and romps about cars, trucks, pinball, girls, and coffee.

Split Lip Rayfield

Tracks:

Movin' To Virginia
Record Shop
Never Make It Home
Thief
Love Please Come Home
Used To Call Me Baby
PB24SS
Kiss Of Death
Drink Lotsa Whiskey
Mister
River
It's No Good
Dime Store Cowboy
Day The Train Jumped The Tracks

Amazon.com

A string band with a mean streak and a standup bass fashioned from a gas tank, Wichita's picking punks earned their reputation by beating tradition into submission. But with Never Make It Home, their third effort, Split Lip discover that playing it (comparatively) straight can yield satisfying results. This most welcome surprise is spurred by the emergence of Wayne Gottstine, the quartet's flashy but always solid mandolinist, as a stellar singer and songwriter to rival bandleader Kirk Rundstrom. Fans of the Gourds' Jimmy Smith will find a lot to like in Gottstine's handful of tunes, from the jaunty "Movin' to Virginia" to the mopey "Used to Call Me Baby." Elsewhere, Split Lip prove they can still play like they're blowing a tollbooth, especially on another Gottstine original, "River," and the disc's pair of covers, "Love Please Come Home" and "Day the Train Jumped the Tracks." --Anders Smith-Lindall

Album Description

After a bit of tinkering these bluegrass outlaws have emerged from the garage soot-smeared, short of temper and ready for beer with their third CD. Steel yourself for the trademark souped up hillbilly barrage. "Never Make it Home" features SLR's bluegrass underground sound, tick-tight playing and even a few sing-along anthems.

Customer Reviews:

Think the cd is great...you should see the live show!.......2005-11-23

Never make it home is my favorite Split Lip album. The title track is awesome. See them live... you won't believe it!

Bistering!!!.......2004-08-31

This ain't your grandpappy's whiling away the nights on the porch bluegrass. This is strap yerself in for a ride at the speed of light that you'll never forget. If your toes don't tap then see a dr. cuz you're most likely dead!!

I guess I don't get it..........2004-08-06

I came to SLR being an avid bluegrass fan, as well as roots/country rock (early Grateful Dead, rockabilly, John Hartford, Doc Watson, SCOTS, you name it) and after two dedicated listens this disc just leaves me a little cold. I gave it 4 stars for the blistering performances, both vocal and instrumental, of songs that I just couldn't make myself care about. The lyrics are vague and never really told me a story I could visualize in any real sense. (No matter how hard I rubbed on the glass, I still couldn't see through it, if you take my meaning.) I guess I could sum it all by saying they use the bluegrass format to sing ordinary, uninspired rock. Albeit with tight harmony and hot instrumentals. Is it country rock or odd bluegrass? Neither fish nor fowl. I'm going to keep at it - maybe I'll "get it" at some point.

Burning Kansas.......2004-05-17

Kansas may be the flatest state in the Union, but they've produced some sharp artists through the years. Split Lip Rayfield is just one such, a kick-ass bluegrass ensemble that plays traditional music with one of the sharpest edges out there today. In a day and age when Oh Brother Where Art Thou threatens to trap bluegrass in a Depression-era museum case, Split Lip Rayfield plays string band music for the new milennium.

The only unifyning theme on this album is the undisputed picking power of the artists. It's all string music--no keys, no drums, just strings. But there's no risk of it all sounding the same. From upbeat rockers like Kiss of Death to honky-tonk beauties like Drink Lotsa Whiskey, country chestnuts like Love Please Come Home to iconoclasty like Dime Story Cowboy, this album never gives you a chance to take the band for granted.

Split Lip Rayfield is famous for their live shows, and of course an album can never match up to that. Still, this is shimmy music for Hell's own square-dance. If you want a string band album that will make you jump out of your chair and scream for more, this is it.

Their Best To Date.......2002-11-18

The way Kirk Rundstrom and Wayne Gottstine trade greats songs on "Never Make It Home" reminds me of the way Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir used to alternate classic tunes on Dead albums. And to carry the analogy further, this disc may be SLR's "Workingman's Dead." A real turning point for the band. Also, hat's off to Eric Mardis for contributing the best track on the disc -- "Kiss of Death." This is SLR's best yet. Buy it.

Average customer rating:

Bluegrass fusion that rocks!!!!
Makes`ya wanta tap all twelve toes!
wow! I can't keep still
Dwight Yoakam with a drinking problem and tatoos
Hard-hittin' bluegrass from deep in the heart of Kansas

In the Mud
Split Lip Rayfield
Manufacturer: Bloodshot Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Split Lip Rayfield
Never Make It Home
Should Have Seen It Coming
Live
Pain By Numbers

ASIN: B00000JPD5
Release Date: 1999-09-07

Tracks:

13
Wrong
All I Got
In The Ground
Family
Devil
Easy Street
Trouble
3.2 Flu
Glory Of The Sun
Drinkin' Around
Hounds
Strong
Tennessee
John
Truckin' Song

Album Description

This record's got everything you've come to expect from SLR: three (now four) part harmonies, loudness the likes of which you'd never expect from acoustic instruments, the legendary one-string gas tank bass "Stitchgiver," and songs and lyrics which practically dare you to go buy a gun and finally do something constructive with your life.

