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Artist Bio:
Formed in 1995 as a trio including Kirk Rundstrom (guitar), David
Lawrence (banjo) and Jeff Eaton (bass), the group was soon signed to
Bloodshot Records, the label home of Rundstrom's previous band,
metal-country act Scroat Belly. Early on, the group's gimmick was
Eaton's homemade one-string bass, named Stitchgiver, built from the
gastank of a 1978 Mercury Grand Marquis and a piece of hickory and
strung with one piece of Weedwhacker line.
The name "Split Lip
Rayfield" was inspired by a real-life person of that name who lived in
Eaton's hometown of Gumbo, Missouri, when Eaton was a boy.
In
1996 Lawrence left the group and was replaced on banjo by Eric Mardis,
a guitarist from Lawrence, Kansas. The trio of Rundstrom, Eaton and
Mardis recorded the album Split Lip Rayfield in 1998; Bloodshot
released it that same year. Soon after, Wayne Gottstine, a member with
Rundstrom in Scroat Belly, joined the group on mandolin. Gottstine has
also been featured as a vocalist and songwriter for the group.
1999
saw the release of In the Mud, the first album on which the group
performed as a quartet. This album contained fan favorites such as
Gottstine's "3.2 Flu", Rundstrom's "Devil", Mardis' "Hounds" and a
cover of the George Jones/Melba Montgomery song "Easy Street." The band
followed up the album's release with a nationwide tour.
The band's next album, Never Make It Home, also achieved success, as did the subsequent tour.
Following
the Never Make It Home tour, Split Lip Rayfield took a short hiatus so
that its members could refocus on family life and side projects. Upon
reassembling, the group traveled to New Orleans to make a record with
friend and fellow performer Mike West. The resulting disc, Should Have
Seen It Coming, won critical praise.
In 2005, Gottstine left the
touring group for personal reasons. The remaining trio continued to
tour, however. Gottstine returned in Summer 2006 after Kirk Rundstrom's
cancer diagnosis.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split_Lip_Rayfield
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