Mark Ransom and 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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MOSTEST ROCKY MOUNTAIN TOUR TO CULMINATE WITH CD RELEASE PARTY BACK HOME IN BEND, OR...

The Mostest is excited for the release of their new record, ZARA DREAMS, and for their annual spring tour of the Rocky Mountains. 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.

Elias, Ransom and Pearsall hit the road June 13th (with several copies of their new disc in hand) for The Mostest's annual Rocky Mountain Spring Tour. The trio will be joining up with Denver-based Afro-Cuban percussionist Ido Ziv for a string of shows in Colorado. 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.

If you are lucky enough to live in Oregon or near by... Don't miss the Mostest's CD Release Party: June 27th at McMenamin's Old Saint Francis School. 7 PM start. The show is family friendly, free and will feature The Mostest Large Band: Pearsall, Ransom, Elias, Southwell, Amini, Hersh, Largent, and more...

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

Instrumentation

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

Discography

---------------------------------------------
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

Links

• Facebook
• Mark Ransom with the JZ Band Bend Roots 2011
• Mark Ransom and the Mostest play @ Mount Bachelor
• CD Baby
• Mark Ransom Music Page
• Rise Up International & Bend Roots

Audio

• Zara 1. Wyoming Song
  Listen   Download
• Zara 2. The Gift
  Listen   Download
• One More Wave from the new CD Masala Mostest
  Listen   Download
• From The Mostest's Studio Debut... God Bless The Taco Stand
  Listen   Download
• Jam Band Style Mostest Live at Silvermoon: Eyes Jam
  Listen   Download
• Livin it Up from Masala Mostest
  Listen   Download
• Whats Goin On from Masala Mostest
  Listen   Download

Lyrics

• The Other Side
• Long to Be
• Wyoming Song

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• On the web at: [+ Show ]
  

  REFERENCES: Venue Owners/Managers ------------------------------ Jeff Dearing Parrilla Grill...REFERENCES:
  
  Venue Owners/Managers
  ------------------------------
  
  Jeff Dearing
  Parrilla Grill
  Bend, Oregon (541) 350-0649
  
  Ruta Hay
  Princess Wine Bar
  Crested Butte, Colorado (970) 349-0210
  
  Sandy Smith
  Guest Services Manager
  Hotel Telluride
  Telluride, Colorado (970) 369-1188
  
  Cassie Moore
  Silver Moon Brewery
  Bend, Oregon (541-388-8331)
  
  Booking Agents and Promoters
  -------------------------------------
  
  Jan Haedinger
  McMenamin's Wine Bars, Pubs and Hotels
  Portland, Oregon(503) 288-6556
  
  Lisa Lepine Promotion Queen
  Portland, Oregon (503) 236-6132
  
  Joe Holbert
  Holbert Entertainment
  Telluride, Colorado
  
  Bret Grier
  Random Presents
  Bend, Oregon (541) 419-0388
  
  Cameron Clark
  Cameron Clark Concert Productions
  Bend, Oregon (541) 389-0995
  ************************
  
  Mostest Notes April, 2009
  ********************
  New music from The Mostest: "Masala Mostest "
  
  Masala Mostest: Funky Americana with World Music Overtones
  (From the folks who brought you the cult-classic, God Bless the Taco Stand!)
  
  Welcome the second CD release from one of Bend, Oregon's favorite bands, and one of the area's most enduring and prolific songwriters, Mark Ransom and The Mostest.
  
  One of six full-length albums Ransom has put out in the last decade, Masala Mostest is both a return to his acoustic roots (1998's Man of My Word/ the Rhythm Beans 1999 title Ocean in the Air); and also a departure from the older paradigm.
  
  Singer-songwriter, ethno-musicoligist, and virtuoso hand-percussionist Shireen Amini provides the back-beat for this Mostest quartet; as well as the soaring vocal harmonies highlighted throughout the CD.
  
  Furthering the World Music vibe on the new album Julianne Southwell brings India-steeped violin melodies to several Mostest originals and a host of covers which freequently appear in their live set: songs from JJ Cale, Marvin Gaye and The Rolling Stones to name a few.
  
  "We wanted to capture the essence of a live Mostest show, and also showcase our acoustic set," says bassist Patrick Pearsall, Ransom's good friend and musical partner in the band.
  
  Much of Masala Mostest (thirteen songs in all) was recorded live at Black Butte Ranch and Parrilla Grill which gives the disc a very ambiant feel --complete with crowd noise and little bits of humor.
  
  Mostest song themes continue to visit snowy seclusion and real friends. As seeking the good life is the goal for the band, the Mostest outlook is once again optomistic: another fun-in-the-sun feel-good record for the summer of 2009!
  