Customer Reviews:

Bluegrass fusion that rocks!!!!.......2005-07-31

A very nice secretary recommended Split Lip Rayfield to me several years ago, knowing as she did that I loved Irish and Cajun music, and then compounded her mistake by lending me her CD. She didn't get it back for two whole months, and the Greek Titans couldn't have beat it from me for love or money, not at least until I got my own copy delivered to my greedy, clasping hands from Amazon. The CD went straight into my car stereo and did not leave once, not once, for those two entire months. I simply listened to this one over and over and over again. For Christmas that year I bought many of my friends copies of this album, "In the Mud". That's how good this album is!!!! NO, you may not borrow my copy, I know I'll never get it back, but do buy it, buy it, you'll LOVE it. The sound is fresh, exciting, toe-tapping, heel-stomping and the lyrics are outrageously good, covering everything from welfare checks to murder in alternating hysterically funny to mesmerizingly grim songs that just make you hit replay for months and months. I can't recommend this one enough. It's five years later and I still have this CD in my six disc carousel (an upgrade from my one CD slot player) and I play it at least twice a month still.

Makes`ya wanta tap all twelve toes!.......2005-04-22

This sure ain`t your Pappy`s bluegrass music! That is, unless your Pappy is a one-eyed, twelve-toed, moonshine-drinkin`, mountain oyster-eatin`, inbred goat farmer from Eastern Kentucky. Manure-fueled grassabilly that takes old-fashioned tradition out behind the barn for a drink of rotgut liquor and a playful spank on the ass. Can`t beat this stuff with a stick! Even if you could, it would get right back up and beat`cha back! Excellent musicianship. Great wordplay. For fans of the Bad Livers, Foddershock, and the Drive-By-Truckers. Hell, I`d say it`s for fans of roots music in general, as long as they have an open mind and an open beer. Suggested listening environment: intermission music at a cockfight that has unlimited access to pork rinds, PBR, and horny no-teeth women (is there any other type of cockfight?).

wow! I can't keep still.......2000-10-11

I borrowed this CD from a friend, on his reccomendation, and am just amazed.

Traditional-ish sound and melodies, fast and furious, humorous lyrics, just a heck of a lot of fun. You would be hard put to keep still when listening to this one!

Kinda a cross of the Freight Hoppers (or other 1920's-ish bluegrass or pre-'grass) crossed with the Kruger Bros. and a little of Marley's Ghost, maybe. Lots of fun!

A must-have album/group!

Dwight Yoakam with a drinking problem and tatoos.......1999-08-27

This is a amazing follow up to the kansas natives debut self titled release, which is also a must have any any originality buff's collection. The songs move from ballads to good time strumming. Even some darkness thrown in. When you got a guy playing a ford gas tank strung with weedeater strings you cant go wrong.

Hard-hittin' bluegrass from deep in the heart of Kansas.......1999-08-26

Split Lip Rayfield shares members with Scroat Belly ~ another Kansas favorite. We ain't talking about your standard bluegrass here, though. They say that if you curled up all the corners of the US, the freaks roll down to Kansas. While there, they learn punk, they learn country, and they drink. And we all thank god for the musicians, for they keep our Kansas souls alive.

In Split Lip, we have the privilege of listening to an acoustic bass made out of a Ford Gas Tank and a 2x4. Add a guitar, a mandolin, and a banjo and out comes the sweetest sounds you'll ever drink whisky to.

Tracks:

Coffee
Outlaw
Long Haul Weekend
Combine
Barnburner
Blue Tick Hound
Sunshine
Pinball Machine
Judas
Cutie Pie
Flat Black Rag
Freckle Faced Liza Jane
No Idea
San Antone
Tiger In My Tank

Amazon.com

Split Lip Rayfield play a souped-up blend of bluegrass, old-time, and cow punk, and they flat tear it up. Their motto is speed and more speed, a goal that demands a measure of dexterity from this east Kansas trio on banjo, acoustic guitar, and "Stitchgiver" (a jimmy-rigged pickup gas tank with Weedwhacker string). While most songs begin with nearly the same manic guitar run, the differences quickly emerge, as do their Austin inspirations: "Combine," about a good ol' boy looking to find a new gal, sounds like Bad Livers; "Outlaw," a bank robber's boast, could be the Meat Purveyors. Like too much insurgent country, this occasionally leans to the winking side, but Rayfield's fierce picking will still "kick your ass from here to Mexico." --David Cantwell

Album Description

SLR, with their banjo, acoustic guitar, and stand-up bass attack have been wowing the folks around the Wichita and Lawrence area for years. This 3-piece acoustic outfit somehow manages to sound like an earthquake, with its lightning quick playing (but quality is NOT substituted for speed) and romps about cars, trucks, pinball, girls, and coffee.

