Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
"Aimee, Rich, Gregg, and Don have dedicated a lot of thought and emotion to this, their first project. Offered here is a collection of songs and instrumentals that speak of the cost of living one’s life one’s own way rather than playing it safe. They speak of home and of leaving home, loves and innocence lost along the way, the joyous struggle to build a new life from the dust, of reckoning with one’s past and finding joy in the memories, and of gaining reward and reunion in the by and by.
"This material reflects the lives of this group of brave individuals. It is a personal and unique statement of down-to-earth themes, well thought out and tastefully executed. This is music heartfelt, honest and uncomplicated.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is my privilege to introduce to you 'Raising Cane.'" - Mike Compton, Nashville Bluegrass Band
February 3, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Matthew Hoyt (Promotions), (505) 867-4230, caneraising@earthlink.net
RAISING CANE OPENS FOR
PETER ROWAN AND TONY RICE QUARTET
AT LOBO THEATER IN FEBRUARY
ALBUQUERQUE – On the heels of the release of their first CD, New Mexico bluegrass band Raising Cane joins Grammy-award winning bluegrass greats Peter Rowan and Tony Rice at an all-ages show at the Lobo Theater in Albuquerque on February 13.
Grammy-award winner, five-time Grammy nominee and former member of Old & In the Way, Peter Rowan collaborated in September with Tony Rice, also a Grammy winner and arguably one of the finest flat-picking guitarist of all time, to release the album “You Were There for Me.” Rowan and Rice are currently on tour around the United States to promote the album.
Raising Cane will open Rowan’s and Rice’s Albuquerque performance in February.
“We are honored to play with such legendary musicians,” said Gregg Daigle, lead guitarist, vocalist and banjo player for Raising Cane. “This show will be a real treat for New Mexico bluegrass fans.”
Hailing from mostly central New Mexico, Raising Cane has leaped onto the Southwest bluegrass scene with virtuosic instrumentals and head-turning vocals. The band features Gregg Daigle on lead guitar and banjo, Don Grieser on mandolin, Aimee Hoyt on rhythm guitar and Rich Sanchez on stand-up bass.
The show is scheduled for February 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the Lobo Theater, 3013 Central Avenue NE in Albuquerque. Tickets go on sale February 1st for $20; $25 at the door. Tickets are available at Bookworks, 4022 Rio Grande Boulevard NW and at Natural Sound, 3422 Central Avenue SE in Albuquerque. For more information visit the AMP Concert website at www.abqmusic.com.
Raising Cane’s CD, “Raising Cane,” is available on the band’s website, www.caneraising.com, and soon at music retail outlets throughout New Mexico.
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- Press Release
February 3, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Matthew Hoyt (Promotions), (505) 867-4230, caneraising@earthlink.net
BLUEGRASS BAND RAISING CANE
RELEASES SELF-TITLED CD, HOSTS CD RELEASE PARTY
PINE HILL, NM – New Mexico bluegrass band Raising Cane has announced the release of their first CD, “Raising Cane”.
Hailing from mostly central New Mexico, Raising Cane has leaped onto the Southwest bluegrass scene with virtuosic instrumentals and head-turning vocals. The band features Gregg Daigle on lead guitar and banjo, Don Grieser on mandolin, Aimee Hoyt on rhythm guitar and Rich Sanchez on stand-up bass.
With all four members lending their first-class vocal talents to the band, not to mention their instrumental prowess, Raising Cane has already caught the attention of stalwarts in the industry.
“Aimee, Rich, Gregg, and Don have dedicated a lot of thought and emotion to this, their first project,” said Mike Compton, Grammy Award winning mandolin player from the “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” soundtrack and member of the legendary Nashville Bluegrass Band. Compton wrote the liner notes for the CD.
"This material reflects the lives of this group of brave individuals,” Compton said. “It is a personal and unique statement of down-to-earth themes, well thought out and tastefully executed. This is music heartfelt, honest and uncomplicated.”
The CD consists of mostly original songs written by the band members. From Hoyt’s evocative vocals in “In a Cabin by the Woods” to Daigle’s innovative banjo picking in “Fleckstone”, from the gospel celebration of “Yonder Mountain” to the folk journey of “Dust Tracks on the Road”, Raising Cane has encapsulated its wealth of talent in their 11-track release.
To celebrate this musical achievement, Raising Cane is hosting a CD release party February 5 at Winnings Café (formerly RB Winnings Coffee House) in Albuquerque. The event starts at 7 p.m. and is free and open to the public.
The CD is available on the band’s website, www.caneraising.com, and soon at music retail outlets throughout New Mexico.
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- Press Release
"The full band has only been together for about 10 months, so you may not have heard or seen them yet, but you'll definitely be hearing more about them. They play like they've been jamming hard for a decade.
"I was struck by the unlikely chance of finding three diverse songwriters in one group. The blending of their writing styles, combined with their incredibly seamless playing, ensures they will find a large audience."
- Brandt Legg, The Hum, Taos News
"We've got a great bluegrass band in our own backyard. When I popped the CD in the player, I was totally enthralled. I had a really hard time picking which tracks to play for you tonight. I think it's just great."
- Jenny-O, KABQ-FM 104.1 World Class Rock
"Gambol after gambit, Grieser's mandolin chimes fleetly sweet, while Daigle's ample prowess on both banjo and acoustic guitar is evident throughout." - David Prince, Pasatiempo, Santa Fe New Mexican
"My wife had been bemoaning missing the sold-out show of flat-picking guitar aces Peter Rowan and Tony Rice two weeks ago. Of course, I hadn't the faintest clue what I had missed. So, for my bluegrass-loving wife, I apprehensively set up a visit for some friends and us to go see the band that had opened for Rowan and Rice: New Mexico's Raising Cane.
