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Fred Haringmp3.com/fredharing

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    Artist description
    Singer/songwriter taking an honest look at the human condition, but embracing compassion and hope as a response.
    Music Style
    Americana, folk-rock
    Musical Influences
    Dylan, Neil Young, The Pogues
    Similar Artists
    Wallflowers, Todd Snider
    Instruments
    guitars, bass, drums, mandolin, fiddle, uillean pipes
    Albums
    Ghosttowns and Kingdoms
    Press Reviews
    "Fred Haring's debut CD is something to notice. On an independent label, Haring has managed top-notch production, packaging and writing. His style is in the Americana vein, with slide guitars, violins, mandolins and raspy low-key vocals. With a booming bass voice and a casual snarl, Haring sings songs of hope, faith and mercy set amidst dilapidated buildings, fatherless children and seeming hopelessness. But alongside the deeply serious material you see a terrific sense of humor. "County Cliche" tells the story of a broken up relationship that has taken on a Hatfield/McCoy sort of absurdity. Taken as a whole, Ghosttowns And Kingdoms may be the coolest indy Americana debut since Vigilantes Of Love's Jugular. - John J. Thompson, TrueTunes ::: "With the help of several central Ohio musicians, Columbus singer, songwriter and instrumentalist Fred Haring recorded some great songs in a 5th Ave studio last year. He calls the collection Ghosttowns and Kingdoms. In a soulful, James McMurtry-style road-weariness, Haring sings heartland rock tunes about "government checks and Chevrolet wrecks" (Hey Joe Carter). He also offers a few get-some-religion workouts (Descending Like A Dove, Alcoholic Anonymous, and Where To Begin) and twangy numbers built with acoustic guitars, mandolins, cellos and fiddles (Blessings in Disguise and Country Cliche). All 11 tunes are crisp and beautiful, and concern tangible objects cloaked in a lovely metaphor. The lilting ambience of (you said) Trust Is Just a 4-Letter Word, for one, drops the pulse to that carefree pace where anything seems possible. The clickety-clack, polyrhythmic Wear White to My Funeral, with its slave-song sing-along refrain ("Jump down, turn around, pick a bale of cotton"), is a four-minute feast of social commentary. A soul-searching piece of work, Ghosttowns and Kingdoms proves Haring has traced and retraced the routes in his skull a few times." - Columbus Dispatch (4/2/98) ::: "Also quite wonderful is the indie debut from Fred Haring, Ghosttowns and Kingdoms (Grandma Katherine's Music). As a songwriter, Haring insists on staying near the edges of things--the gutters, the broken, the glorious, joyful poor--crafting meditations that are remarkable for their unswerving hope and good humor. The "least of these" appear in almost every song, yet the disc manages to avoid becoming one of "those" peace and justice records that too many of us own for their sentiment rather than their quality. Haring avoids this, in large measure, by keeping things intimate, rather than preachy (is anybody listening???), his voice and spirit cracking throughout. Musically, this is what the critics like to call "neo-folk" or "new country"--simple, guitar-based songs that sound as good in a coffee shop or the front porch. In fact, there are all sorts of hints of mountain music--of the laid-back variety--throughout. A genuine find." - Dwight Ozard, PRISM Magazine (March/April 1998)
    Location
    Columbus, OH - USA

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