Customer Reviews:

Who could get a better sound from "Gas Tank Bass".......2006-05-26

Thats right yall, The bassist (Jeff) plays the meanest and hardest I have ever seen.(and with only 1 string) This album is dripping with jelly & butter like a hot fresh biscuit! My fav. Track is "Tuth & Lies" You cnnot help but want to sing along or dance some hillbilly hop you have never even tried before, just for the sake of gettin' down. Bluegrass this style could make me a fan for life!

It's fast, talented, and will make you stomp yer feet.......1998-12-29

This album is a perfect blend of traditional bluegrass and contemporary themes. The songs have soul and a sense of humor. Most of the songs are fast and it's almost impossible to sit still(or stay sober) while listening to them. The music is not over produced so the songs retain a home made sound. The musicians are tallented which helps to organize the album. No one but a tallented bassist could make that stitch giver thing sound as good as it does. They are not self conscious or stuck on themselves but they are not afraid to demonstrate their pickin' dexterity either. I've seen them in concert too, they have an easy way about them that allows them to win over the toughest crowd. Even skateboard punk rockers have been charmed by them.

I agree with the above...........1998-09-21

I probably even know them! Please buy this CD not only because of it's "unique" blend of bluegrass and speed, but also because they are friends of mine and have lots of kids to feed.

Split Lip Rayfield.......1998-08-25

Wichita Kansas' own Split Lip Rayfield have a truly unique sound going for them. They are not your typical "Insugent Country" formula band. Rather, they have a unique "subversive" bluegrass sound and energetic live performance. Not your father's bluegrass!!!

Average customer rating:

Kirk has cancer
Stringcore blur will mesmerise even the purists

Should Have Seen It Coming
Split Lip Rayfield
Manufacturer: Bloodshot Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music

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Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Never Make It Home
In the Mud
Split Lip Rayfield
Live
The Dirty Old One Man Band

ASIN: B0002UJJV4
Release Date: 2004-09-28

Tracks:

Hundred Dollar Bill
Truth & Lies
Honestly
Redneck Tailgate Dream
Promise Not To Tell
A Little More Cocaine Please
C'Mon Get Your Gun
Used To Be
Lonely Man BLues
Don't Believe That You're Someone
Down South Sally
Should Have Seen It Coming
Out Of Time
Union Man
Lonesome Heart
Just Like A Gillian Welch Song

Album Description

With this offering, they stretch their one of a kind bored-out, jacked-up, four-barrel powerhouse sound, borrowing bluegrass traditions of the backwoods and mixing metal head folklore of the flatlands, strip malls, and dirt tracks to create a rollicking, relevant dust-up. It's their most listener-friendly record to date, pleasing both the headbangers and the extended jam-lovers.

Customer Reviews:

Kirk has cancer.......2006-02-11

These guys are really great. I got to hear them live, and they really do play at a breakneck pace. Great lyrics too. If you have time, please visit their website for information on Kirk Rundstrom's illness.

From the splitliprayfield website 2/01/06

"We regretfully announce that our guitarist, partner, and friend Kirk Rundstrom has been diagnosed with esophageal cancer."

"We know and believe in our friend's strength. With the added support of Kirk's family, his many friends, and our amazing fans, he is destined to beat this illness."

Stringcore blur will mesmerise even the purists.......2004-12-12

Split Lip Rayfield's class-10 tornado-spin on bluegrass fusion opened the door to a younger generation of finger-pickers who preferred heavier music, and pioneered the way for an underground bluegrass revolution spiraling from the center of Wichita, KS. Some say it's "Slamgrass," others have dubbed it debauchery; overall, the bands light-speed arrangements and tales of broken love and vehicles have set a standard that has even The Reverend Horton Heat impressed. Galvanizing listeners with the boot-stomping plunk of Jeff Eaton's signature bass, the junkyard instrument started out with spare parts from a weed-whacker and an old car's fuel cell. The Lip's new 2004 studio record "Should Have Seen It Coming" was released on September 28, 2004 and features the simultaneous blast-furnace fury of guitarist Kirk Rundstrom and mandolinist Wayne Gottstein. Their high-decibel hillbilly harmonies are in prime form, blurring onstage in a fit of stringcore madness. It was recorded at Mike West's studio in New Orleans, and has a more down-home and personal feel than "Never Make It Home." All content copyright www.maximumink.com

Average customer rating:

Live
Split Lip Rayfield
Manufacturer: Cow Town Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music

General | Country | Styles | Music

General | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music

Contemporary | Bluegrass | Country | Styles | Music

General | Live Albums | Country | Styles | Music

Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Never Make It Home
Should Have Seen It Coming
Split Lip Rayfield
In the Mud

ASIN: B000B5XSO4
Release Date: 2004-06-05

Tracks:

Flat Black Rag
Truckin' Song
In the Ground
Record Shop
Cutie Pie
P.B.
Used to Call Me Baby
Trouble
Whiskey Is Gone
Old #6
Kiss of Death
Devil
Never Make It Home
Coffee
3.2 Flu
River
Hounds
Movin' to Virginia
San Antone

Music Album:

Music Album