Artist description One foot in the Pop bucket, One foot in the Folk bucket, paintbrush by Socially Concious or Trying to Awaken Paintbrushes, Inc. Pallette by Love. Paints supplied by The Creator. Mostly up-tempo vocally oriented. Plenty of harmonies. Instuments and amplification by Gretsch, Rickenbacker, Vox, Fender and Silvertone. Guest background vocals by Jan and Dean, Glen Phillips, Stephan Bishop, John and Susan Cowsill, LuAnn Olson, Micheal Campion, Ethan Reilly and Jeffrey Foskett. Bass by Robby Scharf. Drums by Bo Fox, John Cowsill and Dan McNamara. Additional guitar and handclaps by Bob Gothar and Glen Taylor. Handclaps by Mary Waelchli. Inspiration and production (on "Just A Man Again")by the Attack Hamster. Guitar, vocals and other instruments by Randell Kirsch.

Music Style Power Pop/Folk, Power Folk/Pop

Musical Influences Buffalo Springfield, Byrds, Beatles, Beach Boys, pretty much any band from the 60s that starts with

Similar Artists Toad The Wet Sprocket (this is what people tell me. I'm flattered) Jason Faulkner, Buffalo Springfield, Byrds, Beatles, Beach Boys, pretty much any band from the.... well, you get the picture.

Artist History Randell Kirsch's songwriting has enjoyed favourable notices in Rolling Stone, Billboard, Cashbox, People, Guitar Player, Tower Pulse and others over the years. Go-Go fans may remember Jane Wiedlin's first solo record and the resulting single, "Blue Kiss", a co-write with Randell. In 1989 I.R.S. (the G0-G0's label) put out an album by Show Of Hands, a band founded by Randell and songwriting and vocal genius LuAnn Olson. Short road stints previous to that with Dwight Twilly, the Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, and since with Toad the Wet Sprocket and Pigs On Corn. This is Randell Kirsch's 1st solo record.

Group Members Randell Kirsch is usually accompanied live by Jeffrey Foskett, Bo Fox, Bob Gothar and/or Robbie Scharf. The Pigs On Corn track features Glen Taylor and the Attack Hamster. See Description of Band (above) for guest singers.

Instruments Two guitars, Bass, Drums, Harp, Harmonica

Albums Near Life Expeareance

Press Reviews "Randell Kirsch is a good one, a keeper. A pure pop craftsman of songs in the first degree, Kirsch is a former and sometimes still occasional collaborator of the great Jeffrey Foskett. Near Life Experience is certainly not Cool and Gone (Gone, Gone) part II though, as Kirsch very competently flexes his own muse, and what a muse it is. Kirsch’s versatility is awesome: he paints his songs with broad strokes, touching base with everyone from Roy Orbison ("Just A Man Again (A Clown’s Song") nails Roy in a way Chris Isaak can only "dream"of!) to the Knack meets the Beach Boys ("Get Set"). Vocally, Kirsch can hit the notes in a variety of styles, as evidenced by the gritty performance of "Something on the Order of Love" as well as the Andy Partridgeish "The Last Ideal." "True Love Again" fully flexes Kirsch’s vocal chops in the form of an utterly beautiful ballad, while "Expectations" contains a killer, hooked drenched chorus. Other standout tracks include the gorgeous and vocally rich "Kiss Me or Don’t Hang Around" and "Roll the Window Down" (which has appeared on a Foskett record, and in this incarnation features Jan and Dean on vocals). An experienced and original tunesmith, Kirsch’s craftsmanship appears both wonderfully calculated and spontaneous. With Near Life Experience, Randell Kirsch asserts his own musical identity, and the results are magical." - John Holcomb CD Reviews Amplifier Magazine "And how often do you read reviews of musicians you've really never ever heard of? Take Randell Kirsch. You won't read about this artist anywhere else but here (though I wish that were not the case). He's an excellent California songwriter, more lanky than swanky, who does everything short of annoying people to further his career. That means handing out tapes of his songs at music conventions and to established singers he happens to run into. He did write one semihit -- ex-Go Go Jane Wiedlin's "Blue Kiss" -- and has won fans ranging from Peter Holsapple to Stephen Bishop. He even had a group in the late '80s on IRS called Show of Hands. He writes about anything, including small talk and accidentally striking up a (platonic) phone relationship with Isabella Rossellini. Still, although Kirsch's songs are as special as any of his contemporaries', it's unlikely this family man makes a living from his songs. As an unsigned artist, the legwork is all his. Kirsch's Near Life Experience (Dental Records) is a goes-by-too-fast collection that's pop in the most delicious, built-to-last way. It's not a new, ephemeral Baskin-Robbins flavor but classic strawberry. The nearest comparison to reach for on the shelf of canned mix-and-match analogies is a nonbitter Joe Jackson joining the Byrds. Great songs are both this craftsman's blessing and a Kirsch. He's almost too good to be true. The perennial pop fodder of breaking free from a tease is put bluntly, boyishly and far from misogynistically on "Kiss Me or Don't Hang Around". "Clueless" adds a spark of late XTC to a guitar-soaked hook. "True Love Again" is as cool and sweet as a Marshall Crenshaw breeze. Kirsch gets harmonic support from, of all people but fittingly, Jan and Dean, John and Susan Cowsill and Stephen Bishop. Every song has a differently shaped hook, which is the intrinsic, varied bait of an exceptional pop album. You won't find it in stores, but you'll love Near Life Experience to death. To get it, you'll have to write to P.O. Box 954, Newbury Park, CA 91319." Jordan Oakes in the Riverfront Times

Additional Info email me at randellkirsch@yahoo.com also, lyrics are up at http://kirsch.webjump.com.

Location Newbury Park, Ca - USA

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