Mark Ransom and The Mostest

Genre: Singer/Songwriter
Secondary Genre: Jam Band Bend, Oregon USA Contact

Bend, Oregon singer/songwriter/guitarist with jam band tendencies... Mark Ransom's music explores heavy americana and funky, guitar-driven rock n roll. Solo-acoustic or with Mark's band, The Mostest...

Artist Information

Biography

For a more elaborate history, discography and biography of Mark Ransom & The Mostest please visit http://www.markransom.com.
The links at the bottom of this page may also be helpful.
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Ransom Notes April, 2013

1. Ukes for Youth

Good times were enjoyed by all who attended the benefit for Ukes for Youth at The Belfry on April 3rd. We achieved our goal and raised enough cash to outfit Chamberlain high school with a fleet of new ukuleles. Thanks to all the acts, thanks Angeline for donating the space and thanks Marinal Warburton for the amazing home-style Indian cuisine!

Several performances surfed a musical wave that rolled through Sisters, Oregon including a set from Denis McGregor and a reunion of the Blue D’Arts (McGregor, Scott Hersh and Dave Zandanotti). There was a high-energy show from The Mostest with special guest Laz Glickman (an eighth grade student from Cascades Academy) on the electric piano; a tightly woven matrix of folk, blues and progressive rock from The JZ Band and HOBBS; and a grand finale/all-star jam lead by Brent Alan and his Funky Friends. Everybody rocked it!

Thanks everyone who came out to support the cause!


2. The WVMS Village Rhythm and Blues Auction and Fundraiser

April 20th 6 PM at the Old Stone Church in Bend
Featuring Shireen Amini & Chiringa; and the WVMS Rock Band, Peace Chords and Roots Rhythm Group.

Salsa dance the night away with Shireen Amini & Ciringa; and support this amazing school, which is dedicated to growing performing arts in Bend.

Over the last five years Patrick, Shireen and I have been helping to create a music program at WVMS: one that fits with the school’s inclusive, village mission and culture-conscious worldview. We are grateful for this opportunity to gain experience teaching, to receive a paycheck, to improve our understanding of our craft, and to help further our goals and dreams as performing artists.

Having worked at WVMS for many years it is wonderful to see students move on to high school and college, and to take with them a real love and passion for playing music. It is also great to see the WVMS Roots Music Program evolve, and to celebrate the fruits of all this effort: the students who are singing and playing at the big show on Saturday!

If you want to see how singing and playing music brings a village together, don’t miss this beloved, annual community event!


3. Mostest this Spring & Summer…

Because I am a teaching artist, a change in the seasons always marks a bit of a shift in my focus. In spring this means the end of the school year—final projects with the kids, school performances, and a look forward to some Mostest shows on the road.

As usual we are headed to Colorado this year for our annual Summer Solstice tour in June—which has become a tradition culminating in a reunion of friends & music in Telluride (during Bluegrass Festival). In addition to our June plans, we are also doing another run to the Rockies in July—encouraged by a festival date The Mostest is playing in Idaho on 7/26.

Normally we go in June and September; but with the new Bend Roots venue under artistic re-construction, I’m looking forward to being in the northwest, closer to home, in August (for a small McMenamin’s tour), and in September (for The Americana Song Academy, Sister Folk Festival and The Revival of the Bend Roots Revival, September 26-29) this year.

As always, you can keep up to date with us on Facebook and via our website and press kit:

https://www.facebook.com/mark.ransom.121
http://www.themostest.net
http://www.sonicbids.com/2/EPK/?epk_id=60505

Thanks much for your continued support.
All the best,
Mark


November, 2012 For Immediate Release:
Fresh and Funky News from The Mostest:

The poster for the upcoming Mostest Tour through the Rockies shows a skeleton skiing through fresh powder in a mushroom forest. Older jam-band fans might catch the allusions to the Grateful Dead and Allman Brothers respectively, but even without that frame of reference, the art is sure to catch the eye of the outdoorsy, upbeat tribe that Mark Ransom’s band, The Mostest, attracts.

The highlights of the tour are two slots opening for Melvin Seals and JGB on December 28 as well as New Year’s Eve at Quixote’s’ True Blue in Denver. The bill is a great musical match for Ransom, whose music is self-described as “songwriter meets jam” with lyrics that nod to Robert Hunter’s mysticism and philosophy, and a guitar style inspired by Garcia’s penchant for improvisation.