  
  Mostest Notes March 29, 2007
  ***********************
  A little more than a year after the 2006 release of Ransom's fourth CD, Champion of Mystery, comes his trio's self-titled debut: The MOSTEST. Of the new project Mark notes,
  
  "I started playing with Tony [Houston] and Pat [Pearsall] at the same time that I was promoting Champion, and there was immediate chemestry. It was clear to everyone that we needed some recordings that could represent this live-band dynamic, so we made a CD."
  
  The new Mostest record was produced entirely by the trio (Ransom, Pearsall, Houston): Recorded on the second level of Ransom's home, which has high ceilings and, "not too many right angles," according to the songwriter.
  
  "We recorded most of it in two rooms that weren't entirely partitioned... There is a lot of ambient room sound coming through all the mics--which gives it a very live sound I think."
  
  Material for the CD was chosen to fit The MOSTEST's Songwriter-Meets-Jam-Band style. "Mark's tunes set against fun grooves..." Says Houston, "...Stuff you can play the part on, or, if it feels right, let go and jam it out."
  
  Here, The Mostest brings to life eight new cuts either written or co-written by Mark; as well as the Bend, Oregon cult-classic, God Bless The Taco Stand, which was penned by Mark's cousin, Eric Ransom and long-time songwriting partner, Mark Fesche in the early 1990s.
  
  On track three, Give Us Light, The Mostest invites Hip-Hopper Jason Graham center stage for a flowy-poetic 16-bar bridge. Leaving folk rock behind, with the bass and drums mixed out-front, the Mostest weaves a funky tapestry for Ransom's tasty guitar work and positive affirmations:
  
  "I want to release inner peace
  I want to see my dreams become reality
  I want to breathe, I want to breathe
  I want to breathe in the night
  I want to exhale peace and light
  I want to embrace the afterlife
  I want to be free to live my life..."
  
  Ransom credits bassist Patrick Pearsall with the unofficial title of "Musical Director" for his contribution to the band both live and in the studio:
  
  "Pat is way more than a bass player. He knows intuitively what is virtuous about a peice of music, and seeks to accentuate that. When my ears are shot, when it all sounds the same to me, or when I'm out of ideas, Pat always knows what to do. Because of this, we pretty much let him mix the record... I just moved the faders..."
  
  A preview of the CD is already getting airplay on home-turf in Bend, Oregon (go KPOV!); and the record will be availbale on-line and in stores April 11th.
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  Champion Of Mystery...
  ******************
  Preceeding The Mostest, back in February, 2006, Mark Ransom released a collection of demos arranged into a concept-album...
  
  Champion Of Mystery is the first concept record and fourth full-length CD release from Mark Ransom.
  
  “The album boasts 13 tracks with Lou Reed/Nico style prose and timing, coming through a young Marti Balin/Grace Slick windpipe set against interesting musical landscapes…” -Cascade A&E, Bend, Oregon
  
  It is the tale of a character named Willy Bova: his exile/escape from mid-western America, the road to his enlightenment, persecution and survival in the high-country of the West.
  
  In keeping with Ransom's laid-back, flowy style, the feel of this disc is organic and rooted in the acoustic realm. This time however, we are pulled into the grooves--a nice mix of addictive story-songs with thick layers of instrumental melody.
  
  “The Jams take the listener to some familiar territories—that cave in Utah, a dusty Oregon Country Fair, or another long road trip to shoreline…” -Justin Hyland Williams, Cascade A&E (Bend, Oregon)
  
  Several cuts run longer than five minutes. To this says Ransom, “Lots of folks see me and my acoustic guitar up there doing a folk-pop thing. But I’m really more jam-band than that..."
  
  Despite his allegiance to counter-culture genres, Champion Of Mystery transcends hippy-rock and jam-band.
  
  "...Mark Ransom [is] an old soul with a young heart and stories to tell..." -Crested Butte News (Crested Butte, Colorado)
  
  Ransom credits singer-keyboardist Colleen Cordis as being “musically visionary,” and co-creator of Champion. “Colleen has the most amazing ear for harmonies. She hears things in her mind’s ear and can sing them without thinking…
  
  This CD is about honoring and accepting the Great Mystery, the yin and the yang, and Colleen gets that on a soul-level...”
  
  “Taking Champion’s 60-some minutes as they are intended—as a cohesive whole—the record is a gentle manifesto for positive living, and a colorful instrumental odyssey…” -Jeff Trainor, The Source Weekly (Bend, Oregon)
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  More press releases and news clippings are available on Mark's website. Direct URL:
  
  http://www.markransom.com/newsclips.htm
  
  
  

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