The band, which originates from Pine Hill in Catron County, was playing at our favorite Santa Fe haunt, the Cowgirl Hall of Fame, and, to my pleasant surprise, when we arrived the place was packed with enthusiastic shoe-wearin', bluegrass fans.
My wife, ever the bluegrass purist and pundit, wondered aloud how any decent bluegrass could come from a state where grass of any color has a snowball's chance in hades - or Las Cruces - of surviving. To drive home her point, after we took our seats near the musicians, she ordered us two highballs of Kentucky bourbon and soda as 'insurance.'
The policy wasn't warranted, though, as Raising Cane competently plowed through a number of bluegrass standards and songs from their own high-desert-oriented repertoire. It was after Raising Cane's crackerjack flat-picker Gregg Daigle picked up his banjo and dexterously rambled through half a dozen bluegrass standards that I looked over to find my wife clearly beaming.
I don't know if it's the high-lonesome vocals or the driving downbeat of guitar and bass or the offbeat chime of the mandolin or even the torrent of shimmering banjo, but the music had a startling effect on my neural pathways. Soon my feet were tapping, my head was bobbing and my hands were drumming in time on the tabletop after just a few short minutes.
It's a relief to know my marriage into bluegrass won't be just one of convenience."
- Michael Halstead, Albuquerque Tribune
Discography
Raising Cane self-titled CD was released in January 2005.
You can hear samples of all the original songs at our website.
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
With members hailing from back roads across the country, Raising Cane emerged straight from the heart of New Mexico and burst onto the southwestern bluegrass scene, turning heads and causing feet to tap. Led by the driving guitar and banjo of Gregg Daigle, the resonant mandolin of Don Grieser, the haunting vocals of Aimee Hoyt, and the room-filling bass of Rich Sanchez, Raising Cane promises a performance filled with high-energy picking, soulful melodies, powerful instrumentals, and goose bump-inducing harmonies. Virtually unheard of in the bluegrass world, Raising Cane’s inaugural year as a quartet has resulted in opening for Grammy Award winners Peter Rowan and Tony Rice, numerous festival appearances, and a self-produced debut CD that has elicited accolades from the music community.
Raised in the Appalachian foothills of western Massachusetts, Gregg earned a degree in music at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. While working for bluegrass label Rounder Records during college, his exposure to Tony Rice, Doc Watson, Norman Blake, and Bela Fleck ignited a spark that was fueled when he moved to New Mexico in 1995 to pursue a solo music career. The 2001 Santa Fe flatpick guitar champion, Gregg now owns his own studio and teaches banjo, mandolin, and guitar to over 50 students. His effusive songwriting, centering around seasoned arrangements and contemplative lyrics, captures the essence of his subjects, and his virtuoso guitar and banjo picking lay the groundwork for Raising Cane’s unique sound.
The prospect of a teaching job lured Don to New Mexico over 25 years ago. Originally from the cornfields of Indiana, these days Don lives below a 200-foot mesa in a self-built adobe home surrounded by ponderosa pines. An accomplished photographer with published work in several collections, Don now jams on the mandolin and writes some heartfelt songs about living in the high desert. A finalist in the 1996 Rocky Grass mandolin contest, Don was a founding member of the acclaimed Red Mesa Rounders, winners of both the Wickenburg, Arizona and Santa Fe band contests, and has had the good fortune of studying under many of his mandolin heroes, including Mike Compton, John Reischman, Frank Wakefield, and Roland White. When he’s not picking, writing, or taking care of just about every animal you can think of (including a miniature horse named JoJo who comes into the house and eats out of the refrigerator), Don teaches school on the Ramah Navajo Reservation in Pine Hill, New Mexico.
Aimee grew up in Georgia and North Carolina and started writing songs early on, honing her authentic vocals, down-home lyrics, and memorable chord progressions. She strayed from the bluegrass cause for a few years in college, playing drums for Chapel Hill, North Carolina indie-rock band Soccer, but a trip to Merlefest in 1996 brought her back to her roots. Drawn by the wildness of the Southwest, Aimee moved to New Mexico in 1998 to begin a career in outdoor education. This summer, Aimee climbed Denali, North America’s highest peak, where she played a Raising Cane MP3 at 17,200 feet, much to the pleasure of her fellow mountaineers. Aside from writing songs steeped in the stories of rural America and playing solid rhythm guitar, Aimee teaches sixth grade English where she uses traditional murder ballads to explain action verbs.
Rich, well, he never did grow up, but if he had, it would have been in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Other than his place of birth, little is known about Raising Cane’s mysterious bass player in black. The official cane raiser of the group, Rich lays down some fine bass lines and can sing all the parts.
What is now Raising Cane began when Gregg and Don met at the Rocky Grass bluegrass festival in Colorado in 2001. Their musical friendship developed over the next year, and when they both found themselves bandless, they decided to start playing as a duo. As luck would have it, about the time they were thinking about adding a bass player, Rich called Gregg looking for a band with which to play. He proved an invaluable addition to the group and the first version of Raising Cane was born. When the group began thinking about recording, they decided that adding a fourth member would help them get that full bluegrass sound. Aimee joined the group in May of 2004 and the band completed its self-titled CD in the fall of 2004. The CD was released in January of 2005 and the four members of Raising Cane are currently in the process of loving life and playing some mighty fine bluegrass.
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