The tour will continue past the Front Range and into the mountains of Colorado, hitting Telluride, Pagosa Springs, Steamboat, Aspen and Crested Butte. For Ransom, who spent his college years in Fort Collins, touring through the Rockies is a return to his roots, and a chance to indulge his first love: fresh powder.

“I’m inspired by the mountains, and that is also where I’m well received,” Ransom said. “I’m always excited to come back to Colorado...”

Ransom has spent the better part of the last decade and a half in Bend, Oregon where he’s produced and recorded seven albums, played with dozens of bands, founded and curated a music festival, and taught music in Bend’s public and private schools. To say he is well loved and embraced in his hometown would be an understatement, but that is the crux of why Ransom insists on getting out on the road year after year.

“We are fortunate because we have a vibrant music community in Bend. Part of touring is transcending my hometown--bringing some small town community spirit and sharing it with a larger audience,” Ransom said.

The tour will showcase songs from The Mostest’s recent release Zara Dreams, an ambitious project that sidesteps jam in favor of a “groovy orchestral” sound. Three-part harmonies—combining the pop vocals of Shireen Amini and violins of Julie Southwell—are anchored by a “polyrhythmic music bed” created by drums from Lindsey Elias, and percussion from Dale Largent. Ransom’s lyrical craft shines, especially when he explores the healing and uniting qualities of music and his own spiritual journey.

In The Other Side Ransom sings:
“People try to explain rainy days and pain
Dissonance and harmony
Listen to the music let your heart feel the beat
Of this bittersweet melody.”

For Ransom and his band The Mostest, playing music is about connecting with others, with the world, and with the beauty inside of us all. The cover art for Zara Dreams by Teafly shows it best: a smiling girl has her eyes closed as she listens to music with headphones connected to both her heart and the forest that surrounds her. Just like Ransom’s music it is soulful, enchanting, and most of all it makes you want to dance.
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ZARA DREAMS CONTINUES TO PLEASE & THE MOSTEST ROCKS ON!

The Mostest is enjoying much praise for the release of their third record, ZARA DREAMS; and for their live performances which have evolved into a tightly polished and road-tested mix of original rock, R&B and extemporaneous, heavy americana.

The disc is a collection of eleven new original songs from Mark Ransom & The Mostest including two co-writes with Virginia-based lyricist Mark Fesche (God Bless The Taco Stand).

Anchored by core members of The Mostest Music Collective including Lindsey Elias (drums), Shireen Amini (percussion and vocals) and Julianne Southwell (violin), the production team of [bassist] Patrick Pearsall, [songwriter/guitarist] Mark Ransom, and [engineer/producer] Linken Olsen has created an original work of art, rhythmic and thick with texture.

On Zara Dreams (Ransom's seventh effort in the studio and The Mostest's third release since the band's inception in 2006) drummers Elias and Amini are joined by percussionist Dale Largent (Taarka/Moon Mt. Ramblers) to create what Ransom calls "...a wide-spectrum, polyrhythmic music bed, and common thread running through the songs."

Guitarist Gabe Johnson lends a hand evoking vintage Steely vinyl on tracks one and two; while later in the record the soulful piano lines of Scott Hersh weave in and out of three part harmonies constructed with Southwell's violin, Amini's voice and the melodies of woodwind master Marcello Bernardes. The feel of Zara Dreams is uniquely orchestral.

Lyrically, song themes move from romantic to divine love and loss; and look at the longing of humans, the nature of karmic retribution, and Ransom's enduring quest to live well in the high mountains of the West.

For a preview of the new CD click the player at the top of this page. The first two selections, Wyoming Song and The Gift come off the new release.


Mostest On The Road...

As the band looks forward to another winter tour of the Rockies, Mark and Patrick are teaching music in Bend and playing regionally with The Mostest and others (The JZ Band, MR3, Hobbs, Brent Alan & His Funky Friends, Your Birthday & Travis Ehrenstrome...). Several dates are up already, with a few more expected to be confirmed and posted soon. Just click on the "Calendar" link above for a full list of dates, times and venues.

Check the links below for press about Mark Ransom, The Mostest & a history of the Bend Roots Revival (Mark and Patrick's 7-year old community music festival): Bio, Discography and lots of Audio!


