Rob Fetters is an American musician, songwriter, and commercial music composer. He has performed as a

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

and singer for

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and ch ...

bands The Raisins, The Bears, psychodots, and has also released solo albums.

Early life

Fetters was born on September 28, 1954 in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

and grew up in neighboring Sylvania. Fetters met fellow artists Chris Arduser and Bob Nyswonger while attending Sylvania High School. Fetters, Arduser and Nyswonger have been playing together off and on since 1971.

Career

Fetters, Arduser, Nyswonger, and

Adrian Belew Robert Steven "Adrian" Belew (born December 23, 1949) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist primarily known as a guitarist and singer, he is noted for his unusual and impressionistic approach to ...

formed The Bears in 1985 and began touring and recording until 1988. The trio "psychodots" recorded and performed starting in 1990, sometimes as Belew's tour support or backing band members. The Bears regrouped in 2000 and continued performing until 2007. The psychodots continue to perform in the

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

area. Fetters has released four solo albums, and his commercial scoring and commissioned work has included clients such as

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

, and

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

, as well as

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

, Crest and Kellogg’s. As of November, 2016, Fetters still performs with the Psychodots on rare occasions, most notably for the group's annual Thanksgiving concert which is held every year in or near his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Instruments

Fetters’ guitars include Fender Stratocasters, a Taylor 612-CE Acoustic, a 1974 Les Paul Custom, a 1967 Martin 00-18, a 1965 Rickenbacker 625, and a 2012 “partscaster” created by David Schneider. His amplifiers include a Vox AC-15 and Wavelength Audio Rob Fetters Signature designed by Gordon Rankin.

Discography

Solo discography

*Lefty Loose Righty Tight (CD) – Baby Ranch Records (1998) *Musician (CD) – Baby Ranch Records (2005) *Saint Ain’t (CD) – Baby Ranch Records (2014) *Ship Shake (CD) – Baby Ranch Records (2020)

psychodots

*Psychodots (CD) Strugglebaby Recording Company (1991) *On The Grid (CD) – Strugglebaby Recording Company (1993) *Awkwardsville (CD) – Strugglebaby Recording Company (1995) *Official Bootleg (CD) – Strugglebaby Recording Company (1998) *Terminal Blvd (CD) – Baby Ranch Records (2005)

The Bears

* Rise and Shine (LP) – Primitive Man Recording Company (1988) * The Bears (LP) – Primitive Man Recording Company (1987) *Car Caught Fire (CD) – The Bears Music (2001) *Live (CD) – The Bears Music (2002) *Live at Club Café (DVD) – Merging Media (2004) *Eureka! (CD) – The Bears Music (2007)

The Raisins

*Quarters / Tour Guide (Vinyl 45rpm) Raisin Records (1981) *The Raisins (LP) Strugglebaby Recording Company 1983 (CD 1993) *Sucker Punch / Interspecies Love (Vinyl 45 RPM) Strugglebaby Recording Company 1983 *Valentine / Hoy Hoy Hoy (Vinyl 45rpm) Raisin Records (1984) *Everything and More (Cassette) 1985 Baby Ranch Recording Company (CD) 2000

As the sole producer

*Purple Kisses by 33 People (1995) *Dinosaur Love by Lucky Spaulding (2001) *Okodoro Oro by Baoku Moses (2004) *Two Hearted by Dawg Yawp (2015)

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fetters, Rob Avant-garde guitarists Living people 1954 births Guitarists from Ohio Musicians from Toledo, Ohio Singers from Ohio 20th-century American guitarists People from Sylvania, Ohio