Hot Rize is a bluegrass band that rose to prominence in the early 1980s. Established in 1978, Hot Rize has appeared on national

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

and TV shows, and has toured most of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, as well as

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

History

Hot Rize started performing January 18, 1978, with Tim O'Brien on

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

and

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

Pete Wernick Pete Wernick (born February 25, 1946), also known as "Dr. Banjo", is an American musician. He is a five-string banjo player in the bluegrass music scene since the 1960s, founder of the Country Cooking and Hot Rize bands, Grammy nominee and educato ...

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

Charles Sawtelle Charles Sawtelle (September 20, 1946 – March 20, 1999) was an American bluegrass musician and a member of the band Hot Rize. Sawtelle died on March 20, 1999 from leukaemia. Biography A guitar player and vocalist, Sawtelle was one of the origina ...

on bass and Mike Scap on guitar. Scap left the band with Nick Forster (electric bass) joining in April, thereby allowing Sawtelle to switch to acoustic guitar. That established the four-man line-up that lasted over 20 years: O'Brien on mandolin, fiddle and lead vocals, Forster on electric bass, harmony vocals, and emcee work, Sawtelle, on guitar and occasional lead vocals, and Wernick as "Dr. Banjo". Their first, self-titled album was recorded in 1979 with follow-up ''Radio Boogie'', released in 1981. The band issued six studio albums before disbanding in 1990. That year they received the first Entertainer of the Year Award issued by the International Bluegrass Music Association. The following year, their album Take It Home received a Grammy nomination, and a song from the album, Colleen Malone, won Song of the Year from the IBMA. From 1991–98 the band played several reunion dates each year. Following the death in 1999 of Charles Sawtelle, Hot Rize re-grouped in 2002, adding

Bryan Sutton Bryan Sutton is an American musician. Primarily known as a flatpicking acoustic guitar player, Sutton also plays mandolin, banjo, ukulele, and electric guitar. He also sings and writes songs. Biography Early career Sutton's grandfather and ...

to play the guitar. In 2014 Hot Rize released its first studio album with Sutton, "When I'm Free", on Ten in Hand Records, and set out on their first major tour in over 20 years in support of the record. When touring, Hot Rize often incorporates a performance as a

Western swing Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the Western United States, West and Southern United States, South among the region's Western music (North America), Western string bands. It is dan ...

band called Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers.

Origin of the band name

The band takes its name from the leavening ingredient found in

Martha White Martha White is an American brand of flour, cornmeal, cornbread mixes, cake mixes, muffin mixes, and similar products. The Martha White brand was established as the premium brand of Nashville, Tennessee-based Royal Flour Mills in 1899. At that ti ...

flour and cornmeal products. Hot Rize often performs the theme song to the now defunct "Martha White Biscuit and Cornbread Time", a radio show in the late 1950s and early 1960s on Nashville station WSM featuring

Flatt and Scruggs Flatt and Scruggs were an American bluegrass duo. Singer and guitarist Lester Flatt and banjo player Earl Scruggs, both of whom had been members of Bill Monroe's band, the Bluegrass Boys, from 1945 to 1948, formed the duo in 1948. Flatt and Scru ...

Discography

Studio albums: *''

Hot Rize Hot Rize is a bluegrass band that rose to prominence in the early 1980s. Established in 1978, Hot Rize has appeared on national radio and TV shows, and has toured most of the United States, as well as Japan, Europe and Australia. History Hot ...

'' (1979) *'' Radio Boogie'' (1981) *''

The French Way The French Way ( gl, Camiño francés, es, Camino francés, , literally the "way of the Franks") is the GR 65 and the most popular of the routes of the Way of St. James ( es, Camino de Santiago), the ancient pilgrimage route to Santiago de Com ...

'' (as Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers, 1984) *'' Traditional Ties'' (1986) *'' Untold Stories'' (1987) *'' Shades Of The Past'' (as Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers, 1988) *'' Take It Home'' (1990) *''

When I'm Free ''When I'm Free'' is the seventh studio album by Norwegian singer-songwriter Ane Brun. The album was released in 2015 with both a Standard Edition (10 tracks) and a Deluxe Edition (12 tracks). Track listing All songs written by Ane Brun, except ...

'' (2014) Live albums: *''So Long of a Journey'' (2002, recorded 1996) *''Hot Rize/Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers Live — In Concert'' (1982) *''Hot Rize 40th Anniversary Bash (2018)''

References

External links

*
Dr. Banjo
Pete Wernick official website *
eTown
radio program by Nick Forster * * {{Authority control Musical groups established in 1978 Musical groups from Colorado American bluegrass music groups Sugar Hill Records artists Flying Fish Records artists

History

Origin of the band name

Discography

See also

References

External links