Booking/Management
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Contact: Kimberly Sanderson
Meridian Artist Group
kim@meridianartistgroup.com
(719) 588-9804

Instrumentation

Mark Ransom - Guitars and Vocals
Patrick Pearsall - Electric Bass and Vocals
Kaleb Kelliher - drums and percussion
Ido Ziv - Percussion
Lindsey Elias - Drums
Julie Southwell - Violin, Percussion and Vocals
Scott Hersh - Electric Piano, Organ and Vocals
Shireen Amini - Percussion and Vocals

Discography

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1998 Mark Ransom Man of My Word
1999 Rhythm Beans Ocean in the Air
2002 Mark Ransom Stride
2006 Mark Ransom Champion of Mystery
2007 The Mostest The MOSTEST
2009 The Mostest Masala Mostest
2012 The Mostest Zara Dreams

Official Website

http://www.markransom.com

Links

Audio

Lyrics

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

  • On the web at: [+ Show ]

    REFERENCES: Venue Owners/Managers ------------------------------ Jeff Dearing Parrilla Grill...

Setlist

A typical set consists of between eight and fifteen songs and runs forty-five minutes to one hour and twenty minutes. Usually play two or three sets. Many shows are 95% original, some shows are up to 40% cover material.

Typical cover material includes songs by the Allman Brothers, Bob Dylan, the Band, the Grateful Dead, Little Feat, John Lennon, Paul Simon, Widespread Panic, the String Cheese Incident and Michael Franti to name a few.

Sample Set:

Champion
Great Big World
Don't Think Twice (Dylan)
Give Us Light
In The City
Kilealoha
First Impressions
Friday Harbor
I Know You Rider (Old Traditional)
All The Love It Brings
Little Oasis
Thinktank
Joni's Song
Ripple (Grateful Dead)

Basic Requirements


Calendar

DateTimeVenueCity
May 24, 2013 Friday 6:00 PM Broken Top Club Bend, OR, US
May 25, 2013 Saturday 11:00 AM Chow Restaurant Bend, OR, US
Jun 12, 2013 Wednesday 7:00 PM Crusty's Pizza - McCall, Idaho Mccall, ID, US
Jun 14, 2013 Friday 9:00 PM Old Town Pub Steamboat Springs, CO, US
Jun 15, 2013 Saturday 9:00 PM Avagadro's Number Fort Collins, CO, US
Jun 19, 2013 Wednesday 7:00 PM kip's grill Pagosa Springs, CO, US
Jun 21, 2013 Friday 6:00 PM Kips Grill Creede, CO, US
Jun 22, 2013 Saturday 9:00 PM Aspen Brewing Co Aspen, CO, US
Jun 29, 2013 Saturday 11:00 AM Chow Restaurant Bend, OR, US
Jul 10, 2013 Wednesday 6:00 PM Black Butte Ranch Black Butte, OR, US
Jul 13, 2013 Saturday 11:00 AM Chow Restaurant Bend, OR, US
Jul 17, 2013 Wednesday 6:00 PM Black Butte Ranch Black Butte, OR, US
Jul 19, 2013 Friday 6:00 PM Brasada Ranch Powell Butte, OR, US
Jul 20, 2013 Saturday 11:00 AM High and Dry Bluegrass Festival Runway Ranch Bend, OR, US
Jul 22, 2013 Monday 6:00 PM Cosmic Depot Bend, OR, US
Jul 24, 2013 Wednesday 7:00 PM Crusty's Pizza - McCall, Idaho Mccall, ID, US
Jul 26, 2013 Friday 12:00 PM Idaho Down Music Fest McCall, ID, US
Jul 30, 2013 Tuesday 7:00 PM Kip's Grill Pagosa Springs, CO, US
Jul 31, 2013 Wednesday 6:00 PM Kips Grill Creede, CO, US
Aug 3, 2013 Saturday 9:00 PM Aspen Brewing Co Aspen, CO, US
Aug 9, 2013 Friday 7:00 PM Angeline's Sisters, OR, US
Aug 17, 2013 Saturday 7:00 PM Parrilla Grill Bend, OR, US
Aug 22, 2013 Thursday 7:00 PM McMenamin's Rock Creek Tavern Hillsboro, OR, US
Aug 23, 2013 Friday 7:00 PM McMenamin's Edgefield Winery Troutdale, OR, US
Aug 24, 2013 Saturday 7:00 PM McMenamin's Grand Lodge Forest Grove, OR, US
Aug 31, 2013 Saturday 11:00 AM Chow Restaurant Bend, OR, US