In House #1830: Jon Rauhouse's Steel Guitar Heart Attack

Guitarist extraordinaire Jon Rauhouse released his fourth full-length, Steel Guitar Heart Attack, last week on the Bloodshot label. The effort finds him once again serving up a wide-ranging, retro-leaning, guest-filled batch of tunes evoking Hawaiian sunsets, hoedowns, and happy hour. Longtime co-conspirator Tommy Connell, along with members of fellow Arizonans Calexico, back Rauhouse throughout the set, bringing their dusty flair with them, and a quartet of siren singers, Neko Case, Kelly Hogan, Sally Timms, and Visqueen's Rachel Flotard, take their individual turns fronting tunes like "Harbor Lights," and "I'll Be Seeing You," to predictably mesmerizing results. Elsewhere, Rauhouse himself takes a rare turn or two behind the mic, including a version of "The Fishin' Hole," heretofore best known as the theme to The Andy Griffith Show (the TV theme appears elsewhere, too, with an oddball take on the theme from Mannix). One might expect high levels of kitsch propelling the album along, but Rauhouse pulls it off with barely a wink, producing a work that feels fresh even while it's playing out as an homage to a by-gone era (whether that's his point or not). Steel Guitar Heart Attack looks to be a perfect companion to the laze of coming summer afternoons-- even as it's inspiring a longing for the tiki-lit twilights of 1958.


In House #1830.
Airdate: 3/19/07
Focus: New release from Jon Rauhouse, Steel Guitar Heart Attack, plus new music from Gill Landry, Elana James, and more.

BONUS MP3s-
Jon Rauhouse, from Steel Guitar Heart Attack:

"Ballad of the Black Chihuahua" (MP3)

"East of the Sun (& West of the Moon)" (MP3) (with Neko Case)

PLAYLIST

In House PODCAST #278